Baba (2002)

To the movie, now. Again, more warnings. By now we are very much aware of what constitutes a Rajini movie. You can't walk into Arnold Schwarzenegger movie and look for emotional depth, superb plotting, superior performance, blah, blah, blah. Just go in, watch Arnold kick ass and that's about it. The same goes with Rajini. The trouble is, he still is thinking of projecting his thoughts and philosophies, probably as a form of social service he felt obliged for his fans. Whatever it is, we don't care. Most fans just want to see him deliver stinging dialogue, kick ass, do some comedy bits and go home happy. There are also fans like me and my brothers who feels that deep inside there is a great actor sleeping, and its about time to wake him up.

So, whatever elements that make up a Rajini film are all here. Uneven story and inconsitent screenplay (both by Rajini himself), some real silly fight scenes (except the one in the Railway workshop), theme song with dance, more songs with heroine, additional songs about philosophy and religion, mother/family sentiments, etc, etc. Its is all here. This film, in a way, marks many firsts, though not particularly significant. It marks first time he is performing alongside Kaundamani since Mannan. The first with Sujatha and Vijaya Kumar since Uzhaippali. Most importantly, this is the first religious film since the 1985 Sri Ragavendra, not particularly in literal sense.

A quick recap. Rajini is the 'chosen one' by a spiritual guru, said to be living for 2000 years. His Baba is an atheist, a goon, who beats up bad guys, smookes beedi, drinks and spend a lot of time with his friends led by the ever funny Kaundamani. Frictions occur with politicians, especially the deputy CM played obnoxiously by Aashish Vidhyarthi, and good guy/bad guy fights go on. In between we get cameos of Prabhu Deva, Lawrence, Sarath Babu and Radha Ravi. Additional cameos by Nassar and Ramya Krishnan are absolutely delightful to watch, especially when you have some knowledge of Rajini's previous film, Padaiyappa. "Some knowledge" huh? That's an understatement for someone who had seen Padaiyappa more than seven times!

So, our Baba slowly becomes a believer and continues preaching about god and all the good stuff. Fine. Sounds boring. Did I enjoy the movie? You betcha.

In Padaiyappa, I felt that humour was missing. Most of the comedy was left to the comedians and Rajini was barely participating. Here, he is in. The old comedic touch that had been his forte, is back. He even gets physical, especially in one scene when he is chased by a kite. Its a silly fun. Its nostalgic. It reminds us the days when his comedy was so natural and pleasantly nonsensical like the first half of Annamalai or Mannan.

I was warned that there are other bunch of comedians with Kaundamani, and like Senthil in Padaiyappa, the lead comedian may not stand out. I said, "With Kaundamani around? He can even overshadow Vivek." I was right. Scriptwriter/producer Rajini knew that and was humble enough to allow Kaundamani to overshadow himself. In fact, he can be seen shaking Kaundamani's hand each time the comedian delivers his crack.

I usually scoff at dance sequences, with exception to Rajini, Kamal and Prabhu Deva. Well, here you just enjoy yourself simply at the pleasure of watching Rajini himself enjoying tremendously during all the dance sequences. Must be quite a break from all that praying, meditating and talking philosophies. In fact, he is so fit, active and not to mention, still with that macho good look, that my brother remarked, "He can go on like this for the next ten years." Not bad for a 52 year old man.

I also liked the use of some senior actors. Its nice to see M.N. Nambiar (who's probably past his eighties) who still has that fire. Sujatha, looking slightly older, is back at it and proves why she will always be the best character actress. Manisha is there, with no impact. The same goes to Sangavi. God knows why she is there. For the small following in Japan, Rajini put a Japanese actress in the movie and again somebody need to explain what else is she there for.

I have no comments on Suresh Krissna. He is an adequate director and having had hands directing Rajini is Annamalai, Veera and Badsha, it would have been an easy task for him here. Still, I can see post-Alavandhan effects here, in terms of cinematography and use of Computer Graphics Imagery (CGI). The CGIs are as crappy as in most Tamil movies, but not to the point of distracting. They serve the fantasy elements of the movie well and will probably excite the Tamil Nadu fans.

The music, by A.R. Rahman, was a trifle disappointing on the songs side. That was when I heard the audio first. It still needs getting used to to see Rajini's song being voiced by the likes of Shankar Mahadevan and Karthik. But more than anything, I was bloody impressed with the background score. It is, apart from Rajini himself, the heartbeat of the film. It made the fake CGIs look and feel real. This time, Rahman used three themes for Rajini. For anger, there was the 'Baba' chant by Shankar Mahadevan. For spiritual scenes, there is the main theme consisting some manthras. For fun moments in the fighting scenes, he used rap/rock spelling out Baba's name. The latter is fun and makes this Rajini movie the most modern in his career.

One note about his fighting scenes. They are, as usual, pretty silly. Only Kamal can interest me in fight scenes. I usually skip past Rajini's with exception of films like Talabathy or Veera. Here, the stuff with the volleyball and the cloth iron gets way past the level of ludicrousness. But I was especially intrigued with the fight in the railway workshop. It is a show of superb editing, choreography and cinematography. Most of the fights are wisely done by a stunt double for Rajini and thanks to the good direction, and editing, it doesn't show. This scene alone deserves another visit.

As usual, I am not so keen on all the religious messages he delivers. Some makes sense and some don't. To me, combination of fist / knife / bat justice and peace and religion just do not mesh. Rajini has been doing just that for a long time. Here, he is never without that knife and it is not particularly helpful to the impressionable fans. But I dismiss all that in the name of entertainment.

Speaking of fans, if you are looking for those trademark catchphrases, you get plenty here. Most of the stinging lines are taken from a contest organised in one of the newspaper there, and they pack a lot of punches. There is no single repetitive one he used. Probably the 'Gadam - Gadam' might be the catchphrase for his fans to play with. If you are looking for what Rajini is thinking about as far as the future of Tamil Nadu is concerned (Politics or not), you will be disappointed. He is still the confused Hamlet saying 'to be or not to be'. The ending hangs, and opens a lot of question. I hope it will get him to do more films. More meaningful films that will finally highlight his real acting talent.

Here are links to some of the news and reviews. You may need special fonts for some:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=19185963

http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2002/aug/16rajni.htm

http://www.webulagam.com/cinema/review/2002/08/16_review1.htm

http://www.chennaiweb.com/en/mvr/baba.php

http://www.tamiloviam.com//html/Tharasu54.Asp

Additional notes 19/08/2002

Someone remarked that Rajini looked old. Well, he didn't for me. I watch a lot of Hollywood films where actors in their fifties, say like Robert De Niro, or even forties, like Mel Gibson look way older than they are supposed to. That's why I feel Rajini and Kamal still look good for their age. But those who watch Vijay, Ajith and the rest of the pretty boys on regular basis, they will surely find Rajini to be old looking. He had always been a matured looking dude. Go back twenty five years and you don't find a boy-Rajini. You will only see a man-Rajini.

Some also complained about pairing Rajini (or Kamal for that matter) with younger actress. My answer is 'So What?'. I would love to justify it by comparing with Hollywood, but I better don't. Its a world too far away from these people. Put an ageing actress and you hear complains about her age. Put an unknown, and you hear complains about 'who the hell is she and how dare she act with Rajini." People always have complaints. Live with it.


				*Rakesh's movie talk* *Baba (2002)*



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		Directed Suresh Krissna Written by Rajinikanth (dialogues by Gopu Babu) Starring Rajinikanth, Kaundamani, Sujatha and Manisha Koirala



		Here again, one of my rare Tamil movie comments. Non Tamil film fans will have to write to me to know who Rajini is and why all this hoo-haas. Ever since 1999's Padaiyappa, Rajini fans has been guessing when is their "Talaivar"'s movie is coming out. So many titles were being passed around - Ramakrishna, Tuyavan and what-nots. Yet, the ever indecisive Rajini kept mum, making a few public appearance, talking philosophies, but keeping way lesser involvement with Tamil Nadu politics. I am a fan but I don't call him 'Talaivar' because I sincerely believe that he is a better actor than how he is perceived to be; and I have long been captivated by him superb screen presence. And dammit! I too wanted to know when his next movie is coming out. Oh shoot! I forgot to warn non-Rajini fans. I have already warned non-Tamil fans, now I've got to tell non-Rajini fans to go away. You don't wanna be reading this, bud. Way too insulting for you. Okay, where was I? Of course, the news of the new movie. When my brother mailed it to me earlier this year, I was skeptical. Yeah, right, another 'Ramakrishna' or 'Tuyavan', but coming from my brother it got to be serious. I called him up and had a long discussion, like always we do all the time, all our lives. It's true. 'Baba' is the name. By now, we are so used to the unconventional names Rajini adopts for his character that I find Baba to be a bit low profile.



		To the movie, now. Again, more warnings. By now we are very much aware of what constitutes a Rajini movie. You can't walk into Arnold Schwarzenegger movie and look for emotional depth, superb plotting, superior performance, blah, blah, blah. Just go in, watch Arnold kick ass and that's about it. The same goes with Rajini. The trouble is, he still is thinking of projecting his thoughts and philosophies, probably as a form of social service he felt obliged for his fans. Whatever it is, we don't care. Most fans just want to see him deliver stinging dialogue, kick ass, do some comedy bits and go home happy. There are also fans like me and my brothers who feels that deep inside there is a great actor sleeping, and its about time to wake him up. So, whatever elements that make up a Rajini film are all here. Uneven story and inconsitent screenplay (both by Rajini himself), some real silly fight scenes (except the one in the Railway workshop), theme song with dance, more songs with heroine, additional songs about philosophy and religion, mother/family sentiments, etc, etc. Its is all here. This film, in a way, marks many firsts, though not particularly significant. It marks first time he is performing alongside Kaundamani since Mannan. The first with Sujatha and Vijaya Kumar since Uzhaippali. Most importantly, this is the first religious film since the 1985 Sri Ragavendra, not particularly in literal sense. A quick recap. Rajini is the 'chosen one' by a spiritual guru, said to be living for 2000 years. His Baba is an atheist, a goon, who beats up bad guys, smookes beedi, drinks and spend a lot of time with his friends led by the ever funny Kaundamani. Frictions occur with politicians, especially the deputy CM played obnoxiously by Aashish Vidhyarthi, and good guy/bad guy fights go on. In between we get cameos of Prabhu Deva, Lawrence, Sarath Babu and Radha Ravi. Additional cameos by Nassar and Ramya Krishnan are absolutely delightful to watch, especially when you have some knowledge of Rajini's previous film, Padaiyappa. "Some knowledge" huh? That's an understatement for someone who had seen Padaiyappa more than seven times! So, our Baba slowly becomes a believer and continues preaching about god and all the good stuff. Fine. Sounds boring. Did I enjoy the movie? You betcha. In Padaiyappa, I felt that humour was missing. Most of the comedy was left to the comedians and Rajini was barely participating. Here, he is in. The old comedic touch that had been his forte, is back. He even gets physical, especially in one scene when he is chased by a kite. Its a silly fun. Its nostalgic. It reminds us the days when his comedy was so natural and pleasantly nonsensical like the first half of Annamalai or Mannan. I was warned that there are other bunch of comedians with Kaundamani, and like Senthil in Padaiyappa, the lead comedian may not stand out. I said, "With Kaundamani around? He can even overshadow Vivek." I was right. Scriptwriter/producer Rajini knew that and was humble enough to allow Kaundamani to overshadow himself. In fact, he can be seen shaking Kaundamani's hand each time the comedian delivers his crack. I usually scoff at dance sequences, with exception to Rajini, Kamal and Prabhu Deva. Well, here you just enjoy yourself simply at the pleasure of watching Rajini himself enjoying tremendously during all the dance sequences. Must be quite a break from all that praying, meditating and talking philosophies. In fact, he is so fit, active and not to mention, still with that macho good look, that my brother remarked, "He can go on like this for the next ten years." Not bad for a 52 year old man. I also liked the use of some senior actors. Its nice to see M.N. Nambiar (who's probably past his eighties) who still has that fire. Sujatha, looking slightly older, is back at it and proves why she will always be the best character actress. Manisha is there, with no impact. The same goes to Sangavi. God knows why she is there. For the small following in Japan, Rajini put a Japanese actress in the movie and again somebody need to explain what else is she there for. I have no comments on Suresh Krissna. He is an adequate director and having had hands directing Rajini is Annamalai, Veera and Badsha, it would have been an easy task for him here. Still, I can see post-Alavandhan effects here, in terms of cinematography and use of Computer Graphics Imagery (CGI). The CGIs are as crappy as in most Tamil movies, but not to the point of distracting. They serve the fantasy elements of the movie well and will probably excite the Tamil Nadu fans. The music, by A.R. Rahman, was a trifle disappointing on the songs side. That was when I heard the audio first. It still needs getting used to to see Rajini's song being voiced by the likes of Shankar Mahadevan and Karthik. But more than anything, I was bloody impressed with the background score. It is, apart from Rajini himself, the heartbeat of the film. It made the fake CGIs look and feel real. This time, Rahman used three themes for Rajini. For anger, there was the 'Baba' chant by Shankar Mahadevan. For spiritual scenes, there is the main theme consisting some manthras. For fun moments in the fighting scenes, he used rap/rock spelling out Baba's name. The latter is fun and makes this Rajini movie the most modern in his career. One note about his fighting scenes. They are, as usual, pretty silly. Only Kamal can interest me in fight scenes. I usually skip past Rajini's with exception of films like Talabathy or Veera. Here, the stuff with the volleyball and the cloth iron gets way past the level of ludicrousness. But I was especially intrigued with the fight in the railway workshop. It is a show of superb editing, choreography and cinematography. Most of the fights are wisely done by a stunt double for Rajini and thanks to the good direction, and editing, it doesn't show. This scene alone deserves another visit. As usual, I am not so keen on all the religious messages he delivers. Some makes sense and some don't. To me, combination of fist / knife / bat justice and peace and religion just do not mesh. Rajini has been doing just that for a long time. Here, he is never without that knife and it is not particularly helpful to the impressionable fans. But I dismiss all that in the name of entertainment. Speaking of fans, if you are looking for those trademark catchphrases, you get plenty here. Most of the stinging lines are taken from a contest organised in one of the newspaper there, and they pack a lot of punches. There is no single repetitive one he used. Probably the 'Gadam - Gadam' might be the catchphrase for his fans to play with. If you are looking for what Rajini is thinking about as far as the future of Tamil Nadu is concerned (Politics or not), you will be disappointed. He is still the confused Hamlet saying 'to be or not to be'. The ending hangs, and opens a lot of question. I hope it will get him to do more films. More meaningful films that will finally highlight his real acting talent. Here are links to some of the news and reviews. You may need special fonts for some: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=19185963 http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2002/aug/16rajni.htm http://www.webulagam.com/cinema/review/2002/08/16_review1.htm http://www.chennaiweb.com/en/mvr/baba.php http://www.tamiloviam.com//html/Tharasu54.Asp Additional notes 19/08/2002 Someone remarked that Rajini looked old. Well, he didn't for me. I watch a lot of Hollywood films where actors in their fifties, say like Robert De Niro, or even forties, like Mel Gibson look way older than they are supposed to. That's why I feel Rajini and Kamal still look good for their age. But those who watch Vijay, Ajith and the rest of the pretty boys on regular basis, they will surely find Rajini to be old looking. He had always been a matured looking dude. Go back twenty five years and you don't find a boy-Rajini. You will only see a man-Rajini. Some also complained about pairing Rajini (or Kamal for that matter) with younger actress. My answer is 'So What?'. I would love to justify it by comparing with Hollywood, but I better don't. Its a world too far away from these people. Put an ageing actress and you hear complains about her age. Put an unknown, and you hear complains about 'who the hell is she and how dare she act with Rajini." People always have complaints. Live with it.