Iruvar

Iruvar is a kind of movie only Mani can make. It is an experimental work with almost true storyline, mellow music score and wonderful performances from the cast.

The movie might not be of interest and significance by the audience who aren't familiar with the political history of Tamilnadu. Before watching this piece, the viewer needs some knowledge about the relationships and friendships of Ex-CMs of Tamilnadu.

Mohanlal, Prakashraj and Aishwarya Rai are the main leads in this movie. Lal and Prakash have done their best. However talented actresses like Tabu and Revathi appear in few scenes and don't have much scope to show their acting skills. But this is one movie they would not have regretted acting in. The art direction, camera-work and costume design are excellent.

An outstanding experimental work though not a huge commercial success. A must see for the film institute students.

actually while writing this,i was trying to find out any faults with the Mohanlal,Aishwarya Rai,Prakash Raj stare'IRUVAR',a film by the Indian Spielberg 'manirathnam'.but i couldn't find anything wrong because the film is superb.first to talk about the star cast,it was one of the most biggest performer studded movie in Tamil cinema.stars other than the above mentioned include Gowthami,Revathi,Tabu,Delhi Ganeshan and more. the movie is based on the real life story of legendary actor mgr,Jayalalitha and Karunanithi.as the title says, the story is about the relationship of mgr and Karunanithi.the names were changed in the movie to avoid controversy but still the movie brought out some political problems in Tamilnadu.the opposition from party of Karunanidhi,led the movie to fail in the box office. one of India's greatest actor MOHANLAL plays the lead, Anandan who is from middle class family in 1940's.his ambition was to be a hero in Tamil films and with the help of his friend as well as writer, Tamil Selvan,who is also a politician,he becomes superstar.the party of Tamil Selvan,takes advantage of Anandan's popularity to get votes for the election and later they succeeds.this eventually leads anandan to come to politics.and gradually the ideas of Anandan and tamilselvan differs and they form separate parties.due to anandan's popularity and kindness to people,anaNdan gets crowned.this leads Tamil to think of killing Anandan and some how Anandan survives from the attempt. in this movie,story moves on character of Anandhan from his young age to his old age.Mani Rathnam decorates the IRUVAR with a love story of Kalpana with Anandan.Anandan falls in love with Kalpana,who resembles his late wife Pushpa. the movie scores one gr8 star for the genius actor MOHANLAL for his extraordinary performance.two stars for the director MANIRATHNAM for his good written script.a glowing star for AR Rahman,proving that he is really GOD OF MUSIC.an exclusive star for AR Rahman's back ground score.Prakash Raj as Tamil selvan is also worth a proud star because of his acting excellence.Aishwarya Rai also gets a superb star for her good acting in her debut film.rest of the three stars are given to the dialogues,camera and art direction. A MUST WATCH FOR ALL.

Anandan is a very aspiring and talented stage-actor. He dreams of making it big in films and approaches various sources. Luck favors eventually and he notches up with a director and meets Tami Chelvan who happens to be a writer and an atheist. They both become the thickest of friends. Anandan meets huge success and Tami Chelvan uses his popularity to make in-roads in his political career.

Ego clashes erupt subsequently and Anandan overthrows Tami Chelvan from power. It is a beautiful drama of two friends and their ego. Photography, Score and Direction are commendable.

I really recommend this to connoiseurs of quality films

This film tells the story of two friends and the parallel events in their lives. Although Rathnam states officially that this film is not a true story, it is generally believed that it was inspired by the real life stories of M. R. Karunanidhi and MGR during the beginning days of the DMK and their respective film careers.

Everyone always calls this film a "documentary" and tends to emphasize the fact that it supposedly tells the story of Karunanidhi and MGR. I think this film has very little to do with politics. It goes beyond the popular perception of two famous political figures in TN and tells their personal stories and attempts to disconnect these two characters in the movie from the superficial symbols of power we may perceive them as.

People that stubbornly hold onto to the idea that this film is about former Tamil Nadu chief ministers Karunanidhi and MGR (M.G. Ramachandran) will most probably not enjoy this film as much as people who view it as a drama about two ordinary men who turned out to do extraordinary things.

Some of the finer points in the movie are the unsaid words between Mohanlal and Prakash Raj (not their role in politics!). All the invisible dialog that goes on between the two of them is reflected in the background music. Mohanlal plays Anand with a high level of sensitivity. Prakash Raj is also brilliant. Good, controlled performances from the rest of the cast. This film also has two wonderful songs--"Narumugaye" & "Poo Kodiyin Punnagai." Both have amazing lyrics by Vairamuthu and good visuals, as well. Santosh Sivan's camera-work is spectacular, as usual. He impresses in a nicely-captured, post-lovemaking scene with Tabu and Prakash Raj.

Mani Rathnam has told a fine story about two friends. One who is a film actor whom the people love dearly and harbours political ambitions. One who is an accomplished writer, poet and politician. sounds familiar?

Anand is played by Malayalee actor Mohan Lal and Tamil Selvam's role by the very talented Prakashraj.

One cannot miss the resemblance to the real lives of M.G. Ramachnadran and Karunanithi. However very little is revealed of Pushpa who plays the love interest of Anand. Perhaps Manirathnam was playing his cards carefully, avoiding possible repercussions from Ms Jayalalith, who was the real life mistress of MGR.

There is also some fine acting by Naser who portrays the real life Tamil leader, Anna Durai. Indian cinema has few directors who can make a film that will stand the test of time. Manirathnam is one of them. The story for this film has been well researched and planned. Most Indian films skip these vital steps prior to production. Some may complain about the typical indianess of the film with the usual song and dance sequences in a good film like this. But do bear in mind that the intellectual crowd who sees the usual song and dance as a distraction is a minority. Majority of our desi brothers go to see Aishwarya Rai shaking about. And a movie can make money only by pleasing the Lowest common Factor of the society: The typical desi. Unless Mani Rathnam entertains them we won't have the opportunity to see more movies from this fine director.