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Uttama Villain Movie Review: Kamal Haasan Is The Uttaman But Screenplay And Editing Are The Villains
After a span of two years, legendary actor Kamal Haasan is back doing what he does best, indulging himself in the world of art, trying to produce a classy cinema. Is Uttama Villain one such classic? Find out in our review.
Uttama Villain Plot:
Surprisingly, Uttama Villain is a simple film with a simple plot made complicated with its not so great screenplay.
Kamal Haasan is that typical superstar who wants more out of his glittering yet complicated life. The answer he gets in search of something more is an extra marital affair. The movie then revolves around him, his emotions and the complications involved in his life.
Pushed to an unavoidable situation, he decides to make the best film of his career and approaches his mentor, played by K Balachander to direct the film of his life.
The film then treats you with a movie inside a movie(8th Century drama flick) and narrates two stories parallely. What happens to the movie and what does fate has in store for one of the greatest actors of present era forms the crux of the story.
Performances:
Uttama Villain is completely a performance oriented film and most actors, if not all, have delivered their best.
While Kamal Haasan yet again proves why he can be arguably called as the most gifted actor this country has ever seen, special mention goes to Nasser who has competed with Kamal throughout.
In spite of appearing for a brief moment, the two legends, K Balachander and Vishwanath have given their best as actors for a change.
Out of many female leads, two ladies who come out on top are Parvathy(Menon) and Urvashi. While Andrea has done a decent job, Pooja Kumar's portrayal in the 8th Century portions is not convincing enough, for she has westernized the character.
Technicalities:
Uttama Villain is solid when it comes to technicalities except for its editing. With a run time of 2 hours and 51 minutes, it tests your patience, especially in the second half before it reaches the climax.
Cinematography by Shamdat is impressive as he has used right tones for different time periods respectively. Angles used in the stage drama sequences are brilliant and songs gets the much needed colours.
Speaking about songs, Ghibran impresses with his soulful background score which adds stability and enhances the overall feel. His music is a great strength to lengthy and sometimes boring drama sequences in the second half.
Screenplay has let the movie down as the entire second half appears draggy. Having said that, the climax deserves a standing ovation.
Overall View:
Uttama Villain is a fitting tribute to the late K Balachander and is a film all Kamal Haasan fans can be proud of. On the flip side, it lacks the zest to keep everybody hooked throughout.
Check out some of the best scenes and some interesting information in the slides below:
Kamal The Performer
In early 2013, director-producer N. Lingusamy made an official statement confirming that Kamal Haasan had agreed to direct and feature in a film to be produced by the production house, Thirrupathi Brothers.
One Of The Best Scene
In January 2014, noted director K. Balachander was selected to play a pivotal role in the film and sported a beard for his character.
The 8th Century Drama
On 9 August 2014, Ramesh Aravind confirmed on his Twitter account that the shooting of the film had been completed with a song sequence which would feature in the 8th century segment of the film.
Kamal The Uthaman
Kamal Haasan's daughter Shruti Haasan was considered for the role of his on screen daughter in the film but her unavailability meant that the team chose to pick a new actress instead.
Song Sequences
It was announced that M. Ghibran, who had worked with Kamal Haasan in Vishwaroopam II, would compose music for the film instead of Yuvan Shankar Raja.
Cast And Crew
Kajal Aggarwal was initially reported to have signed on to play the lead female role though her manager later confirmed that she was not approached and that her dates were already allotted for other projects.
Nasser The Actor
In May 2014, actor Nasser was roped in to play a supporting role. In July 2014, director Chithra Lakshmanan joined the team to play a small role in the film. Actress Abhirami was selected to dub for Pooja Kumar in the film.
Filming Of Uttama Villain
In mid February 2014, the team carried out make up tests involving Kamal Haasan in Bangalore with a photo shoot being held with the actor. Principal photography began on 3 March 2014.
Kamal And Pooja
Scenes involving Kamal Haasan in the role of a star actor were filmed at a shopping mall in Bangalore, with several hundred onlookers used as extras.
Allegations of plagiarism
There was speculation that the first look of the film was inspired by a photograph taken by French photographer Eric Lafforgue, but Kamal Hassan rubbished the allegations by saying, "Theyyam is more than a 1000 year old art.
