RIFLE RANGE BOY

Jailer (2023) Director: Nelson Dilipkumar This is a Thalaiva movie. Period. Nobody else matters. A trip down memory lane of what stunts he could do and how he managed to maintain a fanbase after all these years is all that made the difference. It did not matter that the services of all the great Indian actors from all char dhams of Indian cinemas had made a cameo appearance here. It is immaterial that Padaiappa’s arch nemesis, Neelambari, is made to look like a lizard on the wall, clicking occasionally. Who cares about the holes in the fantastical storyline that would make a schoolboy cringe? It is Rajnikanth. Superstar is back! This is what I missed wondering why everyone was praising Rajni’s latest release to high heaven. Even the usually level-headed ones are also pulled into the merriment. It is not about the story or realism. It is an experience, an immersion, and something entrenched in the psyche. Blame it on Tamil Nadu’s early politics and the involvement of screenwriters, musi...

Darbar (2019) Are we living lives that are so unfulfilling? Are we trapped in a quagmire of hopelessness and pessimism that destined us to be forever confined in a sticky web of doom and gloom? Are we resigned to the fact we are too intellectually bankrupt to lift ourselves up by our bootstraps? Are we waiting for that imaginary knight in shining armour to magically hoist us out of our rabbit hole of melancholy? Is it possible? Or are we imagining another realm where all our aches, pains and attachments would be magically dismantled?  Perhaps we had fought our fights and had given up. All the power and wealth of the powers that be have disarmed us from the shield of resilience. We have crumbled and wilted to pressure. We are numbed to our addiction to our devices that have sapped our juices to think. Maybe it is not a new phenomenon. For ages, we of the human race have suffered under the tyranny of dictators and power-hungry madmen. And we have seen saviours in the...

Petta (2019) Before Hanuman and Sugriva could help Rama with his rescuing work, they had to fulfil specific tasks in the Vanara kingdom. Sugriva's twin brother, Vali had forcibly taken over his throne and his wife. On his defence, Vali feels that Sugriva had betrayed him. Vali had previously gone to fight a demon deep into a cave. After not hearing about his whereabouts, Sugriva assumes Vali to be dead, closed the cave door to trap the beast and took over as the ruler. Sure enough, the returning Vali was not pleased. He not only fought back the realm as well as his wife too. Vali had obtained a boon through Brahma who happily bestowed upon him the power to draw half of the energy of his opponents who should encounter him face to face. Rama has to help out in return for the Vanara army. To defeat the mighty Vali, Rama had to resort to what some warriors would call a dirty tactic. He instructed Sugriva to start a fight with Vali and from behind the covers of a tree, he mor...

Kaala (2018) Sure, it is another fighting movie; one of the oppressed slum dwellers against the powerfully corrupt system of the ruling elites and a one-man gangster leader's selfless attempt at correcting the injustice. And the violence and sorrow to justify the resistance. One has to see beyond the things that seem to be glaring in the eyes to learn one or two. This movie thought me that Mumbai  (Dharavi) houses the third biggest slum in the world; after Mexico City and Karachi. The slum came about as early as late 19th century when Bombay was developed by the British, and the city drew residents from near and far. Waves of migrations brought people of poverty from Gujerat, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh among others. Annual economic turnover is said to be up to $1 billion. Occupants there involve in many familial cottage industries including tanning, pottery (by Gujaratis), embroidery (by UPites) and tailoring. By and large, residents of Dharavi are looked...

Bhuvana Oru Kelvikuri (Tamil, Bhuvana is a question mark; 1977) The question mark in this movie, starred by two powerhouses of the Tamil cinema, is whether a lady should stay chaste to one man even though he had wronged her willingly? The title suggests that Bhuvana would play a pivotal role in the story, surprisingly she only appears in the second half of the show. Rajnikanth acts in one of his first roles in the positive light as before this, he was usually cast as a villain. Sivakumar, for a change, assumes a negative role. This film must have interested directors to put Rajni as their hero after this film. His unique mannerism and stylish stunts must have started here. Rajnikanth (Sambath) and Sivakumar (Nagaraj) are street pedlars selling garments. Even though they are close friends, there are like different like night and day. Nagaraj is a sweet-talking businessman who works hard with a strong ambition for the future. He is also a womaniser who lives for...

Kabali (கபாலி, Tamil; 2016) The strategy of doing business in the new world is such. Just like in the computer software market, you create a hype. You promise the moon and the stars. You advertise. You create catch phrases. You create a concept, a theme. Then you set a launch date. Everybody waits with bated breath. Could it be the panacea of their computer glitches? Then the release is delayed. People get hot under the collar. Their pulses race. They cannot wait any longer. Everyone thinks that it the one - the greatest invention since sliced bread. Then the floodlights open after what seems like for eternity! And it turns out to be... just another whimper. It is the same old same old with the same perennial issues. They used the same strategy with Kabali - creating a worldwide hype with giant billboards and even posters on Boeing planes. With so much of hoopla, everybody was just dying to find what it was all about. Even people who never understood the lang...

Gayathri (1977) This must be one of the last few movies where Rajnikanth, the unmistakable movie icon of India, who could do no wrong, appears in a negative role. Soon after 1977, as soon as he started winning awards, playing villainous characters, with which he began his career,  became a part of a bygone era. After Murattu Kalai (1980), there was no turning back. He springboarded to a demigod status performing gravity-defying earth shattering stylistic stunts! In this movie, he is cast as the villain opposite the then hero who at his tail end of his career, Jay Shanker. It is interesting to see Rajni at the receiving end of the feisty duel. This is not your typical Tamil drama with the usual forbidden love and opposition, and finally, love conquers all. It is an adaptation of a novel written by a Sujatha and is described as a psychological thriller with some necessary elements for Indian viewers like comedy sketches (by Venniradai Murthy) and fist fight...

Lingaa ( லிங்கா  Tamil; 2014) Lingaa The wait was finally over for Tamil movie enthusiasts the world over, including the band of ever faithful Japanese fans. Right smack on his 64th birthday, his latest outing was released. And in style, this sexagenarian walks out from a Hummer, which in turn is followed by a fleet of similarly spanking shiny Hummers to be showered by petals of flowers, as if ushering a demigod, by a bevy of beaus who look and dress anything but reflective of demure Tamil culture. To the catcalls and whistling of the cinema audiences, our hero shows his greatest presence - a turn to face the audience swinging the tail of his coat flashing his trademark smile and mustache still donning his thick crown of glory- his mane! That is Rajnikanth for you, still stirring the crowd after all these years! Not bad for a man of his age to be able to single-handedly maintain the interest of the story. The other actors there are just side shows. He dons two roles, as a do...

Chennai Express (2013, Bilingual - Tamil/Hindi) Another cheesy typical Bollywood movie that would satiate the appetite of the masses as well as the coffers of the producers - it has set the history of being the highest grosser surpassing '3 Idiots'! It tells the story of a 40 year old sweet merchant (Rahul, SRK, who else) orphan who grew up with his grandparents. His 100 year old granddad dies and to fulfill the deceased's wishes, he has to spread his ashes in Rameshwaram in the southern tip of India. Rahul is upset because it interferes with his grand plans to holiday with his friends in Goa. He tricks his grandma into believing that he is leaving by train when his friends are actually waiting at the next station. Unfortunately, Rahul gets into the same compartment as Meenammal (Deepika Padukone). Meena, the daughter of a villager gangster, is escorted back to her village by her father's henchmen after she tried to abscond from being married off to another gangs...