Are we ready to be leaders?

June 17, 2008

Dasavatharam´s story explores the role of `chaos theory´ in our lives. Its narration depicts the complex, never-ending argument between atheists and theists. It does not end there. It also delves into contemporary global politics, the looming danger of weapons of mass destruction, the environmental concerns of the present day world, the caste issues that has been haunting India for centuries, the interfaith conflicts, the need for the man to love his fellow man etc. Many of these themes are new to Indian cinema.

The creator had to have incredible faith in the Tamil audience to bring these issues to the screen. The screenplay has been constructed with many layers to explore these many issues. Only an astute eye can catch all the levels. For the rest of us, the movie reveals a new level every time we watch it. Thus, it is definitely worth watching over and ever again!

The portrayal of the 10 different characters are astounding. Everyone in the audience will like at least a few of them. If one picks ten random people in the audience and asked them what their favourite role was, you are likely to get ten different answers. Each of the ten characters is fundamentally different and unique. Only an actor with a phenomenal ability can portray such different personalities in the same movie. The brilliance of the actor is evident in every one of the 10 roles. The benchmark for future actors has forever been raised.

The technical brilliance of the movie, the money spent and the time taken are unprecedented. The result does not fail to astonish. The camera angles, background music, CGI, editing etc takes your breath away again and again. The witty dialogues are also worth a mention here.

It is about time Tamil cinema takes a giant leap and moves to the next level, and takes its audience with it. The makers of the movie Dasavatharam have aspired to do just that. Now the ball is in the audience´s court. It is make or break time for Tamil cinema. Are we ready to make movies about global issues, science and the future? Are we ready to be leaders in innovative ideas and science in our art forms? Are we ready for movies that make the audience think, be entertained and be inspired?

Gandhi S Lincoln
gsl95@yahoo.com
source behindwoods