Special Movie Review: Enthiran

Cast: Rajinikanth, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Danny Denzongpa, Santhanam and Kalabavan Mani.

Director: Shankar

Music Composer: A.R. Rahman

Producer: Kalanithi Maran

Banner: Sun Pictures

Costume Designer: Manish Malhotra and Mary E. Vogt

Choreography: Prabhu Deva, Raju Sundarm

Lyrics: Vairamuthu, Pa.Vijay, Madhan Karki

Art direction: Sabu Cyril, Thottadharni

Cinematography: Ratnavelu

Stunt Co-ordinators: Yuen Woo Ping and Peter Hein

Special Effects: Stan Wisdom Studios

Script: Late Sujatha, Shankar and Balakumaran

Special Review: Enthiran

It’s 3 hours long and has taken over 3 years in the making, but it looks like Rajni-starrer Enthiran is here to stay for as long in theatres. The thing about Rajni’s movies different from others is so simple: no review required! No matter what one has to say about each of his releases, tickets have been overbooked already and cinema halls are minting money – either with their sold-out screens or with audiences coming back for a second dekko simply because they couldn’t hear the dialogues thanks to the deliriously happy screaming and whistling by fellow audiences their first time around!

Still, it’s our job to give you a brief of every movie and maybe a point here and there that we felt were worth the mention. So we thought do it in a crisp and snappy manner (much like Enthiran’s robot character, Chitti) – well, here goes:

The Story:

Genius scientist Dr. Vaseegaran (Rajni) creates India’s first “andro-humanoid” robot and nicknames it Chitti. Chitti is, as robots go, simply perfect and can do everything from cook complicated cuisines to absorb thick volumes of medical books to beat up several baddies in one go. In short, much like Rajni himself.

His ten years of research has consumed him, so naturally, his personal life has taken a beating. Enter the breathtakingly beautiful medical student Sana (Aishwarya Rai), his fiance. She’s all pout and sulk that Vasee’s work has taken keeps him away from her so much. Their true love is the only thing that keeps extinguishing Sana’s anger and their relationship is one of quarrel, then kiss and make up. Literally.

Vasee’s aim in making Chitti is not for millions of dollars of personal gain, but to have Chitti accepted as a possible substitute for human life in the Indian army. Dr. Bohra is the head of A.I.R.D. that must give approvals to such inventions and he is insanely envious that he, as Vasee’s professor, has not been able to achieve something as momentous as Vasee’s Chitti. Thus he disapproves Chitti from the armed forces

Twists and turns happen, Chitti remains an amazing companion to Vasee and a super skilled being… for as long as his “neural schema” is not captured and corrupted. Of course, all does not go well and in an attempt to instill human feelings and emotions inside Chitti, Vasee forgets that repercussions of a thinking and emoting robot and that’s when the trouble begins. Suddenly Chitti develops “feelings” for Sana. For a while there is humour in this supposedly mock competition between the creator and his being until it becomes serious and Vasee has to terminate Chitti. Suddenly Chitti rises like a phoenix and gets Bohra’s help to resurrect him; after which Chitti is his own army (literally) and mayhem and destruction follow. Vasee has to use all his powers of science and logic to thwart Chitti and finally, we wait to see whether evil robotics have taken over the world or has Vasee managed to once again control his creation.

Points to ponder:

- Rajni looks incredibly young and moves nimbly, as if he were a much younger man! Wow!
- Aishwarya Rai is a fabulous dancer but as one can see on-screen, not exactly a dedicated medical student.
- The fight scenes are kickass, and Rajni has tried some complication moves… with aplomb!
- The Robot song sung by A.R. Rahman is the best in the soundtrack – sound wise and picturisation wise.
- The climax fight with the bionic army of Chittis has some innovative graphics and moves – the biggest and most truly watchable gimmicks.
- Santhanam and Karunas come in and go abruptly and you wonder where they are, but never mind, their comedy is pretty decent!
- The robot Rajni (both avatars – we’re not revealing anything more!) has greater appeal than the human one.

Verdict:

True Rajni fan or not, if you haven’t already flocked to the theatres to buy a ticket for this movie… we guess you should be dismantled. Dot. (Yeah, that’s a line from Enthiran and it’s worth a watch!)