Rowdi's Polambals ... !: December 2009

Disclaimer: This is not a praise post for a movie! Though I review everything a lot and don't write anything on it, I want to write a review of this to every bit for it is one of the most decent and adorable movies I've seen in the recent past. :)

After procastinating myself from watching this movie for quite sometime due to ethical reasons (ya! the heroine dies and her character name is.. RAMYA!!), I somehow made up my mind to watch it finally.

The Cinematographer:

He is the story! The water droplets speak a lot all throughout the movie! Every droplet falling down is a small time lapse movie on its own!
His perspective.. matchless! How did he set his hefty camera in such angles and took those shots puzzles me still!! Esp those shots.. the top view of the veggie vendor slowwwwwwly movie up in the air. The perspective changes all of a sudden to show a water droplet. I still wonder what ISO setting and f-Number he had to capture water droplets in such dark light!
His color combination! Wow! Woww! Wowww!! Black-n-white filled with water everywhere and a bit of RED! Mind blowing!! It would take me hours to do such a selective coloring in PS. Kudos to the cinematographer and the editor!!
His bokehs!! Ooh.. ooooh.. oooooh!!!! Lovely lovely lovely!!! Up close to everyone's face and there you see a big bokeh behind. In Tamil film industry only few are experts in this. Ravi K Chandran did it in Kannathil Muththamittal when Simran comes running to see the girl in the station! So many bokehs in this movie.. and none makes you feel bored! And ya.. different shapes too!! Mostly circles.. some octagons.. some eclipses!! I still love the scene in the temple when the hero focuses with his camera. Wonderful! Speechless! Bohehs bokehs bokehs and RAMYA in the middle of them!! :) :) :)
And the best of the perspectives was when the heroine was dragged by her husband to the bathroom! That was such a horror scene. Had it been taken by some masala director, it would have had such shouting background scores bringing the roof down!! This one.. classical. Something of the sort of becoming one with eternity... like the one that comes in the Gladiator while wading through grass. A slow freeze with a nice background score at that point brought the compassion needed what other directors sadly try to convey / produce!
Will you live up to the level of my favorite cinematographer Jeeva?? Making the life colorful to every bit as he did.

The Editor:

He is Mr. perfect! He controls the speed in an awesome way! Though having much less role to play as the cinematographer did his work properly, he showed his capabilities in various places. Stunning!
When the hero takes a photo of the building, a zoom-in surrounding-in-white zoom-out effect! Oh.. ooh.. ooohh!! It pushes you a step back! I literally fell down!! :)
When the heroine is tortured mentally, tears run down her cheeks and there the editor brings in an old TV with grains getting-disturbed-often effect. Man.. there you are!! A clear representation of the heroine's mind in a much different way! How many ever times it comes on the screen, it never makes you feel dull! Editing should be done in this kind of eye pleasing way!
One place I felt you could have done a bit more perfectly. When Nandha brings down his cup of coffee and Aadhi raises it. Well yes, having the same cup and taking same place in the screen, that was almost meant to be a different perspective! A rewind-fastforward kind of motion that you tried to bring in. But, sadly, they both didn't match. A bit more care at that point would have brought in a tremendous effect to that scene!! :)

The Music Director:

Awesome music! Perfectly matching the theme! Good that you didn't turn this to an RGV movie with blarring bizarre sounds! Haunting slow melodious tunes. I loved the score when RAMYA was introduced (of course I will :P) and when the heroine (at times I need to be subjective for my good! :P) is dragged by her husband!! Expecting such tunes and not any kuthu songs in the future! :)

The Visual Graphics editor:

Oooh oooh oooooh!! For those who praised Dasavadhaaram even for its good-for-nothing graphics, here is how graphics should be! Merging one with the reality!! Those glass scenes are marvellous. Esp for the small girl where she turns back and the glass holds the previous image till she turns back!! Oh! Man what an interlacing!! Good if you can take Graphics in Tamil industry to next level!! :)

The Director:

'Kaiyai kudunga boss!!'

The first time I saw the Cancer cup, I smiled knowing what the character could be. The next time you introduced it with the villain demanding his cup, I loved the scene! I felt the possessiveness you wanted to convey there and attaching Cancer to it appropriately. And when the villain said he is possessive of his belongings and he fears if the heroine would leave her, Oh! Man! You are justified!! :) :) And ya, the Pisces cup justifies its role too! :) But, will everyone relate Cancer to possessiveness and understand it in when you show the demanding nature of the hero? is not needed. Good that you are catering a large range of audience. It's like a poem. For those who just see the words, they love it for how the words are placed. For those who feel the meaning, they love it more!! I loved it more!!! :) :) And even more for I'm a ... CANCERIAN!
Perspective - Oh ya! You too have a role to play. Share the comments I gave with the cinematographer! :) Coz.. You have something more in praise!! :D
Dressing sense!! Eee.. eeee.. eeeeehhh!!! The first time I saw heroine's dress slipping a lil bit [I've sharp eyes, mind you! :P], I felt a bit disgusted!! But when the hero calls her and informs her.. ooh ooohh ooohhh!! Love you man love you!! You justified the scene and the need!! Great!!! And the explanation given by hero.. wowww! woowwww!! woowwwww!! perfect! I agree with heroine saying one should know his surroundings before saying something of that sort, but I agree with the hero even more!! Coz.. I'm like that - every bit of it!! Accidental dress misalignments happen and it's good if someone points out rather than seeing if someone is there around or not to say that. If said, it's just a one second effort for a person to correct it. If not, it remains as such unless a person realises that himself / herself! Kudos man!!
And ya!! You really brought in the message you wanted to convey by different ways! Your respect for women is amazing. It's one horror movie torturing women but not demoralising a heroine for that sake! People like S.A. Chandrasekar should learn from this! Someone going to the shower is more clearly shown by showing the water flowing down from a shower than showing a scantily dressed heroine! You did the former and you stole the show!! :) And in the climax scene when you wanted to convey the villain's mindset in Saranya's dress.. Thank God! She didn't have to show her flesh! Thanks man!! :) But then, when the heroine is being killed, you needn't have shown her inner garments... though.. you are justified!! In short words.. you aren't as bad as your producer!! :P
The apt use of the word 'Sex'. Good that you've broken the barrier. Clearly moving out of roundabout ways that Gautam Menon uses, you are straight to the point. And, it doesn't bring in any digusted feeling though! Good!
The clever portrayal of possessiveness and the mindset of a possessive person. Oh man! You rock! I guess you should be a cancerian to depict it so cleverly. And ya, you depicted pisces too perfectly. :D True.. Cancer - Pisces cannot match!! :P