The movie begins in the 12th Century when the local Shaivaite King’s move to remove the Vishnu idol from a temple is opposed by Nambi (Kamal), a Vaishnavite. King Kulothunga packs the idol and the idol lover together and dumps both in the Bay of Bengal. Then we are transported to 2004 where Dr Govind(Kamal) discovers a fatal virus and Ex-CIA bad guy Christian Fletcher tries to take it from him. Rest of the movie is one big chase which finally ends up in the Bay of Bengal where the Vishnu idol lies. Every chase needs 2 chicks, the good girl with the hero is Asin and the vamp with the villain is Mallika Sherawat. Rest is one hell of a fancy dress competition.

Analysis :

Even though 9 Kamal’s are there in the fray at one time, the make-up and characterization gives us a feel that there is only one Kamal(Dr Govind,the hero). You panic when the formidable Christian Fletcher (looks like Shane Warne) chases Dr Govind, it doesn’t hit you that both are Kamal and you root for your hero. Maybe thats Kamals message about religion as a whole, packaged well and very fast.The scope of the film and the effort that went in may go unmatched in Indian cinema. The effort is epic, sadly the product is not.Asin’s character Andal gives you a bad headache with her “Perumal” cries. She is cute though completely out of place and such a nuisance.7 of 10 characters in the movie are played by Kamal just for the heck of it.

TeluguOne Perspective :

Too much money involved, let them make some. For 50 bucks, you get to watch 10 Kamals. Go for it! Call it a Blockbuster.That indeed was a good one! Kamal doesn’t seem to have a problem with the inside or the outside world, his problems are around the intermediate world. Sadly thats where his “magnus opus” ends up, the intermediate world, right in the middle, mediocre.