"Warning!!! Contains spoilers"‘KO’ is the latest movie from ace cinematographer & director K.V.Anand. For all those who wanna know the meaning of the title ‘Ko’ represents government or a leader. In ancient tamil literature the term ‘Komagan’ or ‘Komaan’ usually represents a King. Ever since his stupendous success with ‘Ayan’ (the director should be commended for making fun of this movie in a scene in ‘Ko’) there had been huge expectations for his next venture and the slick and stylish trailer of ‘Ko’ just increased those expectations. The director meets all those expectations and even exceeds them in a few places. In a movie industry where nowadays a dozen movies are made about Madurai and with all those movie have an incessant & unnecessary flow of blood and gore in them, it takes a brilliant director like K.V.Anand to brake those stereotypes. With the right mix of commercial & intelligent cinema (took this line from Behindwoods review) he delivers big time.
From the intelligent choice of title and really brilliant opening credit sequence the viewer is all set to be taken for a different ride & the director and his crew keep the tempo till the end. Jiiva as a photo-journalist is handsome, stylish and excels in his role and proves yet again why he’s one of the rarest breed of perfectionists in Tamil film industry. Karthika emotes well and has a dream debut as a serious journalist. Move aside glam dolls. Here’s an actress who can really act & it’s no surprise as she’s the daughter of one of the finest actresses from yesteryear, Radha. Piaa is sexy, bubbly and a treat to watch. Her sad demise before interval will leave a lump in your throat. But the most important & extraordinary role in the movie goes to Ajmal who has breathed life into his character, though I feel he could’ve emoted well in a few sequences. Prakash Raj & Kota Srinivasa rao, do justice to their small roles and Bose Venkat comes as a surprise in the end.
All that said about actors the technical crew have excelled in almost every frame. From the stylish yet realistic stunts to the excellent cinematography during the song sequences, you are in for a treat. Especially the locations and camera work in ‘Yennamo Yedho’, ‘Amali Thumili’ & ‘Venpaniye’ songs will make one craving for more. Story wise there are ample twists to keep the viewers engaged till the end and it is commendable that the director has touched a lot of contemporary issues like ‘cash for vote’, ‘naxalism’, ‘journalist ethics’ without being overtly preachy. They just go well with the flow.
When the movie opened with the ‘bank heist’ sequence (one of the best choreographed stunt sequences in recent times, kudos to Peter Hein) I felt that there is some inspiration from ‘The dark Knight’ and the climax and ending just confirmed it. One couldn’t help but be awed by the director’s brilliance in these ‘inspired’ sequences. They are so logical and really inevitable. Dialogue is another strong aspect of the movie which is witty and intelligent. Suba has done a great job. On the downside the opening song with cameos by many big actors fails to make an impact, the placement of ‘Venpaniye’ song is just wrong, there are a couple of loose ends and the climax was a tad too lengthy and might test your patience. Also the connection between Jiiva & Ajmal looks a bit half-baked with a botched up flashback. But all that said & done, this has all the commercial elements of a blockbuster and also can serve as an eye opener for the younger generation. Go for it. I’m planning to watch it once again.
Verdict: 3.5/5
I second u :)
ReplyDeleteyup da.. too good a film..
ReplyDeleteYah I gave the same rating .. 7/10 .. Would have given 8 if only the CM sequences were carefully scripted (It was not realistic to see a reporter entering CM's room so easily) ... Also the landmine sequence where Jiiva escapes while Ajmal dies reminds me of the shoddy 'Payanam' climax ... Ajmal has done very well and its a big pat on the back for Jiiva for accepting this role even though Ajmal had so much scope to perform in the other role ... Not enough words to describe the stupendous cinematography ... All in all ... A well packaged entertainer from K.V.Anand ..
ReplyDeletejus finished watchin 'State of Play'. & sorry to break the news guys, as a friend of mine suggested, Ko draws significant inspiration from this thriller flick. especially in the characterization of lead actors.. but all in all Ko is a really joyful and surprising ride which i'd like to take again.. if not for other reasons, atleast for the cinematography & location in songs..
ReplyDeleteGood review. KO should be lauded just for not being a run-of-the-mill movie. Commendable effort from K.V.Anand. But I felt Ayan was better in terms of sharp narration and crispy scenes. Sad that double-meaning comedy has become a part of all 3 K.V.Anand movies.
ReplyDeleteThe opening Bank heist sequence has been fantastically shot. But they completely lost track in the climax naxal encounter. Very poor and unnatural execution.
Amali thumali song locations must have made Shankar feel ashamed. So beautifully shot. So was Ennamo edho song. But the other songs tested my patience.
Even I might watch it again mainly for the political sequences, which were completely surprising given the time of release and the producer-distributor of the film.
I'll also go with 3.5/5.
Ayan did not hav this kind of a complex premise & the romantic scenes and characterization of heroine & villain in Ayan is stereotypical & more artificial than Ko.. in Ko the director had a lot of issues to cover & also give a movie which is commercially slick.. and he has managed to satisfy all type of audience for a larger part.. both in Ayan & Ko the director has screwed up the climax part.. i heard that the other heroes the director approached for Ko wanted more heroism in the film.. i dunno wat to say.. :)
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