We came to see a Tamil movie.

Vishwaroopam II (Tamil, 2018)

Okay, we get it. The Tamilian diaspora has spread its tentacles to the four corners of the globe. The only problem is that the world is almost spherical and has no corners.

Everywhere one goes, much like Men at Work's 'Down Under', one is bound to see a fellow Tamilian, not just as among the blue collared strata but amongst the upper echelon of the food chain. But I sense that the moviemakers hint of a particular bias in their caste of these characters. Most, if not all of them, speak with a certain intonation and lingo specific to those in the Brahmin community! But Tamil in Afghanistan...?

We also understand that our girls, who used to be typecast as long-haired well oiled exotic beauties and hidden gems of intrigue behind their charming smile are no longer that demure and quiet one anymore. The Tamilachis have answered Bharatiyaar’s call for that modern thinking woman. They have permeated into all fields of knowledge, including defusing bombs and deep sea diving. They have learnt to groom themselves so well that they can fit into any herd. They can be mistaken for a person of Mediterranean or South American stock. Their offspring would probably be unrecognisable as the union of global citizens of all kind becomes the norm.

Yes. Tamils movies have got so big that the budget can accommodate overseas shoots, hi-tech gadgets and even underwater filming.  But, surely there can be no dearth of a good story to be told. The faithful viewers of this genre flock here for its Indianess and probably some thought-provoking Indian philosophy. The industry should not morph into another mindless larger-than-life pyrotechnic frenzy display of uninspiring waste of time. We can already see that in Hollywood.

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Much ado about nothing!

Viswaroopam (2013, Tamil)
Now I understand how things happen in life. And the interpretation of its occurrence can be varied depending on which side of the fence you are on and the gate keeper of the information is King. This is the case in the hype surrounding the release, the court proceedings and the ban of the film 'Viswaroopam'. The suspense and news generated by the media stirred the curiosity of movie buffs to catch the most talked about, by attention-seeking rumour-mongering politicians, movie of recent times at all expense. Thanks to the thriving illegal downloading business, their wishes have come through. Life, as usual is unfair, for Kamalhasan who had apparently invested his life saving into the production of this mammoth film involving a varied crew and extras of the non-Tamil film industry (excluding Naseer, the only familiar face besides Kamalahasan).
I do not understand the opposition to this film at all. This type of story has been covered umpteenth times by their Hollywood counterpart demeaning the Muslim terrorists as blood thirsty incorrigible nincompoops or even worse. Here, even the protagonist is a Muslim trying to intercept the detonation of a bomb in New York. And the shooting of the film does not depict any part of Tamil Nadu or India. The story shows mainly events that happen in Afghanistan and New York. The only remotely link to India of this movie is that Kamalahasan is half-Tamil half-Kashmiri, the dialogue of Tamil which is mixed with lots of English, Hindi and Pashtun (even the Tamil pronunciation is so Anglicised!) and the stars. Perhaps, the only Indian element here is the Bharatnatyam dance that the protagonist is teaching.
Finally, we have a present day Tamil movie which fits into a true spy thriller suspense bill minus the mandatory masala elements which are vital for the collection at the box office. Gone are comedians with wise crack dialogue and laughable fighting scene. So did the element of set dances, and no sarees and the pottu (red vermillion powder over the forehead) too!
The film starts with Dr Nirupama, a nuclear oncologist (Pooja Kumar, Kamal's wife on screen) having a session with her psychiatrist telling him about her marriage of convenience and suspicion of infidelity with her husband. Then appears Viswanath (Kamalhasan), an effeminate dance teacher performing in a true effiminate poise and mannerism (ala Avvai Shamughi @ Chachi 425). Interestingly, Nirupama is two timing with a colleague.
Nirupama hires a bumbling private investigator to check on her husband. He loses him but manages to see her Iyer Hindu husband praying at a madrasah! The P.I. inadvertently stirs a hornet's nest when he knocks on a terrorist's door. P.I. is killed and Nirupama is traced via a name card in his jacket.
Nirupama and her gentle husband is held by a Muslim terrorist group of which her lover is the head, who is planning to bomb New York. After witnessing a killing, the mild mannered Viswanath metamorphoses into a mean lean killing machine.
Here the movie goes into flashback mode...
Visvanath is now in a Muslim avatar Wisam Ahmad Kashmiri is training in Afghanistan as a AK47 wielding mujahideen. It becomes a bit confusing and draggy here and you start to think what all the hype was about. The scenes goes flip-flop into the present and the past but the suspense built towards the end will nullify whatever negative thoughts you developed throughout the show!
Wisam is introduced as a wanted man in Kashmiri escaping to Afghanistan and slowly builds his trust with Omar (Rahul Bose) and the superiors there. He is actually an Indian mole who was instrumental in an American attack on their hideout.
Fast forward to the future, Wisam escapes his captors together with his surprised wife. He and his team (all known relatives who transforms into crime busters) manages to avert a deadly explosion in the City of New York set by Omar and his team of terrorist. An interesting plot is the stealing of radioactive Caesium oncology department and tying radioactive capsules to flying pigeons to make the Americans' efforts at Geiger-Muller counter worthless whilst the terrorists bring in their nuclear devices!
I thought it was an okay movie with no glaring laughable bloopers. Do not ask why India has interest in a bomb which is going to explode in US as if they do not enough work. Even though sparse, the dialogues were witty and carried intelligent double tongued meanings. The revered director Shekhar Kapur makes an appearance in this flick.