Movie - Man Madan Ambu (Tamil) Director - KS Ravikumar Producer - Udhayanithi Stalin Cast - Kamal Haasan, R Madhavan, Trisha, Sangeetha, Mohan Das, Manju Pillai, Ramesh Arvind, Urvashi, Usha Uthup, Caroline, Oviya, Sriman & Suriya (Special Appearance) Music & Background Score - Devi Sri Prasad Cinematography - Manush Nandan Editor - Shan Mohammed Story, Screenplay, Dialogues & Lyrics - Kamal Haasan Release Date - 23rd December 2010
KS Ravikumar and Kamal Haasan have always had tremendous success whenever they have collaborated. Be it Avvai Shanmughi, Thenali, Panchathanthiram or their latest Dasavathaaram. Man Madan Ambu is a clear departure from the kind of films they've done together in parts, yet delivers what one would expect from a Kamal Haasan- KS Ravikumar entertainer. And we get an absolute entertainer to end the year on a high note.
Man Madan Ambu is the story of Man, Madan & Ambu (it also means Cupid's Arrow in a literal translation of the title) - Major R Mannar (Kamal Haasan), Madanagopal (R Madhavan) & Ambujakshi/Ambu (Trisha). Ambu alias Nisha is a top actress in Tamil with a busy schedule and she is engaged to a business tycoon Madanagopal. But Madanagopal feels insecure about his fiance, especially when he goes to visit her at her shoots and he feels that she might be having affairs with her co-stars. This makes a dent in their relationship and it runs into troubled waters, due to which Ambu goes away on a vacation to Europe along with her old schoolmate Deepa (Sangeetha) and her two kids. In the meanwhile, Madan sends a private detective Mannar to spy on Ambu and find out if she's having any 'jalsa' with other men during the vacation. Mannar takes up the job to pay the hospital bills of his friend (Ramesh Arvind) suffering from cancer. What happens later forms the story of Man Madan Ambu.
Kadhai, Thiraikkadhai, Vasanam - Kamal Haasan. Very rarely have movies with these credits been bad experiences. (Except for many people who didnt like Dasavathaaram). And yes, Kamal Haasan's writing is one of the biggest strengths of MMA. The story, as we have already seen, is no great shakes. But as we all know, cinema is more about the screenplay than the story, and the fact that Kamal Haasan is a seasoned writer needs no explanation. The private detective angle alone is loosely inspired by the Hollywood rom-com There's Something About Mary. The best part about the writing is that are the characters and they way they have been fleshed out. Each character has a definite part to play in the story and contributes a lot in his/her own way. The movie is completely different from anything what KS Ravikumar has done in the past, and yet, he has done a good job of executing Kamal Haasan's script for the screen. They also bring in their own brand of humour from Avvai Shanmughi, Thenali & Panchathanthiram towards the climax of the movie.
There is no point talking about Kamal Haasan's acting skills. So an analysis on his performance would be futile. But it is hard not to mention the effect that the man creates during small and subtle emotional scenes even in a film which is largely a comedy. The scenes where he speaks to his cancer-affected friend and wife are heart-wrenching to say the least. Everything that the man does on screen further reinstates the fact that he is one of the best actors ever, and he's clearly having fun in this movie after the heavy duty roles in Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu, Dasavathaaram & Unnaipol Oruvan. Madhavan is the star of the movie (other than Kamal Haasan, of course) with his absolutely fantastic performance of the perpetually drunk Madanagopal. He is a sheer delight to watch everytime he appears on the screen. I tweeted right after the movie - Give Madhavan in Kamal Haasan's custody and you can see wonders on screen. Anbe Sivam, Nala Dhamayanthi and now Man Madan Ambu stand testimony. His drunk act is extremely natural and reminds one of Mohanlal in his heydays where he had perfected the art of acting drunk. MMA definitely has one of Madhavan's career-best performances.
Trisha is wonderful and 2010 is the year where she showed the audience that she can actually 'act'. With Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya earlier this year and now MMA, she is sure to walk away with all the best actress trophies. And the added attraction in MMA is that she has actually spoken in her own voice throughout the film which gives her performance much more authenticity. And yes, she recites a full-blown Tamil poem in chaste Tamil, and gives an explanation of why heroines have to speak in an anglicized accent as well. Sangeetha was having a ball throughout the movie and that is very evident from her performance. She was enjoying herself so much and it is hard not to like her in the movie. Again, a completely natural and spontaneous performance revealing the comic side of the actress. Mohandas (Kunjan for Malayalis) and Manju Kurup are hilarious as the Malayali producers behind Ambu and they add much more colour to the mayhem. One wishes that these actors were used like this in their original language also (they are very underrated in Malayalam). Ramesh Arvind leaves a lump in your throat, and so does Urvashi, who plays a subtle role after playing all those loud and comic roles in the recent past. Caroline, the beautiful French woman who plays Kamal's dead wife is gorgeous. Usha Uthup is gracious. The 2 little kids, especially the boy are a delight to watch. Suriya's special appearance as himself brings a smile on your face. And yes, there is the director KS Ravikumar also making his mandatory appearance, but this time, everybody on screen ignores him making it a funny moment of self-deprecatory humour.
The film looks spectacular. It has been shot across various stunning locations like Paris, Barcelona, Rome and Venice and also on a humongous luxury cruise and cinematographer Manush Nandan captures all of them with aplomb. He is a cinematographer who is bound to go places. Bollywood cinematographers who get any location they want and yet fail to capture interesting visuals, should take lessons from him. MMA is one film which has used foreign locations very well without forcing it into the narrative. Editing by Shan Mohammed keeps the movie engaging with not one moment which is unnecessary. Costumes, done by Gauthami are also very pleasing to the eye and not the flashy ones we are used to seeing in Tamil films. And the most interesting technical aspect of the film is that it has completely been shot on sync sound (perhaps the only Tamil film after Aayitha Ezhuthu) and the technique completely enhances the performances and their spontaneity. I hope more and more filmmakers adapt this technique which makes the film & the performances much more real.
Devi Sri Prasad comes up with his career best score in this film. The composer known for his catchy and funky songs gives a complete soundtrack, with songs penned by Kamal Haasan himself (except for Oyyale by Vivega). 'Dhagudu Dhathaam' is a fun track with even more fun lyrics and has Kamal breaking into an impromptu jig in the streets of Barcelona. 'Oyyale' is the kuthu track at the beginning of the movie with Suriya and Trisha and a suspicious Madhavan. Shot in Kodaikanal, this song fits in perfectly into the movie. 'Neela Vaanam' uses the technique from Monica Belluci's Irreversible & Coldplay's music video The Scientist to narrate the back-story of Kamal and his French wife. A beautiful and poetic song, the reverse technique with Kamal singing in sync works very well while narrating the entire flashback. Kamal's vocals and lyrics deserve special mention and so does DSP's tune. The most important song in the movie, sadly has been deleted due to some stupid controversy from some senseless religious groups. It is the 'Kannodu Kannai' kavithai between Kamal & Trisha. I was fortunate to see it on the first day since I saw the film outside South India and when I saw the movie a second time, the song was gone, leaving a huge blank, which takes away the romance from the movie. The poem, essentially a conversation between Kamal & Trisha in chaste Tamil about the qualities a man & a woman should possess for them to get married, is the main catalyst which further grows into a romance. Trisha's recital of the poem even though she's not very comfortable in Tamil, is exceptional and Kamal, of course is flawless. Andrea's 'Who's The Hero', the James Bond style introduction song for Kamal Haasan is also a great song. The background score (which includes the title song) is also brilliant and enhances many of the scenes.
On the whole, Man Madan Ambu is a wholesome entertainer with a good mix of romance, comedy, action & emotions along with stunning visuals and great music. The exceptional performances from each member of the cast - from the lead trio of Kamal, Maddy & Trisha to even the most minor characters like Usha Uthup or the Sri Lankan cab driver, each and every one gives a brilliant performance. The deletion of the kavithai might make the romantic angle look unconvincing and I hope they restore the song to give the movie its due. But in spite of that, Man Madan Ambu is a great watch. Watch it along with your families and have a gala time in the theaters and end the year on a high note. :)
Happy to let you people know that my review of Khatta Meetha has been published in the NXG supplement of the Chennai edition of The Hindu newspaper dated 29th July 2010. Here's the online link to the review at The Hindu website -
Khatta Meetha draws inspiration (almost entirely) from Priyadarshan's own Vellanakalude Naadu (Malayalam), a strong social satire made in 1989. And like the original, Khatta Meetha is not an out and out comedy which it was promoted as (Mainly since Priyadarshan - Akshay Kumar films have always been slapstick comedies). Things get pretty serious in the second half and the movie enters the drama mode after some hilarious comic sequences in the first half. It also addresses the issues of corruption and political powerplay in our government offices. Comparing Khatta Meetha to its original is pointless since it would be blasphemy to compare Akshay Kumar to someone like Mohanlal. Unlike Malayalam, there is no subtlety or underplay in Priyadarshan's Hindi films, where every actor screams his dialogues at the top of their voices regardless of what kind of scene it is. But the Akshay - Priyan team has done a commendable job by refraining from making yet another slapstick comedy and attempting something a little more serious, without the grandeur and glamour of usual Hindi movies.
Khatta Meetha tells the story of a desperate, unsuccessful road contractor Sachin Tichkule who is neck deep in debt. He is a descendant of a royal family and his father (Khulbushan Kharbanda) is a much respected person in the neighbourhood. His elder brother and brother-in-laws also work in the Public Works Department building roads and bridges, but they are all extremely well-off since they have the money and they know to utilize the loopholes in the corrupt system and get their work done faster. The entire family looks down upon Sachin except his sister Anjali (Urvashi Sharma). Things get worse for Tichkule when his ex-lover Gehna (Trisha Krishnan) takes charge as the new Municipal Commissioner of the town, and she completely hates him. There's a bridge which collapses, a murder that happens, a man out to take revenge, a road roller that rams into a house after being pulled by an elephant and much more which happens during the 2 hours 40 minutes of the film's running time.
Akshay Kumar brings in some genuine earnestness to his character Sachin Tichkule. He succeeds partly, but everytime he impresses us, he spoils it with shouting his dialogues during the very next scene. He gets his attire right including the aviators, the black bag and the omnipresent umbrella, travels around in bicycles, auto-rickshaws and even police jeeps at times. He is effectively restrained in some scenes and goes irritatingly over the top in certain others. But on the whole, Akshay's performance is one of the positive aspects of the film and he brings out the hopelessness and desperation of the character really well. Tamil Cinema's darling Trisha could have chosen a better film and a better character to make her debut in Hindi. She doesnt really have much to do and in the very little screen time she gets, she is not all that impressive as well. Shobana played the same fiery character brilliantly in the original, but Trisha pales in comparison. The romantic portions between Akshay and Trisha also do not look great. Akshay as a Gandhian law college student singing 'Nanachi Tang', was a little too much. Rajpal Yadav is in top form after a long time and manages to deliver loads of laughs. Johnny Lever comes in a hilarious cameo as the driver of a road roller. But for a person who has seen Kuthiravattam Pappu's legendary performance in the original, Lever's act looks like a mockery. Khulbushan Kharbanda and Asrani are good. Tinu Anand, Urvashi Sharma, Milind Gunaji, Neeraj Vora and Makrand Deshpande are decent. Manoj Joshi shouts almost all his dialogues and is really irritating.
The film has some very good scenes, comic and otherwise. Akshay's interactions with Khulbushan Kharbanda, the house-maintenance scene at Asrani's house (lifted from Siddique's Friends), all of Rajpal Yadav's antics, the entire road-roller sequence with Johnny Lever, Asrani's conversation with multiple people and Akshay's dialogue to Trisha about the corruption in our system, which is the most effective of them all. But on the flip-side, most of the serious events in the film looks outdated and out-of-place. The murder, the sister track, the entire college sequence, Trisha being framed and the subsequent scenes, etc. made sense in late 1980s, but do not make much sense now. But one thing that has remained constant then and now is the corruption in our system, and that aspect has been brought out well. The movie is set in rural Maharashtra, but some of the characters speak in a hybrid Marathi-Punjabi accent. Priyadarshan has only been partly successful in adapting his friend Sreenivasan's screenplay to Hindi.
Music by Pritam is serviceable, but all the songs are placed at really odd places in the narrative. They just pop up randomly between scenes. 'Sajde' has been shot well reminding one of Priyadarshan's most famous songs in Malayalam (Ambalappuzhe from Advaitham). The song that comes in the end credits goes 'I'm allergic to Bullshit'. They wouldn't really have included that song in the movie, if they really meant it. National Award winner Ouseppachan has done the background score which has a strong southern feel to it. V Manikandan has done some really good cinematography. Sabu Cyril creates the perfect atmosphere of rural Maharashtra through his sets. Arun Kumar should have used his scissors more in the second half. The stunt sequence towards the end of the movie has been shot very well and it was surprising to see a stunt scene in a Priyadarshan movie after ages.
On the whole, Khatta Meetha is passable fare. Dont go in expecting a usual Akshay-Priyadarshan movie, you may end up being disappointed. Carry some cotton also along with you since a major part of the dialogues are shouted out. On a more serious note, it is a satire which starts with some hilarious scenes in the first half, and goes into drama mode in the second half. It is not bad, it is not great either.
