June 14
I just completed listening to the songs of Chandramukhi once more. To be frank, except for the intro song, the other numbers did not sound impressive to me when heard for the first time. The album was pretty much ordinary and there was nothing to rave about. But on repeated hearing, some of the songs sound really interesting. Again, the objective of this blog is not to review the songs.
This being a Rajni movie, the other artistes who also played their part exceedingly well in making this film a success are not getting the due recognition. Really wonder if it augurs well for the industry. In a way, it is good that Rajni rarely comes on-screen these days. Let me talk about the people who deserved better for this movie:
Vidyasagar - This guy had a huge responsibility on his shoulders. The expectations were very high since Rajni was coming back after an hiatus. I would say he did not let down the people. The album may not be termed as "best ever" but nevertheless impressive. The songs are all on the melodious side which is great considering the fact that we mostly get to hear cacophony in the name of songs these days.
Jyothika - She played the title role and surely deserves more credit for her performance. Again, she also would have had pressure coming behind Shobana's and Soundarya's stellar performances. This can be termed as one of her best-ever, if one were to write an appraisal for her. In Jyothika's case, I would agree to some extent that her performance is being talked about. But, she would have been the talk-of-the-town had this not been a Rajni movie and also had her makeup in the movie been a little down-played.
Binni Krishnakumar - If you ask who is it, you cannot be blamed. Singing the most important number of the movie in an entrancing style and not getting the due credit, hmmm... life is too difficult for some people. All these days, I was under the impression that this one was by Chitra. Googling on Binni did not yield much results except that she sang this number. There was this one link talking about her credentials. Looks like Chandramukhi is her first tryst with filmdom. How I wish it is not her last. Raa Raa, Binni.
There could be others too who i have not mentioned here but still deserve a better deal. Why are their performances not prominently mentioned. Where is the fault?
posted by Subha Srini at 9:40 AM
7 Comments:
Subha,
Thalaivar is getting all the credit bcos if this movie had been shot with any other hero, I can bet that it would have been a big flop at the BO. BTW, Vadivelu should have been on your list. He is one reason why the film is such a big hit.
Filbert, I agree with you about Vadivelu's inclusion in the list. He and Rajni carried the humour part of the movie really well. I, however, dont agree with your former statement. If it can become a major hit in Malayalam and Kannada, why not in Tamil. In fact, the screenplay, in its current form, has lot of compromises made for Rajni which would not have been in place if not for him.
You are absolutely right Subha. The whole theme of the movie is lost with the amount of hype given to Rajni. Ask any common man in TN, all he would remember in the movie is Rajni's stunts and the songs and dance or the last scene where all Rajni does is over-act ... The central meaning of 'split personality' is lost.. whereas the malayalam original actually captures this essence... Mohanlal is not as remembered by people in that movie , as Shobana is ... Pity that the so-called 'MASS' cannot understand this ...
In the same context , one should really give kudos to Ramyakrishnan , who scored more brownie points than Rajni in padayappa...
I guess you both got me wrong. Chandramukhi in its current form (meaning with the messed up screenplay) is a hit bcos of Thalaivar. If Chandramukhi had been directed by a better director (say Fazil like in the original) with a better cast, the film might have been a hit in TN but not in its current form which is why I said that the film is a hit only bcos of Thalaivar. Manichithirathazh was a hit in Malayalam bcos it had a great combination of Fazil, Mohan Lal and Shobana. But Chandramukhi had to be compromised for Thalaivar's image though they atleast 'tried' to stay true to the original.
True that Ramyakrishnan won a lot of accolodaes in Padaiyappa but again as I said, take Thalaivar out of the movie, it would have been a big flop.
You are very much right, Filbert. The movie in its current form is a hit only because of Rajni. His ability is giving a hit out of nothing is unparalleled. But, our point is, chandramukhi's screenplay got messed up only because of Rajni's presence. Had it been for any other actor, there are good chances that it would have been tight.
For example, I, for one, could not appreciate chandramukhi's antics because enough time was not spent in defining that character. A riveting flashback would have been a fair choice. But, that would mean keeping Rajni out for a while... and you know the repurcussions. The director compromised, to the extent that even the small flashback had him around. The script suffered.
Subha, you can not blame Thalaivar for it. The malayalam version was shot more than 10 years ago and no one from the Tamil film world ventured into remaking it until Thalaivar got the idea.
We, Thalaivar fans, were actually let down that there was not much Thalaivar punch in the movie :)) The 15 mins that Thalaivar doesnt come on-screen were the longest 15 mins for all of us...
subha it's all algebra gabra for me.
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