commercial indian movies are often stereotyped as being products of logic-less storylines and science-defying action sequences. but if there is one person who makes even silliness atleast bearable – if not stylish – it is Rajni Kanth. for some reason, this darling of tamil cinema has become an icon who can carry off even the most ridiculous of ideas in a way that becomes extremely popular. unlike popular perception, the endearing aspect of Rajni is not just a result of his charisma – but the fact that somehow, he manages to effortlessly balance good acting with the entertainment factor. he will keep you bound to your seat with a blistering dialogue, then end it off with that trademark flip of a cigarette to his mouth.
and when Endhiran was released, almost all Rajni fans flocked to the theatre to watch it for “thalaivar’s” sake. when i did catch it, it was not so much for Rajni’s sake, but out of curiosity as to whether Endhiran – a science fiction storyline pulped together with typical tamil movie masala – was really as good as people claimed it was. and boy, was it good! 🙂
Endhiran’s storyline is rather simplistic – Vasee (Rajni Kanth), a scientist, creates a robot called Chitti that 
superficially looks and behaves exactly like him and tries to train it sufficiently to be able to help out with defence operations. Chitti becomes very friendly with Sana, Vasee’s girlfriend (Aishwarya Rai) and is a generally helpful robot who cooks, cleans, applies henna beautifully and beats up baddies as well. however, Chitti is unable to understand the nuances of right vs. wrong and human emotions. one time, Chitti successfully rescues some people from a burning building, but also forcibly evacuates a girl who is caught in a bath without her clothes on. when she is brought out of the building, the press and tv journalists crowd around the girl with their cameras. while trying to run away from the media glare, the girl is hit by a truck and killed. to combat such problems, Vasee installs simulated emotions into Chitti, but this causes Chitti to fall in love with Sana. matters take an ugly turn when the 
robot refuses to listen to Vasee and starts to protest. in anger, Vasee breaks Chitti down and throws him away. the robot is then rescued and rebuilt by Vasee’s former mentor and current enemy Dr Bohra (Danny Denzongpa), who adds in an “evil” chip as well. Chitti becomes a malicious machine, and in his intent to gain Sana, creates a robot army that is made of look-alike clones. He kidnaps Sana and tries to force her to stay with him forever. The rest of the story is about Vasee’s efforts to infiltrate Chitti’s army and rescue Sana. In the end, Chitti’s “evil” chip is removed and he becomes the nice robot again, but has to be dismantled to prevent such misuse and is kept in a futuristic museum. 
the merits of the movie are several: from beginning to end, the movie moves at a reasonable pace, leaving little room for boredom. the scenes are well-shot, with the sequence moving smoothly from one to the next. comedy is well handled, with the right touch of humour (eg. Chitti’s conversation with mosquitoes) at the right points. the make-up for the robot is done very well, with the “skin” looking just artificial enough. special effects are exceptionally well done. songs are generally well shot and are interjected at the right moments. attention to detail is well taken care of – for example, while the robot beats up a whole train-load of baddies, the scientist takes to his heels when faced with one rowdy – a refreshing change from seeing a puny hero beat up hundreds of bad guys.
but the real credit goes to Rajni for carrying the movie through. his ability to induce the right amount of mechanical jerks into Chitti’s movements and speech is exceptional – and so subtle that the viewer never once loses sight of the difference between the human and the robot, but there are none of the stiff-robot walk movements. the second half of the movie, wherein Chitti becomes a villain is probably the most interesting aspect of the movie – with Rajni’s acting skills showcased in the best possible manner. and yet again, Chitti’s little speech right at the end (when he is being dismantled) about humans and their erring ways has the right hint of emotion that wraps up the story beautifully.
there are some drawbacks that i personally feel could have been avoided: Aishwarya Rai’s role in the 
movie is quite clearly for the glamour factor – we all understand that, but given that she is supposedly from an average tamil family, why does she have to turn up in minis, designer sunglassses or oh-so-expensive salwars? in one scene where she celebrates her birthday, everyone around her is draped in saris or salwars, while she is in a western-style evening gown. frankly, it looks downright jarring! the fight scenes are exceptionally well-made, but the last part where the robots go into different formations is dragged on beyond optimum attention span. the two comedians who appear as Vasee’s assistants provide some good entertainment at the start but are suddenly phased out, almost a bit hurriedly.
but the drawbacks are not big enough to take the attention away from the the best part about Endhiran: the fact that it contains a bit of everything – story, humour, glamour, technology, beauty and music – in the right doses. this movie manages to tread that fine line wherein it is intelligent enough to capture your attention and yet entertaining enough to not bog you down in thoughts. kudos to Shankar and his team! 🙂
PS: for a humorous take on the same movie review, visit Blogeswari
the world in my eyes 