Manichitrathaazhu was a sheer pleasure to watch. It would have taken considerable research to make it so realistic. It was sheer genius. The theme was serious, so was the movie, naturally. That is one thing about Malayalam cinema... they have mainstream tragedy, comedy, thrillers etc. They don't have a dash of masala for the sake of entertainment value....
Chandramukhi......
Some doubts.....
1. Why Rajni for such an intelligent role?
2. Why try to create mass appeal for such an intellectual concept?
3. Need the aim behind every movie be making money out of it, making it a box office hit?
4. Why can't the movie be made keeping in mind the audience who it is really intended for?
5. Why does there need to be a component of everything in every movie to satisfy all strata of the audience?
E.g. for Q5:-
->Chandramukhi had 4- 5 useless songs that sprung from nowhere, the lyrics were full of advice for the public in true "Thalaivar style", no purpose whatsoever. And of course, his dancing abilities were stunning, in the lines of an exercise drill.
->The SNAKE????? Why was it there? Was it a tribute to the supreme, ever so successful and "funny" comedy track of Annamalai?
-> That guy who stuck to Akilandeswari looks like he begged to be in the movie to show off his 6 pack abs in a single fight, apart from giving a smug, all knowing smile every now and then. I still don't get the purpose of his role.
-> Are they establishing a neelambari, akilandeswari, other "villis"...sequence??? I wonder what the next one will be...
->And of course, Jyotika... In Manichitrathaazhu the last song is a true classical dance number by Shobana who is a very good classical dancer? When the role demands one, then why not? In the last song Jyotika makes a fool of herself dancing like a lunatic.
-> The story started and ended in the last half an hour. The technical terms from psychology were delivered with no effort whatsoever to help people understand the concepts. It was aimed more at showcasing Rajni's talent at doing intelligent roles.
-> I’m still trying to understand the rationale behind making Rajni the one Jyokita imagines to be the King... why does the limelight have to be on him even when it makes sense otherwise?( Can’t beat Malayalam movies when it comes to logic.)
On the whole they have butchered the original movie.....
The only good thing about the movie I can think about is that at least the storyline is intact. In a way it shows the inability to conceive of an original idea. If it is an effort to make a good idea reach a larger audience, why not deliver it giving due reverence to the concept or the theme rather than adapting it to fit one man’s clichéd style?
I know these views are subject to anger/ criticism from die hard Rajni fans. But they are my views all the same...
