Kamal Hassan under the pseudonym Indian goes on a stabbing spree after the death of his only daughter. His aim to wipe out corruption in the Nation ends in a thrilling climax in which he has to kill his son, also played by Kamal.
The movie, most noticed for its use of prosthetic make-up, graphics and an national award winning performance from Kamal, became a huge blockbuster of 90s Tamil cinema.
Director Shankar, riding on a wave of success after his debut Gentleman and Kaadalan, cast Kamal in one of most expensive Tamil movies ever made. Song sequences filled with graphics, flamboyant costumes and stunning cinematography by Jeeva were balanced with a lengthy flashback of the Indian freedom movement against Britain, where Senapathy, played by Kamal, joins Subash Chandra Bose in a Forest Gump-like sequence.
Malayalam actor Nedumudi Venu plays a cop investigating the serial killings committed by Senapathy, who comes back from a retired life as a farmer to once again free India of corruption. His son, Chandru, meanwhile has also turned corrupt and shockingly becomes an accomplice to the death of entire bus full of children.
A couple of aspects of the movie stood out. Kamal's stunning performance, AR Rehman's music (he hit back at critics of his background score as well) and Jeeva's cinematography especially in the song sequences.
Shankar makes the message of the movie so loud and the violence graphic (though not much blood on camera) that this almost kills the movie. Dialogues by Tamil writer Sujatha while being quite superficial suited the film to a T. Almost all actors expect Kamal, who is there in almost every frame, play two dimensional, superficial characters except for Nedumuni Venu, who performs his role with effortless ease that almost looks like he is being careless.
The series of confrontations through the movie between the principled, though murderous father and the corrupt son form the crux of the movie. The characters are actually presenting the two sides of the debate on corruption, but this is cleverly written into the script. When performed by Kamal, these lines become more intense that they actually are involving the viewer in the story rather than its message. If only Shankar could learn to be a little more subtle.
The movie, most noticed for its use of prosthetic make-up, graphics and an national award winning performance from Kamal, became a huge blockbuster of 90s Tamil cinema.
Director Shankar, riding on a wave of success after his debut Gentleman and Kaadalan, cast Kamal in one of most expensive Tamil movies ever made. Song sequences filled with graphics, flamboyant costumes and stunning cinematography by Jeeva were balanced with a lengthy flashback of the Indian freedom movement against Britain, where Senapathy, played by Kamal, joins Subash Chandra Bose in a Forest Gump-like sequence.
Malayalam actor Nedumudi Venu plays a cop investigating the serial killings committed by Senapathy, who comes back from a retired life as a farmer to once again free India of corruption. His son, Chandru, meanwhile has also turned corrupt and shockingly becomes an accomplice to the death of entire bus full of children.
A couple of aspects of the movie stood out. Kamal's stunning performance, AR Rehman's music (he hit back at critics of his background score as well) and Jeeva's cinematography especially in the song sequences.
Shankar makes the message of the movie so loud and the violence graphic (though not much blood on camera) that this almost kills the movie. Dialogues by Tamil writer Sujatha while being quite superficial suited the film to a T. Almost all actors expect Kamal, who is there in almost every frame, play two dimensional, superficial characters except for Nedumuni Venu, who performs his role with effortless ease that almost looks like he is being careless.
The series of confrontations through the movie between the principled, though murderous father and the corrupt son form the crux of the movie. The characters are actually presenting the two sides of the debate on corruption, but this is cleverly written into the script. When performed by Kamal, these lines become more intense that they actually are involving the viewer in the story rather than its message. If only Shankar could learn to be a little more subtle.