Movie: Kuselan

Cast: Rajinikanth, Pasupathy, Nayanthara, Meena, Sona, Vadivelu, Vijayakumar

Direction: P Vasu

Music: G V Prakash

Production: K Balachander

Duration: 2hours 30minutes

Rajinikanth appears twenty minutes after the movie begins. And remains through the length of the film, though not in every single frame. In all he appears for a total of 60 minutes. And in 3 rocking songs. Kuselan is a fun filled 2 hours, 10 minutes with about 20 minutes given over to emotional drama.

There are no real fight sequences, only the ones staged for this movie within a movie. It has two parallel stories about two friends - one rich, one poor. Highlights: 6 punch dialogue sequence filled with comedy that will delight not just fans of Thalaivar but everyone in the audience. Rajini usually has one stand-out line in every movie -here he takes that old saying, “Matha Pitha Guru Dheivam” and turns it into a new saying about the importance of friendship: “Matha Pitha Guru Nanban Dheivam”. We can bet that this is going to be a catchy line that all of us will be repeating soon.  For many of us who have been wondering a lot about Rajini’s political ambitions and his sojourns into the Himalayas, he answers us all in Kuselan with such wit and tact that it will silence us from speculating anymore!

As in Chandramuki, where the Superstar gave equal screen presence to Prabhu, and Vadivelu, in Kuselan, he has given importance to other actors sharing the screen with him.

The climax, with Pasupathy and Rajini, is sure to melt hearts! Pasupathy is marvelous; perhaps his best performance to date. Comedy by Vadivelu is top-notch, rivaling his performance in Chandramukhi.

Nayantara simply sizzles effortlessly, proving why she is the numero uno. Aravind Krishna’s camera work is prefect, matching the mood of the movie. This is a Thalaivar movie, and yet it is also something completely different! Thalaivar’s style here as he plays himself reaches a new high.

Overall Movie Rating: 7/10