Mani Ratnam’s “Iruvar”
Reviewing this movie is an exercise in futility! Sorry for the pessimistic start but it is! Lots of factors—this movie was rejected in no uncertain terms by the movie-going public as well as critics. Well, critics viewed it as a stylistic masterpiece but thematically zilch picture. Okay, I write a review to express my opinion, so let me do that—I was bowled over by this movie the first time I saw it in the theater and it has never ceased to amaze me. When Vshank was finding it hard to review my latest story, I quoted Roger Ebert and asked him whether he admired the story but didn’t like it. His answer was an enthusiastic yes. I say this because I am reasonably certain that any person who watches “Iruvar” on its own terms would find it hard not to admire the film for its masterful cinematography (Santosh Sivan), painstakingly created sets (Sameer Chanda), splendid performances (MohanLal and Prakashraj in top form, the latter winning the National Award) and mesmerizing tunes (A.R.Rehman). But the failure of the film is its massive scope – covering the lives of two famous personalities in parallel. In an attempt to do so, even a master filmmaker like Mani Ratnam seems to be out of depth in the emotional areas. The necessity to span almost 50 years and explore two complex personalities in 2.5 hours makes Ratnam adopt a documentary like structure, glossing over a slew of important events and superficially examining relationships that, as Hollywood movie reviewers say, the whole seems less than the sum of the individual parts. There is so much to admire in this movie but the movie as a whole lacks the emotional power and the kind of spell that Ratnam casts over his viewers in features like “Mouna Ragam,” “Nayagan” or “Dhalapathi.”
The title refers to two personalities—two former Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu (one dead, and one alive) and tracks their lives from their youth, their friendship blossoming in spite of varied dogmas, their political rivalry, and their personal lives—too much ground to cover, as I said. Nevertheless, the movie is at its best in the scenes where MohanLal and Prakashraj interact with each other. The actors are totally into their characters and reveal every facet of their relationship—affection, pride, anger, ego, jealousy, humor, nostalgia…Mani Ratnam explores it all with a microscope. Though not as memorable as the Rajni-Mammotty friendship (they were larger than life characters), the movie still impresses in its realistic depiction of their relationship. The movie is ingenious in the way it shows them as rivals (in the final stages) and not as enemies who hate each other. The movie’s fantastic climax says it all—seated next to each other at a wedding, they secretly admire each other and recollect fond memories…without a single line of dialogue! People rebuke Mani Ratnam’s minimalist approach to dialogue but this is one scene where no amount of dialogue could’ve conveyed the feelings of the characters.
Perhaps due to the intervention of the censors, there are a few key scenes where the dialogue is muted (literally). Prakashraj talking about his political ambitions, MohanLal’s speech at Nasser’s funeral, Tabu’s questioning of Prakashraj (at the beach), are all scenes where the viewer is left frustrated, listening to the heavy background score, with all the dialogues cut out by the censor. Other than this irritating factor, there are a few other factors that drain out the viewer’s interest. The main one is the cursory glance that Mani Ratnam takes towards almost all the secondary characters. The wives (again, iruvar!) of the two personalities have no role to play in this movie. The Aishwarya character (a really powerful real-life personality!) is almost reduced to the arrogant-educated-girl stereotype. More than what is in the movie its what is NOT in the movie that is disconcerting. The episodic structure of this movie just doesnt do justice to the subject matter
As mentioned before, it is the performances of MohanLal and Prakashraj that are riveting. MohanLal brings the character to life with subtlety. It is with gestures, body language and facial expressions (his expressions in his final scene are top class) that make the character terrifyingly believable. On the other hand, Prakashraj scores with his excellent dialogue delivery. He masterfully delivers several speeches and soliloquies (in chaste Tamil) with aplomb and steals the viewer’s breath in the scene where he pays a tribute to his friend who’s just passed away. Aishwarya Rai looks absolutely stunning but delivers a so-so performance. Tabu, an excellent actress (one of my favorite, thanks to “Chandni Bar” and “Snehithiyae”), is woefully out of depth in the scene where she asks Prakashraj what she means to him. Nasser, Revathi, Gowthami, Rajesh, Delhi Ganesh and Nizhalgal Ravi have minor parts with no scope to emote.
Other than the two male leads, it is Santhosh Sivan who deserves all the praise. What an ace cinematographer he is! There are several moments where the visuals are mind blowing—the steady cam shot where Nasser and Rajesh walk towards a wounded Prakashraj, the long shot of Aishwarya at the peak of a hill at sunset, the steady cam on a rotating table shot of Prakashraj and Tabu, the shot of crowds at Nasser’s funeral—are all testimonies to Sivan’s ability as an innovative, brilliant cinematographer. Sameer Chanda’s sets unobtrusively create an almost other worldly experience for the viewer! Suhasini's dialogues are very ordinary--not a single memorable line. Of course, as in any Mani Ratnam movie, Rehman tunes in some wonderful numbers—“Narumugaiyae,” “Aayirathil Naan Oruvan,” “Hello Mr. Ethirkakshi” and “Kannai Katti” are all memorable songs. But I have never had a liking for the slow “Vennila” number. Ditto for the "Udal Mannukku" piece which Aravind Swamy butchers, with his horrible pronunciation. The "Unnodu Naanirundha" piece is haunting and well-rendered by Aravind Swamy. Rehman’s background score is excellent but it does drown the dialogue at a few places.
On the whole, this is a mixed bag but definitely worth a watch.