Bangalore: 'I' may not have been the quintessential Shankar film with a social message or a hero ending up pinning the screenplay down because he's all-powerful.
Everybody on this planet has a love story - victorious, doomed, worrisome, negligible - in many colors and varieties but we do have our own love story and nobody can deny that.
'I' is a novelistic love story. Vikram whose trust in Shankar hasn't faded a notch submits himself entirely to the vision of the director. Tamil Cinema, from the beginning of the motion picture era, has provided innumerable love stories yet none like 'I'. The film with a single alphabet as its title is a study for love, revenge and the quality of acting (Vikram alone).
Shankar himself has directed revenge dramas 'Gentleman' and 'Sivaji' with a lot of floss and pomp, but nonetheless his latest 'I' stands out as a symbol of pride for Indian Cinema. Having said that, it doesn't make 'I' the best film ever, it has its flaws too however for the greater good they can be given a miss.
'I' is entertaining - Madhan Karky's lyrics for "Pookkalae Sattru Oyivedungal", P. C. Sreeram's camera that pleasingly opens up a world, A. R. Rahman's grand music, envious locations, Amy who's a beauty unmatched, Shankar's writing, and the talent house Vikram. The story of a weak hunched-man taking on his enemies head-on so that they pay for their wrongdoings is perhaps not new to the audience still the 48-year-old actor has the temerity to outclass the definition of "determination". Success had taken a deviation for a decade in Vikram's case. That which had gone with the wind is running back his way. But that doesn't stop the man from experimenting. He is an idea; a mere figment of the imagination who will truly be whatever you want him to be. A rare genius.
Displaying genius: The climactic scene in 'I' where the hunched Vikram walks hand in hand with Amy to their dream house; he, childishly jumping in joy realizing that Amy has accepted his disfiguration vivaciously and that they are going to live together for each other is possibly the achievement of their Love Story.
Sample of respect to the makers: A full house watching the end-credits in silence without heading for the exit is the culmination of the team's effort and the audiences' confidence that end-credits are worth the watch even after 3 hours into the movie.
Note: Love is basically the greater good in Cinema and our lives.
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