Plastic vs Steel - A Comparative Analysis of Two Tamil Gangster Movies Released Recently...

One is absolute candyfloss and made up of non-existent characters - people who simply don't exist in real life but nice to watch-, unbelievable storyline - a story which never happened & never will happen but still nice to watch, language/dialogs/accent/intonation all fake but nice to hear, and so on... you get the wind... a movie which was conceived to look good, made up of fake characters who would be nice to watch, and a storyline which is intended to please... I can go on but suffice it to say "CCV – Chekka Chivantha Vaanam" is indeed plasticly plastic... impressive glossy plastic, all the way.

And NOW let us turn to STEEL... A movie that hits you so hard that you reel under the impact... that has characters who jump out of the screen or you jump into the screen, whatever but excoriating by their brutal true-to-life authenticity.... a scorching real depiction of people who are goaded by survival, necessity, and pride to pander to their animal instincts of violence as a way of survival and operating under the simple philosophy of "kill or be killed", and a story so stunningly back-fleshed that each motivation, each turn, each act, each inflection stuns you with its authenticity! And for once, such an authentic local story, such fiery local characters, such unbelievably apt casting, such stunning turn of events... all add up to a modern "tour de force", arguably the best ever Indian movie.. Vada Chennai by Vetrimaran! This is a cult classic that was finally waiting to blast out of the Indian movie world, with such ferocity that we're left flabbergasted!! A STEEL that hits you hard, that pierces your senses, and that shines luminously... a movie experience of a lifetime. This movie is comparable to God Father, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Raging Bull, and the like. A movie that needs to be cherished and watched several times over and over again. And of course, in a country of favoritism, lobbying and regional biases, whether it will gain its due share of awards and Oscar nomination are all big question marks. But for us, the audience, this is a rare treat and no one can prevent us from savoring every moment of it. The movie boasts of uniformly radiant performances by all actors, the best ever background music score in Indian movie annals and research/authenticity which is unparalleled. I'll leave this with a mention of the Carrom Tournament in the Central Jail culminating in a prison riot, that is easily the best ever scripted, staged and executed sequence in Indian movie history. 

Take a bow Vetrimaran! You're the king of Indian cinema. It is more than 25 years since the greatest movie maker from India (Ray) died... and the mantle falls on you!  We're waiting for more!!!**