Do You Like Big Burly Indian Men Dancing & Waving Machetes? Try MAMBATTIYAN!

I suppose I've grown jaded to the wacky action in south Indian movie trailers.  Over the last month or so not many have gotten be excited.  Even the recent Panjaa from Tollywood, which was a huge release, had a so-so trailer in my eyes. Then I saw this, Mambattiyan.  The film is a remake of a 1983 action film starring Thiagarajan.  So, in true Indian film style the remake is being directed by Thiagarajan and stars his son Prasanth in the lead role.

Mambattiyan is an upcoming Tamil film directed by Thiagarajan, starring his son Prashanth as the titular character.The film, also starring Meera Jasmine, Prakash Raj, Vadivelu and Mumaith Khan in other pivotal roles, The film is currently completed and is set to release in 2011. Its music is by Thaman, with lyrics written by Na. Muthukumar and Annamalai.

The film is shot in Kodanadu, Dindi, Kambam, Theni, Malaiyur, in several dense forest areas, in Kochi, and also in the forest areas of Andhra Pradesh.The cinematography was done by Shaji Kumar. The film has been edited by Don Max.

There is so much to like about this synopsis.  First of all, I've never seen Prasanth in anything, but he looks like a bruiser. Unlike the action heroes we get in the west who are all abs, Prasanth looks like he could actually kill you with his bare hands.  Also, the supporting cast features two of my very favorite Indian actors.  Prakash Raj is a Telugu character actor who has made major inroads in the last couple of years to all three of the major Indian film industries.  He's starred in several of the biggest hits of the last two years, including this summer's Singham and Buddah Hoga Tera Baap.  I love Prakash Raj, nobody plays bug-eyed rage like he does.  Also featured in the second song piece from the trailer is the gorgeous Mumaith Khan.  Khan is my Indian crush, she is stunning.  She never really does much acting, but she throws such incredible attitude into her dances that it is mesmerizing. If you're curious about her, I implore you to check out Bangaru Kodi Petta from Telugu box office champ Magadheera on youtube, awesome stuff.

I found this film this morning through a BBFC alert to its 15 rating for "strong violence". If you'll notice, however, in the trailer the CBFC, the Indian film censor board, granted Mambattiyan a "U", or universal rating.  This means that anyone of any age in India can buy a ticket and have a seat in a cinema hall to watch the on screen carnage.  I found this very interesting, though not at all surprising as Indian films are often packed with violence and blood but shy away completely from physical shows of affection. 

But I digress.  This trailer looks like a lot of fun.  These are the kind of black hat/white hat action films that India does better than anyone, and I genuinely want to see this whole film, which I can't say for every awesome trailer I come across.  Mambattiyan opens worldwide this Friday, December 16th.