Muthu – What are the Japanese Drinking?

Surely, the Japs have taken leave of their senses or perhaps it’s the delayed effect of the nuclear bomb we dropped on their parents’ heads back in 1945.

We think the decline of Japan (the stagflation and all that) and their fascination for Muthu and its protagonist Rajnikanth is all of a piece.

Decline of a once glorious nation.

Even by the bizarre standards of Rajni movies, Muthu is Kuppae (piece of trash).

Except for that opening song Oruvan Oruvan, the whole lengthy movie Muthu is a frigging nightmare.

A nightmare we revisited upon ourselves earlier today.

Muthu is the weird story of an eponymous servant in a Zamindar’s house, set in a village in Tamil Nadu.

Of course, in keeping with his carefully cultivated image, Rajnikanth plays the humble servant while that dummy variable Sarath Babu is cast in the role of the Zamindar.

Although a mere servant, Muthu is the terror of the large Zamindar household.

After all, his is the name that makes the cock crow, men work harder and women walk faster! No kidding.

Add to this nonsense, comedy in the form of Vadivelu and Vichichitra and Rajnikanth’s own antics with Meena and you have the making of an unending migraine.

As for this girl Meena, Kollywood must have surely dredged the pool to the very bottom to unearth such a one as this creature.

God, how low the Japs and their Tamil counterparts have fallen with their worship of false gods.

To borrow a line that Meena speaks in the movie, Vedanai, Avamanam and Vekkam (agony, humiliation and shame) are the three ignominy faces of Muthu.

19 Responses to "Muthu – What are the Japanese Drinking?"

  1. raghavendrav   July 22, 2009 at 10:17 am

    looks like usage of fermented products like ‘Soy Sauce’, ‘Miso’ et al in daily diet have done considerable damage on Japanese Brains… LOL

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Do the Japs use Ajinomoto too?

    We remember reading that conducted tours for the Japanese tourists (post-Muthu) in Chennai include Rajni’s house from outside. One of the must-see destinations, apparently.

    Ha ha ha.

  2. Albert Camus   July 22, 2009 at 10:49 am

    I also disliked Muthu.. but interestingly many Rajini-fans like it.. don’t know why. After Badshaah, the only movie I liked was Sivaji.. but those are the only two movies I watched in a movie theater… (others were either DVD/VHS) I think screaming, howling, whistling with mad Rajini fans is the best way to watch a Rajini movie.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    1. In its defense, Sivaji was at least a little slick.

    2. You write: I think screaming, howling, whistling with mad Rajini fans is the best way to watch a Rajini movie

    You must realize that some of this noise is paid-for noise.

    When we were watching Sivaji in North Bergen (NJ), there was noise made by a group of young boys, all dressed uniformly.

    As we were getting out of the Sivaji movie hall (but we we were still inside the theater), the noisy kids were just ahead of us. To our surprise, we saw and heard one neatly dressed middle-aged person instructing these boys to make more noise, who then proceeded to do exactly that immediately.

    Given the high cost of Rajnikanth movies these days, the stakes are very high for the producers. So they resort to all kinds of gimmicks to create buzz.

  3. shuaib68   July 22, 2009 at 11:12 am

    SI: (from above post-the last words in the last line)”….(agony, humiliation and shame)are the three faces of Muthu”.

    While reading, the word “faces” I actually read “FAECES” instead. It was the second reading I found my mistake. I was smoking “SI” during that time…haa,haaa… it’s so close it in meaning. we crazy humans…

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    You write: While reading, the word “faces” I actually read “FAECES” instead.

    You (s)hit the nail right on the head. πŸ˜‰

  4. shadowfax_arbit   July 22, 2009 at 11:20 am

    How can you like Sivaji more than Muthu? You didn’t like those Kerala scenes? Back then I liked it a lot.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    The Kerala scenes, the Maharani and the Tea stall and the ‘chumma’ (kiss) episodes were OK but overall the movie was garbage.

    BTW, the horse-cart chase just before the entry into Kerala must have required considerable effort.

  5. Albert Camus   July 22, 2009 at 11:34 am

    To our surprise, we saw and heard one neatly dressed middle-aged person instructing these boys to make more noise

    interesting! in the theater (ATL) I watched, I was the loudest person.. a couple of beers must have helped πŸ™‚

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    We were driving. No beers. No margaritas.

    And in NJ, DUI laws are harsh if you are DWB (driving while black).

  6. mallukuttan   July 22, 2009 at 11:37 am

    Actually all those Rajni superstar craps are nightmares. This is a remake of Malayalam film – “Thenmavin Kombathu” which was a fine entertainer. I’ve watched Arunachalam, Muthu, Baba and Thalapathy – except thalapathy every movie all others were horrendous nightmares. Wonder how one of the worst actors of the world gets one of the most extensive fan bases? Real Mystery!

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    1. We’ll watch Thalapathi next.

    We love the song featuring Sonu Walia and Rajni – Rakkamma kaiya thattu. We heard Sonu Walia lives somewhere here (in the U.S.) now.

    Looks like a lot of big-name Tamil and Hindi movies are remakes of successful Malayalam films.

    2. You write: except thalapathy every movie all others were horrendous nightmares

    Do you like Thalapathy bcause it has mallukuttan Mammootty πŸ˜‰

  7. shadowfax_arbit   July 22, 2009 at 1:52 pm

    Do you know Sneha? She’s a really good actress….

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    We’ve seen Sneha in Pammal K.Sambandam and one or two other stupid Tamil movies.

    She seemed like she’d been dropped one too many a time on her head as a child.

    BTW, she was not that bad in Naan Avanillai. But then compared to Namitha, anyone would shine.

  8. boopalanj   July 22, 2009 at 2:16 pm

    Thalapathi has a decent screenplay and fair acting by Rajini. Directed by Mani Ratnam. Although you would think – the storyline is lifted from Mahabharatha – the episode of Karna-Dhuryodhana-Arjuna. [If you had not forgotten Mahabharatha..]

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    You write: If you had not forgotten Mahabharatha..

    Of course, we remember Mahabharath. Hanuman was our favorite character from Mahabharath.

    No? Hanuman is from Ramayan, is it? OK.

    Just kidding. πŸ˜‰

    Hey, we grew up on Amar Chitra Katha comics.

    On a serious note, our favorite characters from Mahabharath are Ghatotkach (Bhima’s son by the demoness Hidambi) and Karna.

    Both are kinda like Achilles in Homer’s Iliad….You know what’ll happen to these characters eventually. Or as Gabriel Garcia Marquez would say Chronicle of a Death Foretold. πŸ™

  9. boopalanj   July 22, 2009 at 3:08 pm

    No, Hanuman character comes in Mahabharath too. There happens a clash between Bhima and Hanuman as to who is stronger.

    Achilles’ heel in your reply πŸ˜‰

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Indeed, you are right. Thanks.

    Hanuman finds a place in the Mahabharata, the other epic, too. He helped the Pandavas in the battle of Kurukshetra by positioning himself on the flag of Arjuna’s chariot stabilising and protecting it.

    Source: Hanuman Chalisa Web page.

  10. mallukuttan   July 22, 2009 at 3:42 pm

    “Do you like Thalapathy bcause it has mallukuttan Mammootty”

    LOL Guys! Actually I’m not a big fan of Mammootty πŸ˜‰ But I’m of Maniratnam πŸ˜€ Simply loved the songs and the movie was nice too. But I won’t be surprised to hear you guys didn’t feel the same way. πŸ˜›

    And hey, just forgot to ask, what about Iruvar review? Have you guys saw it? I love the songs from Iruvar too – especially Narmugaye. The movie is worth watching for just the performances of Prakashraj & Mohanlal. I’m a big fan of both. πŸ˜‰

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    You write: just forgot to ask, what about Iruvar review? Have you guys saw it?

    No, we haven’t sawn it yet. πŸ˜‰ Sorry for the delay.

    We promise to do it in the next 20 days.

  11. deepa   July 22, 2009 at 11:27 pm

    LOL on ‘After all, his is the name that makes the cock crow, men work harder and women walk faster!’, idolisation’s gotta stop somewhere!

    Sorry but didnt like Rajnikanth in Sivaji as well. He looked really aged and seemed so paedophilia trying to romance Shreya

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    We were serious.

    In the movie, the name Muthu does indeed makes the cock crow, men work harder and women walk faster! No kidding.

    Such is the crap that Muthu represents.

  12. mallukuttan   July 23, 2009 at 1:59 am

    Sorry guys.. Typed it in a hurry.. πŸ˜€

    Thanks! πŸ˜‰

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    In Latin, they have a name for it – lapsus calami.

  13. Dr.UnkHaf D. Aktar   July 23, 2009 at 9:10 am

    Karna is my favorite too.

    There is a scene were karna comes to see Bheeshma when he is lying on the “arrow-bed” waiting for death. They never saw eye to eye, these two. I think Karna even refused to fight until Bheeshma died. I cry every time I read that scene like Karna does in it. And my favourite book on Mahabharatha is Kuttikrishna Marar’s Bharathaparyadanam which is a collection of stories (a lot of them not famous) from the Mahabharatha and its analysis. An amazing read.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Mahabharath and Ramayan are ‘proof’ that even the Gods play dirty. Winning is everything, even to the immortal ones.

    It’s been decades now since we read Mahabharath or Ramayan. We can’t remember watching any of the TV episodes too.

    Before our encounter with the grim reaper, we’d like to read them again.

  14. shadowfax_arbit   July 23, 2009 at 2:01 pm

    Whatever you hav seen are when she just entered the field. Her acting was really good in her later movies like Autograph and Pudupettai.

    Do you watch Harry Potter movies? When are you reviewing Half Blood Prince?

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Never watched a Hari Puttar movie.

    No plans to see Half Blood Prince either.

    Here’s what Anthony Lane writes in his review of Half Blood Prince in the the New Yorker:

    All in all, despite the verve that drives the grander set pieces, itÒ€ℒs hard to avoid the sensation of a film toiling overtime to convince itself of its own solemnity; hence HarryÒ€ℒs repeated, Gospel-slanted announcement that he is Ò€œthe Chosen One.Ò€

  15. boopalanj   July 23, 2009 at 2:05 pm

    Γ’β‚¬ΛœAfter all, his is the name that makes the cock crow’

    First, I read ‘crow’ as ‘grow’.

    ‘After all, his is the name that makes the cock grow’ πŸ˜‰

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    If only, if only. πŸ˜‰

    Muthu would have replaced Om, Allah-o-Akbar and Amen as the most uttered name on the planet.

  16. singgakutty   August 5, 2009 at 8:06 pm

    muthu sucks! the scene where the horse cart was flying.. feel like vomiting.. during 90s, except for Thalapathy, all rajni movie will have a scene where it defies logic..

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Piece of crap.

  17. 1012900   September 30, 2009 at 1:28 pm

    I felt Muthu was a good timepass.. πŸ˜€ .. What i liked most abt Muthu was the music.. ARR did a good job.. the BGM was also gr8..!!

    Btw SI, u didn’t like any song other than Oruvan Oruvan.?

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    We don’t even remember Muthu now. Seems like we watched it in another yuga.

    Oruvan Oruvan is a lovely song. Just purchased it for 99 cents on iTunes (Song 5 in the Legends of S.P.Balaburamaniam album Vol.5).

  18. 1012900   October 24, 2009 at 9:14 am

    Just watch this video.. Superstar speaking English..!!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqzjUob2ew4&feature=fvw

    But he’s so much better than our CAPTAIN VIJAYAKANTH.. πŸ˜€ ..!!

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Excerpt: English is a very panny language sir. Well, that’s how we heard it. πŸ˜‰

    BTW, this superstar used to behave like a superpig in his younger days, if you go by Gayathri Sreekanth’s book The Name is Rajinikanth.

  19. 1012900   October 24, 2009 at 12:20 pm

    That’s how I heard it too πŸ˜›

    BTW
    I heard Rajni, in the 80s maybe, acted like a king, like throwing a lot of tantrums, hitting a crew member (not sure about this) etc!!

    Don’t know how far its true.

    SearchIndia.com Responds:

    Here’s an excerpt from our review of Gayathri’s book:

    The book mentions a few unsavory incidents like slapping an airport store assistant and threatening to whip him with a belt for not stocking soda and kicking a customer in an arrack shop and screaming at a film unit hand for daring to look at Rajinikanth in the eye.

    Now this Karuppiah is deified. Kali Yugam, samy (sign of the times).

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