SmugKitZine Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

arun aravind I was watching this movie in Bombay on cable nearly 6 yrs after its release. I was blown to smithereens.Its so far ahead of its time. I kinda guessed this must have been directed by some genius( later i found out it was Kamal himself). Now, i'm a guy who watches very few Tamil movies ( cos they are very unrealistic, for my liking( i mean no offence) In my college days I watched Mahanadhi, what a classic that was. I bow to u Kamal sir, if u r reading this. I bow to the editor/ sync-sound /sound designers. Even though the use of violence is wrong , its completely justified in this movie.Very sleek,stylized.

bharathraja The story adapts the screenplay from Akira Kurasowa's Rashomon in an entirely different style. Brilliant performances from Kamal Hassan and Pasupathy elevated the movie. Maestro Ilayaraja's music has been used in perfect. The Climax riots scenes were slightly adapted from Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus. Again used in an excellent way. The bull fight is amazing. Art work needs a real appreciation. Both the sets of village and the central prison are a great piece of work. The movie is simply awesome and a must watch entertainer. Those who interested in making good cinema can learn a lot about film making from this movie. Kamal shines as an actor, director, producer, Lyricist, singer and lot of hidden work. Hail Kamal!!!

pvramarao This movie is different and off-beat. Already with the way of innovative story telling (as a flashback narrated by two different people with opposite interests) which is a very BIG plus point, the recipe is spoilt with overthinking on Kamal's (the director) part to add a "message" to the film. The message (to abolish capital punishment) is a disjoint, not even fit as an appendix to this movie.This is really a story of one person, and should have been left like that - no need to add universally applicable messages. After all deeds done by Kamal and his villain, even those opposing capital punishment would feel these 2 guys deserve it. It is not important though made deliberately noticeable, that the villain got only life sentence whereas Kamal got death sentence. One couldn't care less.Its like - a spoilt recipe in the end which started innovatively with a brillant screenplay, and ran well though most of the film. Also, Kamal shouldn't have acted in this film - he should have just directed it - someone like Mohanlal would have lived in this movie, with much less (just adequate) action in some scenes. May be even Vikraman would have done a great job.

umeshh Great editing, music, photography, and screenplay. The movie and the scenes are very consistent as the movie progresses with multiple versions of the same story. Each one of supporting actors have done a stunning job. The movie has mined some interesting new talent.