Vishwaroopam - Depicting the Global Face of Terrorism!

Well, Well, Well.... What do you say about this movie! At the outset, I must admit that all that controversy around the film piqued my curiosity so much so that I had to watch it (Pooh- As you all must have guessed- Any flimsy reason is good enough for a movie junkie like me to watch any movie.. and sometimes no reason is good enough!).
Anyways, back to the movie. The movie start is quite tepid and left me wondering whether I was watching an episode of Cheaters!!! Kamal Hasan (Vishwanath) is a kathak dancer, shown teaching his students (all women) a particular dance sequence (and thankfully the only song in this movie!). During the sequence, a detective hired by his wife, Dr Nirupama, a PH.D, who is having an affair with her boss and wants to divorce Kamal Hasan. The story is narrated by her when she is talking to her shrink. about how she married a much older man just for a green card ..blah, blah.. blah...

The detective (Peter) stumbles upon an astonishing fact, regarding Kamal Hasan's religion. What is, is not real and what is real is not it! By the way, Kamal is depicted like a complete Pansy dancer type male and is well...... pansy. The detective stumbles upon a terrorist hideout and well.. is killed. One thing leads to another and enter Rahul Bose (Playing Omar- the Mujahideen from Afghanistan).

There is a scene where Dr Nirupama discovers a different side to Kamal hasan and behold- she looks en;lightened! Have I been living with THIS guy for the past three yearr? me thinks - She Thinks. However, to cut a long story short and not act a spoiler - there is a long flashback wherein the entire Afghanistan War is shown along with the the code of the Mujahideen's. The american's as the aggressors in their Apache Helicopters and fighter jets is shown quite realistically. The Afghan landscape is shown in all its austere glory and is an eyeopener.

Cut to the chase- the story is a spy thriller, classic cat and mouse with an atomic bomb involved and a last minute defusing of the same. Who does it and how needs to be seen. The story moves along leisurely (at a pace we are not used to in spy thrillers) but allows us to soak in the characters and understand them. This movie is not a wham bam only, it build up relationships slowly and allows events to sink in. I felt that some parts were inspired by The Spy Next Door, Babel, New York (hindi) Kurbaan, and a few others interspersed but still maintains some originality.

New York and London emerge as popular destinations for a terrorist attack.. Kamal Hasam has managed to portray, quite realistically, how the New York police and FBI operate. At some places in the movie you actually feel that you are watching a hollywood movie...

As far as acting goes, Kamal is brilliant but looks tired. Shekhar kapur as the diplomat spy makes his presence felt, Pooja as Dr Nirupama, Kamal's confused but intelligent plus cheating wife is passable. Rahul bose as Omar is suitably ruthless. The other characters have not been given enough time to develop but do their job admirably.

Cinematography is excellent - the action shots are captured very realistically. The story line is jaded (unfortunately) but ..kya karen! Thankfully, other than a melodious song at the start, there are no songs to spoil the mood. I feel the first half could've been shortened by about 20 mins (Yes my dears, the movie is almost three hours), but hey.. creative license.

Overall, I would rate the movie *** to ***1/2 for its treatment and technical competence. Watch it if you have patience..