A focused thriller on the travails of terrorism in our daily life is not a regular thing in Tamil cinema. But Kamal Haasan, the man of experiments, has gathered the guts to remake Hindi hit `A Wednesday' that speaks on the effects of extremism on men in streets.
'Unnaipol Oruvan' is essentially a fantasy vigilante movie, a sort of pared-down Shankar effort, or, to put it otherwise, it seemed like Balu Mahendra-helming Shankar's repetitive leitmotifs.
The film's remarkable appeal, which made the fantasy element seem so much plausible and relevant, lay in the recurring reality. The impossible moral frenzy that the hero pulls himself into can belong not only to those areas that are both tattered and numbed by one mindless explosion after the other, but to the other parts of the India too. This is the message that Kamal wants to convey.
Kamal's eagerness to be seen politically correct is understandable. Unnaipol Oruvan deserves to be watched to see how Kamal & Mohanlal pit against Nasser & Kher.
If Nasser brought to fore the throbbing anger of the meek man so credibly, Kamal conjures up the intellectual lava of an individual who equally seethes against the wishy-washiness of a society that had gone easily numb.
Bharathiyar's 'Rowthiram Pazhaghu' may be the dynamite that works the dynamic in Kamal while 'Sathu Mirandal Kaadu Kollathu' may be the muse for Nasser. Mohanlal, on the other hand, comes across as both refined and restrained, a quality that was missing in Kher's portrayal. But both stands out for overall dignity and a decency that are now missing in our lives.
Director Chakri Toleti seems to have had an easy time, for the trump card was already in his hands in the form of `A Wednesday'. But the way in which he has visualized the script needs mention. Shruti's musical score adds pep to the movie while Manoj Soni's camera work is the eyes of the common man. Produced by Raaj Kamal and UTV, `Unnaipol Oruvan' is a film that deals on harsh realities the country faces today and suggests a harsher remedy for it.
Unnaipol Oruvan - One for all
