Gemini

Movie Name: Gemini
Cast: Vikram , Kiran , Kalabhavan Mani , Murali , Dhamu , Ramesh Khanna , Vaiyapuri
Music: Bharadwaj
Direction: Saran
Rating: 2.0 / 5.0

'Rowdyism Zindabad' seems to be the loudest cry in Tamil cinema these days withseveral movies featuring rowdies as heroes. The trend was started with Dheena last year following which we have hadactors like Surya(Nandha), Ajeeth(Red) and Prakashraj(Dhaya)portraying their own brand of rowdyism onscreen. Ofcourse, the extent of rowdyismthe hero indulges in is always directly proportional to his image. Now it is Vikram's turnand naturally, he plays a 'good' rowdy who is reformed by his love and the affectionhe receives from a considerate police officer.

Gemini(Vikram) is the rowdy who aspires to be the leading rowdy in his area after toppling Teja('Kalabhavan' Mani), the current top gun. Gemini falls inlove with (Manisha)Kiran, a North Indian gal, even joining the same evening collegeas her to spend time with her. Not knowing his true profession, she falls forhim too. The new DGP in town Singaperumal(Murali) cracks down on rowdyismand both Gemini and Teja are arrested. It is a reformed Gemini who comesout of jail and he struggles to convince Kiran of his change while resistingTeja's attempts to incite him.

For the director, having a rowdy as hero is a good choice since it allows him to easily incorporate the usual ingredients of romance, stunts and sentiments into the story. All of the above are present in Gemini too but unfortunatelySaran has nothing new to offer in any of them. The story is routine, both inthe initial portions with a series of clashes between the gangs ofVikram and 'Kalabhavan' Mani and the second half, featuring the reformedVikram. Manorama's addition to Vikram's household provides the sentiments and the only minor twist in the storyline.

The only category the movie provides something unique in, is the portrayal ofthe villain. 'Kalabhavan' Mani's mimickry talents are on full display as heimitates a variety of animals during the course of his villainy. His imitation ofthe physical movements of the giraffe and the snake are uncanny and add a newdimension to his otherwise routine villain role. But, while this habit fullyhighlights his acting talent, it does affect the seriousness of the role andhe never comes across as a completely detestable villain(unlike say, Ashish Vidyarthi inDhill).

While we usually have romances set in colleges, Vikram joining an evening college just for Kiran is a new and funny idea for romance but is not built upon very well. Vikram's encounters with the seniors and his deal with them on ragging him are funny but the romance itself is not very cute. The other major setpiece is the autoshopbut the comedy here, with Saran's usual duo of Dhamu and Vaiyapuri, is not veryfunny. But their sequences could be forgiven since they have a link, howevertenuous, with the main story. On the other hand the sequences involving Charlie are unconnected, vulgar and just plain distracting.

After heavyweight roles like Sethu and Kasi, this role isn't much of a stretch for Vikramand he is not required to do much more than dance and fight, both of which hedoes quite well. Kiran makes arather poor debut with no noticeable acting talent and an unattractive figuremade more obvious by her vulgar dresses. Apart from 'Kalabhavan' Mani, Muraliis the other Malayalam import and he gives a dignified performance as usualas the upright DGP. Bharadwaj takes a cue from Chocklet's enormously popular MaleMale... song to come up with the very catchy O Podu... number.The song is fast, has some great beats and is apparently all the rage inTN. A couple of other numbers Deewana Deewana... and Pennoruthi... are good too.