[SPOILERS AHEAD…]
When the movie came out 30 years back, it became talk of the town. It felt like magic, should I say circus trick, to see a tall and dwarf Kamal in the same shot. Yes, we have seen two Rajni, Sivaji, MGR, Kamal earlier but none like this. How did they pull it off? It may look easy now with current CGI techniques but this was before CGI and it is still a wonder how this movie got made in that era. This movie became one of landmark films for Kamal, and for Kollywood. Dwarf character is one of the best makeovers Kamal has done.
If I were to make a list of best wholesome masala entertainers, this movie would be in the Top 10. If I narrow it down to stories based on twins, this would be on top competing with Enga Veettu Pillai, another timeless entertainer. Watching Naan Aanaiyittal song gives me goosebumps even now (link below).
Movie starts with adrenalin rush, telling the story of Sethupathi, an upright cop who arrests four bad guys and puts them in jail. They come out, take revenge on him, makes his pregnant wife, Kaveri, to drink the poison. Wife escapes, gives birth to twins, who get separated growing up in different places. Appu, who is the dwarf, grows up as a circus clown, and Raja, an easygoing person, becomes a car mechanic. When Appu is about to commit suicide post a heart-wrenching love failure, Kaveri brings him up to speed with story of his father and Appu vows to take revenge. Due to mistaken identity, Raja gets blamed for Appu’s murders. How the brothers get together, and how Appu avenges his father’s death forms the rest of the story.
What makes AS great and puts it far ahead of other movies? First things first, Kamal’s brilliant acting, his body language, hand movements, face expressions, smile, laugh, made us believe he indeed is a dwarf. Kamal’s face expressions when others make fun of his height, his humor when he is with other clowns, shock at the registrar’s office, disbelief when his mother calls him a dwarf, and how he unleashes the beast in him with a grin and nasty glee in the grand climax, are just Awesome. Seeing him as Appu along with Raja goes to show why he is a great actor. Watch the following clip where Appu’s emotions goes from joy to shock to sadness to disbelief and letdown.
My appreciation is for the thought that has gone in to the story and screenplay. The trivia goes that initially Kamal and Singeetham kept Raja character as the hero, and credit goes to Panchu Arunachalam who suggested to make Appu, the dwarf, as hero who avenges the death of his father. While it is a good twist to a twin trope, story has to make us believe and buy in to how a dwarf can fight 4 bad guys who are bigger and more powerful than him. This is the area I give high credit to the writers of AS. IMO, they have given us a Management Lesson 101, Play to your Strengths. Appu doesn’t go after them, he lures them in to situations where he has the upper hand, like a crocodile in water. How innocent Raja gets connected to murders is believable and hilarious. Human face with tiger tail leading to Raja’s Puli vesham dance, brilliant.
Movie sets up the perfect hook, in first 15 minutes or so. Even though this technique got used in many later movies, Roja, Dasavatharam, 7-am Arivu, 24, not all succeeded since technique has to align with the good story and screenplay too. 7-am Arivu, which used the similar story structure including the circus background goes meh and loses steam as the story progresses.
It is a casting coup to get Nagesh, Jaishankar, Naazer, Delhi Ganesh, play the four bad guys. Add to this Srividya, Manorama, Janakaraj, and Mouli, AS hit the jackpot with a dream cast. Crazy Mohan’s dialogues worked great with the story and situation, another hit from Kamal-Crazy combo. Watch-a thedi vanthiya, unakku time sariyillanu ninakkiren; Thirukuralum thammathoonduthan, rende adi, ennai vida kuraivu; Sethupathikku piranthathu rettai, athula onnu kuttai; Paathi inge irukku, meethi moonu adi engeda? Ithanga kidaichathu; Meter-ku mela pottu koduppa. Naane meter-ku keezha irukken; Cover pannitten, maximum cover pannitten. Of course, the whole Janakaraj with his flatterer sidekick scenes and Neenga engeyo poyittenga Sir is a gem, it still lives in the top classic comedy list. Mix with this ingredients IR’s great songs (continue to be on favorites list) with Vaali’s lyrics and BGM, and cinematography, AS is one perfect blend.
Neenga engeyo poyittenga Sir:
With all the techniques we have now, it is easy to make one look like dwarf. But it is not easy to get the soul in to it. What made AS successful is the soul it brought in to Appu’s character arc. A clown who makes others laugh but he is sad and cries inside. He also has an inner beast which gets unlocked and gets unleashed. Appu loves his murder setups. While he does lure the bad guys in to his play yards, he doesn’t kill them. They kill themselves. You feel the beast when he grins with a vengeance as he goes about delivering vigilante justice. You get to the see the beast in its full glory, or should I say gory, in the climax, when he kills Dharmaraj (Nagesh). All he needs is a nod from his mother to cut the rope and feed Dharmaraj to the beasts, the lions.
Nasty grin and glee when Appu kills Francis with Rube Goldbergian Contraption:
Naan Aanaiyittal video: