The Kamal Haasan–Rajinikanth reunion film: Is Nelson the right choice?

“Yes, helium is,” says Srinivasa Ramanujam

Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth locomotion unneurotic into a store and get into a car. Kamal takes the driver’s seat, and Rajini sits adjacent to him. Before they tin velocity off, they airs to manager Nelson and composer Anirudh the inevitable question that is connected everybody’s lips: who is the hero?

That is anyone’s guess, considering the KH x RH Reunionwill instrumentality a portion to deed screens, but for now, the biggest treatment successful Tamil cinema – connected who volition beryllium the chosen manager to bring these 2 Tamil superstars unneurotic – is settled.

It is Nelson, and I americium thrilled.

For starters, the promo has pushed the task into apical gear. Nelson and Anirudh person a large way grounds of releasing comic promos for their worldly – the Doctor opus promos, the ‘Arabic Kuthu’ (Beast) promo and the ‘Kaavala’ (Jailer) are light, comic and irreverent astatine the aforesaid time. The 2 inject the aforesaid constituent successful an capable dose here, too. For those distant from Tamil Nadu, this could good beryllium a acquisition successful movie marketing.

What I’m looking guardant to successful this task is its comic touches, thing the manager displayed successful plentifulness successful his erstwhile works, Kolamavu Kokila and Doctor. Both Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan’s trysts with drama are good known – who tin hide the Superstar’s show successful Thillu Mullu, successful which, incidentally, Kamal played a cameo? Kamal, connected the different hand, has a proven way grounds with this genre, with a palmy collaboration with the precocious comic playwright Crazy Mohan, with whom helium gave immoderate unforgettable films similar Michael Madana Kama Rajan, Avvai Shanmughi and Panchanthanthiram.

I anticipation Nelson mostly stays distant from guns, a communal diagnostic successful today’s Tamil cinema, and makes this ‘Reunion’ a light-hearted, amusive movie that we tin ticker and re-watch.

Not galore whitethorn beryllium alert of what Nelson brings to the array isolated from this comic streak: a consciousness of equilibrium. Working with Kamal Haasan intimately connected the sets of fashionable TV world amusement Bigg Boss, Nelson is good alert of the actor’s movie connection and acting traits. With Rajinikanth, the equation mightiness beryllium adjacent much settled; they person worked connected the superhit Jailer and are presently moving connected Jailer 2. That the said 2023 deed besides featured pan-India stars similar Mohanlal, Shiva Rajkumar and Jackie Shroff successful cameo appearances signals that this manager tin grip large names with conviction.

The Bigg Boss and the Jailer experiences successful caller years would person made him little fanboyish, thing that volition clasp him successful bully stead arsenic helium takes up this monolithic reunion that brings some of them unneurotic aft galore years. Bring it on, Nelson!

“No, helium isn’t,” says Bhuvanesh Chandar

While Kollywood rejoices successful the coming unneurotic of 2 of its biggest superstars, the question I can’t assistance but inquire the makers is this: Is Nelson truly the champion prime to helm the movie of the century?

First of all, though an underdog getting the aureate summons puts an instant grin connected our faces, the Jailer-maker is yet to amusement a knack for handling a superstar, fto unsocial two.

One request not accidental overmuch astir the dud that was Vijay’s Beast, but adjacent Jailer — the container bureau deed that redeemed Nelson — rode much connected Rajinikanth’s surface beingness and superstar entreaty than connected a screenplay worthy investing in. I vividly retrieve what a person told maine astir his acquisition watching Jailer: “I liked galore idiosyncratic moments and I had a blast astatine the theatres, but determination isn’t thing memorable astir the film. It’s a plain story.” And that’s precisely what Jailer was each astir — it was a masala star-vehicle aimed astatine appeasing the Instagram generation.

Remove the galore Rajinikanth slow-motion walks to ‘Alappara Kelapurom,’ the cameos that desperately effort to prevention the mood, and the daze worth that watching a violence-heavy Rajini movie offers, and each you are near with is simply a shallow plot. If that was the lawsuit for a movie with conscionable 1 superstar, what if Nelson had two? Are we getting acceptable for a movie that would fundamentally beryllium a bid of hero-gasmic showreels strung together?

Now, let’s travel to the different origin that qualifies a manager to helm a KH x RK movie — anterior acquisition penning multi-starrers that connection adjacent value to each its leads. Nelson not lone has nary acquisition successful that regard, but helium besides has a past of underutilising actors and stars successful his arsenal, similar unnecessarily casting Shine Tom Chacko successful Beast. The galore cameos of Mohanlal, Shiva Rajkumar and Jackie Shroff successful Jailer, too, were thing much than tokens to get a ‘pan-India’ tag.

Nelson’s films person besides mostly been unidimensional transgression comedies with formulaic treatment. Whenever the filmmaker finds his publication lacking successful material, helium would thin connected Anirudh for a peculiar creation way to amp up the vigor — and if the unnecessarily prolonged slow-motion shots of skimpily clad women oggling astatine the 2 superstars successful the promo of KH x RK accidental something, it is that Nelson erstwhile again shows signs of conflict successful a task that would request helium punch supra his weight.