Not exactly a movie review!!
I was really excited to watch this movie ..mani ratnam-rahman combo and to top it, vikram! After hearing the initial reviews, i was midly disappointed so i went to watch it with least expectations and i am glad for that. There is nothing great about the plot-agreed..but just the way the whole movie is picturized is so beautiful, that all you can do is gape at the screen(full marks to santhosh sivan for that). The first half was slow with scenes which i felt a little repetitive but again the cinematography will keep you from straying away.Vikram just carried the film on his shoulders. I cant imagine anybody else doing his part. The way he has portrayed various shades in his character is mind-blowing(watch out for the scene when he sets off a series of bombs with prithiviraj staring at him in the background..just brilliant). If your definition of a hero is - good looks, well built, awesome acting and amazing screen presence, then vikram is your guy in this movie. Prithiviraj shines in his good-bad role too..tried to make most of it, i would say! Well, Aishwarya just about makes her presence felt on the screen. But definitely i would rate her much better here than her past movies.
I can totally understand why this movie has not been well-received by the hindi audience because they cannot relate to the entire concept\plot(the tribe, the way they live etc.). This concept has been taken up earlier in tamil cinema so its not really out of place here.
I haven't written about the story here for its up to you to go and enjoy it(not that its a great murder mystery or something)!
Rahman's music is marvellous! he never lets you down no matter what. The background score too matched the movie's pace.
Overall, i wouldnt mark this movie as a fantastic, mind-blowing movie but its definitely worth a watch. Not the usual mani ratnam ones which you can watch umpteen number of times.