REVIEW: 10 Kamals in Dashavatar
Self-indulgent. It's an adjective repeatedly used to describe most of Kamal Haasan's recent work. But maybe, that's one of the weaknesses of this genius filmmaker we'll just have to bear with. So if you have seen enough of Kamal in double roles, in his latest work the actor appears in 10 avatars - leaving little scope for any other aspect of the film to develop. But we wont hold that against Kamal. Because even if one may accuse the actor of showing off, one can't question his dedication towards executing this mega film.
If reviewing Dashavtar (dubbed version of the Tamil original Dashavtaram) were an exercise in worshiping the actor's vision, it's deserves a 10 on 10. Unfortunately even though Kamal may have become bigger than his films, the average viewer couldn't care less about the package - as long as the story and characters are engaging.
And that's where Dashavtar falters big time. It's high on wizardry but low on emotional connect. The basic idea of this exaggerated movie is to showcase our world as one large unstable system, where every individual's actions are linked. And while both good and evil always co-exist, Mother Nature always finds a way of levelling things. Corruption, development, international relations, environment, love, politics, mythology… the writers of this film touch upon every conceivable socio-economic factor in the plot. The under lying link being man's never ending greed for power.
Dashavtar begins in the 12th century and traverses time right up to the 2004 Tsunami. Kamal's journey opens with a depiction of ancient age religious politics. Here Kamal No 1 plays a temple priest who challenges the king's attempts to overthrow the supremacy of God. A few minutes later Kamal transports us to a bioengineering lab in the United States of America – where a fatal chemical is being illegally smuggled. Enter Kamal No 2, an honest scientist who escapes with the vial, so that it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. A corrupt CIA agent and a Bengali intelligence officer – played by Kamal No 3 and 4 set off on a chase to track down Kamal No 2.
