Watched Kochadaiiyaan

And the atmosphere in the theatre is usually so electrifying, isn't it, even away from India - all that shouts of "Thalaivaaaaa"; whistles; claps etc!
Though in this movie, there actually was a startled pause when Rajini's animated face first flashed up....then they started off again! ;-) ;-) Kochadaiyan's intro halfway through the movie was better, IMO

 

Same pinch here Tuls! friendssmiley
Reading all your funny comments about the film is tempting me to watch it. Should I? Should I not? Should I? Should I not?thinkingsmiley

 

The main reason I went to the theatre was for the crowd and thalaiva chanting..but...there was only one more family other than us, and I was the only cheering person for that entry scene (ds joined after some prompting).
also I felt the animation was better in the second half esp the dance sequences. Deepikas dances were like spring bommai..

 

And here I've been waiting for your review, and ILT's too! Do watch it, Sofs - it's a Rajini film - so no second thoughts!

(Though I'm not at all sure if I'd be this insistent for the sequel, TBH ;-) )

 

I went to the theatre knowing it was ARR, Ranchu (happened to read it in a review) - but I STILL had difficulty believing! ;-) Perhaps it's because we've never heard him speak pure Tamil?

 

This is news to me. I was wondering for a long time, that it was a different voice..
Rukmini was also difficult to spot, especially with bloated head and shrinked body..
Jackie Shroff for a long time, I thought it was Rajini's telugu friend, only later it came in one of his side poses.

 

I thought it's Sarath Babu initially later came to know that he is Sarath Kumar....

Not worth watching....

 

Watched it over the weekend. I can't say I was disappointed as I did go with very low expectations anyway. But I wasn't thrilled either.

They had a good story in hand. Nevertheless, what it lacked was a good script-writing and direction. As such, a story which could have been wonderful became very predictable and passe. Many of the scenes came and went without any proper introduction and explanation, giving the impression that the audience should just accept what's thrown to them without questioning the flow of the script. Characters like Sarath Kumar, Rukmini, Shobana and Jackie Shroff don't really add any value to the film.

Frankly speaking, I found the animation to be a big put off. Except Rajini, everyone else looked funny and comical. That got me thinking- Deepika must have irked Soundarya in a real bad way for she looked the worst of the lot!

To me, a new technology should be introduced and encouraged only if it has its purpose and brings the film forward. Motion capture animation as seen in Kochadaiyaan does nothing to the film, except pointing out its many flaws.

Its evident that the stars were only utilized in a few scenes while the dupes and the animation did the rest of the work. And even then, the animation work were below average. Most of the characters seem to be suffering from squint-eye disease. They look everywhere except to the characters that they are speaking to. Deepika's dance movements were far from angelic (assuming that that was what they wanted to portray). Clearly, special care has been taken for Rajini's character to make him look good and young. But even he looked funny as there were many scenes where he looked statuesque. For instance, when Rajini was riding the horse in his left hand (during the opening song) his right arm was left dangling as if it was paralyzed. And he and everyone else seem to have not more than 2 expressions each throughout the film. So, one does wonder what motion they have been capturing to warrant these expressionless characters?

Songs were good but again didn't seem needed for the film. The flaws in the characters seem to be more evident during the song sequences.

The movie would probably run for Rajini alone for he alone seemed to have carried the film on his shoulders. Hopefully, the makers learn their lessons and scrap away any ideas on sequels...if they have any...