Coming Soon - Kireedam

More than 1 month after Sivaji released, it looks like theaters are finally allowing other films to release and producers are finally gaining courage that their films wouldn't be swamped by the Sivaji wave and would find an audience too. Ajith's Kireedam was one of the films that was officially postponed to avoid clashing with Sivaji(it was originally supposed to release on May 1, Ajith's birthday). It is finally releasing this Friday and will be the first 'big' film to follow Sivaji.

Ajith is said to command the biggest and most loyal fan base after Rajnikanth. His fans have stuck with him through his lows and his films always command a great opening. But Ajith needs to give them something to cheer about. His Aazhwaar, released for Pongal, was a washout and was probably one of the biggest flops - both critically and commercially - of his career(the fact that Vijay's Pokkiri, released at the same time, went on to become a superhit made things even worse). So he must be banking on Kireedam to make his fans happy. Trisha is paired with him. Though their previous outing together, Ji, was a flop, they do make a cute pair. Rajkiran plays an important role as Ajith's father.

The film is based on Mohanlal's Malayalam film of the same name. That Kireedam was a realistic, emotional film about a father's dreams for his son and his pain on seeing those dreams come crashing down unexpectedly. Mohanlal and Thilakan gave powerhouse performances(I think Mohanlal won a special National award for his acting) and the film featured an unforgettable climax and a poignant last shot that spoke volumes. It is considered a classic. If the Tamil version doesn't pander to Ajith's image and captures the sentiments without exaggerating them, it could work well. Considering recent Ajith's films, that's a rather tall order and the big question is if it will achieve it.

Unfortunately, past remakes of other Malayalam classics don't inspire much confidence. The latest ofcourse was Chandramukhi, which rendered Manichitrathazhu almost unrecognizable by changing it to suit Rajni's image. But atleast it was a hit. The worst offender undoubtedly was P.Vasu's Seenu, that massacred Mohanlal's fantastic Bharatham. Starting with the cast, which had Karthik play Mohanlal's role and P.Vasu(shudder!) himself play Nedumudi Venu's role, everything in the film simply reminded us how much better the original was. Quite a few years before that came Satyaraj's Engirundho Vandhaan, a shabby remake of Mohanlal's comedy classic Chitram. So obviously, I'm hoping that Kireedam reverses this trend.

Helming Kireedam is a new director A.L.Vijay. Ajith has never shied away from giving chances to new directors and initially, that move paid him good dividends as directors like S.J.Suryah gave him hits like Vaali(personally, my favorite Ajith film). But the situation has reversed recently. Ajith's few hits in recent times have been delivered by old-timers like K.S.Ravikumar(Varalaaru, Villan) and Saran(Attagaasam) while new directors have delivered duds like Aazhwaar. Hopefully, this new director validates Ajith's faith in him. Veyyil-fame G.V.Prakash, A.R.Rahman's nephew, scores the music. The album is apparently doing good, which is a good sign. I love Vizhiyil..., which is a great melody and Kanavellaam... is a pretty good too.

Let's hope Kireedam turns out to be a crown jewel among Ajith's movies...

PS: Since we're going on a trip, I will probably not see Kireedam this weekend, though it is being screened in the Bay Area. I'm hoping to see it Monday or Tuesday evening though and so the review will not be online until the middle of next week.