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July 03, 2006 15:06 IST
Our worst nightmares about Malayalam cinema hitting the nadir come true with Aswaroodan. The high pedestal of realism on which Malayalam cinema was placed has been removed. The creativity it boasted of is nowhere to be seen. Every new film is the exact replica of its numerous predecessors, with not even a shot that is original. It really hurts to see a master like Jayaraaj contributing to push it deeper into the abysmal void. In Aswaroodan there is nothing we can feel proud about. Being D Rama Naidu's (claimed to be one of the biggest producers in India) first foray into Malayalam, we at least expected high production values or a difference in stylistic approach, but there is nothing that we can devour or can ruminate about. The blame for that solely lies on director Jayaraaj's shoulders. Not only did he select a theme which dates back to the Stone Age, neither did he put anything unique into the story -- credited to the duo Sajiv-Mahesh -- that the audience can take back. Aswaroodan is set in the same old feudal environs with a lord who has a heart of gold but rules with an iron fist. The usual accompaniments of deceit, property disputes, murder and mayhem are all in place, along with long-winding dialogues quoting ancient texts that the audiences fail to comprehend. Suresh Gopi, the star of this movie, who is desperately trying to gain a foothold in the industry after his comeback, can do nothing to salvage this hackneyed project. Clad in pristine white lungi and shirt (that remind you of the classic Thevar Magan), he just has to be himself with the camera focusing on his palms and the ring finger of his right, which has a huge sun-shaped silver ring. We cannot help but think that if he does not select his roles with care in the future he will once again vanish into oblivion. Padmapriya, the female lead, makes a very late appearance. Cast as a tribal leader, she puts some spunk into her character, but she is relegated to the background by the end as the wife of our hero. So, we end up thinking that she deserved much more screen time and a better etched character. Sai Kumar, the main villain, does a neat job. There are no menacing twitches of body parts or the loud laughter that are stereotypical in such films, which is a huge relief considering our overall disappointment with the film. In the end, how one wishes that Jayaraaj returns to adapting Shakespearean sagas -- which he has proved to be good at in the past -- instead of inflicting us with films like Rain, Rain Come Again and Aswaroodan. Rediff Rating: 
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