Classic: Iruvar (1997)

A fascinating movie by Mani Ratnam that takes a look at the legendary figures of Tamil Nadu politics - MGR, Karunanidhi, Annadurai and Jayalalitha. MGR is Anandan, Karunanidhi is Tamizhselvan, Anna is Ayya Veluthambi and Jaya is Kalpana here.

Anandan struggles to get a foothold in movies while Selvan is a revolutionary poet who works for the upliftment of the downtrodden. Anandan uses Selvan's dialogs to make it big as a superstar among the masses. Ayya starts his own political party and Selvan is an important member of the party. Anandan later joins the party and uses his political clout for the success of his movies and vice-versa.

Selvan starts becoming jealous of Anandan's rise. Ayya's party wins the elections but Selvan becomes the chief minister as Ayya's health worsens. There are lots of allegations of corruption and Anandan doesn't fail to point this out. Anandan is thrown out of the party and goes on to start his own party. The government is brought down and in the ensuing elections, Anandan's party wins handsomely and he becomes the CM.

The members in Anandan's party aren't as service minded as Anandan and corruption allegations are thrown against his rule as well. All along, his relationship with Selvan is one of mutual respect and deep rooted friendship even though they are in opposite parties and Selvan is jealous of Anandan's rise.

Both the men have more than their share of romantic flings and aren't bound to a single woman. Anandan's encounter with his dead first wife Pushpa's lookalike, actress Kalpana is engaging to say the least. The 2 are totally diametric in their character but, Anandan is drawn to the young Kalpana.

In the end, nature takes its course and Anandan dies due to his ill health. Selvan repents for their eroded relationship and hopes to join his dear friend in the afterlife.

Review

• The acting is supreme be it Mohan Lal as Anandan, Prakash Raj as Selvan, Nasser or Rajesh. Living up to legendary characters in real politics is no mean task. Mohan Lal is a surprise fit for MGR though MGR wasn't as burly as Lal. His emoting capabilities don't need much elucidation. Prakash Raj towers above the rest and his climax performance is marvelous, worth the National award. His delivery of the pure Thamizh dialogs could have been better though. 
• Aishwarya leads the female credits and her performance as Kalpana is refreshing to say the least. Aish as Pushpa, Revathi, Tabu and Gauthami are dignified in small roles.
• Among A.R.Rahman's best works be it the cult songs or the inspiring BG score.
• Santosh Sivan's cinematography is top notch as expected. Visual poetry like in all Mani films. Another award worthy show. 
• Some needless songs. The editing department could have trimmed some of them. 
• The dialogs by Suhasini are powerful and intense and helps create many cult scenes. The art work by Sameer Chanda is grand and larger than life. Fits the theme. 
• Mani has portrayed Karunanidhi as positively as possible. Fear of rebuttal must have softened his stand given Karuna's atrocities against Brahmins in his young age.  

VERDICT

Class written all over. Mani Ratnam's best work till date. Top notch acting, inspiring music and magical visuals aid him in creating this masterpiece. 

Aayitha Ezhuthu (2004)

What’s it about:

             Set in the world of Tamil Nadu politics, it shows the lives of 3 young men, a student leader Michael, a ruffian Inba and a typical city youngster Arjun.

             Michael wants to serve the people of TN and he shuns even the high profile scholarships that he gets. He inspires all his college mates and the villagers of Neykaaranpatti.  He has a lover and is supported by his concerned mom and 2 sisters.

             Minister Selvanayagam panics due to Michael’s proactive stand and he takes the help of gangsters like Inba to somehow curtail Michael’s growth.  Inba has a troubled relationship with his wife and is caught up between his wife and his own greedy money minded intentions.

             Arjun is hell-bent on going to the US and but he changes his mind after a shootout by Inba to Michael. Arjun saves Michael and he gets inspired by Michael’s ideals and he also joins politics along with Michael and his gang.  Arjun has a nice lover Meera and his father and brother to support him.

             In the end, the team of 4 youngsters lead by Michael wins in their respective constituencies and is shown entering the assembly.

                                                               

Hits

• The same incidents shown from the 3 protagonists’ points of view, is something very new to Tamil cinema. Very novel and classy handling of the screenplay by Mani Ratnam.
• A.R.Rahman comes up with one of his best ever scores, both the songs and the BGM. The title track in particular gives goose bumps all over.
• The 3 heroes are dashing and apt to the core. Suriya as Michael is a dynamo and is aggressive as the ambitious young leader. Madhavan as the local ruffian Inba looks macho and is a real natural as the gangster . Siddharth as the carefree youngster turned politician Arjun is competent too.
• The 3 heroines look beautiful and have their parts too. Meera Jasmine, a terrific actress is obviously the best of the 3. As the concerned and emotional wife Sasi, she is top class. Trisha is very cute and emotes well. Esha is also very cute and like-able.
• Some very good support characters. Bharathiraja as the politician is very natural and utterly believable. The lady who is a sisterly figure to Sasi is again very natural. Sreeman as Dilli, Inba's friend and well wisher is first class. Other characters like Michael's mother and his sisters are all life like too. All the other student politicians make an impact too. 
• The sound design is top class. The sound effects for the fight scenes in particular make a supreme impact
• Some of the stunts are awesome. Michael’s first stunt and his stunt with Inba on the broken bridge are superb

Misses

•           The graphics during Michael’s shootout are tacky
•           The climax fight on Napier Bridge is also very amateurish.
•           After the 3 protagonists’ perspective sequences, the movie somehow loses grip and fails to inspire. 

VERDICT

Deserved a better run. The making style is supreme. Kudos to the master Mani Ratnam for bringing together such a star cast and giving them equal footage.