MUDHALVAN

A movie review by Balaji Balasubramaniam

Cast:	Arjun, Manisha Koirala, Raghuvaran, Manivannan, Vadivelu, Vijayakumar
Music:	A.R.Rehman
Direction:	Shankar

Its every common man's dream. To become the Chief Minister and clean up the cesspool of politics in Tamil Nadu. Into this seed of thought, Shankar throws in romance and high-tech graphics to come up with a package that is for the most part unrealistic but makes us wish that it were not. As events unfold, a part of us realises that all this is beyond the realm of reality while the other part dreams about how wonderful it would be if it were to actually happen. Ultimately, whether you enjoy the movie or not depends on which of these parts is more prominent.

After Gentleman, Kaadhalan, Indian and Jeans, Shankar is definitely a force to reckon with in tamil cinema. Barring Rajnikanth's Padaiyappa, Mudhalvan was undoubtedly the most hyped movie of the year. And Shankar has not disappointed. The movie is atleast twenty minutes too long and this leads to some restlessness during the final portions of the movie (before the climax), but for the most part, the movie offers engrossing viewing.

Pugazhendhi(Arjun), a recently promoted senior reporter at a private television company, in love with Thenmozhi(Manisha Koirala), gets a chance to interview the Chief Minister(Raghuvaran). Having been an eye-witness to the CM's caste-based rule aimed solely at staying in power, which led to riots, Pugazh puts the CM in a tight spot with a series of questions. In the face of these rather uncomfortable questions about his corrupt reign, the CM challenges Pugazh to rule as Chief Minister for a day to understand the hardships associated with it. Pugazh accepts and in that single day, brings about sweeping reforms, earning the admiration of the people. Its corruption exposed, the government falls and in the next election, Pugazh wins a massive mandate and becomes the CM. The leaders of all opposition parties join forces to try and unseat him.

As in Pudhumai Pithan, one can't help but feel good seeing a CM who has nothing but the good of the people in mind. As Arjun appoints two people, one old and one young, for each ministry or sets up a complaint box in each street, its clear that Shankar actually has some ideas he wants to put forward. Typing out suspension orders on the spot, for officers who fail in their duty also seems the right thing to do. But this routine does get silly when Arjun, wearing nothing but a suit, helps the bomb squad dismantle a bomb. The romance also has its sweet moments (such as Arjun visiting Manisha's house to ask for her hand in marriage) but it does seem jarring when the scene abruptly shifts to him wooing her right after viewing some bloody riots.

Things get stretched out during the second half. Arjun's struggle to decide whether to re-enter politics or not is well etched out but the events following his decision are the weakest of the movie. They seem lifted out of some run-of-the-mill masala movie. The romance also deteriorates after the intermission and reaches its nadir when Manisha utters the line about giving herself up for Arjun. The two songs here also slow things down. Fortunately the climax is low-key and even clever. Arjun's single line to Manivannan here is superb and leaves a lasting impression.

Shankar always puts in extra effort to keep viewers in their seats for the song sequences and though the village setting limits his options for three songs, they are still watchable. Mudhalvane... scores for its graphics, sets and costumes while the fast-paced Shakalaka Baby..., for which Sushmita Sen makes an appearance, reminds one of an MTV music video. Among Rehman's melodious tunes, Azhagaana Raatchasiye... is tops. The cinematographer creates some memorable images, be it outdoors as the thousands of pots in the Azhagaana Raatchasiye song sequence or indoors as in the room with hundreds of TV screens on which Arjun watches Manisha.

Arjun does his role satisfactorily. The action king has only one real fight sequence (two if you count a small one in the slums) but that is a memorable one with Arjun completely covered in mud. Manisha is completely miscast as the rustic village belle. She looks old, overacts and dances awkwardly. Raghuvaran, with a wig that looks like it was carried over from Indian, is adequate. As in Indian, scriptwriter Sujatha has some choice lines about the current political situation and politicians and Manivannan relishes the choicest lines. Vadivelu is subdued and evokes laughs at places with the role of a person who swears uncontrollably when his hip is touched.