Have
you ever gone to watch a movie and came back with the feel of having watch two
films. Well that is what Uttama Villain gives you. It was a brave attempt to give the audience
two completely different movie story at one go. There is only one man capable
of pulling that off and that man is called Kamal Hassan.
STORY REVIEW
As
I have mentioned, Uttama Villain is film which has two completely movies in it.
An emotionally driven story of top class actor who seems to lose his way a
little in life, trying to make up for lost time when he finds out he is going
to die due to brain tumor, and another is a comedy film he shoots as his final
film as he fights battles with his illness. Therefore my rating will be
separate for both stories
MANORANJAN
Manoranjan
played by Kamal Hassan, is the biggest actor of his time and has emerged from a
small time actor to an award based actor and now he is the biggest commercial
actor of his era. With his father in law backing his films as producer and
providing mega budget to ensure it’s a commercial success. Manoranjan was a
disciple of Mr.Marghadarasi played by the legendary K.B Sir. Both Manoranjan’s
father in law and Mr. Marghadarsi are shown to be some sort of rivals, where
they criticize each other and have a court case pending.
At
the same time Manoranjan was potrayed as celebrity who has a drinking problem
and to top that is having an affair with Dr.Aparna played by Andrea and seems
to be a figure of hatred by his son who is also shown as an arrogant, spoiled
rich kid. Soon Manoranjan discovers that he has a daughter from his past
relationship and also finds out that he is diagnosed with stage 4 brain tumor.
Knowing
that his time is up, Manoranjan is desperate to make up for lost time with his
daughter and decides he wants to make one last flim before his health gets
worse. He approaches Mr. Marghadarasi and requests him to direct a film for him
and he wants it to be a comedy film whereby when the audience leaves the
theater for his last film, they would leave with a smile.
Upon
hearing Manoranjan’s condition, Marghadarasi agrees to direct the film and it
is titled “Uttama Villan”. From here, the movies shifts between the shooting
sequences of “Uttama Villain” and how
Manoranjan makes up with his daughter and how he breaks the news his family,
while keeping Dr.Aparna along with him.
Watch
out for the scene whereby Manoranjan speaks to his son about his condition.
That is one scene which will break your heart. The story of Manoranjan
continues with emotionally driven plot among his daughter and ex-girlfriend,
his wife, son and father in law and Dr.Aparna.
Rating: 4.5/5.0
UTTAMA
VILLAIN
On
the other hand whilst this emotional drama is ongoing, we are given a diversion
from this theme by showing the sequence of the shooting of “Uttama Villain”
This was meant to be comedy film which turned out horrendously boring.
It’s
the story set back in time during the ancient days about a guy named Uttaman,
who through a series of event is know as “The Immortal Man” because
he so called cheated death. Impressed with this, the king calls him up and urges him to teach him the spell to be immortal
so that he can continue to rule the kingdom, while the princess (daughter of
the previous king) seeks Uttaman to manipulate the king in order to gain
control of the kingdom.
This was all meant to be shot as a comical
film but it failed miserably. The sequence of this part of film is so boring,
you will find yourself wanting them to show the sequence of ManoraNjan instead
of Uttaman. The films end with the shooting of “Uttama Villain” completed and
is released in cinemas with a roaring applause of the fans.
Kamal
has set the bar high for comedy movies in his previous films like
Panchathanthiram and Pamal K.Sambatham and this part of the film fails miserably
to reach the heights of those films. Considering the fact that the story was
ran through by Crazy Mohan, who I feel is the King of Comedy, this part of the
film is a failure. You could sense the touch of Crazy Mohan in some of the
scenes in this story.
Rating:
1.5/5.0
DIRECTOR REVIEW
Initially
the film was supposed to be directed by Kamal himself but later due to certain
reasons it was handed over to Kamal’s close ally Ramesh Arvind. This marks his
directional debut in the Tamil industry. Previous he has directed 5 Kannada
films, and this is a total ball game for him.
Directing a film which is not
written by you is not the norm in the tamil industry. Especially when you are
working with a perfectionist like Kamal and having your mentor, KB in the same
film as well, the task gets even more challenging. To add things, this is a
movie which has 2 totally different films in it.
To his credit, Ramesh Arvind
did a decent job here and he should be given a couple more opportunities to
direct in the Tamil industry after this considering the fact he took up a
challenging script with a huge cast and giving the film a good balance
Rating:
2.7/5.0
THE CAST & CREW
KAMAL HASSAN
Kamal
is the definition of perfection. He gets so deep into the character and brings
out the very best emotions from the characters let it be from Manoranjan or
Uttaman. Started with Manoranjan who’s
character is showed to be having a drinking problem, neglecting his family
while having an affair. He gives us a peak into the life of a celebrity and how
it could go wrong in your personal life.
Next
we see him as man who is suffering from brain tumor and desperately trying to
make up for lost time. Once again you will see a different class of acting from
Kamal. His naïve nature and the language command for the role Uttaman was again
top class and it all seemed so natural for him. He makes it look like an effortless
acting.
If
it was another actor playing that role, it will never reach the level of what
Kamal portrayed. That is why Kamal is class above the rest. His portrayal of
Uttaman was equally good despite the story line was horrendous.
Rating:
4.9/5.0
KB
Sir
The
legendary director took the task of acting this time and played a very
important role in the film. He is the mentor for Manoranjan. Each scene between
KB sir and Kamal was absolute class. He plays the role of a legendary director and it all seems so natural for the ace director
Rating:
3.5/5.0
ANDREA
Andrea
who plays the role of Dr.Aparna was drop dead gorgeous. She plays the role of
Manorajan’s love interest and his personal doctor. The internal conflict she
has to handle dealing with Manorajan’s diseases while comforting his family
despite her love interest for Manorajan. Even with limited screen time, she
gives a strong performance which carries a lot of weight in the story. A top
class performance from one of the most versatile actress of current time.
Rating
3.9/5.0
REST
OF THE CAST
The
film consist a huge cast and each of them has enough scope to perform and
everyone delivered a quality performance. The particular highlight for me was
the character of Manoranjan’s manager. Watch out for the scene he reads out a
letter. Another quality performance by Jayaram in this film. He plays a small
but pivotal role in the film which swings the balance of the film. The scene
between him and Kamal regarding their secret is a joy to watch. The rest of the
cast all has limited screen time but each and every character has a reason to
be in the film and carries a certain weight. Each time they are on screen, they
perform an excellent performance.
Rating
4.0/5.0
THE EDITOR
When
you have two different stories in one film, the editor has one of the biggest tasks
in ensuring the balance of the film. It’s not easy to keep moving front and back
between both the stories and Vijay Shankar did a fantastic job here. Balancing
the emotional drama and humor content of the film equally by giving each scenes
equal amount of time. The only downside is the running time of the film which
stands at 173 minutes. But remember when you are showing two different contents
in a movie it’s hard to keep the film at a length of around 120 minutes. With
proper time given for post-production, Vijay Shankar has come up with some very
good work in Uttama Villain
Rating:
4.2/5.0
Overall,
Uttama Villain is a film about love. Love between a father has kids, a husband
with his wife, A guy with his ex-lover, between the master and his apprentice
and a man with his mistress. It’s a movie you should watch, but it is not a
film that is going to be loved by every audience.
FINAL VERDICT: Uttama Villain
is a film where you pay the price for one movie and end up watching 2
Final
rating: 3.65/5.0
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