Rajni is back - Robot is here

A day filled with hope to see a superstar. An expectation to witness a spectacle, through my spectacles.. ;) An evening show...and excitement increases... Evening turns into night and we exit the cinema hall... Smile on our faces.. sometimes it vanishes... only to be replaced by laughter...discussing the movie...wondering at the marvel.... An exciting day and a wonderful evening well spent... The reason - watched Robot with friends. can it be anything else? No. dot.

Preface - chal start kar...'Hello World'

The superstar comes back after a long span of 3 years to give darshan to his fans... well, should I say millions of his fans... :) So why is this, (off screen) - dark, almost balding, ageing actor from South India, the highest paid actor in India? Why is he the second highest paid actor in the whole of Asia.. second only to Jackie Chan.. Why does his movies run to packed house not only in Chennai but also in Japan... WHO IS HE? hahahahaha.. If that is the question that thou may ask.. I must just laugh at your ignorance and explain to thee... The name that thou seek is - "the great Rajinikant"...
Let me try and explain this phenomena named- Rajni. or should I say let me bring you up to speed...

• Rajinikanth ran in a marathon from Delhi to Chennai. Earth started spinning north-south instead of east-west.
• Rajinikanth once leaned on a tower. From then onwards it is called the leaning tower of Pisa!
• East India Company left India in 1947, Because Rajini was supposed to be born in 1949
• Rajinikanth got small pox when he was a kid. As a result, small pox was eradicated.
• When Rajinikanth does push-ups, he isn't lifting himself up. He is pushing the earth down.
• A long time ago Rajinikant came across a bear. It was so terrified that it fled north into the arctic. It was also so terrified that all of its decedents now have white hair.
• In an average living room there are 1,242 objects Rajinikanth could use to kill you, including the room itself.
• Rajinikant once ate an entire bottle of sleeping pills. They made him blink.
• Rajinikant is so fast, he can run around the world and punch himself in the back of the head.

That is Rajini.. Now you are up to speed... :) So with this background, let us continue with the review...

10000 feet - a bird's eye view. So what is the movie about?

This is a movie primarily made in Tamil and then dubbed into Hindi and Telugu. So if you do understand Tamil, you are lucky to see this movie in its main language.. If not, its still ok. You can see this movie in Hindi or Telugu. You will not get the same feel.. as some of the dialogues are Tamil specific and you understand that when they do not have the effect when delivered in Hindi. But, the concept, visual brilliance, music and screen presence is language independent and you can enjoy the same irrespective of whether you watch in Tamil or Hindi..

The movie is about a inventor/scientist - Dr. Vaseegaran. He is making a robot which will be used for the good of Indian Armed services. But things go wrong when he tries to enhance it above the limit set by nature. It is the story about, how when man made things threaten the very existence of its creator. The story has a great moral which strikes hard only after watching the whole movie, So I will not reveal it and steal that thunder. The film is a great combination of technological brilliance, brilliant music, Rajini's charm-screen presence, Aishu's great dance steps and Shankar's magical touch. :) Again the key to enjoy this movie wholly is to watch in the theatre with your friends.

Picture main kaun kaun hai? What is the casting like...

It is said that if the casting is right half the battle is won. Robot is the costliest movie ever made in Indian movie history. So it is common sense to employ one of the best directorial hands? Shankar delivers..and that too without dislocating the hip bone.. clean and normal... How about the others?. Mostly, the main people in an Indian masala movie are Hero, Heroine, Villian and music.. When you are making such a high budget movie, its common sense that you bring in the best... For a villain Danny does a good job. For such a spectacular movie the heroine should be none other than the most spectacularly gorgeous...so in comes our girl. Aishu... Aishwarya.. Music.. A. R Rehman will do.. because none other will do... :) and what about the Hero? What man!!! did you not read the para above..

In my movie going experience, in current times, there are 2 actors who, I think have the best screen presence.- The legendary Amitabh and Sanjay Dutt... but someone betters them - Just one - SUPERSTAR Rajni.

The film itself start with 2 words. Font size 10 raise to 512. Font style - 3D. Font colour -Silver. Font Text - SUPERSTAR Rajni.
Loud??? not at all... A fitting introduction of a true Superstar.

Vistaar main batao - Is it fun?

The first half is more about our introduction to the Robot and how the Robot (Chitti) is created and he learns about the world. It seems that quite a lot has gone into research about various fields before the movie went into production. There are a lot of technological jargon thrown in, but at the same time care is taken that even the people with as low IQ as me can understand. So you should be OK.When you are making movie about Robots the technical jargon is understandable, isn't it? But even if we watch the movie in mute, the visuals are so profound that its indeed a visual treat.
The second half is all about how disaster strikes when machines are enhanced to the extend that they can threaten human existence... The film also gives us a glimpse of the future as never before shown in any Indian movie...



With Rajni in the film it will be not an uncommon guess that the heroine will have a small part to play. But Shankar is not foolish to waste Aishu's talent and just use her as a barbie doll. Aishu has substantial role in the movie. She looks as always - absolutely gorgeous and also delivers a fine performance... well yes, as always....





Forgive Shankar if some things in the movie defy logic... How can the police fire machine guns on the kidnapper when his hostage is in the same car as him? Do not think too much.. Just relax and let the visual treat unfold.. The action sequences are great. If 'Wanted' had GOOD action, then this one is BEST to the power 1982882377. Hmmm thhhhhooda zyada ho gaya kya? Anyway, you get the idea.... Action sequences are served with comedy and fun toppings. njoy!! Rajni sir style...

How about song and dance?

As I said the film has the primary language as Tamil, so chances are high that the songs will be customised for Tamil sounds/phonics.. But I would guess the lyrics are more entertaining in Hindi..Maybe you would have heard the lyrics of those Prabhu deva songs with PK mishra lyrics- "Machli pakad ne ka jaal bechaa ne se amber ke tare pahste kya?". Well, if those were crazily entertaining. These are mind blowing... The songs are beautifully picturised.... and with Aishu in it, its not hard to make it spectacular. We know Aishu is good dancer.. but here she shows us that she is not... She is not good.. she is brilliant..dot.
A.R's music as always, grows on you..

Final jawaab. So, is it really worth a watch?

If you understand Tamil, it should be a great experience... if you do not understand Tamil, then watch in the theatre and go with your friends.. This movie deserves that theatre experience... and you will have a great time.. There is Aishu, A. R Rehman's music.. Spectacular visual effects...beautifully shot song locations and then above all we have SUPERSTAR Rajni.
Paisa vasool. dot.

Until next time.
dot.