Bhaskar Oru Rascal Tamil Movie
Bhaskar Oru Rascal is a remake of the Malayalam movie "Bhaskar the Rascal" directed by Siddique (who has also directed the Tamil version). The role which was donned by Mammootty in Malayalam has been reprised by the most unlikely of the candidates - Arvind Swamy in Tamil. The role demands a certain degree of crudeness because of the character of Bhaskar. Unfortunately, we've stereotyped an actor like Arvind Swamy with a well mannered and suave gentleman on screen, even when he plays the bad guy. This one tries to break those stereotypes. Let's see how far the actor and the director have been successful in doing so.
The movie is a family drama with some unwantedly thrust action masala that was spun around Bhaskar (Aravind Swamy), a businessman with a crude outlook and Anu (Amala Paul), a single mother. We've seen a bunch of movies in the past where the kids unite the parents or make a match between them. Herein it's no different. Baby Nainika and Master Raghavan play those cute "cinematic" kids who are over smart for their age.
The first half of the movie was quite engaging with the odd and unbelievable stunt to establish the "Rascal" in Bhaskar with so many product positioning (Benelli, Bata, to name a few). There was Soori, Robo Shankar and Ramesh Kanna to do the lighter bits, but the comedy failed. Director Siddique's heydays with the likes of "Friends" and "Engal Anna" in the early part of 2000 brushed my memory whenever the comedians were attempting to pull off some slapsticks. The lines just didn't add up!!
Though Arvind Swamy came in as a rude shock as a crude and filthy rich guy, he managed to strike a balance as the movie progressed. The unwanted action and a vague screenplay have let the actor down. Amala Paul, on the other hand, had the standard role of an eye candy single mother whose relationship with her daughter was well established. Also, the relationship between Arvind Swamy and his son had also come out well. The children's yearning for the missing qualities in their respective parents was also showcased quite convincingly.
The action bits cast a heavy shadow on the movie wherein it looked like characters were hijacked from an action masala movie and made to act in this one. It was not only unbelievable but quite insane too! The below par graphics and too many scenes with green mat staging gave an overall tacky feel.
Among the songs, "Amma I love you" had a cute rendition and was hummable. Editing, cinematography and production design, in general, looked below par. And, Arvind Swamy's struggle to pull things off convincingly could be felt at various instances.
Director Siddique could have tailored the script in order to suit Arvind Swamy's on-screen persona. As a result, the movie comes across as a half-baked meal that could neither be completely ignored nor sumptuously consumed, but could be tasted in bits and pieces!!
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