14th August 2014. 2pm. I book my tickets for Anjaan, but there lies a dilemma within me. After all those doubts, discussions, confusions and computations, I drive myself to the theatre, only to hear that the movie is on. There’s a curve on my face, and I go into the theatre happy, smiling like a little kid with a bucket of popcorn. What I get, is this.
Anjaan is a film which bangs onto the screens with a huge noise. The heavy publicity, colourful posters and the pre-release buzz had all put the expectations on a see saw. When the film started off with some impressive title design and an intriguing theme track, the crowd went berserk. But right there at the end, there were a few gloomy faces walking out of the cinema hall. The film kicked off on a positive note, with Suriya taking all the attention. Right from frame one, this man is in full form when it comes to action, dance, dialogue delivery or just that daring look. The first half runs away with an interesting intro, the supercute Samantha and some neatly made action sequences. Lingusamy’s trump card is played at the interval scene, which brings out what he is truly capable of. The stage is set for a fast and furious second half. But to everybody’s disappointment, it doesn’t end up being what it intended to and finishes off at the cliff of a pit.
Lingusamy’s paperwork is decent. It is the execution which ticks off the fun. Well written scenes clubbed with interesting twists could have rocketed Anjaan to another level. Unfortunately, his packaging which sticks to the age old formula of fights, songs and punch lines is a bummer. Captivating tidbits like the coin spin and a transformation do not rise up to what it has to be. In the second half, there is a fight every ten minutes, each time with a different character. Good dialogues are used time and again, taking away the impact.
Anjaan is driven by its main leads, Suriya and Samantha. The duo together make it a gala in the combinational scenes which are enjoyable. However, the Suriya – Vidyut relationship hasn’t been given its importance, as we are left pondering as to how it came into being in the first place. Vidyut is tremendous talent, and the ease with which he performs his stunts are laudable. The rest of the cast is mostly alien, filled with Bollywood actors with bad diction. Soori, oh no.
There are two departments in Anjaan which are flawless. One, the camerawork. Two, the music. Santosh Sivan’s cinematography cuts through the locales of Mumbai with a bang, as his camera does the talking in the stunt sequences. I cannot leave without mentioning the combined shot of a bird catching its prey and the goons getting caught. Anjaan’s lens has witnessed true professionalism. To be honest, Yuvan has thrown eggs at his haters with his BGM. The score adds life to the film, he has totally nailed it. The songs however, deprive the flow of the film in the second half. On the flipside, the length of the film is a big turn down, and requires immediate trimming.
Anjaan is not a bad film. I’m just sad that hasn’t turned out to be the film it could have been. Suriya carries this on his shoulders just like he always does, but you do need some help from the others if you wish to churn out a stellar product. The don here is dapper, but his story? Good. And that’s about it.
Dapper don, who is dumb too.
2 / 5
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