Phil goes Bollywood: Phil watches ENDHIRAN aka ROBOT (2010)-December 9, 2011

Hello again folks! Yes I'm still in India, watching some amazing and spectacular Bollywood films! Today's film was a recommendation from my good friend Heather from Bronco Billy's Pizza Palace in NIles, who is a huge Bollywood fanatic and is my guide on my journey. Because of her, I wouldn't have known about the science fiction/action film ENDHIRAN aka ROBOT here in the states. So thank you Heather and here we go!

Theatrical Indian Movie Poster (2010

The film stars Rajnikanth as scientist Dr. Vaseegaran who has spent the past 10 years creating and perfecting his ultimate creation: the super-powered robot named Chitti, in his own image (Rajnikanth played both roles in the film). When he submits his invention to the Artificial Intelligence Research and Development (AIRD) Institute, headed by Dr. Bohra (Danny Denzongpa), they decline, sighting on its not having emotions and the ability to make rational judgments. But when a freak flash of lightening hits Chittit, combined with the software upgraded Vaseegaran, the robot is ability to comprehend and generate human emotions. But Vaseegaran's plans backfires when Chitti fall in love with his fiancee fiancée Sana (the exquisite Aishwarya Rai) and then both of them are fighting over here, which leads Vaseegaran to destroy Chitti. However there to pick up the pieces is the evil Dr. Bohra, who rebuilds him, complete with a new upgrade: a "red chip" that turns Chitti into a ruthless killing machine. Now fueled with hat and anger against Vaseegaran, he kidnaps Sana and creates an army of Chittit clones, fully-armed and ready to kill. Now Vaseegaran must find away to rescue Sana and stop Chittit from taking over the world.

The film makes references to other legendary Hollywood sci-fi action films; the first being the most obvious is THE TERMINATOR. And it's no coincidence either: the film marked the Indian cinema debut of Stan Winston Studios, who were responsible for the film's animatronics and visual effects. While these effects were amazing, the Chittit design leaned more towards the Robin Williams model found in his film BICENTENNIAL MAN. But besides this little nit-pick, the film is pretty damn entertaining. The film has some great CGI, especially when the army of Chitti clones become magnetized and form a giant snake and a rolling ball, complete with automatic weapons firing into the police. Of course no Bollywood film is complete with musical dance numbers, and this film contains some of the most exciting ones ever seen! From the impressive camera angles and choreography to the amazing costumes and fast editing, these scenes are sure to get you feet tapping. The film's soundtrack was composed by A. R. Rahman, who did the soundtracks for SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE and ROCKSTAR!

Rajnikanth does a great job of playing his duel roles, which is very hard to pull off. Most of the time while shooting the film, he'd be acting with nobody there. Then go for a costume change and be on the set as Chitti and try to react what he was saying as Vaseegaran. Very tough job to do indeed! But it helps to have a beautiful co-star to make it work, and Aishwarya Rai does just that! Captivating, funny, and incredibly sexy, the woman was born to be star. Rai began her career as a model before becoming an actress. Soon she was in popular demand, and has made some truly remarkable films such as BRIDE AND PREJUDICE (2004), JODHAA AKBAR (2008), and RAAVAN (2010). The film was directed by S. Shankar and was released to theaters in India on October 1, 2010.

ENDHIRAN aka ROBOT is one of the coolest and action packed sci-fi film to come from Bollwood! If you want to see something different, by all means give this film a shot!

ENDHIRAN aka ROBOT is currently available on DVD and can be purchased at your local video retailers or at Amazon. Visit their website at www.amazon.com

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!