Vijay Sundar

How many big budget movies in recent time don't practically label the protagonist and antagonist in the first hour.. Very few.... How many of those are made at such a scale.. Even fewer... How many of those have scripts with beautifully defined characters and an ensemble cast to fill the out... That's PS1. The film begins with a angst driven crown prince(vikram) venting his frustration at enemies of the Chola empire, he sends out his trusted aide(karthi) on a mission that threads him through all the other characters in the film. There is no black or white characters, all are shades of grey, from the non royal but extremely manipulative Aishwarya to the royal and wily Trisha, from the obidient, rule following jayam ravi to stout but differently opined sarath Kumar, each character is fully shown with their vices and virtues and as karthis character travels through them.. The plot takes on multiple sub plots like a maze leading up to a climax which sets the stage for part two. Unlike other big budget period dramas, in PS1 the script is the king. This is not bahubali type son-avenging-fathers-death story or padmavat type single-character-who'll-not stop-till he gets what he desires storyline. Each character is doing what they think is right, everyone is holding ground for their own reasons and that makes a perfect mixture of ingrideints which sizzles with this star cast and mani rathnams cooking. Indian cinema was never short of quality stories, PS 1 shows what happens when good production values and talented performers add to that.

One wonders.... Is this the 2.0 version of enthiran or of Rajini. For 3/4th of the movie the massive superstar is simply a puppet in shankars canvas, moving the plot slowly as shankars team warms up its 3D muscles avenging little birds through large cell phones. The entry of chitti and his new friend nila - the female robot are mere punctuations in the narration. Even the pre interval scene which is where the hero usually delivers the punchline is given to akshay Kumars entry followed by a post interval flashback where he is professional as ever. It is only later that Rajini cranks up the swagger and shankar delivers one surprise after another leading up to a last 30 minutes or so where shankars imagination and someone's budget are running amok. Well crafted CGI and visuals are nothing new to audiences exposed to avengers and justice league but it is the local flavor, clever twists and crisp dialogues that complete the package. Like a well planned treasure hunt shankar gradually builds up to the showpiece sequence of the movie but was there was a social message that was expected to be noted by the audience..... maybe it was too well disguised by the VFX team.... One wonders...

In no particular sequence.... That is how the real sociopolitical events are strung up by murugadoss to create the picture of bad governance and how one man saves it all. A movie based on one man is saved from monotony by a r murugadoss script and direction. Apart from Vijay, no male character has any substantial role... Radha ravi is under utilised and varalaxmi has a better role than keerthi suresh who seems to be in the movie for songs alone. Two songs (simtagaran and omg ponnu) and two fights are thrust upon us like the unavoidable costly popcorn.. And there's no comedy to speak of either.. . And yet like the miracle we had at marina.. the director weaves a plot around real incidents and people.. And takes it from the realm of reality to fantasy.... Where every vote is cast and only the deserving win. It is only the clever turns of the plot and a strong performance by Vijay that hold the movie together. While it is a praise worthy vision of the future to aspire for, two questions arise, firstly, does the public always need a saviour or is it the demand of this format of storytelling and secondly given that these socioeconomic concerns have been around for a decade, could such a movie been made 5 years back... under a different production house?? The answers are both yes and no.. In no particular sequence 😉😉

How many movies today mention the names of the male and female leads together?? From the title credits the movie is different. A loner revisits his school and sets in motion a process that brings a batch reunion. The flashback scenes melt beautifully into the narrative where we see pure friendship between the girls and boys of tenth std and unspoken love between the lead pair. The casting of the younger versions of actors is excellent and believable. The unhurried narrative uses ilayarajas songs without music and starting from the charanam to add to the charm. To make a whole theatre laugh without falling over or insulting someone is a fast disappearing skill and we see it in plenty during the reunion scenes. Then the lead characters take over, we see Trisha acting childishly and bossing over Vijay sethupathi, he in turn narrating his helpnessless yet standing firm when she is becoming weaker. They live their unlived lives through make believes and narratives of 'what if'. The scene where she narrates the tale of how the two got back together (which they never did) makes you cry and laugh at the same time. The ending leaves you with the unanswered question of 'what if' and the unquestioned reality of 'what is'. 96 is nostalgia... And guess what 'algia' means in Latin.... Pain.