Today started very boring for me. After breakfast, I really wondered what to do next. Far as I could think, i couldnt see any task lined-up for the day. It was like a vast emptiness (kadu-veli) before me. Generally, these are the times I think of going out somewhere else, but today, due to mild-cold, I couldn't step out. Despite that I went till bus stop, but came back :) Such a amount of laziness and boring. Finally, I decided to see Kumki today. Thought of going with friends, but with their level of commitment, its getting tough planning a outing with them. Tickets were almost full for 4pm show @ Rakki, and I could get seat only in third row near the screen.
Now into the film.
Kumki - I eagerly waited for this film to release. Till now, I haven't seen Prabhu Solomon's "Mynaa", but I was damn eager about this film. From the day the first poster was released, I know its going to be a visual treat. When the songs were released, I close-to became a addict for these songs. Not sure how many times I have listened to this album. Even if i delete these songs from my mobile, I hope my phone can play these by itself :) It wont forget these songs even in its dreams..!
Pro's
1. Story line is all simple. Hero has a trained elephant that is fit only for doing soft-work, like acting in cinema, temple walk etc. On the other hand, a village in deep interior of a forest gets affected by a rogue wild elephant. After few causalities the villagers decide to hire a trained elephant (Kumki) to control the wild elephant and run it back to woods. Due to some incidents, the original kumki trained to handle wild elephants cannot be sent, and for few days our trained elephant goes in as kumki-substitute to the village. What happens next is nothing beyond guessing. Its all predictable story line. Stories involving elephants are not rare in kollywood. From MGR to Sivaji to Rajini to Kamal, everyone has done stories involving elephants. What makes this movie special is the treatment and the picturization. Our hero is not a millionaire growing an elephant as his hobby. Instead the elephant earns bread for him. So, the first hero of this film is the Elephant. No buildup's, intro songs, fight with 100 men etc. for hero.. He perfectly underplayed his role. Thats very positive for such a kind of film.
2. Camera/Picturization - WooooW is all I could say. Since the story completely happens inside jungle and small village inside it, you can feel the freshness inside theatre. Its all nature. Even if the film is shot in 1000 frames per second camera, you can grab each frame in the film, and hang it as a wall-poster in your house. Such clear visuals and mesmerizing shots. More than story, I guess the director has spent a lot of time in visuals. Every scene is worth a photo album. Let it be the intro scene of the hero, or the heroine or the elephant - the visual is amazing. A scene where the couple gets to the top of the waterfalls.. you can feel the depth of the waterfall right there in theatre. Its really scary and sent a chill down my spine :).. One of the wonderful waterfall coverage I remember was in Apocolypto film. (I dont mean the scene, just the water-fall and its depth).. But the way the falls was covered in this movie was far more amazing than Apocolypto. Most of the scenes involving the elephant are majestic and worth a watch. Nothing to mention about scenery in songs. Its extraordinary.
4. Songs - Generally songs are unofficial intermission's for audience to go out and put a dum. But, have you seen any film for which audience flew whistle's soon as the lead for song begins? It just happened today. Also songs of this film is the main reason, I wanted to see it. Songs by D.Imman are beauty for this film. Visuals added perfect value to that. Just for the songs alone, I can watch the film again. No kuthu songs, two piece mumbai import, advice, buildup songs etc. Its all slow romantic and situation songs that goes well with the film. When I first heard the album few months back, i was instantly mesmerized with the songs. I thought Iam the only one addicted, till I heard few korean phones playing these songs loudly in bus. But in theater today, I realized there were many addicts like me :) I couldnt comment on BGM's since visuals were eating up the scene. But the lead for songs were used in most places as BGMs.
Con's
1. Thambi Ramaiah - He dons the comedian role (like Mynah) and carries most of the story. Many scenes evoke laughter, but close-up shots for him all the time and mind-voice comedy sometimes sound boring. Could have been edited more.
2. Logic - Killing a wild elephant is not a real tedious task. They are big and are more prone to get hit than a wild pig, that villagers say about hunting in one scene. But government and even forest officers fears for that wild elephant komban (which killed 19 officers?) and asks the villagers to relocate somewhere else If an elephant poses that much harm, cant a single bullet solve the issue? Atleast, a group of 10-20 villagers (who chase down and try to kill a man in one of the scene for a silly mistake he did) can easily bring down an elephant with local weapons (vel kambu, aruva, naatu vedi, electric fencing etc etc). No strong reason provided on why not to kill an elephant that has taken many lives.
4. Scope for hero - As already said, the acting scope for hero and heroine was only during the songs. Nothing to expect much. Comedy scenes could have been trimmed further to give them some more acting scope (or) atleast few more songs would have done :)
Overall - For those who like a visual treat, its worth a watch. Dont miss it. It gives a feel like being in a forest for two and half hours. And with Lakshmi menon type of homely heroine, the feel multiplies. Kumki - Just Majestic.
Rating - 4/5
