Watch Appu Raja Hindi Movie

[Pasty Luckenbaugh]

Aroundthe 95 minute mark there is one specific scene of Kamal Hassan emoting which completely floored me. I can't think of many actors who can pull of that look with so much ease. This is Manmohan Desai done right. Wonderful one liners,memorable songs and a landmark performance by Kamal as the dwarf.

I can't defend the screenplay but Kamal Haasan's skill and the fit of his pants are both divine gifts. Re: his skill, Appu's scene after the wedding (rewritten by Haasan right before it was shot) is indelible. Re: his pants, I trust you to figure it out.

One of the best entertainers of Tamil cinema...

As usual Aandavar in his terrific form,Raja's evergreen album, superbly woven screenplay with zero dull moments,sets a benchmark for how a simple revenge plot can be used to deliver an entertainer of full throttle.

Apoorva Sagodhargal is how entertainment is supposed to be. Simple, Unbridled fun without any other agenda. I can rarely see any film nowadays with this much of a panache for entertainment. Crazy to also think how the film was made with its entire dwarf illusion, circus sequences and the crazy amount of animals in it.

U know how they say childhood is basically a handful of movies, well this film IS quite literally my childhood. The film that converted the kid who was obsessed with Rajni into a Kamal fan. Have lost count of the times I saw it on TV back then. Every single time it was on TV, entire family wud assemble to watch it fully (my mother always made sure I watched only from the title credits coz in her opinion, the opening scene is way too violent n not suitable for Kids). The pop culture impact Appu's character had on kids along with showing Circus and it's happenings in a mainstream tamil film for the first time ??.

I'll always get teared up when Mano removes the ring from Appu's hand, When Appu cries and realises things. A crucial film in the history of Tamil commercial cinema with an all on mainstream Kamal performance and a Banger Album by Ilayaraja, From Raaja Kayye Vecha and Annathe Aaduraar to Unne Nenachen Patt padithen.

BR: One of the allegations against Kamal is that he occupies every frame and does not give room for other cast members to take some credit. Aboorva Sahodharargal proves this wrong. Janakaraj, RS Sivaji, Manorama, Mouli, Sreevidhya shined in their roles.

Varun: My take: At heart Kamal is a Tamilian, he has grown up on Sivaji Ganesan and Balachander. His knowledge on World Cinema was initially through the eyes of his other mentor, Ananthu. Tamil Cinema, has got its own language, which a North Indian will never understand. An example is the concept of Fan Club. The Tamil film industry has given us 5 Chief Ministers. Kamal has grown on all this.

And hence, the products that are aimed at Tamilians, are the better ones. The projects that he has been associated with in Tamil, arguably are some of the best that have been produced by the Indian Film Industry.

One interesting aspect about this movie is that Kamal went firing on all cylinders for this movie, in every sense. The acting, of course, the screenplay, and then he sang a version of Raja Kaiya Vecha, and I personally believe that Raja Kaiya Vecha and Annatha Adurar showcase his dancing skills like no other.

Varun,

Yes, the functional dialogue is indeed the biggest problem with dubbed films. What I meant to say was, they often fail to capture the sound of the original in a more general sense (the nuances in the dialogue delivery, the intonation, some of the background sounds etc.).

His comedies too began to have a distinct flavour after this shift. There are quite a few early Kamal comedies that are quite funny (the Chaplinesque Kamal was always there), but are any of those in the same league as his later ones? My answer would be a resounding no.

But after Nayakan, Chankayan, Sathya and Aboorva Sahodharargal, the expectations became so high the products started becoming to look laboured. But I am with Zero. From 1987 (Nayakan) to 1995/96 (till Kurudhi Punal), he was at his peak.

I for one think that he should probably do what Amitabh Bachchan did in his second innings, work with newer, edgier directors. May be even take up small special appearance type roles or just write/direct a small budget film with other artistes in there. Break the mould, i say.

Duh.. if Kamal has to change paths, it has to be direct more movies. Virumandi looked quite effortless for the subject he was dealing with. I cringe at the fact that he spent 500 hrs for the make up in dasavatharam. If only he had directed a movie in that time.

Brillaint article, was long waiting for a total fanboyish tribute and it was worth the wait. What a choice of movie i must say. This one is never talked about or discussed as any of his other serious movies. What a pity.

Missing the kamal the gun for hire is as zero points out is cleary a conflict of choices. It again does with the movies that we grew up with. For some one like me Kamal made the influence and the impact with movies where he was not only the actor also the writer. I for one crave for him to write more scripts and direct more movies. Movies with talented directors will never hurt but never at the cost of his own movies. Recently watched Raajapaarvai after a long time and did not hold up really well. It never quiet made an impact, did you have a recent watch ? Varumai niram sivappu, moondram pirai, 16 vayathinale, Aval appadithaan, Nizhal nijamagirathu has that impact now. But if you want to chose between those earlier ones to the latter ones ( Mahanadhi, Hey ram, anbe sivam, virumandi, Kuruthi punal, devar magan), it would be definetly for the latter ones without a doubt.

Sir. Feeling vvvv happy to read this article. Feeling vvv proud to say iam a kamalfan. Many says he is not a box office hitter. They doesnt know the sincerity & hardwork of kamal sir. Nicely written article. Goosebumps came, when i read. Thank u.??

And this is also the best kind of reading, because you are not here because you agree with me, but because you want to know what I say (however harebrained you may think it is, wrt your own opinions).

Man, there are very few critics I have so heartily loathed as Khalid and yet, on this one, I found himself nodding along to almost everything he wrote here. Sadly, the only way to read it is to expand what is a faded photograph of the print article.

@Madan Thanks for this gem. Fascinating time capsule to show how much Kamal was punching up above during those times. I also loved how he talked about self-evolution and the audience growing up with that.

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