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Pruthiveeran - ****
After a breezy “Mounam Pesiyade” and the critically acclaimed “Raam” Ameer spooked me with the last half hour of Paruthi Veeran, Trust me people not a soul moved for the last half hour of the film. I atleast have never seen something like this in Tamil cinema. The images lingered long after the show got over.
Paruthi Veeran is what maybe Kamal Hasan set out to do in Virumandi previously named Shandiyar[the rouge,goon,ruffin] Maybe Kamal Hasan went about attempting to make a classic with a Rashomon hangover and Ameer went about it in the most earthy, guttural way it was supposed to be made.
Pruthi Veeran has nothing to offer as far as a story line but the way it is done….I bow to thee. The starting credit rolls take you deep in the rural heartland of Tamil Nadu. I felt it was a bit extended and was like almost watching a documentary on Tamil folk art. This is till Paruthi makes an entry. As he dances his way into the carnival a police office stops him and strips him and checks him if he is clean. He is. They let him go not until looks are exchanged. A little boy who walks close to him passes a sickle to him. Paruthi takes it and marches straight ahead and thrusts it in a guys ass.
Welcome to Parithiyur the place where Paruthi Veeran [Karthi] lives. The story is almost the clichéd “bachpan ka pyaar” between Veeran and Muthazhagu [Priyamani – this female is awesome]. In elaborate and stunningly picturised flashbacks we come to know how they connected and it all started with a 10 year old Veeran kissing her. The scene where Mutha’s father confronts Veeran’s uncle is hilarious. This tone in the film continues till the very end….till the last half hour. Never a moment where you will feel the humor is forced….it so way of life that you can’t help but laugh. The language is guttural and very rural in dialect. Even those brought up on Tamil cinema might have a little problem adapting to it…much like Omkara which stuck to the local dialect. I have to mention the almost forgotten and out of work actor Saravanan who plays Veeran’s uncle. Man this guy was like one of the low budget film heroes in the 90s. The typical ones where you see dark fat men jiving with voluptuous women post 12 am on Sun TV. This man Saravanan is a revelation…..wonder how Ameer managed to do this…he is fabulous.
Veeran has one aim…to go the Madras Central jail and see his photograph in the National Daily. He is bored of serving time in the lowly district prison. Veeran and his Uncle are notorious and posing for photograph’s for the local newspaper is a matter of honor notwithstanding the fact that when they are photographed they are stripped…in chains and hounded by policemen…that’s how they have lived their lives…and they are proud of it.
They story moves in the backdrop the rustic and parched village complementing the people who live in it. Rustic and Parched. The rest of the screenplay is consumed by the girl trying to woo the guy. Finally against all oppositions the girl and the guy elope leading to the climax I was talking about. Watch it….live the place….it’s not often you get to see the way Ameer has showcased rural Tamil Nadu. Right from the rituals to the props to the people. I am sure apart from the principal cast the rest who have performed quite commendable have been picked from the village where the film was shot.
The performances are verbose and loud….and that’s the way people are there. People feed on a staple diet of European cinema please stay away. This is Indian cinema and about a land where people are not molded…they are parched just like the land they live in…..they have to fight for survival and there is not room for restraint…still if you happen to watch it….do watch it for the scene where Priyamani consumes poison….they way her father reacts…..awesome….the scene is quite deftly interwoven with quick flashes which in a way rounds off the current situation.
Ammer Sultan is here to stay. Karthi makes an awesome debut. Priyamani has always shown promise….she breaths life into Muthazhagu……I don’t know if any other girl would have been able to carry off the climax as she has….and so has Karthi….
PS - If I am free on Saturday might just go for another show at Aurora @ King’s Circle. They still sell tickets @ Rs. 60 the A/C is quite cool and yes not fancy burgers or pop corns here….only yummy…oily..A-1 Samosas and Veg. Puffs. God bless Matunga….it still has 3 single screens and all just a stone throws away from my place.
14 Responses to “Pruthiveeran - ****”
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Thanks, VB. This one’s on my watch list.
Is *ameer - yuvan* duo anything like the good old bharatiraja - ilaiyaraja combo?
Mounam Pesiyathey had some killer songs by Yuvan. The movie was pretty decent. I liked the dynamics of the characters in Raam, but I thought in the second half, it started becoming very cliche and predictable. Looking forward to watching this one.
Vasan, tu bahut kameena aadmi hai. Aurora theater aur Matunga ka yaad dila diya saala. Whenever I go to Bombay, I stay with my grandma in Sion. I used to take the bus in the middle of the afternoon to Aurora, eat samosas, watch whatever crappy Tamil movie shows there. What an experience, with the sound turned up beyond capacity of human hearing endurance and the crowd going wild everytime the heroine exposes a little cleavage. Crazy fucking place. Really miss it. And I remember there is one juice center outside. Forgot the name. Kya juice banata hai.
Wasan - me coming for the sat show for sure…
Most probably will get my tamil roomie along
Lucky bastards! Mere naam ka ek filter caapi pi lo Mani’s Lunch Home mein.
havnt seen the movies u hav mentioned….seems u prefer violence a lot…
hey have u seen old black and white nagesh and cho movies,
EDIRNICHAL was an excellent movie, dunno if u guys might like, its a light lenewala movie.
Some of cho’s movies r excellent, full of satire and irony….
violence is not a pref…just that this happened to hit me…the films you have mentioned are AWESOME…nagesh and cho ramaswamy are greats…ok may not relate to them now..[Cho I still...]…Nagesh’s Jerry Lewis take is not all that appealing now..but when i was a kid..he was a fav….but in the same breath…i think Chandrababu had an edge over Nagesh…his song..”Buddhi patra manidar ellam vetri kanbad illayeee….” is still one of my favs…singer…dancer…actor…super talent who died a very lonely death…..sad….
PV - pakala (haven’t seen it). Paathutu solraen yeppidi irukku-nu (will watch and let you know, how it is!). The movie is being hyped up a lot. But from your post, I can’t wait anymore.
As you said, Virumandi’s scriptwriting is different and there ain’t that many similarities except for the ‘rape’ angle, again assuming it from the stores flying around. I guess PV’s climax is hit or miss! Some say it’s not required while some believe it’s gut-wrenching. I have to watch it myself to judge.
BTW Bharathiraja’s 16 Vayadhinille (Rajini+Sridevi+KH) is the best rural movie ever produced from tamil film industry. Mudhal mariyadhai another BR’s gem and Thevar magan complete the top 3.
EDIRNICHAL- good one. I think KB is such a great director. No one could beat his theatrical characters(pun intended). But just for Nagesh’s performance, Major chandrakant is the other KB-Nagesh combo you guys should check out. Server Sundaram showcased Nagesh’s acting skill even more. (is it KB?)
If you want to check out the best tamil movies, Mahanadhi, Moondram pirai, Varumayin neerum Sivappu (KB’s), Aval appidi thaan should be among that list.
Thanks for this Vasan Tambi…
When will this release in OC?
thilk….super filmsu have mentioned….esp. aval apudi thaan….kamal and sripriya na….
yeah, Aval apudi thaan also has one of the best performance by RAjini. As a prejudiced male Chauvinist. I think, he apes few of those traits in his so-called stylish movies. I just like Rajini ‘the actor’ more than the puppet Star. I think Sripriya and Kamal were good. The characters and not to mention, the documentary styled shots with tamil cinema’s first of the kind shot with Sripriya’s introspection (playing it with her voice over). The director tried Godard’s ‘Breathless’ kind of technique and unfortunately he isn’t found anywhere to be seen. Sad, I would say.
Vasan,
Paruthi Veeran is definitely not for women and children. The humour is damn good. They showed a scene in sunTV, where Paruthi (an amazing Kaarthi) and Sevvazhai(Red Banana - played by Saravanan) take a ride on an elderly guy trying to advice them regarding their pointless and casual ways. It was downright hilarious!!
When I left the cinema hall Jai….the women were like almost walking out of the hall like zombies…..ye it’s extreme…and thats what i liked ..he director did not hold himself back…he just went ahead and did what he wanted…i mean you narrate something like this to a PRODUCER or Distributor…kya reaction hoga….inspite of all that Ameer did jus that….Hats off.
and yes the CLIMAX is like being hotly debate..in many forums…should it be there or no…and those who have not liked it have been disturbed…and cannot deny that the have been touched…it did trouble them….and thts what the motive was….and still no one says they did not like the movie…just that they could not take the last half hour.
Fuck Fuck I’m still recovering Climax was Fucking brutal…..too good. great one.