Selvaraghavan's Irandaam Ulagam could have been a path-breaking movie in Kollywood. It did have a great potential to do so. It could have made Hollywood, Bollywood and any other wood turn back at us in awe. It could have proved that innovative film making is possible even in India. It could have made director Selva a legend.
Enough of could haves, coming to reality, Irandaam Ulagam is a test of patience. Anyone could become restless. The main flaw of the movie is not the pace but the screenplay, not the story but the execution. If you understood all the could haves in the previous paragraph, you would understand why Irandaam Ulagam miserably fails.
It is not a commercial entertainer nor is it a no-brainer, it has immense creativity and this movie would have looked world class on a whiteboard but the way it was shot and the way it was funded has sunk the movie.
Selvaraghavan is a genius no doubt but he needs someone to teach him "how to make a movie". You can't shoot a movie with a plot straight from a scribble book and expect everyone to like it. Of course, with the current viewing public, all you need to give them is entertainment. With movies grossing in hundreds of crores and new milestones reached, a "different" movie is bound to fail in terms of collections.
I know many will question my expectations and some self-proclaimed critics will laud the movie for its innovative and bold execution, I would take my own stance. This movie is not worth the treatment. It deserves more. Selva has thought ahead of time, he has imagined something which no one had. Although, he derives a lot of inspiration from Cloud Atlas (in plot) and 300 (in fight sequences), he still has brought a difference. Few months ago, he gave an interview where he lashed upon the current movie makers for succumbing to such poor cinema. He said people look for money rather than making a nice movie. He said he wants to make a movie which others will look up to, His aim is right and he did go in that direction in Irandaam Ulagam but he has failed big time.
Background score by Anirudh was great in the starting but slowly goes back to his "3" hit tune and becomes annoying. Songs by Harris Jeyaraj are nice to hear but are cliched from his own work. (I don't know how long he will survive by repeating the same tunes again and again). The re-recording was abysmal. The graphics, although very amateur, were great for a low budget movie beating Kochadaiyaan by miles (considering its huge budget). The editing is pathetic and the scene-to-scene transitions are abrupt at places.
Irandaam Ulagam is definitely a movie ahead of its times. Too hard for a producer to do justice to the director's amazing imagination. Some learnings from Hollywood can help, George Lucas shot the last 3 parts of Star Wars first because the first 3 demanded resources that were unavailable that time. He waited and made a mark. Irandaam Ulagam is a movie worth an enormous budget. I was imagining this to be shot by James Cameron and this would have won an oscar. Such was the movie's capability.
Usually, I end my review with a line which would help you take a decision on whether to watch a movie or not but with this review I would leave it up to you. Watch it if you want to fund the producer. Spending money here is a lot better than spending it on crappy movies which earn 100+ crores.
If you are looking for entertainment, don't watch this movie. If you are looking for a masterpiece, don't watch this movie. But if you want to appreciate creativity or if you want to test your patience, go watch this movie. Anyone who comes out of this movie without a bit of irritation would have relished the creative and innovative thinking of Selvaraghavan and would be satisfied by that. I was one of them. Were you?
Rating: 2/5 (only for his thought process)
Irandaam Ulagam: Miles short of a masterpiece!
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