Dasavatharam cont....

These days any big budget movie is a minimum draw. say a population of 6+ crores in tamilnadu. and assuming only 25% of them watch movies and further assuming all such kind would hit the theatres atleast once for these days' pre-release-propogandised blockbusters. At a very average ticket rate of rupees 20 per head, the mathematics comes to 30+ crores of collection. And that is the last of the bounty a filmamker looks at these days. Thanks to overseas, satellite rights, big bang openings. That explains why a movie like Shivaji or Dasavatharam can't be debated to be a hit or miss based on economics. But that small impute inherent in any movie would just stop a movie from being taken to the hearts of the people . A film saddles to heart of the people by entertainment, refreshment, emotional disturbance. In all of them or one of them. To cut a long story short, a mediocre stuff is a mediocre stuff. Dasavatharam undoubtedly is a masterful, mammoth task cut out on screen. But how does it help end of day if people don't connect. Kurosowa's and acclaimed directors made movies that stood test of time and geographic boundaries. Reason, cinema a visual medium was enriched by them. And it is only sad for a movie to be understood and explained in forward mails. And before anyone would squeal dasa is for the enlightend, bet the maker had such an illusion.As indicated in one of my previous posts the ingrain of cultural divisiviness in the brains of, atleast the learned tamils, makes them predjudicative about different movies and heroes. It can't be more emphasised by the point that it is unacceptable to be a fan of both kamal and rajini. Acclaiming and criticising them on equal scales. You must be mundane then. BUt hurl one and hail other is acceptable anytime. This is not another exhaustive rajini vs kamal (should it be kamal vs rajini,given the fact kamal is senior?) debate. As a generation, rajini and kamal movies were what with which we had grown. in the late 80's and early 90's if you had come to me, a boy of 10-12 then and asked if you liked rajini or kamal, i would have just replied i like cinema. I still would answer the same for that question. In so mammoth leaps the tamil film industry has taken, these two are real pillars who are entertianing a tonne times more than all the crop of current youngsters. Time, has made cinema synonymous with entertainment to us. And that is divided as two types rajini and kamal. And what would you prefer at any point of time. Well any one as they would entertain as in their best ways. So owning a DVD of thalapathy and Thevar magan as a pricey posessions is no new for a real cinema lover. When a baba does fail, we do say ok fine let's see whats next. And with Dasa we only say that kamal betrayed us. We are only pained that such hardwork has been overshadowed by his ego and more so by his fetish for make ups. C'mon don't say technical brilliance. To the standards of technical brilliance and freshness new direcotrs have got into tamil cinema, this movie looked like a puppet show in various instances. And mediocrity is no compromise for right intentions. Dasavatharam has a average hollywood flick kinda oneleine story. And beyond that everything is left to the screenplay to sustain. And thats where he falters giving sparks of brilliance rarely and a drab most of the time. Smitten is he himeself in between with his prophecies, which no bloody hell is interested. too many loose ends you see. A dasavatharam should have taken kamal to higher pedestal (hidden case:any movie of his would never ever deprive him oh his achieved stature), but fails. And to attribute that failure to the audience is a shame on him.