UNNAI POL ORUVAN
Genre: Thriller
Cast: Kamal Hassan, Mohan Lal, Ganesh Venkataraman, Lakshmi
Director: Chakri Toleti
Producer: Rajkamal Films International & UTV Motion Pictures
Storyline: The anger of a common man over the Government's soft approach on terror
Bottomline: Unnai Pol Oruvan - Ungalil Oruvan!!
Kamal Hassan is back after the huge success of his magnum opus "Dasavatharam" and this time he join hands with the Malayalam superstar Mohan Lal in "Unnai Pol Oruvan". The duo prove why they are deemed as pioneers in South Indian Film Industry.
Unnai Pol Oruvan is a joint venture of "Raj Kamal Film International" & UTV Motion Pictures". This is a remake of the Bollywood movie "A Wednesday" starring Anupam Kher & Nasirudheen Shah. Though it is a remake, it still gives a feel of a fresh movie mainly due to the characters donned by Kamal & Mohan Lal. The director is Chakri Toleti. For people who dont recognize this guy, he is the one who played a small role as Ram, Kamal's friend in US in "Dasavatharam".
The story is a simple one-liner. It depicts how a common man frustrated with Government's action on terror takes up the law in hands to show terror can be eradicated only with terror. Though this mode is bit difficult to accept, Kamal has shown the actual anger of the common man in each of us and to what extent it can lead a person to react with utmost fury.
Mr. I.G.R.Marrar (Mohan Lal), Commisioner of Police, Chennai gets an anonymous call from a person (Kamal Hassan) , who calls himself to be "common man". He claims that he has placed bombs at five different places in the city which will go off by 6PM in evening. The deal which he wants to make to prevent this from happening is the unconditional release of 4 most wanted high profiled terrorists. Mr.Marrar initially shows some hesitation towards this as it could very well be a hoax. But once a 3kg RDX bomb is found in the station coming under his control, the grimness of the situation sinks into him.
The issue is taken to the Chief Secretary of Chief Minister (Lakshmi) and finally it ends up with the commissioner to take up the task of handling the issue. He gathers the best lot of his men to plunge into action.
The rest of the story revolves around the events happening during rest of that day which bring this thrilling situation to a halt.
Ganesh Venkatraman (Yogi in "Abhiyum Naanum") as Arif makes a good impression in his role. The cop of name Sethu has also done a good job.
The character of Natasha played by Anuja Iyer is well portrayed especially at the scene when she try to smoke in front of the police commissioner.
Also Lakshmi shines in her role of Chief Secretary with her command and attitude of a prime official in a government body.
A surprise package is the computer geek guy. After May Madham, he has come into limelight again. In the scene where Mohan Lal asks whether he is accustomed with these PCs, the way he says, "Idhu ellam enga munnorgal madhiri venumna abhivadhaye sollitu try panraen." Cool! Good Work!!
Apart from these characters, the protagonists Mohan Lal & Kamal have really come up with a mind-boggling performance. Kamal lining his conversations with a sarcastic humour and Mohan Lal equally retaliating the same. It was great to see the two great actors sharing the same canvas.
Especially that short climax in which these two ppl meet, it speaks volumes about their talents.
One of the special things is the way Kamal has shared the screenspace with all the characters without dominating anywhere in the movie.
This movie shares a lot of facts like Best Bakery case, 26/11 attacks, etc.. Many of us even dont know about the Blast that happened in Menambakkam on 1984. I got to know from Wikipedia about this after seeing this film.
Since there are no songs in the movie, Shruthi Hassan has concentrated on the Background score well. The Re-recording is also excellent. She has proudly included herself in the list of young music directors of this age.
Overall, it is a good film with no punch dialogues, item numbers, duet songs or acrobatic stunts. The strength of this movie are its characters & their dialogues are its soul.
From my perspective, it is a must watch for the message it conveys & for Kamal - Mohan Lal pair.
Plus: Kamal, Mohan Lal, Screenplay
Minus: Many dialogues are in English which may not convey the message properly to all Audience
Rating: 4/5 Must Watch
If you watch the movie, you will find the common man inside you trying to come out to bring an end to this terror by some way or the other. There lies the victory of this movie.
I end this review with one of my favourite dialogues from this movie,
" Terrorism is instant. Then why can't the justice be so?"
Think about it!!
