I came back after watching Sivaji just now. 😀 For the first time in my life, I missed the first few minutes of a movie in theatre. 🙁 I have always been at the theater at least 20 minutes before the movie starts!
Random musings after watching the movie:
- I am never going to like a Shankar’s movie completely (I could see it as a Shankar’s movie only more than Rajni’s in the first half), especially, the scenes where the hero woos the heroine or other scenes featuring the lead pair of the movie. (and in this movie, their family too!)
- Rajni is the SUPERSTAR irrespective of whether he is Sivaji or MGR. 😉 He rulezzzzzzzz but only in the second half of the movie especially when he is the Mottai Boss 😀
- The way Rajni reacts when he gets caught on the railway track is classic Rajni stuff.
- Songs are picturized quite well. Athiradee as everyone said, was too good! I didn’t like Balleilakka that much.
- I didn’t like that Suman that much. Raghuvaran will always be the perfect villain for Rajni! Imagine Raghuvaran delivering those dialogues of Suman! Would have been great!
- Finally, the movie was exactly as I expected it to be, that is, not so great and not so bad either. 😉 And, Batsha, Padaiyappa and Annamalai will remain my favourite Rajni movies!
me too voice most of ur thoughts.yea rajinis introductory song was pathetic,both music n picturisation.rest were good! a solid 3 hrs rocked for me 🙂
elite ( e-late ) sivaji viewers gang. 🙂 Njoy.
P.S>> i donn see how people are comparing shanker with rajini. shanker just had dozens of offpsrings in his umberlla compare to a person who is in the industry for 30years. its a pure rajnin movie and shanker tugging it. thats all.
Umm..You a Rajni fan..So no wonder u enjoyed the movie ! But for a non-rajni fan, will the movie be worth a watch ??
1. I haven’t watched sivaji yet
2. I plan to watch it soon
3. Nithya’s question please be to be answer.
4. I think Rajni is caught in the loop of his own super stardom. That, I think, is a pity. We have lost Rajni the actor exclusively to Rajni the star. There is no reason why the both of them couldn’t coexist. But sadly, one died. That’s my only beef with Rajni.
5. The fact that there are some stills still in Rajni movies which make even the purists nod their heads in approval just proves how much Rajni the actor will be missed.
6. I have started writing long and convoluted sentences, thus signifying the dearth of newer things to say.
Couch Potato,
🙂
Adiya,
There is no comparison between Rajni and Shankar being done here. How can anyone compare the two of them? LOL! When Shankar happens to be the director of the movie, will you obviously not talk about him since it is he who has created the film?
Nithya,
Ask a non-Rajni fan 😉 I feel the movie is worth a watch when compared to all the sub-standard Tamil movies being churned out everyday! Btw, I didn’t enjoy the movie completely! After all, it is a Shankar’s movie 😉
Daneel,
I completely disagree with your 4th point. I won’t say he is caught in the loop of his own superstardom. Rather than me trying to explain anything here, please go read Sudhish Kamath’s post.
http://sudhishkamath.blogspot.com/2007/06/sivaji-review-of-reviews.html
One advantage of reading so many blogs is you can always leave it to the experts to do all the explaining. 😉
Oh, you yourself are quite an expert in these areas,Aparna
Sathej
@ aparna,
Come on! “Q: Why is something so and so? Ans: Because it is so and so.”–real neat explanation, isn’t it? Sorry, that kind of logic doesn’t cut much ice with me.
Sudhish in fact emphasizes the point I made, that Superstar is forced to be a superstar because he IS the superstar. People flock to the theatres to see Superstar, not Superactor. True.
The model Superstar is following is a neat one, very appropriate and commendable, and in fact one that made him the Superstar. However, that doesn’t negate my point. Just because he won all the acting plaudits earlier doesn’t mean he couldn’t earn them even now.
Besides, I like Superstar because he is superstar. That’s why I enjoy his movies. But that cannot take away the fact that some people do miss Superstar the super-actor as well. After all, these thoughts need not be mutually exclusive. I can definitely enjoy what is on offer, all the while wishing there was something extra. Anyway, forget about this pseudo-intellectual blabbering. I need to go book my ticket.
Wotched it thrice…n i din even feel bored once!!
Daneel,
I for one, don’t miss Rajni, the actor. The point I was trying to make was losing Rajnikanth, the actor is not a thing of pity. Otherwise, how would he have become a Superstar?! 🙂 What he has achieved as a Superstar is something he couldn’t have achieved just as an actor alone! Look at the power he has on people! Can anyone match it?!
Anyway, I am not interested in discussing much about Rajni, the actor or Rajni, the superstar, simply because, it is not of much interest to me. I think I will restrict to discussing about Mani Ratnam’s movies and A R Rahman’s music 😉
Vivekanand,
That’s great 🙂
The extreme happiness we felt when coming out of the theatres is the secret behind the success of rajini and sivaji as well.
I don’t even heard/read a single comment on rajini’s performance or the way his character portrayed. The negative comments coming only on the part of shankar and his screenplay which needn’t be discussed/worried in a rajini’s movie.
good post!
🙂 solla maratha point
my first line is for your post and rest are the things which is the general review comments. 🙂
@aparna,
peace rules 🙂
Mani Ratnam is a better topic. Please write on that wedding song.
Sivaraman,
Thanks. Yeah you are right.
Adiya,
I understood it 🙂
Daneel,
🙂 Haven’t I already written about the song? Why don’t you write on that song now. 😉
@aparna,
no no. a whole post only about it. as far as I writing the song, umm, nah. I don’t understand enough tamil for that. but yes, good idea. let me dig up the version intelligible to me.
// The way Rajni reacts when he gets caught on the railway track is classic Rajni stuff //
thats the trademark rajni … pity that he is caught in this superstar trap, he cant come out of it now …
i thought , shankar didnt give the perfect wait to superstar execpt mottai boss…. but he gave a colorful and youngest rajini in the movie that we never expect and imagin… and it was surprising too….and shanker keep his all movies in the same concept and his way of suiting is also the same manner…. that ballelakka song picturization is remember the randakka randakka song…. then the punch dialog…. it should be in thalivar voice then only it get worth… otherwise in vivek voice it was not good….. and plenty of logic mistakes…. the only thing is rajini didnt do any small mistake in the movie… he proved once again…. ok guys…. what the results says…. rajin movie all ready make the record break in the commercial…. the last news says : in Uk it was 14billion dollar for one week collection ,,,,,,,,,wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww… it is merly 75 crore………….do u know onething … in this movie rajin sal is above 40 crore… in attional avm annovenced that if the collection going above 450 crore, we will give 25 % to superstar……. so thalaivar might earn 250 crore through this movie… it seems like the sivaji earned 250 crore(in america as a sotware engg ) in screen………..hahahhaa……. so rajing can do the free college and medical using the money what he ill get from this movie…. nalla irukum illa……..??? let us wait………..
Thought is an okay movie too. 🙂
Aparna,
You can add on something abt BGM.
Rgds,
Rukesh D
Chiroti,
Rajni-crazy ppl won’t like to hear that 😉
Rukesh,
I actually didn’t have anything special to say about the BGM. As you had said, only the songs were used mostly as BGM I guess.
Daneel,
I will sometime soon. But, before that let’s see what you write about the version intelligible to you 🙂
Dinesh,
I don’t see the need for him to come out of it 🙂
Kannan,
Welcome to my blog!
Andha madhirilaam edhavadhu nejatthula nadakkumaa enna? 😉 I mean Rajni using the money to provide free education to a looooooooot of people 🙂
As a precaution, before anyone mis-interprets my reply to Kannan’s comment, only fun intended through my reply!
its not only my expectation… most of the people and rajini fans also expecting the same….. thalaivar varamattara nallathu panna mattara,,, like…….. time only know the answer….
i think the slapstick comedy was amazing in the first half… Shankar had utilized Rajni’s comic sense well, which baasha, padayappa or annamalai didnt ustilize !
and btw: This is the best fun and entertaintment movie you get out of shankr and rajni…. its like partially soluble substance (8th std science lab) … where you put a larger than life image of Rajni with un-nambable stories of shankar.
and i watched it thrice … full fun – i didnt feel bored.
and btw2: Thalapathi is the best Rajni movie ever ! or probably the oldies like NetriKann, Mundru mudichu etc….
hope the rumour that mani will be doing next Rajni’s movie turns out to be true !! Mani-ARR-Rajni Dream combo again !
Sreekrishnan,
I didn’t like the most part of first half! To name a few, the scenes featuring Solomon Pappayya & his family, Rajni & his family making Shriya & her family eat(?) the food at their house, Rajni eating all those chillis, that stupid fight-sequence in the musical instruments store, Shriya being made to sing & dance by Rajni & what lines was she lip-syncing when she was supposed to be singing Teeraadha Vilayattu?!! What kind of stupid scenes were those!
I didn’t expect anything great from Shankar. So, yeah, this is the best fun & entertainment movie you can get from Rajni-Shankar combo 😉
Again, agreed. Thalapathi is the best Rajni movie which doesn’t feature him in a Superstar-kinda role. (After all, it is Mani Ratnam’s movie 😉 )
Mani-ARR-Rajni?! *Fingers Crossed*!
I happened to see the movie only yesterday.. Rajini has carried the movie completely on him… if I may ask…where is Shankar? or even Shankar – Who? Thalaivar simply rocks… and Vivek is also good.. like thalaivar says in the movie…Shankar – give me a break.. 😉
ya this is best movie.but talaivar and shankar combination 2.30 hours is not possible.music is really superb congrats A.R.we are all expect in sivaji but we are all not saticfied.but thalivar performance really superb and youthfull.sreya nice approach in many fans.
Suresh,
Welcome to my blog 🙂
OMG people are you seriously discussing this. who cares if this is a shankar or rajni movie it seriously kick major ass. i cant describe it. i live in dallas texas. and watching this movie everyday is not an option for me. i can only see it on the weekends. and surely enough any day this movie has played i have seen it. it simply jus that good. what most you said is true. balleilaka is worst song, athiradee is best song, vaaji vaaji is grandest song, and sahana is most romantic song. as for the bmg it mind blowing. arr is a genius. shankar is another genius. in my opinion this is only movie our Superstar has had that can be compared to Baasha.(dare i say it is better than baasha.) actually i take that back. this movie is atleast 3 to 4 steps beyond and above baasha. i am die hard rajni fan (vaazhga vallamudan). i have loved every single shankar movie minus jeans.(i dont know what he was thinking he was prolly drunk and decided to make that movie.) as for Sivaji it is thru and thru a rajni movie. superstar is amazing and shankar is too young to pull the kind of crowd that rajni can. shankar approached rajni with the script to mudhalvan first. can you think what would have happened to that great movie if rajni acted in it. it would have been ruined jus my opinion. sivaji even follows the regular trend of rajni movies. he is rich loses his money adn becomes even richer than b4. i have to admit nobody could have shown rajni the way shankar has. after the singha paadhai dialogue rajni’s hairstyle changes and my god he rejuvenated and youthful again. he looks younger that he did in baasha. thanks a lot aparna. finally after a long i have vented about sivaji i feel free.
nataraj
p.s. —–> i pose a question to all of you. can you imagine anyone this role other than rajni? (same movie jus a different actor) you can email me at tinku85@yahoo.com and let me know of your opinions.
o yea almost forgot. shreya is my favorite actress. not because of sivaji not because of mazhai. i dont know why i have been following her since the telugu days. yes i watch telugu movies also. she was no where to be found in this movie. i caught brief glances of her in songs and that scene in front of the train (did somebody say smokin phew!). but apart from that she was jus there any scene with rajni and her my eyes were jus drawn to rajni. his screen presence is amazing (wait thats not the word) supercalafragilisticexpialladocious. i know you’re probably wondering if thats even a real word it is look it up. seriously! thats all i have to say
nataraj