VISARANAI [TAMIL]: Unbearable, Unsettling and Alarming! [4/5]

The system sharks are after the most vulnerable fishes in the water. A fake confession will work well for both the parties but getting one from the innocents needs lot of muscle wrestling exercises. Police brutality in India is probably the most accepted illegal practice today in our system, by our system and for our system. The powerful have been using it for ages to force their control over the powerless but the torture, pain and brutality Vetri Maaran’s Tamil Film VISARANAI (INTERROGATION) shows is excruciatingly sickening, shocking and real.

                                                                                    

A house in a posh colony has been robbed. The top cop at the local police station is feeling the heat to solve the case sooner than one can imagine. A group of homeless, poor and powerless men Pandi (‘Attakathi’ Dinesh), Murugan (‘Aadukalam’ Murugadoss), Afsal (Silambarasan) and Kumar (Pradeesh) are arrested. Knowing common language is the only link that connects them with the real culprits. So, the confession of the crime is a must to put the seal on the competency of the police. The interrogation process begins with lathis being charged over bare skin and then, slowly reaching its next level where the damage is done on one’s mental strength. There are times it gets hard to keep looking at the screen. It’s that atrociously real. In one of the scenes, a police officer pleads in order to convince the victims to confess as this would be a ‘favor’ to the top cop.

VISARANAI (INTERROGATION) is an unsettling film that works because it makes you root for its totally defenseless, naïve and fragile characters. They don’t even smell something fishy when cops try to fool them by playing with their hopes to be free someday. The hearts go bleed when you see them joking in pain at each other’s terrible condition. Film in the next half, exposes another interrogation far different from the previous but with the same degree of intensity in terms of brutality. A reputed auditor famed for his higher connections in the political and corporate worlds is seen being grilled in an air-conditioned room. He is made comfortable as per his convenience but not for long. Even he gets crushed under the nexus between political power and the ruthless system when not of use. When discussing the ways to take care of an eyewitness, a wise policeman speaks in volumes to establish the importance of a human life and finally, gives it a rest suggesting killing him but not without making him an accused in a pending case. “No human life should go waste”, he concludes. They are too many and all around us.

The film is based on a book by the only survivor in the group having his real life experiences with the visceral police procedural. Though the film does make you feel like watching a thrilling drama at the first that could give you an equal amount of entertainment while opening your eyes towards the heinous human race in uniform around you but sooner or later, you only remember it for being a highly disturbing film. There are moments absolutely existent where I couldn’t trust my intelligence as it is being acted or is a documentation of some actual events captured. VISARANAI (INTERROGATION) is a must-watch because it pinches you to wake up in reality. A reality we all have been denying and becoming numb about! [4/5]                    

SHAMITABH: The rise and fall and rise of a flawed film!

From the two potent & powerful characters written scrupulously for screen to plenty of interesting ‘Bollywood’ references from real life, there’s a lot to feed your ‘filmy’ appetite in R Balki’s smartly conceived SHAMITABH. Had it also been crispier, less messy & a little modest in its melodramatic approach, it would have been much more than just a worthy mention in the list of movies made in Bollywood, on Bollywood! As of now, let’s just settle the score with ‘a good one-time watch’.

Balki is known to push the envelopes in terms of adopting uncommon ideas for the screen. In SHAMITABH, it is all about two different talents coming together for each other’s good but with their own share of egos and apprehensions making it a difficult ride to step on. A small-town mute with average looks, Danish [Dhanush] is your ‘not-so everyday’ cinema-crazy. As illustrated in the film, he even turns at ‘48 frames per second’ speed [camera technique used for a slow-motion effect]! On the other hand, it is Amitabh Sinha [the legend himself] – a long-struggling actor with rich baritone whose shattered dreams and destructive self-esteem have landed him in a deserted graveyard. Science & technology gives both a golden chance to lend each other a hand in satisfying their urge to become widely accepted & admired. But the question ruins the smooth walk, “Who’s better? Who’s bigger? The voice or the face?”!

SHAMITABH interestingly takes references from real life and weaves it with the screenplay to make it more intriguing. Danush playing a bus-conductor who makes it to the heights of being a superstar can easily be allied with his real life father-in-law and the megastar Rajnikanth’s inspiring life story. Likewise, Amitabh plays his namesake who doesn’t forget to mention that he once was rejected from everywhere for his very same tonal quality Danish needs and approves of.

Balki also doesn’t leave any stone unturned to make viewers spellbound with the elements of surprise at a consistent interval. In a scene, the ever-gorgeous Rekha gives away the best actor trophy to Dhanush and when Dhanush starts thanking everyone from the stage, of course in Amitabh Bachchan’s ever-mesmeric voice; Rekha’s perplexedly stunned expression could tell you all those said-unsaid romantic notions between the two without saying much. One of the most intelligently envisioned and executed cameos I would say!

Dhanush though looks a bit shaky and blatantly too confident for the role of an earnest aspirant. His mute act also works more on the entertaining side and not equally absorbing in showcasing emotional outrage within the character. And who doesn’t remember and rejoice Amitabh Bachchan’s drunken acts from his previous superhits?? You will find the legend here practicing more and more of such acts with the same amount of excellence and exactness. Akshara Haasan impresses as a confident go-getter girl who can give it back to you, no matter how big star you play on screen. She calls a spade a spade, Danush a ‘monkey’ for that matter and she means it. More power to women in Hindi cinema!  

SHAMITABH despite being entertaining in parts, having blessed with applause-worthy performances by the leads and a completely fresh & novel plot, puts your interest off after a while. Bachchan’s monologues gets into repetitive mode and some are really superfluous. A slack chopping hand on editing table ends up lengthening the duration of the film anywhere close to 2 hours 40 minutes. Even the melodramatic climax looks strained enough to recreate the one from Kamal Haasan starrer SADMA. At the end, SHAMITABH has Amitabh written all over, and this one name guarantees and deserves a good one-time watch at any given time! [3/5]