Bison Kaalamadan Review - A Movie that balanced Caste Segregation, Faction Violence and Kabaddi

Bison Kaalamadan Review - A Movie that balanced Caste Segregation, Faction Violence and Kabaddi

Written and Directed by - Mari Selvaraj

Produced by Pa. Ranjith, Aditi Anand, Deepak Sehgal and Sameer Nair

Starring - Dhruv Vikram, Anupama Parameshwaran, Rajisha Vijayan, Pasupathy, Lal, Ameer Sultan, K.Prapanjan

Music - Nivas K Prassana 

DOP - Ezhil K Arasu

Editor- Sakthi Thiru

Storyline- Kittan Velusamy dreams of becoming a Kabaddi player and has to overcome casteism, familial resistance and faction violence to make it big as a sportsman.

My Review -

Mari Selvaraj is recognized as a fresh voice in Tamil Cinema who made films that spoke about Uplifting Dalits. When he announced his next project with Dhruv Vikram, All eyes were on the duo to deliver something different. The project Bison Kaalamadan was announced as a sports biopic drama and the film released on Diwali. I saw it on Netflix and here's my review.

Performance-

Dhruv Vikram didn't just perform. He became the Kittan in my eyes as a person who decides to make it big in the sport of Kabaddi thus quashing the myth that Kabaddi leads to violence. He literally gave us a performance that was so original and so rooted

Pasupathy; Man, I have no words to say. You delivered a masterclass as a father who is ready to support his son in his dream and even shield him from the violent attacks that he was going to experience.

Rajisha Vijjayan - What a performance, My God. You played to your strengths as Kittan's Akka who is ready to go to any lengths to help him achieve his dream.

Anupama Parameshwaran- You nailed the character of Raani who is willing to wait just to marry Kittan. The romance scenes were so earthy and deep.

Ameer Sultan and Lal; What a monstrous performance and characterisation you guys did. The intense rivalry that you both pulled out was almost like a gang war that showed no signs of stopping.

K Prapanjan as the captain of Team India who recognizes Kittan's talent proves that Reality meets Fiction. He has also brought in his expertise into Kabaddi. 

Technicalities:

Mari Selvaraj has stuck to his guns and delivered an absolute cinema moment of a biopic. He also stayed true to his motifs of using animals as symbols in the movie. The direction aspect along with the script worked its charm once again and showed us that a sports biopic on Kabaddi need not be run of the mill. Balancing casteism, faction wars and Kabaddi was no easy feat but Mari proves that content is the king time and again.

The cinematography that blends black and white as well as colour is such a genuine thought from Ezhil K Arasu who brings transition in every shot. Editing by Shathi Thiru is well done.

Nivas K Prasanna has delivered a masterstroke in his bgm and soundtrack. The songs like Theekoluthi and Thennadu have proved to us music lovers that songs set in village are no more a thing of the past. If someone has to win a National Award in terms of Best Music Composer (Songs), Nivas K Prasanna should be the winner.

Overall - An Amazing Biopic that looked like a Kabaddi match.

IMO - This is Tamil Cinema's Lagaan.

Mozhi - A film that uses silence and music as a language in an effective way

Mozhi - A film that uses silence and music as a language in an effective way

Written and Directed by - Radha Mohan

Dialogues - Viji

Produced by - Prakash Raj

Starring - Prithviraj Sukumaran, Prakash Raj, Jyothika, Swarnamalya Ganesh, MS Bhaskar, Brahmanandam, Ramya Subramaniam. etc

Music - Vidyasagar

Editor - Kasi Vishwanathan

Cinematographer - KV Guhan

Storyline-

Karthik and Viji,  2 friends find love in unexpected ways. Karthik falls for Archana, a deaf and mute girl who resists marriage out of fear of abandonment. Viji finds love in a widow, Angeline Sheela who becomes their friend. 

My Review

Performances-

Prithviraj is so refreshing in his performance as Karthik as he knows so much about love and brings a sense of vulnerability to his character. 

Prakash Raj as Viji is so endearing. Beneath the hilarious joker lies a good friend with a golden heart. He brings in a lot of wisdom. I really wish everyone was like Viji.

Jyothika is such an amazing performer who used sign language to bring the authenticity of Archana to life. Her performance proved that we don't need any dialogues, just our expressions would be enough and she nailed it. It's so saddening that she didn't get a National Award for her performance which would be enough to move us to tears.

Swarnamalya Ganesh as Angeline Sheela is so vibrant and also acts as a bridge between a reluctant Archana and a lovesick guy like Karthik. She brings her emotions as a widow who tries to make peace with her life.

MS Bhaskar brings depth into his performance as a grief stricken professor who delves in his past and later starts to come to terms with his son's death on Karthik's insistence thus making him a true complete artist.

Brahmanandam's hilarious antics made us roll on the floor laughing. No wonder he is the king of comedy.

Technicalities -

Radha Mohan's Script and direction had so much magic that could make us feel like we are in their world. Viji's dialogues had so much of slice and life embedded in them. Vidyasagar never disappoints with his songs. His BGM that had silence and music weaved together make for a complete listening experience. KV Guhan's frames have an aesthetic quality. Kasi Vishwanathan scores a sixer with each edit that make us want to view it more and more. 

Bottomline - An amazing slice of life with music, humour and silence brought together.

IMO - We would love to see a reunion soon.

Kalki 2898 AD - A Dystopian Tribute to the Mahabharatha

Kalki 2898 AD - A Dystopian Tribute to the Mahabharatha

Written and Directed by - Nag Ashwin

Producer - C Aswani Dutt 

Starring - Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Hassan, Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Shobana, Anna Ben, Pasupathy, Disha Patani.etc

Cameos - Ram Gopal Varma, SS Rajamouli, Dulquer Salman, Vijay Devarakonda, KV Anudeep.etc

Music - Santhosh Narayanan

Cinematography - Djordje Stojiljkovic

Editor - Kotagiri Venkateshwara Rao

My Review -

2024 was the year which changed Indian Cinema. Hindi Cinema was literally in a damp squib, Kollywood was looking to develop more stories, Mollywood on the other hand was witnessing a Barbenheimer effect with movies like Bramayugam and Premalu hitting the screens and changing the tide. During that age, a film named Kalki 2898 AD came and took the entire Indian Cinema by a Mythological Storm. This film is directed by Nag Ashwin as a homage to the Indian Epic, Mahabharata. I saw the Hindi version with my friend Siddanth from Alchemy and here's my review.

Performances-

Amitabh Bachchan's performance as Ashwathama brings in a versatile range that no other actor could bring. Even at 82, he still dominates the screen with his aura and presence that reminds us that performance knows no age.

Kamal Hassan's performance as Supreme Yakshin, the God - King was so terrifying and I was amazed and even scared of him. 

Prabhas plays a double role as Bhairava and Karna. His performance appeared a bit wooden until the climax. That was the only drawback.

Deepika Padukone as Sumathi brings in a performance that is worthy of a cinematic spectacle.

Pasupathy, Anna Ben and Disha Patani did their parts well.

KK of Soorarai Pottru fame made an amazing but mysterious entry as Sri Krishna and also Arjun Das's voice for Krishna literally made me feel devoted.

Shobana also did an amazing part as a leader and could emote so well. 

Special Mention goes to Keerthy Suresh for bringing the voice of Bujji to life. Cameos by SS Rajamouli, RGV, KV Anudeep, Vijay Devarakonda and Dulquer Salmaan also help bring the story forward.

Technicalities -

Creating 2 worlds; A world set in Puranic Times and a world in a dystopian age is close to impossible but the production design team pulled out all stops to make this a reality.

Kotagiri Venkateshwara Rao never fails in his duties as an editor. 

Cinematography excels very well. 

The script and Direction aspects are so good that it makes you feel like you are travelling to the dystopian age of Kashi. Nag Ashwin, Take A Bow.

Andreas Nguyen excells in stunt choreography that made us witness a battle royale in a dystopian world.

Santhosh Narayanan went out of the box to create an interesting soundtrack. 

Costume Department brought some newness in dressing the costumes.

Special Credit goes to Legendary director Singeetham Srinivasa Rao for having mentored the team like a kingmaker.

IMO - An amazing and dystopian tribute to the Mahabharata.

Kantara Chapter 1 - A Prequel that hit the bull's eye

Kantara Chapter 1 - A Prequel that hit the bull's eye

Spoiler Alert 

Written and Directed by : Rishab Shetty

Starring: Rishab Shetty, Rukmini Vasanth, Jayaram, Gulshan Deviah, Pramod Shetty.etc

Producer: Hombale Films

Stunts: Todor Lazarov and Arjun Raj with Vikram Mor and Mahesh Matthew

Music: B. Ajaneesh Loknath

Art Design: Dharani Gange Putra

Costumes: Pragathi Rishab Shetty

Cinematography : Aravind S Kashyap

Editor - Suresh Mallaiah 

Storyline:

This prequel is set in the theme of conflict between man and nature during the Kadamba Dynasty. It traces the origins of the Bhuta Kola worship that happened in the original.

My Review -

I saw Kantara Chapter 1 and here are my thoughts

Performances:

Rishab Shetty has stolen the show once again with his performance in a double role as Berme and Mayakara. Berme is shown to be a leader for the Kantara tribe and is energetic while Mayakara is depicted as an old fisherman who is wise and mature.  His performance in the last half hour and interval was so hauntingly amazing as he is possessed by Guliga in different forms as Agni Guliga, Swami Raja Guliga and later as Chamundeshwari. 

Jayaram brings in his power packed performance in his second Kannada film after Ghost. He plays King Rajashekara who is scared and traumatised but later faces his fears. 

Gulshan Devaiah as King Kulashekara brought in an amazing and the most hysterical performance as a ruthless tyrant. 

Rukmini Vasanth brought in a lot of complex layers into her performance as Kanakavathi who initially is Berme's girlfriend but later turns into the villain which was something I had never seen in my life.

Rakesh Poojari brought in neat doses of humour as Peppe in his first and only film. The most ironic part is that he died before he could see his performance. Rakesh will be sorely missed.

Pramod Shetty brought in a lot of ruthlessness which was also packed with humour when he played a Yes Sir character to Kulashekara.

Technicalities: 

The Screenplay and Dialogues that Rishab co-wrote with Shaneel Goutham and Anirudh Mahesh deserves a lot of credit for its entertaining but rooted manner. The Stunts by Todor Lazarov, Arjun Raj, Vikram Mor and Mahesh Matthew were neatly made to look like war sequences and fights in the jungle. The VFX for the Tiger and Brahma Rakshasa were well crafted. Pragathi proves her mettle time and again with the costumes. Dharani Gange Putra deserves special mention for handling the design of the palace taking us back to Banavasi in pre colonial Karnataka. 

B. Ajaneesh Loknath has once again proved to be the Musical Czar of Kantara as he painstakingly handled the music with so many research and brought in two throwback songs like Varaha Roopam and the Karma song while also bringing newness in the soundtrack. Brahmakalasha is one such trending song which gives us a devotional vibe as it is composed using the mantras. aalaps and vrittams that are well placed in Carnatic music that found its way much later. Composing a Vrittam that involves improvisations in the ragas and talas is not an easy task but Ajaneesh literally delivered a banger in the soundtrack. 

Aravind S Kashyap impresses again with his cinematography and the mocobots used for the battle segments were so intense and stylish. Suresh Mallaiah hits a sixer with the cuttings of the film. The only drawback that I have is that there is too much humour been brought in. The open ending of the story made me feel that there is yet another sequel on the cards.

Overall - The best prequel that I saw from the Kantaraverse.

IMO- I still am not over the Kantara effect.