Anbe Sivam

I happened to see this film which was a perfect blend of philosophy, realistic acting and the fine art of film making.

Now, I am not a big fan of Kamal. Never was. The arrogance so clearly etched on his face is a major put off for me. But ever so often, Kamal makes me admit ( albeit grudgingly ) that he is the best at what he does.

The philosophy of the film is best explained by the words of the title song, ...

A rough translation goes something like this,

For the theists, God is love. For the good among the atheists, Love is God.

Who here is God ? You and me.

The story is written by Kamal as is the screenplay. He has sung a couple of songs as well out of which the haunting title song stands out. Madhavan is but a tool in Kamal's hands which he uses effectively to his advantage.

Kamal's character changes from that of a bumbling idiot in the first few scenes to a communist union leader with a artistic vein in the middle scenes to a god like figure in the last few scenes. In the last scene, as Kamal walks away into the horizon, we are left with no option but to stand up and salute the indomitable spirit of a man from whom life has taken away so much but still manages to smile.

I wouldn't describe anything more about the story because any words that I can conjure up here wouldn't be enough. The film tells a philosophy that is best seen and understood.

When Love lives in your mind, you are God.

I watched the movie because of the stars - Kamal Hasan and Madhavan. I do not understand Tamil, yet the movie has been so well made that at times you do not feel that you need the dialogs.

In brief, the movie shows two extremely different characters who are forced to spend time together due to circumstances.

The movie tends to slow down in the middle, when it goes into the flashback of Kamal Hasan's life. However, for the most part, it is a pretty sensible piece of art - something that is a rarity in Bollywood. The movie could have been shorter - and that is the only complaint that I have. Otherwise, it is a brilliant idea that has been executed to near perfection.

Kamal Hasan - as always - excels. Madhavan is great, too. The music score was really good.

A must see!

A movie of the millennium, I would say that had come from Tamil Film Industry. The environment suited well for this movie. Kamal Hassan was exceptional in acting as usual. Nevertheless, Madhavan did well too. There is no hero in this movie. Only characters. The movie has a strong message to audience. A very good message. It teaches a valuable lesson. It explains what really God is and the true meaning life.

The script and screenplay are awesome. There are some humor scenes. That fight could have been avoided. The theme song was really awesome. The song touched me very much. The music was awesome too. Other songs are good too, but not needed.

Kama Hassan has given an excellent movie. Hats off to Kamal Hassan...

Watch this movie. Learn the true meaning of life. You won't regret it. It's worth it.

I give this movie a 9 out of 10. That one mark was removed for that fight.

4 for the story... 2 for performance... 2 for theme song... 1 for other songs...

Total, 9/10...

Many rule out this movie as a non-masterpiece just because its a remake....I stick to what Ram Gopal Verma said, 'nothing is original'. In Hollywood, people make movies inspired sometimes by small or Eastern/European movies, then much of the time it is an adaptation of a novel. The director gets a huge team of writers to fine-tune the script. The result, a masterpiece. Here, Kamal single-handedly carried and executed this film. He was inspired by a Hollywood movie which was a slapstick comedy. Did the original say "God is Love" and tackled communist views? This should never be called a remake. Kamal's detail in acting proves he can beat any given actor in this world, I dare to bet. Even in scenes which does not highlight him, he reacts perfectly. Even the minute details was taken care of in his movements and face reactions, the muscles, and the handicap. The best part of this movie is actually the depth of characterization in Kamal and Madhavan, they lived as Nalla and A. Ars throughout the screening in my mind. I have never seen the depth of characterization as much as this movie in the recent past. Deserves to be in the top 250. Is this Internet Movie Database or American Movie Database? I hardly saw a move with a richer context than this. Indian movies do provide masterpieces once at a time, and please do recognize these efforts.

Kamalhasan is known for his extraordinary performances in Indian cinema but this movie is something special for him for he has not acted but lived as Nallasivam . The movie speaks about an universal issue in the most simplest yet the beauties way. Special congrats to Madan for writing some mind storming dialog. Special congrats to Madavan for putting an wonderful performance that too when kamalhasan is present. The movie created a pain in every viewer's heart that remained for two or three days. I can compare this movie with any Hollywood drama for it has got everything love, philosophy, emotion, action above all an excellent way of telling the story. Indian cine industry can follow this at least from now or else they can never get noticed. In one line " A movie that can knock the doors of Hollywood"