Having watched the original and the remake, I should safely say, I enjoyed both. While my vote for a better film goes to A Wednesday, Unnaipol Oruvan is not a bad remake.
While Nasseruddin Shah comes across more powerfully as the common man, Kamal Hassan with his unnatural English accent doesn’t work as well for me. But where the latter scores, is in a scene where the camera captures his motive. For a brief while we see Kamal grip us with breathtaking performance when he describes the brutal torture of a pregnant woman who was stripped in public view. I would say, this was where he peaked in this film. Nasser on the other hand, was understated and brilliant in his portrayal throughout.
This was perhaps one of the rare occasions, that an actor of Mohan Lal’s calibre was a found a little lacklustre in his performance. While I wouldn’t want to compare his role with the original Anupam Kher played, I was expecting him to scorch the screen like he did in Company. But then even fine actors have their bad days, I suppose.
Another view I had is that despite A Wednesday being made to fit the multiplex genre of things, it wouldn’t alienate audiences in B and C class towns. Whereas Unnaipol Oruvan would find it tough in rural centres in TN as Kamal spews venom in a clipped angrez accent. Though the tamil remake has done away with the subtleties of the original for hard-hitting, in your face storytelling, it works wonderfully. Full marks to the writers who have adapted the screenplay to suit the southern sensibilities.
While I was walking out of the theatre after watching Unnaipol Oruvan, someone in the crowd was asking his friend: What has Shruti done in this movie, macha?
Good question, you may say. But with all due respects to her debut as music director, the score doesn’t really stick.
Posted by Murali.
