Mankatha is actually Man'katha'- A Story of One Man.

Before we go any further in reading this piece of post, one should understand that, and I request people to understand the basic fact- give Tamil Cinema's unwritten virtues and regional formulaic means and customs, the respect it deserves. Accept the fact we grew up watching Manidhan, Sakalakalavallavan, Baasha etc. where we idolized those characters and our knowledge about Tarantinos and Cappolas back then, was similar to that of  Quantum theory. Close to nil. Now that we have been exposed quite blatantly to World Cinema, and we have seen some flawless movies. Agreed. But there have been enough 'masala' or 'spice' in cartloads, only that the technological superiority has masked it and is clandestine. Accept this too. 

Perspective is a luxury when the head is constantly buzzing with swarms of demons. Now, this is the first time I've ever been to a movie on a special show, First Day. It is not to a movie that stars my favourite Rajnikanth, or my next favourite, Vijay ( cut the guffaws, shrieks and definitely don't judge me on this basis! I have my own reasons.) I went in with high expectations, and I should say I came out thoroughly contended and impressed. It is the 'Attagasam' of a 'Villain' totally, and this is my perspective.

Mankatha, as the title suggests, is about a game of brains and brawn- with the latter being dominant all the way throughout and finally we understand the effort of the brain behind it. The movie touted to be Ajith's biggest till date doesn't disappoint me as a neutral viewer. Right from the entry on a flying Scorpio/Sumo, followed by a usual fight sequence, uttering the redundant 'money, money,money..' with a style so suave and different every single time, or the sinister laughs.. he scores a bull's eye. I am not so juvenile to spill out beans on the plot. ‘Mankatha’ establishes more off the 'Vaali' Ajith  style, but doesn’t reminiscence of some of his recent forgettable movies. This one has lots of new dimensions from the ‘Thala’ as we have known and seen him. He steps into a different role. Say for instance, there is no transformation from bad to traditional good and he is your unconventional ‘bad’ right from beginning till the end. He has no mercy, compassion, affection, love and what not an usual Tamil hero has. A very bold, and heartening sign. Something to be applauded profusely. This is the cool greedy guy one loves.
Well during the point of intermission, the audiences might feel quite puzzled over the protagonist revealing all his plans about finishing the game. But the ‘Game isn’t over till the final credits’. In fact, you’ll have no clue till the last 60secs of the film on what’s going on. Trust me when I say this- if at all people say, they had already figured it, - if its your friend- ditch him. He is a liar. If its a girl, don't react. Act of a dumb trying to play Miss/Mr. Smartypants.  

Ajith and his modulation in voice and utilization of Venkat Prabhu’s comedy sense is a treat. We've never seen him utter dialogues rich in profanity. The scene when he shoots one of the ladies in the movie, is a killer. The scene before intermission is one of a kind. Not to be missed. With a lazy grin, stylish slow motion walks and venom spewing eyes, apart from stealing money, he steals the show. The star that he is, he has carried literally the whole film on his capable shoulders -- and he's simply had a blast portraying the guy whose character sports negative shades. He utters cuss words with the ease of a pro with necessary variations in voice frequency, sleeps around, drinks and smokes like tomorrow is 21/12/2012 and craves after money with a passion that sweeps us all away. The man's screen-presence is second to a few and his dance has improved too! 

The plot involves suspended police officer Vinayak (Ajith) having a devious agenda of his own to loot 500 crores of money obtained from IPL gambling and leaves no stone unturned to achieve it. He ably convinces 4 other rookie looters- Mahanth,  Inspector Ganesh ( commendable performance), Sumanth and Prem - a lazy IIT graduate. They plan and execute it well and get their booty from Arumuga Chettiyar ( Jayaprakash), who actually convinced Mumbai dons to split the cash at his place. With Special officer Prithvi (Arjun) on trail, the film explodes in the second half after a pretty slow and ordinary first half. Time is the most greedy thing, as it holds up details when we want it the most.This certainly holds good for Mankatha. Venkat Prabhu takes his time to unveil the plot and as the film tapers to the climax, it is an absolute scorcher.

Arjun has done justice to his part, only if his dialogue and pronunciation could have been better. Apart from the drunken conversation, and 'Arima Arima- Black Sheep' spoof,  Premji Ameran is actually a let down, after an exemplary show in his previous outings-  Chennai 28, Saroja. Trisha is God's special creation. She looks stunning to the T. Other ladies come up with a blink and miss performance. Understandable. Yuvan's songs passes muster. He is now becoming so deprived of ideas that he has started lifting from very popular movies. The bgm clearly is a rip -off from Death Race, Dark Knight etc. Venkat Prabhu comes out with his most original script till date, with inspiration from Italian Job, Don which can be excused. Cinematographer has had a party shooting, as it is evident from his lighting effects. Editors could have been less lazy and trimmed the first half more. The one liners are a WooT with lots of sarcasm thrown in. The behind-the-scenes montage is a rage, not to be missed.

On the whole, it's not Black. It's not White. In Mankatha, it is totally Grey- a movie that is a sure winner. Worth your money.   

Dedications- Vinod who wanted this post to be written :D and fans - Terror