Shankar

As the trailer and audio of the film Enthiran are out, here is a feature on one filmmaker who has inspired me to be in movies, Shankar.

Director Shankar as he is referred is a filmmaker from Tamil Nadu. He debuted with the film Gentleman in 1993, made the Kadhalan, Indian, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Nayak, Boys, Anniyan and Sivaji. Now, in September 2010, he would be presenting to his audience yet another film that would just be as overboard as his earlier offerings. This time around he comes up with a Science Fiction film titled Enthiran- the Robot.

Shankar is known for films with huge budgets, exotic locations, glamour and style. I believe he is a filmmaker who very well knows the pulse of the audience. His success rate at the box office is the proof of this. Shankar has indeed tasted failure. And that was not just once, but back to back in both 2001 and 2003. The films, Nayak and Boys, did not do the expected business for the money spinning filmmaker. However his next release could have shut the mouth of everyone who felt that the guy has lost everything. Anniyan was not only a huge success in Tamil but its dubbed version is considered the biggest hit among dubbed films in the Telugu language.

Debutant Shankar joined hands with K. T. Kunjumon after convincing him to produce an action film which was one of the most expensive ones at the time of production. A. R. Rahman was roped in to be the music director. Shankar spotted the cinematographer Jeeva from a Malayalam film and called him for the film. The film which was scripted with Sarath Kumar in mind was rewritten to suit the actor Arjun and made. The film conquered the box office. Shankar was discovering a new hero in the making of this film in Prabhu Deva who would star in his second film, Kadhalan. I should say of all the films Shankar has made Kadhalan is the film I'm least impressed with. I felt that the film was extremely odd at places and had a pathetic screenplay. However, Rahman needs to be given a special mention here since it is his music and the visuals of the song that made me finish this film.

The third film was the real shocker. Shankar directed one of India's most talented actors, Kamal Hassan. Kamal Hassan played a dual role in the film. Indian was a film that exploited a hell lot of tricks in every department. The film goes redefine a lot of rules in the action sequences but the screenplay is gripping enough to cover everything! Kamal won the national award for the Best actor in leading role for this film.

Shankar always had an eye for visual effects. There is a particular song in Indian which I was reminded of as I saw the paradox sequence in the Christopher Nolan film, Inception. The song in Indian had a complex visual effect that was more or less an optical effect!

Indian also saw the association of Director Shankar with his favourite dialogue writer Sujatha for the first time.  However Sujatha was not chosen to write the dialogues for his least sensible film till date, Jeans. The film broke all the expectations of a Shankar film. It did not feature a villain, and it was a romantic comedy. Yet, it had a lot of traits of the filmmaker stamped everywhere. The film involved complex dual role sequences and had some splendid and unique song visuals. He filmed a song on seven wonders with his lead characters dancing at these wonders. 

In 1999, Shankar turned producer on another huge film. Mudhalvan, a film which was supposed be the first association of Rajnikanth and him did not quite happen. Arjun, who had already worked in Gentleman, was replaced for the lead role. The film had some splendid sequences which includes the best interview sequence I have ever seen in Cinema. K. V. Anand was the cinematographer of the film and photographed the climax song in a rocking style. 

Shankar's outing to Bollywood was a pure misfire. He made a nearly shot by shot remake of his film Mudhalvan as Nayak for his producer A. M. Ratnam, who had earlier produced Indian for him. Anil Kapoor did the lead role for which Shankar had talks with Shah Rukh Khan. The film for the first time in Indian cinema experimented the famous Time Slice technique which was seen in the visual extravaganza The Matrix.

Shankar returned to Tamil and made a film with complete freshers. A film that told the story of five boys and a girl was titled Boys. The screenplay of the film was a tricky one. It had sequences that had to cross the system of censor board in India. This did create a bit of a fuzz at the films release and also could be considered as a reason for the infamous nature of the film. Yet, the execution and the editing of the film was quite different from anything Shankar had attempted before. It was a bold film with much excellence in every department. I consider this film as the best from the director in Shankar though I believe that Shankar had written a better screenplay in Indian.

Shankar had to associate with Harris Jayaraj or his next film, Anniyan. The film had Vikram in one of his best performances till date. I consider this film as the least original film from director Shankar. It had traces of films including The Hulk, The Passion of the Christ, Me, Myself and Irene, Shankar's own Gentleman, Identity, Primal Fear, Malayalam film For the People besides several other references. But the audience where not bothered was shown by the acclaim the film gained on its release. The film was able to stand hand in hand with Rajnikath's Chandramukhi.

Finally the success brought Shankar back on track and a call from the Superstar of South Indian cinema Rajnikanth. Sivaji - the Boss was on. Shankar reunited with the team of Mudhalvan with the only major change being the producers. The film combined and exploited all the cliches of a Shankar film and a Rajni film and entertained a good group of audiences with a lot of dislikes as well. This was the least fresh film from Shankar as the film repeated its content from Mudhalvan quite strongly.

And now his new film Enthiran, a film that is said to have a lot to offer in terms of experience. Shankar has kept the hype factor without going over board and managed with all the grandness he needs with his dream film. Shankar on the audio launch of the film has come up with three three trailers that communicates exactly with the openness and secretive nature as his other films. Trailers that do tell what the audience can expect and have in store. The visuals seem promising. The visual effects of the film will without doubt be a new bench mark in Indian Cinema. As of the album, Rahman has come up with a techno flair which will definitely be a new experience to the listeners.

Aishwarya Rai at the audio launch of the film mentioned Shankar as 'the director for whom nothing is impossible.' May Enthiran not disappoint.