Annaatthe – Strictly only for obsessed and fanatical Rajni fans.

( A side note: Just last week, I happened to re-read German Philosopher Frederick Nietzsche’s brilliant book ” Thus spake Zarathustra”. In this book, Nietzche writes about the Übermensch. The word or term Übermensch doesn’t have a proper English equivalent. It is roughly translated to mean “Superman”, “Overman”, “Beyond-man” etc. Rajni’s character, in this film, could perhaps be the closest visual representation of what Nietzche had in mind.)

I have nothing much to say about Annaathe except that I am sad. I am sad that such thoughtless filmmaking has yielded more than 200 crores in the first two weeks of release, I am sad that the entire team responsible for this film has held the taste of our audiences to such low levels of aesthetic appreciation, I am sad that there is not even a whiff of thought either in the story, screenplay, dialogue or in the direction of the movie, I am sad that the man who I idolized growing up has now to live with this terrible fate of having to repeatedly go through the motions of heroism on screen without the passion and freshness that punctuated his yesteryears of acting, I am sad that we still believe that Cinema is only about money and nothing else, and finally, I am sad that I have to admit that for the first time, I used the fast forward key to reach the end of a Rajni movie. To say the movie was intolerable would be an understatement. Not only is it an absolute waste of time, but makes a mockery of all that cinema stands for.

Now that I have vented my agitation, I can write with a less trembling pen. At the outset, I didn’t expect too much of this Rajni film. If the past decade of Rajni movies is any measure of how this movie was likely to turn out, I would be foolish to have expected anything radically different from the rest. However, Annathe fell short of even my minimal expectations by falling below even the lowest bar I had in mind. What kind of story is this: A man, who calls himself a village President, metes our justice by prancing around police stations and court offices. The lawyer, our own Nayantara ( euphemistically called the lady superstar these days. God knows, how many more variants of this self-anointed title “Superstar” will we have to bear?) with whom the Hero argues about social justice for a few seconds and promptly falls in love – all in the same sequence. Nayantara, throughout the movie, both in sickness and health, so to speak, looks like a dressed barbie doll ready to be showcased in a glass cage for posterity. And then the Kolkota educated sister, played by Keerti Suresh – perhaps the only saving grace of the movie – lands up in the village to do what sisters are expected to do in a Rajni film – which is unconditionally listen to his words of Heroic wisdom and guidance, preceded by a brief flashback to prove the indissoluble bond between them. Then, for heaven knows what purpose, Rajni’s heroines from yesteryears, Khushboo and Meena respectively, descend on the Rajni household with pomp and pageantry to claim their place in Rajni’s heart and offer their sons in marriage to his sister. All this is supposed to be comical in effect, and we are expected to enjoy the nostalgia of the moment juxtaposed alongside their current antics on screen. And then, on the eve of Thangam ( Sister’s name) wedding, she decides to undertake a clandestine train journey to Kolkota, along with her boyfriend. I am not sure what wrong Kolkota has done to the Tamil land, but there are a lot of Tamil films that have taken the liberty of playing out the diabolic elements of their story in Kolkota. Perhaps, there is something sinister about that atmosphere that I am not quite aware of.

I cannot imagine a more incompetent villain in a Rajni film than actor Abhimanyu Singh ( His character is named Manoj Pelakar, sounds Maharashtrian isn’t it?). Neither does he know how to act out the role of a villain, nor does his personality instill fear. You know from the very first scene, this chap is all set to die towards the end in an unflattering manner. To add more fun to the villain department, Manoj has a brother, the good old Jagapathi babu of Andhra fame, who once again ( God knows how many’eth time) wears the garb of an unkempt ruffian with large sideburns and a torn kurta, and rules over a riffraff of sword-wielding thugs. Between these two brothers in arms, there is a complicated family history, which the audience is forced to listen, understand and sympathize with. Our hero, Kaalaiyan (Annathe) gets to know that his sister is in Kolkota and lands there. What he witnesses is not a happily married sis, but someone in a pretty emotionally vulnerable state, thanks to the villainry of Manoj. Whats does a righteous and affectionate ( this word is squeezed to whatever the last ounce of emotion it can yield) brother in such a case – protect at any cost. And protect he does, in Rajni’s inimitable style. People fly in all directions, buildings shake, bombs burst, and Rajni’s ominous shadow creeps up the walls of a multi-storied building intent on scaring the hell out of poor Manoj. Rajni’s village entourage, including the comedian Soori, follow their leader to Kolkota, and together with some help from the barbie doll Pattamal ( Nayantara), they execute an improbable plan of cleaning up the mess and rescuing sister Meenakshi ( Keerti Suresh) from her predicament. When the brother and sister embrace in the final scene amidst the carnage Rajni has wrought, I sighed a long breath of relief. The agony had finally ended. I had dutifully discharged the ritual of watching a Rajni movie, and now I can forget all about it.

Now a couple of positives. I was moved when I heard SPB’s voice in the Rajni introduction song. In the last three decades, SPB’s brilliance in capturing Rajni’s nuances, and the spectacular aura his voice created to bring to life the screen image of Rajni, has contributed a lot to set the momentum of the movie. Composers, also took special care to ensure that the song had the right mixture of tune, pep, and lyrical importance to scaffold the image of a superhero. Composer Imman’s intro song in Annathe is not great, but SPb’s voice, as always, has shaped it well. This is the last time we will hear SPB sing a Rajni intro, and it was also the recorded song by the legend. Keerti Suresh has done a good job. The character she played is stereotyped, battered, and bruised in dozens of Indian movies; but she was able to bring in a freshness to the interpretation. Keerti is a talented actress, with expressive eyes that speak volumes. Whenever she appears on screen, there is sanity in the proceedings. Rajni himself hasn’t let his fans down. He has delivered what they expected him to. But, there is tiredness in his gait and expressions. The acting seems forced. No matter, how much you paint the face of a seventy years old man to play a younger role, the expressions betray the makeover. For want of a better term, I would say, spontaneity is missing in many scenes. It is a fact that without Rajni’s charisma, this film cannot even exist. No other actor can play such a role, in such a badly made movie, and yet come out respected and praised. Only Rajni can do that. That is the boon and curse of his stardom and his career as an actor. Lesser individuals piggyback on his star power and do no creative work themselves. No story, no screenplay, bad editing, irrelevant comedy, all of these aspects required of good filmmaking are subsumed into the character of Rajni. If he fails, the producer will overnight go broke, and the rest of the team will be out of job. Fortunately, Rajni’s Midas touch hasn’t failed him so far. He is still the most marketable star of Indian cinema. One movie with Rajni is enough to catapult an entire film crew to newer orbits of fame and success, and that is exactly what artists aspire to do – just do that one movie with Rajni.

I don’t like to be critical of any art, least of all Cinema, which is a joint production of many artists. I try not to be judgemental about any effort, however, compromised it may be. With Rajni films, however, I have reached the end of my tether. I love the man and will continue to look upon him as one of the finest entertainers of world cinema, But all good things have to end or change – one of these! Can Rajni reinvent himself as Amitabh did? Does have it in him to do something different? Is he in good health to put in the effort to pursue change? These will be question marks, and only Rajni knows the answers. The fact is, as long as the viewing public – for most of whom Cinema is mainly a form of escapism from the burden of real-life – continue to embrace these screen fantasies as realities, things cannot change, Art is two-way traffic. The quality of art betters with corresponding refinements in those who appreciate it. I recently watched “Mugizh”, a Sixty- two-minute movie featuring Vijay Sethupathi, his daughter, and Regina Cassandra. It’s about loneliness, love, a dog, and dealing with the loss and pain of someone we love. That a mainstream commercial star like Vijay decided not only to act but produce this beautiful biopic, tells a lot of how an art form can be viewed and engaged with. We need to experiment, explore and think beyond the Hero and heroine formula.

I am thankful to Netflix for streaming Annaathe. I would have mourned the waste of twenty to thirty dollars if I had to watch it in theatres. Here is the crazy thing though. Despite, such a poor viewer experience, at the back of my mind, I am wondering when and what the next Rajni movie is going to be about. This is the nature of habit. We are so used to the Rajni brand of movies, it has become an addiction, and a compulsive one at that. I am no exception, no matter how much I criticize his movies. Alas!!

God bless…

yours in mortality,

Bala