Disappointing
Shankar has clearly succumbed to those idiots who put down Boys and called it a 'sleaze fest from a director whos usually high on morals and ethics' etc etc What Shankar should have done is given all the naysayers the finger and gone ahead with his own style, highly unconventional and highly controversial story lines and scenarios. He didn't.
The result is the 'safe' and ultimately average film called "Anniyan" which does little more than rehash the concept of Indian and Mudhalvan. Alright, that pretty much eliminates the chances of a good plot. The plot could have been better if a debate on those who actually committed the petty crimes, being victims of circumstance themselves, was involved. There was plenty of such potential.
Anniyan is good by Tamil movie standards but this is not what you expect from a kick ass director like Shankar. You'd think that by now, the director could produce something truly unique and of international standards (the trailer made it seem that way) while maintaining a plot of local nature, after expending 27 crores but no, revenue that could easily be generated by a modest entertainer is more important. No doubt Anniyan will bring in more revenue than the hilarious Boys but hardly leaves any memorable moments like the latter. Boys was unconventional and risky, in Tamil Nadu but Anniyan is quite the opposite, thus does'nt quite match up. Some media reviews took their toll on Boys but the general urban populace loved that movie. This is what Shankar failed to notice and exploit.
The true hero is Vivek and not Vikram, without whom the movie would have sucked very badly. In terms of seriousness, Anniyan falls flat. There's simply no element of shock, controversy or gripping terror as was intended. The movie is simply too unrealistic when one knows that Shankar could have easily made far-fetched scenarios come to life with his skills. This results in some embarrassing scenes rather than the shock value you expect.
Shankar has lowered his status by including copied scenes "just because he could". This includes the pathetic and completely pointless carbon copy of Matrix Reloaded fight scenes. They were so poorly redone that they look little more than an attempt. The "Remo" element was just plain pointless and Vikram sounds utterly fake and embarrassing in that role. A separate "Peter" could have been included to add complexity to the storyline. It could have been done better or simply deleted. Was anyone really expected to believe that someone could even percept Ambi, Remo and Anniyan to be different people? Seems as though the story was sacrificed for visual splendor.
The songs are average - Decent music (although copied to some extent) but disastrous lyrics. Simply not the usual Shankar material which is supposed to stick to your head for a long long time. Remember Indian, Boys etc ? AR Rehman must be laughing at Harris Jeyraj.
The high points of this film are the costumes, dialogue, humor, props and visuals. In conclusion, Shankar hasn't been himself, played it 'safe' and brought out a very average but guaranteed revenue earner. Much like Chandramukhi. Not original. Not groundbreaking. Good entertainer. Worth watching twice.
The result is the 'safe' and ultimately average film called "Anniyan" which does little more than rehash the concept of Indian and Mudhalvan. Alright, that pretty much eliminates the chances of a good plot. The plot could have been better if a debate on those who actually committed the petty crimes, being victims of circumstance themselves, was involved. There was plenty of such potential.
Anniyan is good by Tamil movie standards but this is not what you expect from a kick ass director like Shankar. You'd think that by now, the director could produce something truly unique and of international standards (the trailer made it seem that way) while maintaining a plot of local nature, after expending 27 crores but no, revenue that could easily be generated by a modest entertainer is more important. No doubt Anniyan will bring in more revenue than the hilarious Boys but hardly leaves any memorable moments like the latter. Boys was unconventional and risky, in Tamil Nadu but Anniyan is quite the opposite, thus does'nt quite match up. Some media reviews took their toll on Boys but the general urban populace loved that movie. This is what Shankar failed to notice and exploit.
The true hero is Vivek and not Vikram, without whom the movie would have sucked very badly. In terms of seriousness, Anniyan falls flat. There's simply no element of shock, controversy or gripping terror as was intended. The movie is simply too unrealistic when one knows that Shankar could have easily made far-fetched scenarios come to life with his skills. This results in some embarrassing scenes rather than the shock value you expect.
Shankar has lowered his status by including copied scenes "just because he could". This includes the pathetic and completely pointless carbon copy of Matrix Reloaded fight scenes. They were so poorly redone that they look little more than an attempt. The "Remo" element was just plain pointless and Vikram sounds utterly fake and embarrassing in that role. A separate "Peter" could have been included to add complexity to the storyline. It could have been done better or simply deleted. Was anyone really expected to believe that someone could even percept Ambi, Remo and Anniyan to be different people? Seems as though the story was sacrificed for visual splendor.
The songs are average - Decent music (although copied to some extent) but disastrous lyrics. Simply not the usual Shankar material which is supposed to stick to your head for a long long time. Remember Indian, Boys etc ? AR Rehman must be laughing at Harris Jeyraj.
The high points of this film are the costumes, dialogue, humor, props and visuals. In conclusion, Shankar hasn't been himself, played it 'safe' and brought out a very average but guaranteed revenue earner. Much like Chandramukhi. Not original. Not groundbreaking. Good entertainer. Worth watching twice.
- thabored1
- Jun 26, 2005