Kochadaiiyaan (2014) User Reviews

Rajnikanth deserved better!

[achyutaghosh · 5/10 · 1 June 2014]

Rajnikanth is touted to be able to do it all- count to infinity, can find corners in circles, made the dinosaurs extinct, has played Russian roulette with a fully loaded gun and won etc. But one thing he clearly cannot do is to ensure that every film of his entertains. Kochadaiiyaan may boast of all that motion capture technology, but put side by side Hollywood exploits such as Tin Tin, it comes off as an amateurish, cartoonish effort.

The story is a standard revenge drama- in the vein of Dharam Veer, and a million Chinese martial art epics. Kochadaiiyaan is a legendary warrior in the kingdom of Kottaipatinam. He is a man of ethics, but his enemies are not. His military prowess and burgeoning popularity attracts the jealousy of the king, Rishikogadan (Nasser). In a skirmish with the rival kingdom of Kalingpuri, Kochadaiiyaan loses his army as he chooses to ensure they live rather than be massacred. The king of Kottaipatinam uses this as a reason to eradicate someone from who he feels threatened.

Kochadaiiyaan's son, Rana takes up his father's unfinished mission. He goes to Kalingpuri, trains there and becomes the army general. He then tricks the king of Kalingpuri- Mahendra Raj (Jackie Shroff), to let him make an army out of the people of Kottaipatnam who he had earlier enslaved, and then gets them home on the pretex of war. There is a double love story lined up post this featuring an "enhanced" Deepika, while Rishikogadan and Mahendra Raj must meet their bloody end.

Rajnikanth is virtually in every frame of the film, and as usual he oozes style and confidence. While the movie is decently paced, every scene is either a song or a fight sequence. The result of the motion capture technology is abysmal. The reason for doing motion capture is to impart real feel to animated characters. In Kochadaiiyaan, the effect is opposite- there is no real emotion in the facial shots of the characters. Had it been a live action film, it might have looked good. But today's audience used to Avatar and its ilk, this mediocre effort simply does not cut the cake. Even Pogo features better animation!

This expensive experiment to immortalize Rajnikanth might be good enough for die hard fans, but still cannot make up for its complete lack of connect, and its technical shortcomings. The last scene indicated a sequel- hope that is done better. 5/10

Brave attempt in RAJNI style!!!

[surenfut · 6/10 · 23 May 2014]

Kochadaiiyaan first performance capture movie in India. It is not an easy thing to create a mega budget animated movie with a good marketing status in India. It is possible only with the presence of Superstars like Rajnikanth. Expectation among the fans were high (Kochadaiiyaan visuals will be similar to Avatar or Adventures of Tintin), anyhow trailer received a mixed response only.

But a historic story with energetic dialogue leads the movie till the end with decent result in this brave attempt. The big name Rajnikanth keeps cheering always. Another big name A.R.Rahman, made an experimental BGM through the movie which keep us attractive.

Positive signs of performance capture technology:

-Absolutely brilliant 3D effects in the action sequences which is new to our fans.

-Legendary actor late Nagesh is recreated.

-Hope in future we can reach the Hollywood movies with a reasonable budget.

Cast also includes Bollywood beauty Deepika Padukone which will be a big box office factor in North India. With this summer Kochadaiiyaan is going to be a good entertaining movie for family audience.

Remember Kochadaiiyaan is not a Hollywood movie like 'The Adventures of Tintin' or 'Avatar' but it is the best Indian animated movie.

Verdict: If you watch the 'Kochadaiiyaan' in big screen defiantly it would be a great experience.

Hardcore Rajinikanth fans will enjoy the film once but even for them revisiting it is nearly impossible.

[haricharanpudipeddi · 5/10 · 23 May 2014]

"Kochadaiiyaan" as a Rajinikanth film has all the elements to satisfy his fans. It has a grand introduction scene, which is followed by an extremely inspiring song, breathtaking stunt sequences, mass appealing dialogues and most importantly the superstar himself in three larger- than-life roles, doing everything that's impossible to do in real life. But "Kochadaiiyaan" as an animated feature, which is made using motion capture technology, fails to live up to the expectations of all those who watch a Rajinikanth film just for the sake of entertainment.

We have a tried-and-tested revenge story. A son has to avenge the murder of his father, who was killed trying to protect the lives of thousands of soldiers of a kingdom. Rajinikanth plays both son and father; Rana and Kochadaiiyaan, respectively.

The problem is not with the film's story because a Rajinikanth film never has a story. It's always about him and what he does on screen to entertain his fans. Sometimes even the most stupid act pulled off by the superstar will make a houseful of audience applaud in merriment. Such moments were missing or were limited in "Kochadaiiyaan", which heavily suffered from creating an emotional connect with the characters.

Every time Rajinikanth and Deepika hugged, you couldn't feel the passion in their romance. It looked as though two cartoon characters were made to romance one another. Because of this even in the most emotional scenes of the film, you feel emotionally disconnected. Several artificial instances such as these make the film boring and the characters lifeless. All this makes you come to the conclusion that the film would've worked wonderfully if it was a live action feature. Come to think of it, "Kochadaiiyaan" would've definitely looked magnificent in live action form than in the half baked animated format that only looks colorful but not legendary.

In layman's terminology, motion capture technology is supposed to recreate real characters as realistic as possible in reel. But most of the characters suffered from identity crisis and you could only identity them from their voices. Actors such as Aadi and Sarath Kumar were the terribly looking animated characters on screen, while the rest such as Nasser, Deepika and Jackie at least had some major references to be related with their real self. The biggest problem with the characters was their eyes, which mostly looked dead. Eyes speak a lot about a person's emotions and because most of the characters had dead eyes, we couldn't build an emotional bond with them.

Rajinikanth was recreated to near perfection. Of course, there were certain issues with some of his physical features but he looked overall satisfying. Most importantly, his mannerisms were intact in the animated format and that was one of highlights of the film and it certainly gave audiences a reason to love the film at regular intervals.

Rahman is the film's biggest saving grace and it's his music and background score that breathes life into the film. The songs looked visually spectacular but their placement sometimes affects the film's narrative. Another highlight of the film was its extremely short running time of 118 minutes. It's a rarity to see such a short Rajinikanth film but that might just work in the favor of "Kochadaiiyaan", which could've irked the audiences with extended running time.

Hardcore Rajinikanth fans will enjoy the film once but even for them revisiting it is nearly impossible.

A Somewhat Mixed & Uneven Affair - Brilliant Music, Acceptable Story & Lacklustre CGI

[comp188 · 6/10 · 29 May 2014]

When first announced, it came under several film titles/projects - from "Sultan: The Warrior" to "Rana" (to which is now a prequel/sequel) to finally "Kochaiidaiyaan". It was a brave attempt into a completely unknown territory.

With this, comes the risk one the project being a complete success or a complete failure. I am now thinking of it heading towards the latter, unfortunately.

With a beastly budget of $21 million which for a Tamil/Kollywood film is unprecedented, it would mean that the film would have to perform admirably at the box office the world over to even break even. At this moment in time, it is looking somewhat dim ; $7 million gross since release.

Let's get to the story - the story is, by movie standards, quite standard. Nothing the movie world has not heard before. I found the story quite interesting and with the usual 'love story' we always have in Tamil movies, this is quite refreshing. However, as the movie progressed, the story can be quite coagulated/rigid with little room for one's own interpretation, but thankfully at the end of it all, it does hold up just fine. The story is about kings/kingdoms and quite honestly, is not that often we see it in Tamil movies, so kudos to that. Unfortunately, the 'pitfalls' of a typical Indian movie is here - don't want to sound too harsh but the 'ridiculous' moments does occur. Riding a dolphin and being propelled into the air onto a ship ; really? Haha, quite hilarious but it is moments like this then make you go "What did just see?!" Potential meme in the making. There are other cringe- worthy moments as well, but I'll spare them.

The music - quite possibly the best part of the movie. A.R. Rahman did a brilliant job here (he narrate the Tamil version too). The songs are really good and worth listening over and over again. Highly recommended to purchase the audio CD.

The movie paces itself just fine. However, I felt that instead of a near 2 hours runtime, it should have been trimmed to just over 90 minutes, as with most animated feature movies. I didn't feel the movie 'stretchy' or 'overly long' for an animated movie.

Now comes the hard part - and the most talked about aspect of the movie - the CGI. Has anyone seen 2007's "Beowulf"? If yes, then anything less than this is going to draw criticism. Movie goers are not easy to please these days, and I consider myself highly critical of '...it could have been better' movies. "Kochaiidaiyaan" fails quite squarely in this regard. The CGI is easily 5-7 years behind the tech of the most advanced animated movies - I'm not talking "How to Train Your Dragon" or "Toy Story", but rather the more human-involved/realistic 3D animated movies - the easiest example would be Robert Zemeckis' motion-captured films ("A Christmas Carol", "The Polar Express", etc.). The opening sequence of the movie on the boat - it should have been either removed or simply redone. Not a good way to start the movie. Even video games have better visuals than that. There are certain areas that the CGI shines, Rajini looks the best with little dead eyes compared to other CGI rendered characters. The motion capture technology is there but there are some clunkiness to it. Compared to the ultra high budget "Avatar", the motion capture in "Kochaiidaiyaan" is about half way there. Facial expression and such only effective works in some scenes while others seem more generic/standard. Nothing special about the motion capture here. It's here, it's okay, and nothing to shout about. More work needs to be done to improve the CGI and the director, Soundarya needs to rethink how to do so - either an even bigger budget (which means a higher box office risk) or hire more skilled visual effects work force.

"Kochaiidaiyaan" is an entertaining yet flawed movie. It is a defining moment in Indian cinematic history. Any other full fledged animated movie will always be compared to this movie, for better or for worse. This is a great starting point, but the results isn't that good. Watch it if you are a fan of Rajini or someone who wants to see Indian cinema do something unique. You might be surprised if the movie induces tears in you - as in actually feeling for the characters. This is the part where no amount of tech can achieve, and it comes from the heart of the story. A good attempt. Keep up the good work. I still wholeheartedly prefer live-action to animated. While it is Super Star Rajini doing the acting, you still want to see him in live-action. On a side note, I really did appreciate the inclusion of a 'making of.../bloppers' at the end of the movie.

Superb Movie

[biologi · 9/10 · 24 May 2014]

I remember after watching Avatar, for the first time I saw ALL of the audience sitting until end of the credits.

Today, I saw it happening again for the first time for a Tamil movie. Malaysian Indians being very conservative, I was even surprised to see some of the ladies (not girls) clapping at the end of the credits. I have never seen it happen for an Indian movie in Malaysia. That shows the brilliance of this movie.

I loved it, some scenes such as between the father and son before the father is killed even made me shed tears. The Dance of Shiva and the fight scene of Princess Vadhana fighting with 'villain' stands out for me. I'm thinking of going for a second show, the first for me for a Tamil film.

Loved it.

summer treat for Super star fans and I absolutely loved it :)

[srinat-1 · 24 May 2014]

Kochadaiiyaan will mark a shift way we perceive Indian cinema. I came up with an open mind to accept the film on whatever the graphic quality but it stunned me to the core. Good content and full of my thalaivar all the way thru. Absolutely loved it being a die hard fan of Super star. I know that graphic was not up to Hollywood standard and I don't want compare it at all. What are the positive outcomes in India cinema -- Kochadaiiyaan is a welcome change to all run of the mill stories. I strongly believe that in years to come we can see many more producers willing to invest in Indian animations films and technologies. Coming back to film -- its been ~4 years to see my thalaivar on screen and I want this movie to be all-thalaivar stunts, dialogues, and dance moves. I came out of the movie with full satisfaction and time well spent. I will watch this movie again, again ... just for my thalaivar. Not to forget the performance other lead actors everyone did an amazing job and hats off to the director "Soundarya Rajinikanth" and writer "K.S. Ravikumar"

A must watch for Rajni fans and Tamil movie fans.

[thothram · 7/10 · 23 May 2014]

I was a bit skeptical when I went to watch this movie but was totally satisfied with this Movie and here's why:

1. The story and screenplay are craft fully written to keep the audience engaged in the film from the get-go.

2. Even though the Visual Effects are not up-to the mark, It is a good and fine attempt. You can get used to the effects after a few minutes.

3. The music and score of the movie is outstanding, Giving the film more grandeur and elegance.

3. This Movie has a Wonder full Cast and a well known technical team which professionalized the movie.

3. Other things like editing, direction , character development, Setting up for the sequel were well executed.

Overall kochadaiyaan had all the things to make it a Blockbuster.

It is safe to say that this movie was totally worth the wait!

A True Epic!

[spruthvi35 · 4/10 · 23 May 2014]

Me having at least minimum knowledge about how tough & challenging it is to make a film like this one, I can surely call it an 'EPIC', proudly! As I borrow the words of Amitabh Bachchan , "100 years of Indain cinema will now be called as 'After Kochadaiyaan' and 'Before Kochadaiyaan'" are so really true. Yes, this movie really deserves a great applause, ignore about how or what the story is but the attempt and hard work that went into the making of this film deserves an applause. People who do not have any knowledge about 'Motion Capture' should watch this film in the way it is shown and shouldn't call it a cartoon or something. The only flaw about the film is that there are some disconnected scenes in both the halves and maybe that is due to editing errors. Apart form that, the Cinematography , Sound , VFX and the other tech departments did their best.Super Star Rajnikanth was at his best and his hard core fans will enjoy the 'Shiva Thandav' part. The other actors did justice to their characters. The biggest asset is the Music and BGM by A.R. Rahman which doesn't bore you at any point in the film. The narrative was at good pace.There weren't many 3D shots, just few here and there in action sequences. Go and watch the film with your family, you'll surely enjoy it.

Wonderful Film from Rajini Sir

[thiags21 · 9/10 · 23 May 2014]

This film release got delayed for long time and even came after long time the film got good response and feedback from all over the world. I would like to thank Rajini sir and her daughter for making this film. It would be a starter film in India. Henceforth people like to watch these movies in theater's like Hollywood films. After four years of gap, Rajini sir fans and people in India An opportunity to see this fantastic movie that made in Tamil, Hindi and many more languages. All the film actors,producers and technicians must watch this movie and it attracts children and young and all the people I pray for Rajini sir be in good health and continue to do good for people of India Thank you

Kochadaiyaan: A complete Rajni Masala Entertainer in animation

[shiraj-dakshy · 6/10 · 24 May 2014]

Kochadaiyaan is India's first movie made on the technology of Motion Capture, a technique used in Hollywood movies like Avatar, Tintin & Bewoulf. Do not expect the finesse like its Hollywood counterpart, but the attempt is worth an applaud for the director Soundarya Rajnikanth Ashwin.

Having Super Star Rajnikanth was enough to make the movie a blockbuster but taking a path which was not explored in Bollywood and more so animation movies are not taken seriously in India, for Soundarya to try something out of the box is commendable.

But it is not only the technology but the story and screenplay by K. S. Ravikumar which is fast paced with trademark Rajni style histrionics and a story which is appealing, in short a complete Entertainer.

Kochadaiyaan is a story based in the 8th century, which tells the tale of Rana, Kochaiyaan's son who avenges his father's death. It could have been a mundane revenge drama but K.S. Ravikumar keeps it interesting with a lot of twists and turns.

Rajni as usual is the highlight of the movie with a double role of father Kochadaiyaan and son Rana and Rajni as usual does not disappoint, he is bang on with his histrionics and charisma. Deepika Padulone as Princess Vandhana does not have much to do but suits the part albeit her animation is the worst as compared to other actors. Jackie Shroff as Raja Mahendra does a good job so does Naseer as King Rishikodagan. Shobhana and Sarath Kumar are wasted in brief roles. Music by A R Rahman is apt as per the movie, though the songs are not memorable or hummable. Cinematography by Rajiv Menon is impressive. Neeta Lulla's costume design is as per the period. Editing by Antony is crisp and keeps the pace.

After Rajni it is Soundarya's direction which is the highlight of the movie. Overall the movie is a total masala entertainer.

God Awful

[setagkeviv · 1/10 · 23 May 2014]

I have nothing against motion capture as a medium. It has been used effectively in movies, and even video games. An example i quote is L.A Noire, a video game where motion capture is used to capture every nuance of the emotions of the characters, to create a mind-blowing experience.

I went into Kochadaiyaan without seeing many trailers, with the hope that it would blow me away. It didn't. Instead, I wished I could blow myself away with a grenade. Or two. Or make it ten. The story...not top notch, but not bad either. Songs....not spectacular. But the medium ? Here i quote Roger Ebert from one of his reviews

"If you want to save yourself the ticket price, go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell, and get a kid to start banging pots and pans together. Then close your eyes and use your imagination."

Nothing else to say, therefore I conclude via another Roger Ebert quote, which pretty much sums up the Kochadaiyaan experience I had.

"I hated this movie. Hated, hated, hated, hated, hated this movie. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it. Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to the audience by its belief that anyone would be entertained by it."

That is all.

Warm welcome for the first attempt!!

[Vishakan · 8/10 · 23 May 2014]

One may easily predict the graphic quality of Kochadaiiyaan, from the 2 min trailer as - "not up to the mark". They are not to be blamed, as Kochadaiiyaan stand below the fellow movies like Tin Tin, Avatar (as they claim). But what the people don't understand is that it is new to Indian Cinema as many of them have not heard of the technique before. Even the film is made in one of the Hollywood studios ( Centroid ) it failed to show the difference, may be they used their amateur techies for their small client (budget of the movie is just 125 crores Indian Rupee) . After all, as I said, it is a first attempt. But we have to admit that the production failed to understand- " First impression is the best impression".

Enough about the tech-quality !!!

Talking about the story, it is simple, crystal clear, don't-think-too- much-just-sit-and-enjoy type. For a movie hardly running to 120 minutes, what we need is a clear plot and bounding screenplay. I think the script writers knows it. It is an Indian movie, so expect some music numbers. Background score is done by Academy Award winning A.R.Rahman. RAJINIKANTH - the man made it once again. It is truly his own show right from the title card. We all know his voice can make wonders and yet it does. It is a treat to his large fan base in south India. So, altogether the movie is worth watching once in theaters. The movie is worth giving 7, but +1 for first attempt from freshers.

There are heroes ,there are super heroes but there is only one RAJNIKANTH

[karishcool963 · 7/10 · 25 May 2014]

Postives: Rajnikanth big asset for the film.K.S Ravikumar's Screenplay and story .Soundharya Rajnikanth Ashwin's direction doesn't looks like debut she done a great job .A.R Rehman Music AND awesome BGM .Films duration 118 Min's where not trying to keep unnecessary scenes like other movies .Late Nagesh sir .Second Half is very good. cinematography is awesome

Negatives: -expressions are not clearly captured by technology but Rehman BGM plays crucial part to elevate scenes -First Half goes on nothing special

Final verdict: first of all its the guts of director to make a film using motion capture technology with Rajnikanth as main lead. One can say that Kochadaiiyaan is a seed in the India hope that it grows like a huge plant.cinematography is asset for film. Oscar award winner A.R Rehman sir awesome music is oxygen to film. Screenplay by K.S is awesome though the story is wafer thin line. Director Rajni sir daughter Soundharya done great job where its hard to find that this film is her debut.my only complaint is that are expressions though BGM saved makers should have take care on that.

my rating is 9/10

Pathetic

[skanda79 · 2/10 · 23 May 2014]

I am sorry to disappoint all the Rajini fanatics who for some strange reason seem to be blindly supporting what their Thalaivar has done. As I write this review, there are already many Video reviews being posted on Youtube, however these are by people who are related to the film industry and due to professionalism cannot criticize a bad movie especially some one as politically well connected as Rajini. Hence it seems to be getting good reviews on the net at the moment. The true value (if any) of the movie will be known in a few weeks. I would state that the review given for the movie on Firstpost is a very accurate review of the movie. I am giving the movie 2 stars because I love animation and I would like to encourage someone taking some initiative to show something new. What very much disappointed me was the following 1) It is not clear why is a Performance Capture technology being used anyway. I don't see much difference between the animation shown in the Animated Mahabharat (which also had actors as characters) and what was shown in Kochadaiiyan. Not much value added in terms of capturing facial expressions. 2)Rajinikanth certainly has not acted in the movie and he is some one who cannot dance at this age. Performing Rudra Tandavam (which is choreographed really well BTW) is certainly not possible. 3) Recreating comedy legend Nagesh was a good attempt but how does one re-create the magic touch and spontaneity which he is famous for. Nagesh jokes was more like a C version of Vadivelu. Hence I would say that he has been insulted. Hindi audience will dislike this even more as they cant connect with Nagesh. 4) Songs are a let down. A 2 hour movie and 10+ songs sounded stupid to me before release and is worse when watching the movie. 5) The graphics are not upto the mark and simply showing Ariel shots for every scene looks like naive direction. Further the Ariel shot of the horses and rajini in the opening is clearly inspired from Avatar when the horses enter Home Tree after capturing Jake Sully.

Defending a bad movie stating lack of budget etc seems to be a lame excuse. As I stated previously, Mahabharat Animated prepared in India was also of the same quality without using motion picture. BTW Mahabharat too had disappointing graphics.

In short only blind supporters of Rajini will like it. Skyfall had excellent reviews upon release on IMDb and else where as well, however the intrinsic value was known only after time passed by I expect the same for this movie. Initially paid reviews and fanatics ratings will take the ratings high and then it shall fall low down to 5 (after averaging) as time goes by. I feel unbiased people will feel cheated after watching this movie.

Good effort to try something different but DISAPPOINTING.

Good attempt... but...

[bhagya_nair · 7/10 · 23 May 2014]

Story - Average (same old revenge saga)

Screenplay - Good

Dialogues - Good

Direction - Good (should appreciate Soundarya's effort)

Visual effects (characters) - Inconsistent throughout - ranging from

Very Poor to Good (comparing Hollywood standards)

Visual effects (background) - ranging from Average to Good

Music - Good

3D effects - Poor (again due to issues with VFX of characters)

WOW factor - The updated version of "Super Star Rajini" animation in the title card

Note: The guy sitting next to us started sleeping midway... I had to wake him up during the end credits

Awesome

[appfreak26 · 10/10 · 23 May 2014]

Love this movie...! Waiting for the second part... First thing i would like to say is animation is very difficult and that too with motion capture technology. This movie has not brought the best of animation in every areas, in certain places it was marvellous. Especially the Siva Thandavam by Kochadaiyan is the best scene in the movie. Concentration in facial expressions and apart from Super Star Ranjinikanth, other characters can be shown a little more effectively. Overall it scores in below aspects Screenplay Songs BGM Animation (Dance) Dialogues (MASS) Ranjini Sir (He is the major part)

Can be corrected in the following aspects: Animation (Concentration in background) Editing Voice synchronization

I give 10 points... Because i love you Thalaiva... You are the best..... Dialogues were awesome

A slightly above average movie which could have been made better with a better storyline.

[ketgup83 · 7/10 · 25 May 2014]

Soundarya Rajnikant Ashwin makes her directorial debut with this animation movie which has her father Rajnikant playing the lead. Kochadaiiyan revolves around the rivalry between two kingdoms Kalingapuri and Kotaipattinam which goes back several years. Rana (Rajni) the head of the army for Kalingapuri headed by the king (Jackie Shroff)makes a grand entry into the movie with a title song animated in typical Rajni style. Rana suggests the usage of prisoners from Kotaipattinam army to be used in Kalinagapura's army in order to wage war. On the day of battle, it is revealed that all this was Rana's secret plan to actually free the prisoners and that Rana hails from Kotaipattinam.He is given a hero's welcome by the king of Kalingapura (Nasser) where it is revealed that Rana is the son of Kochadaiiyan who was sentenced to death by Nasser for an act of treachery to the state.Deepika Padukone plays the queen who is in love with Rana. There is a twist in the plot where during a murder attempt on Nasser the perpetrator is found to be Rana himself. This is followed by a flashback of Kochadaiiyan and his heroic achievements and how he was cheated into death by Nasser. The plot ends with a lot of open questions leaving a clear indication for a sequel. For the quality of graphics shown, we must admit that it is a very good attempt from Indian cinema. Although there is a lack of attention to detail, inanimate faces of all characters, rigid movements and a lack of sufficient brightness, this film is a big step ahead in opening the industry for home-grown animation films. Music by AR Rahman is average while the story is just above par from Ravikumar. The film solely rests on the shoulders on Rajni who is present in almost every scene. A slightly above average movie which could have been made better with a better storyline.

www.facebook.com/FilmyChowk

Without the style and mannerism of Rajani sir movie looks dumb.Though its OK to watch once.

[imshivaraj · 1/10 · 23 May 2014]

Final verdict for Kochadaiyaan will be "Worst usage of modern technology". There is nothing much in the movie. There is no style of Rajani sir. Movie looks dumb without Rajani's usual style and mannerism. Direction is not good. Its a worst attempt by Soundarya for this big budget movie. A.R.Rahman is also not up to the expectation.It looks like cartoon film more than the motion capture.Though they have worked hard for so many years it doesn't satisfies the audience.Also it don't have much shots in 3D which seems to be is waste of money to watch it in 3D technology.Movie don't have the commercial elements which the family audience or youths needed. Only it can satisfy small children.They can watch this movie once. Otherwise its more of just waste of time.That's it.

Watch it for Rajini , AR Rahman and KSR !!

[nirmal-biotech · 8/10 · 24 May 2014]

Hero taking revenge on Villain is the crux of Kochadaiiyaan.. What is different in the film is the technique used in the movie, which is absolutely new to Indian films and is definitely interesting. From the beginning to the end the movie keeps you hooked up with , thanks to our Superstar and his styles. I can clearly see with how much passion was this movie crafted. Likable and enjoyable characters ( Legendary actor Nagesh does a cameo and brings in lot of value ) . Simple yet top-notch dialog s. Known story yet, unique and refreshing in its own way. Even those simple scenes like Rajini s eye-contact engulf you with emotion. And, of course there is one huge plus for the movie. The background musical score. Cannot have a complete review of this film without penning few complements on the Maestro. There's nothing to do, every piece of music he creates is able to touch the deepest strings of our hearts. With a soundtrack that ranges from the epic tones to the mysterious ones he gives us another example of his limitless genius.

The story line of the film is interesting and has a touch of KS Ravikumar flavor all over. Nonetheless, you can't consider story as the best aspect of the film. Its the screenplay that ll keep you glued to seat till the end . The right combination of having the most stylish protagonist, a clever script , and a sincere effort to bring in new technology to Indian films , make this flick a blast from start to finish. The 3D technology is not used to its full potential here. This has been in the reckoning for quite a long time and this happens to be the first ingenuously made graphic movie using motion capture technology in India. Though it cannot be compared with the Hollywood flicks budgets it must be said that the hard work is seen and one can see the brilliance in visual effects. After seeing the trailer and few promos , I was a little skeptical of going to see this one. It surprised me though..it threw things at me that I wasn't expecting. To Sum up, it would be a inappropriate to say Kochadaiiyaan was awful, which its not, but despite having the one and only Superstar , its good, not great !!

Sluggish yet Splendid!

[yashmishra91 · 7/10 · 23 May 2014]

Kochadaiiyaan (Tamil and dubbed): Finally it's here, the first Indian film having the motion capture technology having the best of the grandeur and colours (and definitely Rajini Sir), which actually is worth experiencing for a family or children outing in either of the formats (3D or 2D). Director Saundarya R. Ashwin actually deserves an applause for her experimentation with the new technology on Indian celluloid scenario with some masala, required to make the film worth your buck. However in showcasing the finesse, she lags behind in having proper animated motion and realistic motion in the film which makes the movements in the film look slightly weird. Then some songs as well as the romantic track along with flashback part in the second part actually is quite draggy despite the film being timed up at a compact 2 hours. Now if we talk about the best parts, the screenplay of the film by K.S. Ravikumar is actually great and well-layered, added with striking dialogues. The team also has re-created the character of the veteran actor Nagesh who died few years back and the team comes out successful in cheating with the character. Then the production designing work by Vadivel and Chinnnakgounder, costume design by Neeta Lulla, cinematography by Rajiv Menon, choreography by Shobhana, Saroj Khan, Rekha and Chinni Prakash along with VFX and CG work by Nikhil Anand, AP Madan Mohan and team and action by Peter Heinn is simply superb which actually enhances the beauty of the film, some of them being sureshot National Award winners for next year. The music score by A.R. Rahman is simply superb and is narrative complimenting. In the performances, Nasser, Jackie Shroff and Shobhana are the main highlights. Deepika Padukone is good, but her stunts make her standout more than her acting in the film. Last but not the least, Rajinikanth or Rajini Sir is again back to his charms who carries the film brilliantly on his shoulders. Overall, a must watch for good entertaining experience. My rating would be: 4/5.

Experiment in Disaster

[snaidu422 · 2/10 · 26 May 2014]

Soundarya Rajinikanth Ashwin has pulled two impossible feats, making India's first motion capture animation movie successfully and also achieving a disaster with Rajinikanth-an impossible feat.

Kochadaiiyaan, has everything going good for it from the time Rajinikanth gave his nod. An ensemble cast of Deepika Padukone, Jackie Shroff, Sobhana, Sharat Kumar and Nazir, plus Eros stepping in for distribution and finance and above all Rajini fans giving the movie their full support. Plus the movie had state of art technicians working on it and they managed to achieve the best of the best, from the dimple on Deepika's cheeks to her cleavage and to the wrinkles on Rajinikanth's fingers, everything was taken and displayed in the minute detail.

Alas! With all this the makers forgot the primary ingredient which makes up every movie-THE STORY. After you finish marveling at the technical brilliance, you start looking for the story, which clearly disappoints and for the first time ever, you have people yawning and stretching in a Rajinikanth Movie. The movie is 118 mins (2 mins short of 2 hrs) but it seems so long drawn that it might as well have been 4 hours long.

Rana is a trustworthy general in Kalingapuri's army and his strategy of including POWs into the army gives good results and kingdom achieves lots of victories. Rana then decides to vanquish Kottaipatanam, a neighboring enemy state and marches towards it with the entire army. Suddenly Rana defects taking the entire army with him. It is revealed that Rana was an undercover soldier from Kottaipatanam.

Back home,Sengodagan (Sharat Kumar) the prince falls for Rana's sister Yamuna (Rukmini) and the hero uses his charm and has Rishikodagan (Nasser) the king agree for the wedding. Rishikodagan performs the marriage but banishes Sengodagan as he dared to love a common woman. Vadhana, The princess (Deepika Padukone) is head over heels in love with Rana and decides to confront her father. At the very moment, an assassination attempt happens on Rishikodagan and Vadhana foils it and surprise the assassin is Rana, who has been plotting revenge for the unjust execution of his father Kochadaiiyaan.

As written above, the animation is flawless, everything was taken care to the T. You even have the late Nagesh in a comic role and the song picturizations are simply awesome especially the peacock dance with Deepika Padukone and the amazing pre interval fight sequence between Rajinikanth and Deepika Padukone needs a special mention.

All in all if Soundarya had taken proper care in the story department, we would have had an instant classic. Only pray that she does a better job in the sequel (oh yes! We were warned about that in the end credits)

A RAJINI Movie

[karimamansha · 9/10 · 23 May 2014]

Kochadaiiyaan is the first Indian Movie, which had been done on Performance Capture Technology. Our SUPERSTAR is the only Indian actor, who has acted in four different forms of Cinema – Black & White, Colour, 3D & Motion Capture. Kochadaiiyaan teaser didn't create much expectation for the movie as people felt that the animation was not up to the Hollywood standards. But, the trailer created some expectation for the movie as it had Superstar's voice with Punch Dialogues and wonderful music by A.R. Rahman. Kochadaiiyaan movie was taken with the budget of 125 Crores and completed within 2 years. While, "Tin Tin" was taken with budget of around $120 Million and took 5 years to be completed. Hence, it is completely unethical to compare Kochadaiiyaan with Hollywood movies. It is actually an International Movie, as it has been dubbed in Japanese & English, along with 6 Indian languages.

Kochadaiiyan - Ko means Lord Sivan Devotee & Chadaiiyaan means the one with long hair. Hence, as Tamilians, we have to feel proud about this movie, which takes our Tamil / Indian movies to the next level. The movie was postponed several times, which really tested the patience of Superstar's fans itself. Having said that, only SUPERSTAR can get huge opening for a movie, which was completely animated and delayed several times. Let us see whether Kochadaiiyaan will satisfy the Common Man in this review.

Story: It is quite simple one. It is about how Rana (Warrior Kochadaiiyan's son) takes revenge on King Nasser for his father's death. But, the engaging screenplay & awesome dialogues by K.S. Ravikumar makes sure that audiences are engaged throughout the movie.

Rajinikanth – No other person can even dream of acting in an Indian Animation Movie with this huge budget. Only Superstar can do it, as he has dedicated fans following, who will watch movies multiple times for his style and voice alone. Soundarya makes sure that his dedicated fans are treated with excellent stylish moments & mass scenes. Superstar's introduction scene, his voice & style will definitely give goose bumps for his fans.

Animation- The animations in the movie were pretty good for an Indian movie. But, we have to agree that it is not up-to the Hollywood movies, which are taken with 4 - 5 times the budget of our Indian Movies. Sarath Kumar's face doesn't resemble him much. Rukumani's animation was very average. Superstar, Nassar & Jackie Shroff looks good in Animation. War fight scenes have come out well. Few of Deepika Padukone's scenes were good. Thanks to the Technology for bringing back legendary comedy actor Nagesh. This is just the first step in Indian Cinema and we have to really appreciate the team for taking this bold move.

National Award winning fashion designer Neeta Lulla deserves special mention. It seems around 150 costumes per character were designed on paper and out of those, 25 costumes were selected and detailed. Superstar looks stylish with different costumes and the credits should go to Lulla.

A.R. Rahman's wonderful music + K.S. Ravikumar's excellent dialogues + Rajinikanth's Magical Voice are much more than sufficient to satisfy Superstar Fan's and makes them watch the movie multiple times.

First half has more songs than the scenes. Superstar's screen presence alone saves the first half. Second half – Kochadaiiyan flashback & excellent mass scene in the pre-climax was quite good. Songs plays the spoilsport in both the halves. Though the songs were good, using 4 songs within 40 minutes in the first half was quite too much. Movie runs for lesser than 2 hours (118 minutes) with 6 songs.

Soundarya Rajinikanth was recently honored with the NDTV Indian of the Year – Technical Innovation in a Film award. She has to be appreciated for this bold attempt. She has made sure that the movie has scenes, which will definitely satisfy his dad's dedicated fans.

Though 125 Crores looks like huge budget for Tamil Cinema, actually it is very lesser budget to take a movie with performance capture technology. This is the first Indian movie and let us encourage the attempt, which will help us to get better movies in future.

Overall, Kochadaiiyaan is a TAMIL MOVIE, which takes the biggest step to take our Indian CINEMA to International level. Definitely, Superstar hardcore fans will be too happy as their Thalaivar late a vandalum latest a vandu irukaru.

Good Movie

[msariyaz6 · 7/10 · 10 January 2019]

Forgot about Realistic Motion Picture Technique, This Movie is really good. I myself underrated this movie without watching. But after watching this, i really worried about the technology they used. Everything is strong in this movie Like BGM, Music, DOP, Editing, Dialogues. Strong Content n strong screenplay. My wish to director that is pls make this movie in real or original version.

being a fan of superstar&quality cinema i am not satisfied with dis so called movie

[gowthamthewarrior · 2/10 · 27 May 2014]

tats nice to hear tat its the first 3D motion picture in Tamil. being the 1st film v cant expect a 100% clear output but they would have done justice by giving at least a 51% clear output with a minimum quality in animated models and story. reasons to watch Kochadaiyaan: *one and only superstar Rajinikanth I don't find any other reason to appreciate and admire Kochadaiyaan. * poor animation modeling of lead characters * weak story line and screenply * zero suspense factor * too much space for songs and punch dailogues * must mention about the animation modeling of female lead. they could have tried either a better animation modeling of the female lead or a better female lead. to sum it up not a worth watch film.

Why not a movie?

[cinematic_aficionado · 7/10 · 30 May 2014]

Bold, beautiful, ambitious but why make it as a photorealistic cartoon?

The story is about two rival kingdoms and the struggle of a son to restore his father's misplaced dignity.

On one level, it had so much going for it. Mighty story, great backgrounds, good cast, intelligent plot loaded with new elements and intrigue (trust/revenge/truth to name a few of the morals it deals with). Therefore one expects greatness and on some level this has been achieved.

Indian cinema has proved that it can produce greatness in film although this initiative has fallen short on that by deciding to make it as photorealistic CGI. Still, it was enjoyable and stimulating just not quite the experience it would have been had it been made as a film. Or is it that I am just too disappointed to see Deepika Padukone as a cartoon character?