Abhay Kannada Movie 2009Cast And CrewStarring: Kamal Hassan, Raveena Tandon,
Manisha Koirala, Vikram Gokhale,
Fathima Babu, Sarat Babu, GS Mani
Director: Suresh Krishnna
Producer: S Thanu
Music: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Lyrics: Javed Akthar, Vairamuthu
Release Date: Oct 2009
ReviewsWhat happens when an exceptionally talented actor develops an inexplicable urge to delve into the dark side of the human psyche, and worse, decides to paint the town red about it?
Well, for one, you get a film called Abhay (Fearless).
With the vision that hindsight provides, I wouldn't be far off target if, in a rare bout of self-pity, I describe myself as being the real Abhay for having sat through the almost three-hour-long film.
For someone who has grown up deifying Kamal Haasan's histrionic talents, whether as the simpleton in Moonram Pirai (dubbed as Sadma in Hindi), as the do-gooder godfather in Nayakan, or as the mentally challenged Guna, his portrayal of Abhay is sterile and without soul, to put it mildly.
Padmashri Kamal Haasan, as he has chosen to introduce himself in the credits, seems to be afflicted with the typical Hollywoodian obsession with technology, and it shows in the delusional sequences of Abhay, numerous fight scenes, and the countless pyrotechnics the twins (Abhay and Vijay) engage in.
No wonder it took close to Rs 25 crore to make.
But like Godzilla and countless other gizmo-heavy movies, the film falls with a mighty thud, proving yet again that nothing can substitute a good story line and great acting.
True, the film does have its moments, but they are more like its '15 seconds of fame'.
With a double role, Kamal should have delivered a double whammy. In an ironic twist of fate he manages to deliver it, but it hits you where it hurts the most: your innate logic and sensibilities.
I am still wondering how Abhay throughout the film manages to get hold of jazzy costumes when he has just about managed to escape from a mental asylum and is constantly evading the police and his twin brother Major Vijay Kumar.
There are many such scenes, which place incredulity at a major discount. At the end of it all you are left with the sick feeling of having been sold lemons -- extremely polished ones, but lemons nevertheless.
The scene that takes the cake is the final fight sequence, where Abhay, after a murderous but a vain attack on Tejaswini (Raveena Tandon), jumps out of the hotel room, flies through the air, and lo and behold! lands miraculously on an advertising balloon in the air, which carries him, of course all coincidentally, to the next building and safety.
Even as you are scraping your jaw off the theatre floor, his twin (Major Vijay Kumar) shows that what Abhay can do, he can do better.
And the story? Ah...
Twins: one evil, one good. The evil one, through a process of logical deduction that puts the word convoluted in the shade, gets it in his head that the good one's wife is the root cause of all that is wrong with the world. The rest of the film is one massive Kamal vs Kamal megalomaniacal tussle, and surprise,
surprise! the good one wins. Yawn. Zzzzzzz
Now, such a story doesn't merit more time than you have already spent reading it.
But Kamal, in an exemplary display of how to stretch a four-line story into a three-hour film, comes up with a screenplay liberally embellished with inane songs, tech-laden but completely out of sync delusional sequences, and extra-strong fight sequences.
Even the little somethings that Kamal is famous for in his characterisations -- remember the gruff voice and the stoop he used in Nayakan or the amazing makeup in Indian? -- are quite jarring in Abhay.
The long sniff and sudden twitch of the head that Abhay does before indulging in a bloodbath or entering drug-induced dreamland leave you irritated and wondering whether his doctor had actually made a wrong diagnosis, and all Abhay suffered from was a bad bout of spondylitis.
As for the rest of the cast, except for Raveena Tandon, who is Major Vijay Kumar's better half -- literally so -- they add nothing more than ornamental value to the film. Raveena holds her own against Kamal, and at least once comes out on top when she 'out-acts' Kamal in a post-nuptials scene.
Manisha Koirala (Sharmilee) breezes through the film, leaving you aghast at the waste of such a talent, and wondering why she was needed in the first place.
But, Kamal, for all the brickbats thrown at him, deserves wholehearted credit for having had the guts to break out of the usual cinematic routine of the 'sati savitri, no premarital sex' girlfriend/wife characterisations.
Major Vijay Kumar's girlfriend Tejaswini is a no-holds-barred mediaperson who has no qualms admitting that she enjoyed having sex with her boyfriend. Neither does the major have any problems getting his girlfriend pregnant before marriage and voluntarily taking full responsibility for it.
In a major departure from the Bollywoodian script, neither do Tejaswini's parents (Navin Nischol and Smita Jayakar) react with 'oh the world's all but crashed' attitude, nor does Vijay's uncle (Vikram Gokhale) raise any moralistic ruckus about the issue.
The film's saving graces are the excellent cinematography (Thirru) and the stunning visual effects (George Merkert, Scott, Ian Johnson and Krishnakant Mishra). Both put together manage to push it to the higher reaches of filmdom, which very few Indian films have touched.
Now for the big question. Should you go and see the movie?
For all the disappointment that Kamal has dished out, I would still say a big Yes.
Why? For the sheer technical wizardry of the backroom boys, and for those with a dark sense of humour, to see a demigod fall.
After all, it isn't often that Kamal Haasan fails.
"Padmashree" Kamal Haasan is known for being unconventional. The characters he has essayed, the films he has produced, and even the one he directed, "Hey Ram" have all dared to be different. Returning this time with "Abhay," one of the most hyped movies of the year, this legend, this "demi-god" blunders by being a bit too different. He has guts no doubt. Any person who is willing to spend 250 million rupees on a film (a very high budget for an Indian production) that cannot appeal to any audience at all, really must have some guts!
The plot is an adaptation of the novel, "Dayam" written by Kamal Haasan himself over a decade ago. While in words, the plot may look impressive, the execution by director Suresh Krishna and Kamal Haasan is simply "fanatical" for lack of a more appropriate adjective. The movie starts off in a highly upbeat fashion with Major Vijay Kumar introducing his fiancée to his psychopathic twin, Abhay. The plot is laid out immediately that Abhay is out to kill Tejaswini because he sees his clichéd, evil step-mother in her. Abhay’s painful memories of his childhood that drive him to insanity are well narrated. However, in the second half, Kamal and Suresh Krishna decide to delve into the issue again in a painful, hour-long flashback sequence that is as boring as watching paint dry. In a nutshell, the plot and script look very innovative in the first half but is stretched like a piece of chewing gum in the second.
The film falls flat on its face because of its failure in the two most important departments of filmmaking – scriptwriting, and direction. Initially, the scenes after which "Abhay" gets high on drugs and hallucinates are quite interesting. The use of animation in exposing his mind frame and his naked savagery when he kills is indeed well executed. However, Kamal makes the same mistake he has made time and again in so many of his films – he overdoes it. While one ten minute long hallucinatory sequence is bearable, doing the same thing twice after that, and that too with a little musical number imbedded in one of them, is really testing the audience’s patience.
Among the positive aspects of the film is the action. From the commando operation in the beginning to the car chase and to the final scenes where Abhay jumps off the building on a hot air balloon are all slickly mounted. The special effects by the Australian company, Cutting Edge are also worth a mention. In the fight scenes, and the scenes showing both Abhay and Vijay in the same frame, they have discarded the traditional morphing technique to increase the believability of the interplay between the two characters. Cinematography by S. Thiru provides the necessary gloss that such scenes need. Editing is slick at times, and invisible at others. While making a film such as this, editing should be used to thrill and accentuate the narrative pace. However, when the director would devote so much unnecessary time to hallucination and banal glorification of a drug-addicted psychopath, one can’t really blame the editor for his shortcomings.
Music by Shankar, Ehsaan, and Loy serves absolutely no purpose in the film. While Zingoria and Koyal Se Mili sure are nice songs, they simply stand out as sore thumbs hampering the already lame narrative even more. The background score, while complimentary to the character of the film, is nothing fresh. It’s simply a half-baked montage of sounds pulled of samplers and synthesizers.
Finally, the performances are worth a mention. Kamal as always excels ensuring that he appears in literally every single shot. His performance as Abhay is impressive initially but plays the monotonous tune post interval. Raveena Tandon as Tejwaswini also plays her miniscule role with conviction. Kitu Gidwani as the stereotypical, evil step-mother, and Milind Gunaji as Abhay and Vijay’s father are passable. Manisha Koirala makes a completely, inexplicable, pointless special appearance. While one can sit through the Zingoria dance, her squealing in a pathetic, artificial Americanized accent is simply intolerable.
