Review of Mudhalvan

Introduction

Director Shankar strikes back with another mega blockbuster film, which is a great entertainer. His past excellent and successful movies includes: - Gentleman (1994), Kadhalan - Hum Se Hain Muqabla (1995), Indian - Hindustani (1996) and Jeans (1998).

The film has a strong political/social message behind it, similar to ideologies seen in Gentleman and Indian. While the past two movies had a serious side to it, it also blended in a form of entertainment seen in commercial Indian films. Comedy, songs, dances and special effects all are as important to Shankar as a strong screenplay. Mudhalvan also has these elements but in this film they are more apparent and make the premise of the film wishful thinking and far too cinematic.

Don`t get me wrong, I loved this film from start to finish. I also love some of the ideas the film presented us with, including a proper people`s minister & typing out suspension orders on the spot for government officials who fail in their duty by aiding corruption.

The concept of a 24 hours Chief Minster makes this movie interesting. This is a novel idea and the story does stand apart. The way that it has been shot is well done and the details placed into this concept becomes rather satisfying, even though some disbelief`s might set in the mind. But knowing this is an Indian film I didn`t mind and with the conventions of Indian movies, I found it plausible and well researched.

The film is very well handled but I did find the love story unnecessary and uninteresting. Honesty Indian films do not need romance all the time! Manisha Koirala, in a minor role, looked out of place at times and this might make viewers reach out for the forward button. Thankfully her role is short and concise as the film concentrates on the war between the common man and the `harsh` politician.

Performance from Arjun and Raghuvaran is different and interesting. They help establish the film and the audiences viewing expectations well. The interview is particularly a great example of what these two actors achieve. Also the way it is shot should get a mention. Supporting actors do their level best but it is both Arjun and Raghuvaran who steal the show.

The film has many great scenes but my favourite has to be the fight sequences when Arjun is covered in mud. The fights are tackled very well and the technical values displayed here really show the creativity behind Tamil cinema.

Incidentally this film is to be remade in Hindi called Nayak. With Anil Kapoor and Rani Mukherjee, which Shankar is also directing. I believe that this fight sequence in the mud will also be in the Hindi version with new CGI elements that will match with films like The Matrix & Charlie`s Angels.

The screenplay has been done at a detailed level while the movie has a flow and feel that displays Shankar`s cinematic style. The climax is clever and is memorable. Sushmita Sen (Miss Universe of 1995) makes an appearance in the song Shakalaka Baby, which is reminiscent of an MTV music video.

Cinematography by K.V. Anand is good throughout, while art design work by Thotta Tharani is also very realistic and helps with the overall look of the film. S.T. Venkti deserves a mention for some of the scenes with Special Effects. While some effects are brilliant he does tend to go over the top in a couple of sequences, especially during the song `Mudhalvane` with the snakes.

A.R. Rahman has once again done an incredible job with the music and song score, which are both melodious and ear catching. The score helps build the whole film with correct codes and convention that will make satisfied viewing.

With a great fight sequence, music, technical values, acting, and plot, this film never fails to tell an interesting tale of a man and his dreams for a rich and clean India...

Video

The DVD is presented in a widescreen picture ratio of 1.85:1 cropped from its original aspect ratio of 2.66:1. This presented some cropping problems on this DVD as a percentage of side frames are missing and in some scenes this can become apparent (DAM!).

It would have been great if Ayngaran International can re-release this film on DVD in its original aspect ratio, with an anamorphic transfer, so that the director`s vision is originally intact and that the picture quality would be increased by 33%.

With no signs of any compressed artefacts or of any grain, the picture stamps out pure cinema like quality that really shows signs of near excellence. The picture has near perfect sharpness detail, which conveys out information that makes it very clear and easy to understand to the eye. Details like dresses, set pieces, and locales are perfect examples.

There are some slight shimmering and moiré effects present on this disc but they won`t bother you that much and rarely create any problems with viewing. The film remains quite clean, as wear and tear signs are limited to tiny dust specks and dots that won`t cause any distraction with viewing.

The colour fidelity is also very cinematic, displaying vibrancy and vividness. There are never any moments of colour bleeding or of any other kind of colour distortion. The colours on certain special effects also stand out well and really shows how they were achieved.

Also dark and contrast details are spot on, and helps with the overall visuals that the film is presented on this DVD. Shadows are also very good, and will help with viewing especially in scenes in which light is weak. Check the scene in chapter 15 when Arjun is fighting in the mud. This scene takes place in the dark and is clearly well handled on this DVD.

Audio

The sound on this disc is in Dolby Digital 5.1 and is not a pure DTS soundtrack as the DVD box states. The film was recorded in DTS for cinema release, which was then converted to Dolby Digital 5.1 for the DVD. Rahman`s music is amazing on this DVD, and thankfully so.

Here a presence of a 360 degrees soundfield immediately fills your room when the film begins with the fine credit sequence in chapter one. The LFE channel is really active at times and is never too high pitched. The surround channels are constantly working along with the visuals, while dialogues are very clear and have warmth to it. The sound is never distorted and will never dissatisfy you.

Features

The DVD also includes the option of having English subtitles, which will benefit those with a weak knowledge of Tamil. However the subtitles font is too big and will present a problem for people with widescreen televisions, as the subtitles are placed right of the bottom of the screen.

However you can select to watch the film in cinema wide (14x9) mode and they will just fit without the top of the picture being cut or the overall picture being much distorted. Also they tend to go a little too fast, but that is due to the speaking Tamilians who are generally very fast in speech. Still the subtitles are a nice option to have and are a welcome treat on this DVD.

The menus are animated with clips and the soundtrack of the film being looped. They are of fair designs, and have easy navigation features.

Conclusion

A class DVD, despite some flaws in the cropping of the picture and the fact that it is not an anamorphic presentation. But it does have fine quality presence and being one of Ayngaran International`s first film for the DVD format, one could see better things from them in the future.