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.