Vishwaroopam is a 2013 Indian action spy thriller film written, directed and co-produced by Kamal Haasan who also enacts the lead role. The film has Rahul Bose, Shekar Kapur and Pooja Kumar, Andrea Jeremiah and Jaideep Ahlawat in supporting roles. Filmed simultaneously in two languages: Tamil and Hindi, the film features a soundtrack composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, with the Tamil lyrics written by Vairamuthu and Haasan himself, while Javed Akhtar translated them for the Hindi version.
What I’ll remember most about “Vishwaroopam” is its technical finesse, breathtaking locations, stark imagery and a crisp edit. The film features at least three different religions and five nationalities. It never takes a stance on which God is greater, nor does it brand you a freedom fighter or a radical militant. The central message is that bloodshed will lead to more bloodshed.
But first let’s talk of Kamal Haasan — writer, producer, lead actor — who plays a dance teacher in New York. His wife hires a detective to tail him, setting off a chain of events that sees the action shift from the skyscrapers of Manhattan to the dusty sands of Afghanistan. The build-up is steady, with dialogue that doesn’t induce boredom and the twist which reveals a layer to Haasan’s character is absolutely unexpected and brilliant. To reveal any more of the plot would be an injustice.
Let’s just say that the al Qaeda and the travails of living in a post-9/11 world play an important role in the film. “Vishwaroopam” is also not for the queasy. You might want to shut your eyes for the bloodied combat sequences. Rahul Bose impresses as the main villain of the piece while “Elizabeth” director Shekhar Kapur makes a delightful cameo. But it’s Haasan who single-handedly shoulders the film — in three different roles, no less.
On the surface, Vishwaroopam is a genre film. It’s a spy thriller. It’s the classic good versus evil battle. The spy, i.e. the good guy, foils the plans of the terrorist, i.e. the bad guy. What makes this film different, however, is what I call the Kamal-isms. Even in this very generic structure – it’s what I like to call the big, dumb action movie – writer and director Kamal Haasan infuses a lot of smartness, a lot of texture and meaning, which you don’t usually find in the big, dumb action movies you get from Hollywood. Think of the typical Steven Seagal or Bruce Willis movie. Entertaining? Yes. But textured and meaningful? Not exactly.
A couple of over-the-top sequences aside, “Vishwaroopam” is a work of art that surpasses Bollywood potboilers and tries to initiate a conversation about a not-so-perfect world and its great religious divide. Watch it for Haasan and your right to freedom of expression.
