Unnaipol Oruvan - Review

Language: Tamil
Movie: Unnaipol Oruvan
Director: Chakri Toleti
Producer: Kamal Hasan
Music: Sruthi Hassan
Cast: Kamal Hassan, Mohanlal, Lakshmi, Ganesh Venkatram, Anuja, Bhaskar
Released: September 18, 2009
Based on: Hindi movie A Wednesday

Rating: ****

Kamal Hasan has done a film without a character name in this movie. No heroine, no big fights, no songs, no romance. Only Kamal Hasan can give films like this!

You cannot question the performance of any artists. The screen play was amazing! Sruthi Hasan has done her job as the debutant! Her background music was excellent!

This movie is a must watch movie and no cannot miss it! Every scene was taken perfectly including the exceptionally done climax!

The movie starts Kamal Hasan buying vegetables! The only comedy scene was the Bhaskar's complaint on his wife in the police station. The movie gets speed when Kamal Hasan makes the first anonymous call to Mohanlal (Maraar). He talks about the bomb planted in Anna Salai Police Station.

Kamal asks for a negotiator--SPOC. Chief Secretary Laxmi is given power by CM, which she gives it to Mohanlal.

The key decision by Kamal and the crew was to retain the original voice of Mohanlan as his accent added great value to the movie. It was natural and Mohanlal lived as Police Commissioner.

Kamal Hassan reminds us to the Coimbatore bomb blast and Meenambakkam airport blast to give the film a local flavour. And to add his own secularist view point, one of the Muslim characters justifies his action and says it is all because of Modi and communal politics which led to the Best Bakery case.

Kamal wanted the terrorists to be freed otherwise he says that the bombs planted will go off. The argument between Mohanlal and Laxmi were fantastic! They were crisp and clear! The dialogue writter Era Murugan should be given a round of applause.

Maraar and his crack team of officers, led by a daring brooding cop Arif Khan (Ganesh Venkatram), gets ready to hand over the terrorists to the anonymous caller at an airfield.

Kamal calls Mohanlal and also informs Press reporter Anuja. The order in which Anuja says about who she is--a women, Indian, and a reporter, deserves applause.

Kamal's emotional outburst at the end, is heart rending and perhaps one of the finest piece of acting seen in Tamil cinema. The scene where he wipes his tears through the tip of the gun was an amazing piece! Which can also be understood as he is clearing his anger through pistol (action and not peace)! Kamal and Mohanlal coming together is worth your ticket money.

Kamal has given two messages in this film:

1. Jnabagha maradhi is a desiya vyadhi (Forgetting past is the national disease)
2. Theeviravadhatthai thadukka theeviravadhatthal mattume mudiyum (Terrorism can be tackled only through terrorism) and no peace talks can help!

He clarified that the second point is misunderstood as he never said terrorism needs to be tackled by terrorism. In an interview to TV channel, he said, only talks can help.

Kudos to Kamal and the entire crew for a wonderful movie! Though it is a remake of hindi movie "A Wednesday", it was wonderfully picturized and filmed!