Well, it brought tears to many in the cinema, save for two youths who were making fun of the movie (err  no, it wasn’t me and Then!). But Rajini’s latest fare Kuselan is bound to be a talking point for some time. It has some plus points, and few minus ones as well.

First the story. Its about two (one actually) characters, Balakrishnan and Ashok Kumar, who are living their own lives until their paths crossed. Balakrishnan is a barber in a small village, barely earning a living. His wife is Sridevi (Meena), and they have 3 kids. Balakrishnan is having financial problem because his shop is in bad condition and he can’t afford to pay his kid’s school fees. His business competitor is Vadiveloo who is Saloon Shanmugam. One day, a filming crew comes to the village to shoot a movie starring the Superstar Ashok Kumar (Rajinikanth) and Nayanthara. The movie is either Annamalai 2 or Chandramukhi 2 or whatever. Balu aka Balakrishnan accidentally tells that Ashok Kumar was his classmate, and from that point his life takes a turn for worse. People start to be more friendly with him, hoping to meet Ashok Kumar via Balu’s contact. His kid gets fees paid from school fund, the local rich guy buys him a swivel chair for business, his neighbor sends over mutton curry and so on. Balu refuses to do meet Ashok or introduce him to his villages, till he is belittled and shunned by the villagers. Even his kids start to hate him. Balu admits to his wife that he feels inferior and scared that his friend won’t recognize him. The movie drags along until the climax. Ashok Kumar attends a school function and reveals his school time experience. He tells the audience of his long lost friend Balu, without realising that Balu and family are in the crowd. The villagers are astounded to hear that Ashok’s success was due to Balu. Balu, who couldn’t stand to see his friend shed tears on stage, runs off to his house. At home, Ashok Kumar meets up with Balu and they lived happily ever after. The End.

The first 20 minutes of the movie passed by, and still no sight of Superstar. People began to feel restless until finally Rajini showed up. There was no fight scenes in the movie, so that made more people unhappy. Its basically a story of a movie shooting interspersed with a barber’s life.

As I said, the movie could have bombed (and still can) because its like Chandramukhi. Rajini is relegated to the back while Pasupathy takes centerstage (like Jothika). Prabhu, Vadiveloo, MS Baskar, and a host of comedians were mostly wasted in meaningless roles. I enjoyed the part where Vadiveloo finally meets Rajinikanth. That “fan meets actor” scene was hilarious. Vadiveloo drooling over Nayanthara makes the movie NOT suitable for family viewing, unlike advertised. Also, the scene where a beheaded Rajini walks around also grades the movie 18SG. So I wonder how the movie is rated U. Meena acted well, but a bit melodramatic maybe due to megaserial effect. Pity to see her a bit on the heavy side at a young age. Nayanthara did her moves well, even though its just another exploitation by the moviemakers. The sticky point is when certain scenes in the movie were taken to boost Rajinikanth’s image or to explain his actions. Some may not like this self-promotion. Secondly, the animation by his daughter Soundarya seems out place at times, but not too bad.

The plus point is the climax. A bit low-key, but its like Rajini in the 70s’ Aruliranthu Aruvathu Varai (From 6 to 60). His retelling of his school days, combined with the scene panning between him and Pasupathy really emotional. There are few values that is imparted here by the characters – friendship, honesty, gratitude, relentless pursuit and so on. Another plus point is the cinematography. The color, focus, lighting, editing, all was superb. The images were crystal clear and it really highlighted things like village scenery, dialogue between Pasupathy and Meena, Nayanthara’s rain dance, and so on.

As for songs (by GV Prakash), the first song Sollama, Chellama is nice to hear – about living life simple. The Nayanthara song, Chaaral Chaaral was good too and very well taken amidst the water drops (well, Nayanthara dancing is a plus point.!. The song Cinema Kadavul was dedicated to the cinema industry.

I really liked the introduction of the movie. It was slow-motion scenes of barber shop and actor make-up room. The barber shop scenes were in black and white, while the actor make-up room was in color. I think that set the mood for the movie – about the haves and have-nots, how their relationship could be.

Conclusion: Rajini fans may not be satistified or even shocked with a normal, crying Rajini. No fights, no romance, no style. But he was just acting as himself to make a point – actors are humans too. Pasupathy did another good role. Simple story with simple message.

Cast: Pasupathy, Meena, Rajinikanth, Vadiveloo, Livingston, Nayanthara, MS Baskar, Prabhu, etc.
Genre: Drama
Acting : 7/10
Story : 5/10
Special Effects: 5/10
Cinematography: 8/10
Overall Oomphness: 6/10

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