Iruvar (1997)
Considering I have been living among Tamil - land for almost two years now, this was my first taste of Tamil cinema. I had watched Mani Rathnam's movies before and was familiar with his body of work, but they were mainly Hindi versions like Roja, Dil Se and Yuva. In that context Iruvar, was my first exposure to a Tamil film with English subtitles of course.
Now for the movie - Iruvar means the Duo and is the story of the rise of MGR and Karunanidhi, the stalwarts of Tamil cinema and politics. It chronicles their struggling years when the writer and poet Karunanidhi helps the actor MGR with dialogues and helps establish him as a superstar. Both men are followers of Annadurai, one of the cofounders of the Dravidian movement and get involved in politics. Rifts emerge after Anna's death leading to them parting ways.
The movie is very well made and paints a true picture of the men - their qualities, talents, mistakes, follies etc. Both men had mistresses and sired children with them which is very well depicted. Even a young Jayalalitha's rise is shown. Mohanlal as MGR is magnificent but for me Prakash Raj as Karunanidhi is the real star of the film. He stands up to Mohanlal very well and holds his own. Tabu, Revathi and Aiswarya have minor roles but add to the film.
What also stands out is Mani Rathnam and the cinematographer Santosh Sivan's camerawork. They do not use a lot of camera angles but a simple zoom in and out to convey the gravity of scenes. The lighting is done very well too. The mood of the movie remains serious and dramatic in spite of the songs mostly depicted as MGR's movies. I would recommend this movie for anyone who likes Mani Rathnam's films or wishes to understand the Tamil politics and the stories behind DMK, AIDMK, Jaya, Karunanidhi, MGR, Anna etc.
Considering I have been living among Tamil - land for almost two years now, this was my first taste of Tamil cinema. I had watched Mani Rathnam's movies before and was familiar with his body of work, but they were mainly Hindi versions like Roja, Dil Se and Yuva. In that context Iruvar, was my first exposure to a Tamil film with English subtitles of course.
Now for the movie - Iruvar means the Duo and is the story of the rise of MGR and Karunanidhi, the stalwarts of Tamil cinema and politics. It chronicles their struggling years when the writer and poet Karunanidhi helps the actor MGR with dialogues and helps establish him as a superstar. Both men are followers of Annadurai, one of the cofounders of the Dravidian movement and get involved in politics. Rifts emerge after Anna's death leading to them parting ways.
The movie is very well made and paints a true picture of the men - their qualities, talents, mistakes, follies etc. Both men had mistresses and sired children with them which is very well depicted. Even a young Jayalalitha's rise is shown. Mohanlal as MGR is magnificent but for me Prakash Raj as Karunanidhi is the real star of the film. He stands up to Mohanlal very well and holds his own. Tabu, Revathi and Aiswarya have minor roles but add to the film.
What also stands out is Mani Rathnam and the cinematographer Santosh Sivan's camerawork. They do not use a lot of camera angles but a simple zoom in and out to convey the gravity of scenes. The lighting is done very well too. The mood of the movie remains serious and dramatic in spite of the songs mostly depicted as MGR's movies. I would recommend this movie for anyone who likes Mani Rathnam's films or wishes to understand the Tamil politics and the stories behind DMK, AIDMK, Jaya, Karunanidhi, MGR, Anna etc.