Dashavatar (2009)

Dashavatar: Is paisa vasool entertainer

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Starring: Kamal Haasan, Asin, Jaya Prada and Mallika Sherawat

Director: K.S. Ravi Kumar

It would not be fair to reveal the entire plot of this film as the great fun while watching this film lies in the thrilling ride it takes us while watching it. The story of the film is almost a sprawling “epic,” that begins in ancient times (12th century) of evil kings and heroic Brahmins (Kamal in his 1st part out of the 10), then it fast-forwards to 2004. A computer chip containing a vicious biological material goes missing from a laboratory in the United States. An in-house scientist Govinda (Kamal again) who is aware of the dangers of the material launches a hunt for the missing material, which takes him to India. In the course of the hunt for the missing chip, Kamal takes on eight more characters and travels to many continents. From here, the film goes to a time when the whole world is on the brink of a biological warfare waged by terrorists. Actively opposing them is the American president who urges the rest of the world to combat this evil.

The film is part fantasy, part sci-fi, part action-adventure, part crime-thriller, part disaster movie etc. So huge is its canvass that it almost spans the entire globe right from America to India and even Japan. Not only that, you get to see Kamal Hassan fighting, in bike chases, car chases, singing, dancing, on ledges of tall buildings, falling off construction sites, you name it. The best part of it all is probably seeing Kamal Hassan fighting himself. While at times the special effects may not seem top-notch, it’s a wonder to see how much work has been put into this movie. The digital composites, the way they choreographed the movements of the camera and the actors, especially when Kamal Hassan’s multiple characters appear together in a single frame and move about, criss-crossing each other. Simply terrific.

Kamal Haasan deserves all the possible acting awards of our country and beyond for his brilliant act. His each role out of the 10 is a challenging task but he impresses the most as the Vaishnavite Brahmin Ranga. Asin in double role playing his love interest doesn’t get real great scope like she had in Ghajini but she impresses nonetheless. Mallika Sherawat in a role with negative shades is good too. Jaya Prada does a competent job. Rest all cast fits the bill and do a fine job as well. Himesh Reshammiya's music doesn't impress though and the almost three hours plus running time gets a bit tiring at times as well. But then you realise the set up as big as this requires such a long running time.

For entertainment hungry audience, this film is a mega treat, a must watch. At times you need to suspend your beliefs but then what the heck it is not as mindless as some other big hits that expect you to do so. Go watch the film for Kamal Haasan and the huge canvass.