Papanasam

Amir Khan once said about Kamal Haasan, "There are some things he can do that others can but there are many things Kamal can do that no other actor can." Once again, this film stands as a testament, particularly in witnessing that this same film is being remade in several Indian languages, showcasing the talents of several lead actors, since its conception as the Malayalam film; Drishyam, with Mohanlal.

I've heard many people say that they are partial to the original malayalam version - perhaps because they saw it first? But there is another side to this story. A filmmaker rarely gets the chance to do the same film twice, and if he is still as passionate about the story the second or third time, each time he makes it, he perfects the telling just a little more... I often hear stories about writers/directors lamenting about how they would look back at their work and notice mistakes they made that they would love to do-over had they been given the chance.

With Papanasam, what I see is the director, Jeethu Joseph, having improved upon himself. Of all the versions of the film I have seen, the tamil film comes across by far the most subtle - and that is in particular due to Kamal Haasan's sensibilities and energy permeating and influencing the cast, I feel.

So, personally, yes, the tamil version is the best! I understand that people who are sentimental towards 'originals' might not agree, but I think if you were willing to be impartial and unbiased, it is difficult to miss the perfection of this film in the tamil version.

Great thrills in the second half - a real roller-coaster ride!

Yes it is remake, but that doesn't mean it's any lesser. In fact i believe making a remake is a difficult job. For all the people who say the original movie was better, of course you would believe that as this concept and movie did not exist before the original script so you will like it more. But now that you have a frame of reference, doing a remake of a successful movie is very difficult as you have cater to the demographic who know what the movie is about.

Yes people might say it is hit only because of a remake, but i would strongly disagree, it is a delight to watch because the remake is done just right. Kadhalaku Mariydhai, Nanban are prime example.

Leave aside all those controversies, from the premise till the end, this is one movie that paces really well. Though a simple concept of saving the family, the actors have brought their A-game, fantastic performances from everyone. Needless to say anything about Kamal Hassan, he makes everything looks so easy and so realistic, he has always been best in any role that he plays and even here he just steals the show. Having said that, it would be easy for the director to be tempted to keep Kamal in all frames and make the movie a success, but not to be. Everyone has been given a fair share of the screen space and they have given a scintillating act every time.

Although i know the movie was long, i never felt bored at any point, a feel that i get from a Tarantino movie. The screenplay was perfect, the actors were placed in the right place at right time. The plot twists were great and just when you thought you know everything the movie creeps with something new, i really loved that.

In a intriguing movie like this, you have to feel for the characters and you really do. That's a exceptional win-win for the actors in the movie. Even though ethically what they are doing are wrong, you understand what will happen if only you were truthful at all times, and you totally buy that. Frame by frame the movie passes with wonderful continuity and even when it ends, it just does not snap, it is a thorough and clear closure, which says a lot about the director It's easy for movies such as this to be absurdly stupid and leave many plot holes for the audience to explore but the director covers all plot syncs and when you backtrack what went on, you can easily connect the dots and agree to the fact though the hero is selfish, you have to be selfish at some times to survive in this world.

What happened was a accident, but in a perfect world you could come out with the truth and people will look at 2 sides of a coin and take the right judgment, but we are not in a perfect world. At the end when Kamal explains what would happen if the tables were turned, it is a right explanation. How a Mother would handle would be different from what a Mother with power would handle a situation.

A Small negative would be that the premise about the Hero could have been shortened a bit, maybe less 15 minutes, his love interest for his wife was totally unwarranted, looks like Kamal's personal choice than anything else. But that does not affect the movie in anyway and can be easily overlooked.

You will like every character, you could relate to the fear in their eyes, the plot was simple and understandable, the connectors were very well used and screenplay was paced just right. A movie for everyone in the family and through entertainer

The title represents a small town where the story takes place. An opportunity to see the old Kamal Haasan. It was like been ages, seen him in this kind of attire, especially Tirunelveli accent was phenomenal. As usual, his performance and expressions stole the show and none others were matched his par in the movie. Nothing wrong to call it was his show. Kind of addicted to 'Yeya En Kottikkaara' song. A typical Tamil song, if you are, you might feel the deep.

It was a remake of the Malayalam movie 'Drishyam', which was inspired by the Japanese novel 'The Devotion of Suspect X'. I have not seen the original movie, but seen the Japanese version based on the same book. There are no major comparisons, except the crime, the rest was completely rewritten to suit the Indian audience. But the writer denies, by saying neither book adaptation nor inspired.

I have heard that the narration was very emotional and the characters were more guilt feel than the Malayalam. Initially Rajnikath was considered for the main role, but happy it went to Kamal Haasan. None other than him would have suited better to portray Suyambulingam. He would definitely bring the emotions out of you easily. After Sivaji, he's the king of those roles. At the plenty of the scenes I was amazed by his execution, especially in the end scene when he finally breakdown with guilt.

I don't believe when people say the original version is a must watch. Every film industry in India has fine actors, especially this film recruited their best as of I have heard. So I recommend your native version or the closest one to opt. The advantage in the remakes are, a chance to fix if there were any flaws in the original. Since it was directed by the same filmmaker, I strongly suggest the neural audience to pick between the original and this one, because of the naturalistic portrayal of the rural family. But if you prefer stylish, especially for the non- Indian, there's always Bollywood.

9/10

Chill thrilling experience. Waiting for Papanasam2.

Beginning on a serious note, I really feel sorry looking at the way our Indian regional cinema is ignored by the Hindi film viewing audience, considering it always something loud, over the top and action based fast moving drama to be eluded. In fact it really makes you feel the pain finding a film like DRISHYAM (Malayalam) not reaching a wider audience all over the country despite being capable of redefining 'Indian Cinema' breaking all the preset notions and assumptions about regional movies.

Anyway moving ahead of the film's original concept and its similarities with a foreign flick here are my honest views about the worthy, must watch remake given below.

Directed by Jeethu Joseph himself (the man behind DRISHYAM), PAPANASAM is a very loyal remake of its original since it even follows the lengthy first half as it is, that was pointed out to be 'a drawback' by many viewers and critics together. But looking at these initial 40 minutes of the film from a different viewpoint, it does help in building a solid base of individual friendships, rivalry and family-bonding having their own interconnected importance in the later crucial part of the film as required.

The biggest attraction of PAPANASAM (literally meaning 'Destruction of Sins') remains Kamal Hassan returning to his much adored portrayal of a simple, common man that was missing in most of his recent films featuring all 'heroic' or 'larger-than-life' characters away from reality. So here we have a loved maestro (Kamal) carrying the bright torch lit by another hugely respected maestro (Mohanlal) with the same dedication, sincerity and perfection that deserves to be experienced as a must.

Plus PAPANASAM also has Gauthami reappearing on screen after many years, once again proving her immense talent in the tough role superbly. In fact it was great watching them together as a couple making me recall those lighter days of APPU RAJA and many more. Just like the original the entire supporting cast here is again well chosen (a few retained from the original), contributing hugely in the overall impact of the film with many key sequences bringing you onto the edge of your seats repeatedly. Having a longer duration (3 hours) than the Malayalam film, PAPANASAM has a couple of catchy tracks and a powerful background score that successfully takes the film to the next level undoubtedly. And one of the major highlights of the film is its climax conversation scene between Ananth Mahadevan (better than the original) and Kamal Hassan that forces you to join your hands together praising their commendable job wholeheartedly.

No doubt, comparison between the two veterans is bound to become a matter of debate within film institutions & keen students of cinema in the coming months or years. But ideally instead of comparison, one should focus on the different approaches followed by the two in their individual portrayals on screen deserving a huge applause.

To give you the exact gist, where Mohanlal's solid act in DRISHYAM stressed more on intelligence, confidence, patience and ruthless expressions in his interpretation of a concerned father, there Kamal Hassan in PAPANASAM keeps emotions in front and stays an intelligent emotional father right till the finale sequence crying in front of Ananth Mahadevan. And this major difference in their respective visions can be studied in the police torture scene & the climax in particular, dealt distinctively.

However in my personal opinion since a super composed, intelligent and less emotional personality remains more close to the 'thinking' character of the father hiding the unintentional crime, therefore Mohanlal and his DRISHYAM stays 'one step ahead' venture for me putting it honestly. But at the same time that doesn't allow me to rate PAPANASAM any lower deserving an equal praise, successfully giving you the same pulsating, unpredictable, emotional and mind boggling experience in the theatre that needs to be cherished at the earliest without any slightest of doubt. Moreover it also becomes a must watch for the younger generation in particular since it raises a valid question on the use of all new age gadgets that can become both a boon as well as a curse if used with wrong intentions following an evil mind.

Coming back to the subject of regional films, if after reading and listening such strong positive views about the exceptional content of Malayalam DRISHYAM and now the Tamil PAPANASAM all over the media, if you still haven't seen any of these films due to some of your own (silly) language reservations………. then that's like a crime committed will-fully by a supposedly true lover of great cinema if I must say that.