Endhiran : an Experience

Expectations had reached fever pitch ever since the producers had announced the release dates. This was the first Rajni movie releasing since I had come to USA and the ambience at Big Cinemas , San Jose was so electrifying that I had pinch myself to check if I was not in Chennai. The theatre was a riot..All seats were occupied by 6:30 itself for the 7:30 show.. the atmosphere resembled a mini Chennai.. tamils everywhere, even girls wore T shirts with Endhiran stills printed on them..as soon as the graphics S-U-P-E-R-S-T-A-R appeared, there was madness ; hooting, whistling, trains inside the theatre, rockets, bits of paper thrown up for each Rajni close up shot..

Credit must be given to the entire Endhiran team for almost managing to meet the sky high expectations..that itself is an achievement. I will make an honest attempt to ensure that I do not reveal the story, plot or important scenes in the next few lines, as everybody should enjoy the fun ride at the theatres.

Endhiran is pure magic. For the initial 20 minutes or so, I too shared the same concerns of millions of Rajni fans; no intro scene, no intro song( just the title track playing in the back ground), and the slow pace of the scenes, but once the plot was established, it made you stay hooked to your seats. Kadhal Anukkal song has been shot in a beautiful location. Serene lake, glittering sand, clear blue sky, mesmerizing Ash and charming Rajni.. what more do you need ? And the crowd went berserk towards the end of the song where Rajni walks in his inimitable style in super slo-mo .The first half is filled with Chitti’s fun antics and is a joyous ride. The re recording in the interval scene needs a special mention. Rahman shows his class in elevating this scene to a different level.

The dialogue writers have also included witty anecdotes packed with computer jargons that evoke quite a few giggles. Sabu Cyril’s art work is breathtaking. Rathnavelu’s camera work is commendable, not only because of the good visuals, but also for the fact that not at one point does the movie make you step back and think that you are actually seeing 2 separate frames of shots during the combination scenes of Chitti and Vasi, the lighting work is spot on and the progressions are seamless.

Super Star looks dashing through out the movie, and one can’t help but reminisce the words that Abbas utters during the climax fight sequence in Padayappa “waav..what a man, ungalukku vayase aagala !” – so true. “Irumbile Oru Irudhayam” song has been neatly choreographed and Ash looks super hot and you can not take your eyes of her and her slick dancing skills have been intelligently utilized. Kilimanjaro too was fun to watch and Raju Sundaram has made Rajni shake a leg to his strengths. “Arima”, though it has been lavishly shot, dripping grandeur in each frame was slightly disappointing, considering the fact that it is Prabhu Deva who was in charge. Coming from the man who made the Super Star make some eye catching moves in “Rakkama Kaiya Thattu”, “Baba Kichu Tha” and “Oru Koodai Sunlight”, this one was below par.

Hats off to Shankar.. what a visionary. To dream of something like this, and most importantly, the perseverance to leave no stone unturned to realise that dream is truly remarkable. Watching each and every frame, you could realise the effort that would have gone into the drawing board to conceptualize them, get the artists to stand in the correct positions to facilitate the VFX and get the right expressions from them , is a herculean effort because most of the shoots would have been shot only using green matting. I truly admire his creative portrayal of the climax which is breathtaking on screen. But he must have gone through a truckload of challenges before bringing to life each scene in the movie. Special credit to him for not falling into the “Super Star” image trap and having full faith in his script.

Most of the reviews have been positive, but there have a few disgruntled grumblings and people are entitled to have their own views. However, none can question the painstaking efforts of the director to give life to such a concept. He has not fallen back on any Hollywood sci-fi movies for the script but this is proper love triangle that will cater to the Indian tastes. A few of them are disappointed with the fact that this is not a typical Rajni movie with an intro scene, an intro song followed by a fight ( or the reverse), a few comedy scenes, followed by a sequence where he is put in a spot by his enemies during the interval block, and then he strikes back by getting rich in a single song/sequence and avenges his wrongs. We have been seeing this for fifteen years and it is time we saw something new and refreshing which is what Endiran offers to fellow die hard fans. There have also been complaints about the placement of songs, the sequences before “Irumbile” and “Kilimanjaro” etc but one must accept the fact that the sci- fi setting of the movie might not appeal immediately to our rural audience and we need to give them some space to shout out their throats. After all, it is extremely difficult to please everybody at the same time and the director has done his best towards it. Finally, about the complaints regarding the length of the movie, I can only chuckle.. Folks, we are seeing Rajni in a major role after 3 years.. and forget 3 hours, I can’t complain even if it is for 4 hours.. after all, if there is one hero who can captivate the audience for such a length of time on screen, it is Rajnikanth

Robot is an out and out Shankar movie; yet Rajni shines like a star, or the SUPER-STAR to be precise – that is his greatness. All those wannabe Rajni’s in Kollywood can learn a thing or two from him. No demands for intro scenes, punch dialogues etc; doing what the script demands in his own unique way. I can’t thank Shankar enough for enabling Superstar bring out all his histrionic skills in this movie which have been forced into a dormant state by his larger than life image. The man carries the film on his shoulders and has magetic screen presence. The innocence he brings into the Chitti role in the first half, the frustrations he brings out when the scientist is not able to make the final leap to realise his dream, the helplessness in the voice and gait when Chitti is about to be dismantled are noteworthy. But the elephant in the room is Chitti version 2.0. This is vintage Rajni, who combines the naughtiness of his Netrikkan character with the command and body language of Alex Pandian from Moondru Mugham; leaving you yearning for more The scene before the climax where he discovers the scheme laid out to trap him by Vasi.. a delight to watch..even Rajni’s villainy is attractive and addictive!

Endhiran is easily the best ever Indian movie made in terms of VFX superiority and would easily rank amongst the top 5 performances of Rajnikanth. It is a movie that only Rajnikanth can pull off successfully in his own inimitable style. Endhiran is an Indian movie I can proudly show to my non Indian friends.. while watching the movie , we were as excited as kids in a candy store ; virgins awaiting their first night.. running out of idioms and words.. Shankar’s amazing vision.. and Rajni Rocks… Enndhirraaaa !!!!!!