When Kamal and Mohanlal lock horns!

Review of 'Unnai Pol Oruvan'

By P. Muraleedharan

I have been really cross with Kamal Haasan since seeing his prosthetic disaster in 'Dasavatharam'. An artiste of the calibre of Kamal does not need the crutches of make up gimmickry to impress his audience and make new converts, for sure. The film showed his lack of respect for his own talents ( A local wit said, the film shows Kamal's deep self knowledge that he needs some kind of extra props to ensure the success of his films!) and, for his audience.

But, now 'Ulaga Nayagan' has made amends for his follies with 'Unnai Pol Oruvan'. The Chakri Toleti film is a slicker version of its Hindi original 'A Wednesday'. Kamal has shown the courage to rope in Mohanlal, an actor capable of giving him tough competition, in a high voltage role which naturally would call for comparisons with Kamal's performance. The film has turned out to be a winner on all counts: The much anticipated "battle" between the top actors are just unforgettable, to say the least. And both actors have come out with brighter reputations.

Kamal's role of a common man armed with a laptop and bomb-making knowledge gleaned from Internet is quite subdued and convincing. It is only towards the climax that he breaks into an impassioned speech. But, it is Mohanlal who walks away with all the applause. As the super cool cop, he lives onscreen and shows a good actor don't need to raise the decibel levels or resort to mimicry to communicate. Veteran actress Lakshmi gives an energetic performance as the beleaugured chief secretary of the state who unwilllingly entrusts the police commissioner (Mohanlal) the responsibility of dealing with the crisis. The easiness with which the commissioner handles pressure from all sides--his bosses, the terrorist, the pestering media, handling his officers--is a treat to watch. He conveys a sense of calm alertness and commitment in the face of a grave challenge, but that strain of uneasiness is there underneath all the same.

For Ganesh Venkataraman, who gives a powerful performance as a cop, this film may turn out to be the big break he has been waiting for. Anuja Iyer turns in a cool performance as a TV reporter.

It is heartening to see that director Chakri has not resorted to preachiness when dealing with such a sensitive theme. There are no songs in the movie and the background score by Kamal's daughter Shruthi Haasan in no way hampers the flow of events in the movie. The visuals, canned by Manoj using RED technology (for the first time in India), are just awesome.

The film has its failings, of course. The basic premise of the film would need some real support to stand on its own legs. Is it possible to root out terrorism by dispensing summary justice? Not at all is the answer, if we examine some of the recent anti-terror operations. (Just look at Guantanamo Bay and see what happened there.)

The film will be remembered for the towering performances of Kamal and Mohanlal for long.