Kochadaiiyaan 3D - FDFS Review

After many years of post-production work and a number of missed deadlines, Kochadaiyaan is finally out in the hands of the audience for their verdict. Did Kochadaiiyaan meet the expectations and prove the skeptics wrong? Read on...

Story & Script

Kochadaiyaan is neatly written script that keeps you engaged till the end. The screenplay is intelligent. The dialogues are razor sharp. AR Rahman's music is grand. KS Ravikumar as the advisor to this project is able to bring out the sense of revenge and injects life into important scenes. The movie delivers without much compromise on the story, screenplay and writing departments.

Motion Capture Technology

The movie starts (and ends) with a short explanation of the motion capture technology. This helps our audience mentally prepare before the show begins. The end credits evoke a sense of appreciation for the painstaking hard work that has gone in to this effort. Despite all the awareness and education about the technology, the usage of motion capture is underwhelming and makes you wonder whether the same output could have been achieved at fraction of the total cost spent. This technology succeeds in capturing the artists' motion well while failing in capturing the emotions. The eyes are lifeless, hands often dangling, foot gliding without traction to the ground. 

Rajinikanth - Immortalized

This expensive experiment to immortalize Rajinikanth ends up proving one thing very clear to all the viewers -- Rajinikanth's magnetic chemistry with the audience is still intact and overrides all the negatives one may come up with. Rajinikanth voice and expressive dialogue delivery more than make up for all the shortcomings. Rajinikanth's stylish gait has been captured and enhanced well using this technology. Rajni's dedication in adapting his acting techniques to new emerging trends is obvious in the final output.

Cast

Deepika Padukone looks great even on animation, especially with her expressive big eyes. Nasser as the main villain gets good amount of screen time. Jackie Shroff probably looks more real than other performers. Aadhi's voice is distinct. It is not clear whether creating a hybrid of Sarath Kumar body movements and yesteryear actor Sarath Babu's facial looks is intentional. Shobana and Rukmini have short roles. Special thanks to Soundarya for bringing Nagesh back on big screen. When Nagesh appears on the screen, one would definitely miss the legendary comedian.

Direction

Director Soundarya's vision of how the entire movie will all come together in the end is noteworthy. It is proven by the fact that the story and scenes flow relatively well without much abrupt loose ends. All songs have been well conceived, visualized and choreographed well to match with AR Rahman's rich orchestration. Director Soundarya deserves credit for the effort she must have taken in story-boarding the script and communicating her vision to cast and crew members. She also makes an interesting cameo appearance for a split second in Rajini introduction song.

Apart from a few speed-breakers in the second half such as "Idhayam" song and repetitively long fight sequences, the story is quite engaging till the end while packing enough drama. The final scene where the 3rd Rajini suddenly appears from nowhere after all the hard work is done by protagonist Rajni looks a bit lame and appears like a forced inclusion to set up for a potential sequel.

Final Word

Do yourself a favour and make sure not to watch this movie in 3D as a number of nagging animation issues appear to be magnified in 3D viewing. While watching the movie in regular 2D, one will be able to focus on the story and appreciate Rajinikanth much better.

Looking past the obvious animation shortcomings, Kochadaiiyaan is worth watching it on big screen for Rajinikanth.

Rating - 

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Kochadaiiyaan & Vikramsimha Day 1 Report 

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