The verdict is out; Ajith is at his best in Kreedom. He looks young, fresh energetic and performs from his heart which may steal many a hearts. All the hard work shows on screen and the mood is upbeat in Ajith’s camp. Like the proverbial phoenix rising from the ashes, Ajith has risen from a furrow that fate, destiny or plain bad luck and choice of films got his career into.
This is an appreciation not only of Ajith but also a sincere acknowledgement of the unwavering support of all his fans, the people who never doubted the ability of their favorite star. The reviews are positive; everyone who saw the movie has liked it; there is everything that goes towards the making of the film into a hit. But fortunes at the box office are fickle, so let us not make any premature celebrations that Kreedom is a huge hit. Those celebrations can be held later. For the moment the fact that everyone can revel in is that one of the most promising youth of Tamil cinema has proved all his critics wrong. Varalaaru was a big hit, but Kreedom is even more special because it is the remake of a movie that was and is still Varalaaru (read part of history).
This is something about the original Kireedam that was released in 1989 in Malayalam that will give you an idea of what Ajith and the rest of the Kreedom team have pulled off.
When Kireedam was released 18 years back, it was almost instantly proclaimed as a classic film and deservingly so. Mohanlal in the lead role had just given the finest performance that Indian cinema had seen in years and the brilliance just could not be overlooked, it shone so bright. It was at a time when the National Film awards were being announced and unfortunately Kireedam had been released at a date too late to be considered for the awards that year and incidentally Bharath award that year went to Mammooty for his performance in Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha. But Kireedam could just not be allowed to pass by unrecognized and it was one of the very few occasions in the history of Indian cinema that a President’s special medal was given away to an actor. It was nothing less than the national.
Why then, you could ask, was the movie not remade for nearly 18 years? It is not that no one thought about remaking it. It was just that many people considered it and went back realizing the level of mastery that the actor in the lead role had to possess to carry off the role. Also it might not be wrong to say that the movie has been remade many times in bits and pieces. Anyone who has seen the original can notice many scenes of Kireedam being replicated in many movies. This is a fact that has been acknowledged by Chiyan Vikram who once in an interview to a Malayalam channel said that a Kireedam remake would be dream come true for him. What more, the Kireedam level of perfection has not been bettered by Mohanlal himself. It remains to date (in spite of two other national awards) his best performance.
It is this dream of many people that Ajith with director Vijay and Rajkiran has accomplished and that too in a manner that will not make the minds behind the original version feel let down. Yes, there are changes in the script to suit the changed times and the Tamil audience and the duet that was not there in the original, but the soul has been retained and the entire team of Kreedom must be congratulated for not swaying to too many commercial compulsions. They have stuck to their guns and the results can be seen.
What Kireedam did to Mohanlal? It placed him on par with the best in the country. He was no longer just another actor, he was an actor of caliber, of repute, of stature. It started his growth from being just a star to a superstar who can be depended upon to carry out tough roles. It was after Kireedam that Mohanlal really began to get some wonderful roles, both commercial and offbeat ones and now Ajith has opened those doors for himself. There was never any doubt that he can act well, but how well, no one knew. He has delivered good performances in Vaali and more recently Varalaaru, but Kreedom because of the sheer precedent that had to be emulated, should be the best of them all. That is why no one has minced any words in proclaiming Kreedom as Ajith’s best ever performance.
Now, Ajith has to tread carefully to keep the standards that he has set for himself in Kreedom because he can be sure of one thing. We are not going to settle for anything less. Kreedom may just be Ajith’s crown.
Source: www.behindwoods.com
The 54 th Filmfare Awards for Tamil films were announced through the popular FM station Radio Mirchi. Filmfare awards are considered to be the most prestigious after the National awards, and there is an aura about it. This time the award ceremony is taking place in Hyderabad on August 4, Saturday. All leading artists from Tamil are expected for this grand function.
Ajit’s Kireedam climax has been changed on the request of audiences and fans of the actor. Now the climax has been re-edited, with a positive ending, and will be screened in all theatres across Tamilnadu from Sunday (July 29) evening.
