Nice to see most people liked the movie. I am not hearing much negative reviewes other than here or there. I think most people recognize how difficult it is to make this movie. The cross over audience might be tough, but at least the tamil audience are appreciating it, which is great.
I have avoided reading the thread or watching youtube reviews until I have watched the show.. Brilliant review! yes exactly it is like a trailer of the whole story..well described! 95% of reviwes here matches my opinion. Compressing this story in 2 parts is difficult, I guess that's why previously folks like MGR or Kamal who wanted to make the movie didn't as they knew when you compress it, you will loose a lot of essence and wont do justice to the story and didn't want to ruin it. Kudos to them, to me they are the ones who really understood the value of the book. I mean like harry potter this could have been made in more parts with giving due importance to each and every detail. why he wanted to do in 2 parts? in interviews too I heard they are self-praising for completing it in a short span of time. that is a huge blunder right there. you need to take time and carve out the movie beautifully instead of rushing and giving half baked product. I felt character development was missing..and as you correctly pointed out movie feels flat, hence the audience who has not read the novel would not get the depth/intensity of each scene and character! To my surprise I really liked Trisha dubbing for herself. Her pronunciation was proper and really fresh and apt for the kundavai role. She didn't have the fake accent in the movie, Thank God. she did look pretty. Oh I hate this deepa venkats voice and the worst part is I can recognize it instantly. Bummer for me! Costumes were excellent. casting too. The color scheme of the movie, could have been better to bring in the historic feel. The fights scenes or the scene where VD meets nambi, you could tell it was shot in a place like dubai., north forts etc. nativity was missing. It had the contemporary feel, with bunch of folks dressed in historic costumes. Didnt gel well. Choosing ARR for this movie was a big mistake IMO. Background music, except for the kundavai and nandini meeting(that piece was awesome, goose bumps moment) was below average. they introduced Raja raja cholan without any hype like he is a commoner. as per history he is one of the greatest chola kings, the music should have hyped his introduction, but it was flat..if you claim it is about pride of tamil history, do something special for the chola king. Vandhiyathevan ku kudutha hype kooda arulmozhiku kudukala... I cannot help but compare Bahubali background music..if the story was 50% music contributed to 50% of the success.. this movie fails miserably there..the Hindi trailers before the movie started had such dolby digital effect and this movie didn't have any such thing. disappointment! Really enjoyed vandiyathevan, alwarkadiyan nandini and kundavai scenes.. The Problem with this film is For those who have not read the book, it would be too confusing and complex about too many characters and not establishing the connection. For the ones who have read the book, it will feel too diluted and shallow.. tough job, not done to perfection. But still I enjoyed the movie as a movie and as a true story fan with lot of disappointments
Can't agree more.. Yes, actually why did they have to show poonguzhali like that! My hubby actually said that he has shown her like, the nila athu vanathu mela..kuyili.. in nayagan, the costume and glamor part in boat. apo than enakum thonuchu..ada ama ithu athu marithana iruku nu.. I also missed kundavai and VD meeting at kudanthai joshiyar place..
I like pains you had taken to write out a wholesome review. Simply you were candid. Thanks and Regards.
Watched the movie today... Had mixed feelings... Vikram semma and karthi asusual acted well...jayam ravi's performance was nice but his intro could have been much better...trisha cute but that ilavarasi gethu liitle bit missed... Aishwarya rai wow... When poonguzhali introduced i too felt the nila athu vaanathu mela song.. expected many goosebumps scenes from the book but disappointed... missed manimegalai a lot... Anyways i appreciate the effort and hardwork...enjoyed the movie...
Aishwarya was very good as Nandini but for me whenever people speaks of a queen..my favorite vyjyantimala always flashes in front of my eyes.I have always been a huge fan ever since I saw her onscreen as a child.Both have some similarities too be it grace or poise.
Trisha's voice is actually Kritika Nelson lyricist of 'Sol' and one of the AD's in the movie. Then why all this I learnt Sen-tamil etc etc and all the dialogues