23-Jun-07 80 av Jean Jaurès 93500 PANTIN
Like any other Rajini fan worldwide, I was happy to get a chance to watch Sivaji in Paris so early, when it would have been so difficult to get tickets in Chennai at this point of time and I was excited to see the superstar in the Shankar extravaganza.
As most of us would have it, the story of the movie is about an NRI from the US who wants to set up charity institutions in Tamil Nadu with his savings. The villian, played by Suman (once upon a time hero) uses his political power to foil the good intentions of Sivaji who loses all his money in the process. The rest of the plot narrates how Sijavi settles the scores and achieves what he set out to do in the beginning, in a typical Shankar style narration with the superstar unleashed in every frame.
Shreya is the love lady of Sivaji, and she looks homely (Sivaji wants to marry a homely lookig girl), but she compensates in the songs sequences with her glamour and as one of the newspapers quoted, she might be the next simran for the tamil filmdom. The songs have been picturised with mind blowing sets, especially the Athiradi and Sahana are a visual treat, and Balleilakka with Nayanthara is a visual treat of colours. In Sahana Rajini looks a lot younger and it remindes us of Rajini movies a decade ago, and the superstar is in his own league in Athiradi.
The first half comedy track along with Vivek is a roller coaster, spruced up by the presence of pattimandram Raja and Solomon Pappayah. Along with Rajini, Vivek delivers quite a few punch dialogues and also takes a dig at Simbu and Danush who use their index finger to show thier power and anger as a run of the mill stuff in their movies.
The superstar catches the imagination with his style - be it the flicking of the one rupee coin, the typical sunglass rolling and wearing, and the short and stylish 'cool'. Rajini looks stylish and fabulous in his entire range of costumes, especially Oru Koodai Sunlight song. Thanks to the constume designer Manish Malhotra and the hair designer. His hair style in the first half reminds us of the Rajini we have seen in movies like Padikathavan, Velaikaran. Though the only punch line 'summa athuruthulla' looks little out of place, may be because there are not too many instances when he delivers this particular punch line.
Over these years we have seen that Rajini's hair style has been his USP, but Shankar proves his mettle and courage as a director by sporting a bald Rajini.The rolling of sunglasses around his head, and his tabla style tapping on his head (thanks to AR Rahman for nice choice of sound),will stay in our memories for years to come and the last half hour with bald sporting Rajini is sheer superstar stuff, be it the Sivaji- MGR joke or the matrix style stunt.
While all these dialogues and actions performed by any other hero (poor Simbu and Dhanush)would have taken a booing, there is none but one, who is the Godfather of style and punchlines and who alone can make the crowd go bezerk with his styles and punchlines, its the one and only superstar.
As they say, there may be many stars - but there is only one superstar, at 57 he proves it yet again. Sivaji has set the box office on a scorching fire which has already given blowing punch to Jhoom Barabar Jhoom not only in Chennai (though it was requested to move the screening of JBJ a little later),but in Bombay and UK, but also making it the first tamil movie to make it to the top 10 in the UK. When the king of box office is in move better be warned, because 'summa
pera kettalae adhurudula'!.
