Review of Star

Introduction

The film’s major star is actor Prashanth who has yet to impress me in any film. While he came close in his introductory début in Jeans (1998), the film failed at the Indian box office, with its soundtrack actually out-selling the box-office tickets receipts. The actor has appeared in numerous films such as Piriyaadha Varam Vendum (1999), Virumbukiren (2000), Chocolate (2001), and Majnu (2001). However he lacks the screen presence, and emotions seen in other Tamil/Hindi actor’s and has to do a film that gives him a new break, similar to actor Surya doing the blockbuster and hard-hitting film Nandhaa (2001), which would change his screen persona for the better. I was hoping that Star would do something as such for the actor Prashanth, alas I was wrong.

Star is a Tamil film that is quite messed up in its structure, not knowing which audience segmentation this film is aimed at, partly due to the poor directing job by Pravin Kanth. After you understand the plot you can pretty much predict the rest of the film. The plot did have potential to be a simple entertaining film. However the director opted for a more extrovert look, which in essence was the cause of its downfall. All the characters go through a hard time of trying to get the audiences sympathy, yet I felt none for them. I blame the melodramatic screenplay, which was too soap-drama like.

Also many scenes didn’t click in my mind like the character called Santosh (played over-the-top by Pravin Kanth) who pins for his mothers love. His attempt to kill himself, excessive drinking & even violent actions (so that he could see his mother) reminded me of an Indian version Norman Bates character, seen in the classic modern horror Psycho (1960). I doubt a grown 20 plus something year old man, living in a foreign climate, would go somehow through that!

The comedy scenes with the actor Prashanth are done in a ‘masala’ manner, and reminded me of David Dhawan films. The romantic scenes are also too dumb for my own liking, and performance from the two main leads Prashanth and Jyothika lack the chemistry and presence needs for a romantic tale such as this film.

If this film has to offer anything then it is the score by A.R. Rahman, which is actually taken and re-dubbed from the Hindi films Takshak (1999) & 1947-Earth (1999). Raghuvaran acting is also quite good, and his storyline alone would have made this film quite interesting. But he is treated like a villain (with a ridiculous wig) and as such disregarded for by the filmmakers.

With poor comedy, average productions values, and a weak-ass screenplay Star is one of the worse Tamil films I have seen since Rachakan (1996) and as such it is one to avoid if you want to see a good Indian film.

Video

The DVD is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.20:1, in an anamorphic transfer. While cropped from its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, cropping is never an issue. Much of the frame is covered. The picture quality is another bonus points on this DVD, with excellent picture detail, good sharpness range, and great colour saturation. Yet the disc does suffers from little compression artefacts, and film grain in some scenes. While the compression artefacts are hard to spot they are present and can be seen after much examination on this disc.

The DVD also has some wear and tear, which is noticeable in the form of white small dots but are hardly distracting. The film looks fresh despite the white small dots appearing during the duration of the film. Dark details are good and many dark scenes are conveyed well on screen. Contrast levels are also well balanced.

Audio

The 5.1 Dolby Digital Tamil soundtrack is made from its original DTS audio stems. The 5.1 soundtrack delivers very impressive fidelity, as well as a wholly satisfying and immersive soundstage, and in many cases fully utilizing the back surround channel to its advantage, such as the fight sequences in chapter 10.

Features

The DVD has no extras, however the menus are nicely created and are of easy navigation. Optional English subtitles are provided but the grammar and translation used is poor at times. Never the less, many audiences will still understand what is occurring on screen.

Conclusion

The DVD is not the best from Ayngaran, yet it is a whole lot better then all of the new DVD titles coming from the likes like big Indian distributors like EROS multimedia & Yeah Raj Home Entertainment. Recommended if you like this film (and those who do then you have my sympathy).