Post interval, one of the characters says to another
perpetually bewildered character, ”yehaan par sab ke double role hai.” That may
apply to most except Kamal Haasan who plays multiple roles both on screen and
off screen.
Haasan, writer, director, co-producer and hero, packs in
more looks, names and religions as possible in keeping with the Tamil title, Vishwaroopam.
The 95 crore budget film in Tamil, was banned for a few weeks in Tamil Nadu by
Muslim communities. This may have helped increase the curiosity and loyalty
factor amongst regular film goers. Just what was offensive in the movie is still
a mystery. This is nothing but full-on, pure, action packed entertainer.
Vishwanath (Kamal Haasan) is a long haired, effeminate
Kathak teacher based in New York, married to a nuclear scientist, Dr Nirupama
(Pooja Kumar) much younger than him. Pooja has married him for his green card.
Now she is in love with her boss and to assuage her guilt, she hires a detective
to follow her husband so that she can find something against him too. The
detective is found dead, she finds herself kidnapped along with Vishwaroop who
admits to the kidnappers that he is a Muslim. The kidnappers’ boss, Omar (Rahul
Bose) has more than an axe and a leg to grind with his new found, old enemy. Action
filled, dramatic, flashback moments from Afghanistan follow, and the story gets
more and more intriguing, with Omar planning to attack New York with a “cesium
bomb”. However, too much drama eventually renders it wearisome and it does not
matter anymore whose side the hero is; right or wrong; Americans or Jihaadis.
The screenplay is full of interesting, long moments of past
friendship shared between the hero and the villain. This could have been made
more complete with a present day confrontation instead of a revenge chase.
Rahul Bose as the unlikely Afghani Al Qaida Jihadi despite his short build,
lends a great deal of credibility, modulating his voice well to match his one
eyed, cold look. Shekhar Kapoor makes a special appearance and looks more
amused than involved, especially when he does the famous slow motion team walk
with Kamal Haasan in the end.
Dialogues by Atul Tiwari are both entertaining and
meaningful. “Marne se paap dhul jaate hain kya? To chalo Hitler ko maaf kar
dete hain,”says the hero at one point.
In another scene between Pooja Kumar and a foreigner, a
discussion of religion goes like this..
”My God has four hands..”.
”How do you crucify him?”
“We don’t.”
“Then?”
“We dunk him in the sea.”
The delightful part of the movie as expected is Kamal
Haasan’s performance. He moves with complete ease from playing a long haired
effeminate dance teacher, Vishwaroop (the most graceful dancer ever seen on
screen)to a turbaned and bearded Wasim Kashmiri training Al Qaida terrorists to
a regular face in New York.
Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and lyrics by Javed Akhtar are
in keeping with the theme, with simple lines like..”is basti main hai maut
sasti..”Another song is both a treat to listen to as well as watch Kamal Haasan
dance to.. ”main Raadha teri,mera Shyam tu”...
Vishwaroop, ultimately, is a wish fulfillment journey in
acting by the multitalented supremo,Kamal Haasan. Expect a laboured work of
entertaining fiction rather than a serious comment on Global terrorism. .
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