Midnight In India

Endhiran Movie Review
(First On Net)

6 Out of 5 Stars !!

The Best Entertainer Movie Of Tamil Cinema Till Date
First of a Kind !!

Story: Dr. Vasi (Rajnikanth) is a scientist with a mission. He wants to create the first robot which would not only serve tea and coffee to its masters but would have the power to serve humanity in more meaningful ways.

He creates Chitti, the humanoid who looks like him and is willing to do anything for him. Trouble begins when he goes a step further and teaches the machine to feel. Chitti falls in love with the professor's girl friend, Sana (Aishwarya Rai) and ends up becoming an almost undefinable rival in love, courtesy the red chip that a rival scientist (Danny Denzongpa) infuses in him. Can the creator tame the rogue robot or will machine rule over man?

Movie Review: Want to see what mainstream Indian cinema actually means? Go, watch Robot. The last 30 minutes of the film are literally the baap (grandmaster) of all make-believe and end up creating a whole new genre of cinema: the `curry eastern' which stands up as a wholesome alternative to the curry western. For Rajnikanth fans, the climax is definitely a sure-fire way to lose your sanity.

For non-Rajnikanth fans, it's a sure-fire way to understand the mystique and magical allure of Rajni Sir, a hero who enjoys a demi-god status in several parts of India. Why? Because there are almost a hundred Rajnikanths eating up helicopters, smashing cars, battering planet earth and creating havoc, like never before. If you thought Terminator, Matrix, Godzilla was fun, then we guarantee you'll fall off your chair with glee as our desi T2-meets-Blade Runner-meets Neo-meets-Godzilla sets the screen on fire in a crazy, vengeance bid. Spoofy, yes. But super fun too.

Robot is primarily designed as an unadulterated tribute to the charisma of Indian cinema's ageless superstar, Rajnikanth. And it's completely, wholeheartedly, joyously desi. Where else would you find a hero who literally shoots with his fingers! What's more important is the fact that you actually don't mind when the bullet whizzes out of his forefinger and hits the man in front in the head. Instant death! Ha Ha!

The high point of Robot are the super quality special effects. All the Spiderman, Batman and Superhero antics of Rajnikanth have been done with exquisite elan by the Stan Winston Studio which reportedly provided the Animatrics for films like Jurassic Park and Avatar. And all the stunts have been choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping, the Hong Kong based action director who created the high-adrenalin stunts of classics like Kill Bill and Matrix. Almost 40 per cent of the film's colossal budget (Rs 160 crores) has been spent on special effects, which, at the end of the day, seems all worthwhile. For watching Rajnikanth running horizontal on a speeding train, clambering across burning buildings like Spiderman or mutating into gargantuan monsters does manage to shock and awe the viewer who's out there to have big time fun.

But Robot isn't effect alone. It has a plot too which, if you really pay attention, has a meaning and a message. The film carries forward the man-machine war through interesting twists and turns and creates a lively love triangle between scientist Rajnikanth, medico student, Aishwarya Rai and robot Rajnikanth. Interestingly, the duo make an interesting pair, what with Rajni saar's sundry wigs and sideburns and Aishwarya's tribal `Kilimanjaro-Mohenjodaro' attire. Peppered with colourful songs (AR Rahman) and dances (Prabhu Deva, Raju Sundaram) and high-octane drama, Robot is the perfect getaway film, guaranteed to give you a high with its heady over-the-top Indian flavour. You might just OD (overdose) on the pungent masala fare.

Have a blast !!

Endhiran Exclusive - Mind-boggling

Endhiran beats James Bond !

Shankar's magnum-opus Endhiran has already broken many records. If, for a first, the music was launched in Malaysia, the songs of Endhiran were top-sellers in Apple's iStore in two days' time. Being the costliest Indian movie ever, Endhiran now has another feather in his cap. The song "Kilimanjaro" from the Endhiran album is a big hit. Sung by Javed Ali and Chinmayee, this song has been shot in the Machu Pichu mountain range. Situated in Peru, this Lost land of the Incas is one of the wonders of the world.

Now if you are wondering what is the connection with James Bond, read along. Machu Pichu is a UNESCO World heritage site and attracts a lot of tourists from around the world. A request to shoot the James Bond movie 'Quantum of Solace' was turned down, a couple of years back, as the place is rarely used for shooting. Now aren't we proud that Endhiran has been shot in the same place where no commercial film has ever been filmed before? That’s how you beat James Bond round and square!

Barriers and limitations exist only in the mind. They cease to exist when someone comes along and believes that they can be broken or surpassed. That one person or incident breaks barriers not only for themselves, but also for all those who aspire to do so. It is all about showing others that ‘this is possible’! What many once thought impossible has later gone on to become commonplace occurrences once the mental barrier was broken by a pioneer or a brave heart. Instances are dime a dozen.

The sub-four minute mile was considered a humanly impossible achievement by many until Roger Bannister proved them wrong. Now, running a sub-four minute mile cannot even guarantee an athlete’s qualification for the Olympics. 100 meters in under 10 seconds is the domain of mean machines, kangaroos and cheetahs, many would have thought a few decades back. Now, we have people gunning for the 9.5 second mark. But, it is not just about athletics. In every walk of life, it has taken pioneers to show us that barriers are there only to be broken, if you are willing to try. Science too has its instances of inventions that have had sweeping effects in the ways of thinking. No one thought that man could have traveled at the speed of sound - that was around 50 years back. Now, we are in an era where Concorde jets, which have gone at twice the speed of sound, have been phased out. Yes, all it takes is one foot in the door to keep it open, so that it never closes again. So, what does this have to do with cinema? Cinema too has its share of barriers and limitations which have been repeatedly broken from time to time by people who have dared to broaden their horizons.

Right from the day cinema began, one of the major rate limiting steps in its growth has been finance, as is the case with most fields. But, it is more so with cinema because of the risks involved in the business. In fact, it would be fair to say that cinema is the one industry where losses seem to be more common than profits. Therefore, it is pretty understandable that it takes a bit more courage, confidence and gumption than normal when it comes to breaking new ground in cinema. Because, if things go wrong, then losses could be huge and heads would roll.

It is this apprehension that has kept Tamil cinema, or regional cinema to be precise, from spreading its wings. As cinema becomes more and more technologically driven, money can make a huge difference, no matter how much the artistic competence of the people making a film, and the best technology always costs a fortune. It is this fact that has always kept Hollywood, at least a decade ahead, in terms of technology, to Indian cinema. But, now, it seems that we have a leveler at hand.

Yes, one man, or let’s say, a ‘League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’, have shown the courage to take on the barrier and let me daresay, break it. If budgets were a constraint in getting the best technology, then it no longer will be – post Endhiran. Many an ambitious Tamil project has met a dead end or had to be (cruelly) altered because of the great budget barrier that existed.

But, one man has time and again shown the courage to keep on breaking barriers, even as new ones kept cropping up before him every time. At the beginning of the decade, the 20 crore mark was unheard of in Kollywood. Along came Shankar and shocked the industry by splurging (that is what everyone called it at that time) almost that amount on a movie based on 5 ‘Boys’. That was the craziest thing to do, some thought, until it went on to become a trendsetter of sorts, showing that with good making and strong backing, even 20 crores can be retrieved from the market. Still, many thought of it as a flash in the pan, but it was no longer the same after Anniyan. More than 25 crores were retrieved from the market and a new era had dawned on Tamil cinema. Again, it took the same man to go past the 50 crore mark with Sivaji and showed that even this was possible. And, when we thought that saturation had been reached, here he goes, leaping four times to a budget of nearly 200 crores. Yes, from 20 crores at the beginning of the decade, he has shown a 10 fold increase to touch almost 200. That is a growth rate that cannot be matched by the previous three decades of Tamil cinema, one guesses. Shankar is really like an explorer whose thirst for finding new lands never ceases. Now, we might be thinking that 200 crores is as big as Tamil cinema can get. But, sit tight; we never know what he is thinking about next. If he can take it from 20 to 200 in ten years, and still has many more years left in him, we can only wonder where he will finish. And, it is not only his journey; Tamil cinema too will get bigger with Shankar’s dream and vision.

But, what good are visions and dreams if they do not inspire others. If the era of exponential growth is limited only to Shankar, it would mean nothing to Tamil cinema because all that would end the moment Shankar decides to call it a day. Shankar has taken the first step, as he so often has. Now is Tamil cinema’s chance to follow the precedent and grab the opportunity to get bigger while the glow of Endhiran is still alive. Well. We are not being overly optimistic or confident about the success of the movie. But, as a person who truly wishes that Tamil cinema gets bigger and better, there is nothing else that I would want more than Endhiran succeeding. If (and I am hoping it will) Endhiran brings back the 200 crores that was spent on it, it will prove to the industry that even such a big budget is feasible. We have had great artistes and technicians who have had to keep the best of their ideas in cold storage because budgets could just not be met. Endhiran might just open the doors for all of them to script their dreams.

The prime candidate for this would be Tamil cinema’s long standing dream, Marudhanayagam. More than a decade back, a few portions were shot for the trailer of the movie at a (then) whopping cost of 6 crores. It would have been the biggest ever in Indian cinema. The total budget was estimated to cross 50 and so it never happened. At today’s costs, it would go past 200, one guesses and the chances of it being revived and made depending on Endhiran’s show at the box office. Marmayogi too is something similar.

Yes, this is Tamil cinema’s big chance to grow to the next level, touch the sky and make films that are truly international. The barrier has been breached, now the pressure has to be sustained till it is completely shattered. And, all those who love Tamil cinema, let us keep our fingers crossed and hope that Endhiran vindicates a 200 crore budget. And let us also not forget to once again thank the vision and courage shown by Shankar and Sun Pictures. If all goes well, we might soon be celebrating the birth of a new era in Tamil cinema.

Endhiran Movie Preview
(First On Net)

Chitty- The Robot ; Speed 1 Terrahertz; Memory -1 Gigabyte. Programmed to be 100 times intelligent and talented than a normal human being. Knows all the languages on the face of earth.’ The most powerful robot ever made by man and we will be introduced to this wonder on September 3rd, the day Endhiran hits screens.

The movie is more than a month away, but the excitement is already palpable. Two years of tight secrecy has finally relented. The music is out and so is the trailer. The excitement that it has created is greater than what is generated by the actual release of most movies. That is the stature Endhiran of the men associated with this mega venture. No doubt, all of you will now have the list of names involved in Endhiran by heart. But, really, it is hard for one to resist the temptation to roll out those names once again. After all, it is only rarely that there is a chance to dwell on these names at length, especially in connection with the same movie. So, here they are; Superstar, Shankar, Rahman, Kalanithi Maran, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and many more names that you will be hearing of in the next month or so. If anyone says that a bigger team than this exists in Indian cinema at present, then seriously, he’s got to be kidding. Because (pardon the cliché) ‘it does not get bigger than this’.

Sun Pictures started its promotional activities yesterday with the release of the trailer through TV. But, it has not reached its full fledged stage yet and that is why most of you might not have got a chance to get the first feel of what is in store. Well, don’t get upset because you can always scramble to Youtube to get your fill of Superstar and we too are here to provide you with every small detail that the biggest Indian movie ever divulges as it treads along towards D day. So, here goes the trailer review of Endhiran – The Robot. It is only rarely that a film becomes so huge that even its trailer demands or deserves a review. This is one such occasion and we hope that there are many more in future.

Now, the review. Well, what do you expect from a Shankar film? One word – grandeur. One look at Endhiran’s trailer and you will know that Shankar has gone many levels above all that he has done till now. If you thought that Sivaji was the pinnacle of ebullience, then you have to see the Endhiran trailer to believe that it was not. Such seems to be the scale of the film. But, we will have to wait to see the entire product to know exactly how and where the 150+ crores were spent. The one thing that the trailer definitely tells us is that much of that has definitely gone into visual effects. What we will get to see in the movie seems to be special effects and computer graphics that have never before been envisaged. There have been some good CG applications in Indian cinema over the years, like what we saw in Sarvvam last year. But, Endhiran is in a different league altogether. If you want to compare the standards of graphics that seem to be present in the movie, then it is films like Terminator and Matrix that you have to look at.

The story of Endhiran is definitely one that has never been tried in Indian cinema before because of the sheer technological expertise and costs that it would necessitate. Tamil cinema will be certainly proud that one of its directors has taken this step that would expedite the evolution of Indian cinema to the next level. But, for those who regularly watch English films, the plot might sound a tad familiar; but we are just guessing at this point of time. From what the trailer offers, it is all about Rajinikanth (the scientist) who constructs the world’s most powerful robot (again Rajinikanth), something that even Honda could not do, which can do almost everything that a human being can, in a much better way. But, what happens when the robot forgets the rules that were laid down by Issac Asimov to be followed by all robots and humanoids (so faithfully done by Arnold Schwarzenegger throughout the Terminator franchise); all mayhem is set loose as the uncontrollable robot runs riot. Who can stop him? This is our guess of the plot.

Most English movies choose New York as the stage for all big disasters and monsters to attack. The big city has been used for its instant familiarity all over the world and also perhaps for its suspension bridges and proximity to water bodies which make excellent settings for heart stopping action. Well, Shankar seems to have taken up Chennai as the stage for Robot to strike and from the few fleeting glimpses we think that some of the major landmarks in the city might feature as backdrops of action sequences. We are quite certain about some action atop the Guindy flyover. The only regret is that the colossal ‘Secretariat’ structure could not be ready in time for Shankar to think of a pulsating action sequence involving the structure. There also seem to be some absolutely delightful and colorful sets (in metallic theme, apt for Robots) that have been constructed by Sabu Cyril.

The action, the visual effects, the art; all this makes the film big. But, what makes it huge? What gives a producer enough confidence to say yes to a budget of 150 crores? There is only one answer – Superstar. You have to see it to believe it. Never has he looked as young as this in the recallable past. Never has he looked as dashing and stylish as he does now. As wine gets better with age, Superstar’s style only seems to get better every time he appears on screen. There seem to be dozens of get ups and styles that he has donned in the movie; especially for the Robot character. Are they all good? What a question! The only real question is which one of them is best. All Superstar fans (we guess that everyone is), get ready for an absolute treat. There is no doubt; he is still the undisputed King of style. And, in the, midst of all the excitement one forgets that this is the first movie in more than 25 years that will have two Superstars on screen at the same time. Do we need a bigger reason to celebrate?

There seems to be no end to what one can talk about this movie, just after watching a one minute trailer. Yes, we have not yet talked about Rahman or Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and a lot of other things. But, one guesses that the next month or so will be there just for that and much more. So, go watch the trailer as soon as you can, get the first feel of the biggest Indian movie ever (bet you, this one is international in its standards) and keep coming back because the countdown has begun and you don’t want to miss any of the action. Endhiran – The Robot will soon take you by storm.