We were one of the few to have watched an early screening of
Vishwaroopam
in its entirety before talks of the ban emerged in Hyderabad. In content
and technical finesse, the film breaks new ground for regional cinema.
In these troubled times, it must be emphasised that the film does not
hurt sentiments of any community.
Everyone here has a double role to play, Andrea Jeremiah tells Pooja Kumar at a crucial juncture in the film. Kamal Haasan’s
Vishwaroopam
is a technically brilliant, ambitious film where most characters are
not what they seem. The actor-director deals with an international
espionage drama through a layered screenplay, trusting the intelligence
of his audience to connect the different threads of the story.
Vishwanath
(Kamal Haasan) is a Kathak dance teacher who lives with his wife
Nirupama (Pooja Kumar), a nuclear oncologist, in New York. Nirupama
confides it’s a marriage of convenience that provided her a safe shelter
while she pursued her Ph.D in the US. The age gap between them
notwithstanding, she is put off by Vishwanath’s effeminate traits. She
smells something fishy about her husband and hires a private
investigator to trail his every move.
In a sudden
turn of events, the investigator gets killed by a member of a terrorist
outfit. A visiting card on his person gives away the names of Vishwanath
and Nirupama and the terror group nabs the couple. The outfit operates
from a warehouse and is headed by Omar (Rahul Bose), severely injured
from the past.
Omar and Vishwanath have a past, one
that takes the story back by almost a decade, to the Al Qaeda training
camps in Afghanistan. What follows is a maze of events that go back and
forth in time, unravelling an international spy thriller that keeps you
guessing for most parts.
Nirupama is stunned to
discover the true identity of her husband, his uncle (a cameo by Shekar
Kapur) and the young dancer (Andrea Jeremiah) at her husband’s dance
school. Together, they try to counter the plans of Omar and his group
that could destroy New York.
Vishwaroopam
is engaging, keeps you engrossed and as you try to make a semblance of
the puzzle, several questions arise. Kamal Haasan sets up an interesting
premise for part 2.
Sanu Varghese’s spectacular
cinematography becomes as important as the actors in this thriller. The
camera takes us into the dangerous alleys of New York and the muddy,
rugged terrain of Afghanistan. Coupled with visual effects headed by
Madhu Sudhanan, the film is a visual tapestry.
In the opening sequence involving pigeons, Varghese captures the mood of the birds giving us a hint of an ominous force at work.
The
songs composed by Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy gel with the narrative of the
film and the trio experiments with different genres to offset the mood
in Afghanistan.
Pooja Kumar is expressive and
convincing as a young woman coming to terms with her husband’s identity
all of a sudden. Andrea Jeramiah has a smaller role and according to the
makers, she has a crucial role in
Vishwaroopam 2
. Rahul Bose is menacing, with his tarnished look and damaged voice making him appear more evil.
Kamal
Haasan morphs from identity to the other with ease, like he’s done
several times in the past. He draws chuckles with his effeminate
gestures and delivers an understated performance in the Afghan segment.
It’s
a film that needs to be watched closely to follow the different aspects
of the story. The graphic violence in some sequences make it unfit for
viewing by children.
Vishwaroopam
is a good watch for a discerning movie lover.
sangeetha devi dundoo
