Best driver in Chennai meets worst driver in Chennai. Romance ensues. Also, hilarious scenes involving a car parked on a tree, thrilling scenes involving cars racing at full speed, millimetres apart, and a hero who does things in ten seconds. And the trailer jokes – even those things? With Samantha in a dual role, Vikram as a truck driver, Vijay Milton’s 10 Enradhukulla looks set to be a crisply edited, well-crafted action film. With plenty of laughs.
Samantha plays an urban woman as well as a village woman from Nepal. Jackie Shroff will show up as a transport dada. And the cast of Goli Soda makes an appearance. Some of the filming was done in Nepal, and Samantha refused a stunt double for most of the high-speed scenes, involving cars and horses, despite the risk involved. When stunt director Lee Whittaker decided to consult Ajith for advice on the racing sequences, Ajith directed him to none other than Formula One racer Narain Karthikeyan. So, we can expect realism and manic racing.
Perhaps the scariest thing about 10 Endrathukulla is the moustache Vikram sported at the film’s press meet. Luckily there’s no sign of it in the movie. And if the trailer is any indication, Vikram’s praise for Samantha is well-merited. The hyperbolic innocence combined with well-intentioned bumbling is a charming contrast to the stylish super-efficient hero.
Fun fact: We won’t know Vikram’s name until the very end, when he’ll whisper it into Samantha’s ears. The villains can keep wondering, though, because he’ll insolently announce himself as ‘James Bond’. And ‘Shakeela’ Samantha isn’t far behind.
*****
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Anirudh Ravichander’s music has so far been well-received by audiences. Vignesh Shivan’s directorial work looks promising. The comic touch is deft, as evident in a moment from the teaser, when a hearing-impaired Nayanthara mumbles agreement as Vijay Sethupathi asks her in English if she’s blind. He means deaf.
The lead up to the film had been overshadowed with rumours about a possible marriage between Vignesh Shivan and Nayanthara, and both artists had subsequently rubbished the reports. That didn’t stop Mansoor Ali Khan from making jokes about it at Naanum Rowdy Dhaan’s recent press meet.
Fun fact: Originally, Anirudh was approached to play the lead in the film. After he refused, the director reworked the script to tailor it to Vijay Sethupathi
*****
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The film looks promising as a period drama with pre-independence style outfits, mid-century trains, and a green, almost crackling tint to the war scenes. Nationality doesn’t matter, because this is the war to end all wars – or as the lead character says, ‘this could be our village’. It’s a passing reference to Vishakapatnam, a city which was the target of Japanese air raids, and even houses a bomb that didn’t explode as a trophy. In fact, Kanche’s audio launch was held here.
What’s not so promising – the unoriginal background score which seems to belabour a pathos that was original when Roja did it first. Two decades ago. There’s also the editing which is so hurried, that there’s barely time to read or digest the information on the screen. All that said, the film promises a unique walk through the history books, and an insight into the lives of the countless soldiers from all corners of the globe, who fought under foreign flags.
Fun fact: Octogenarian filmmaker Singeetham Srinivasa Rao has two appearances in the film, as a pianist. His look is based on Colonel Harland Sanders, the founder of KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken).
*****
