I saw this Korean movie called The Call about a year ago, in which a woman used phone calls to kill time. At the time, I believed that a tale like that would make excellent entertainment for Tamil audiences. It took me two and a half hours to realize how mistaken I was when it came to Mark Antony, which is centered on the concept of a call that goes back in time to link people. Despite playing the role, SJ Surya was incredibly popular in the gallery.
Adhik Ravichandran is the director.
Cast: Ritu Varma, Selvaraghavan, SJ Suryah, and Vishal
At this point in his acting career, SJ Surya can hardly go wrong. Whereas someone else might have come off as ridiculously cartoonish (almost as if they were imitating Sivaji Ganesan, the dialogue delivery was too long), the man shows tremendous commitment to every moment, and his sheer energy and an unmistakable charisma ensure that we buy into everything he does. He’s fantastic as both the father and a hilariously irate son who phones to him from the future in Mark Antony, which is possibly the only one for me. However, when you observe that even SJ Suryah finds it difficult to sell some concepts—such as when he weirdly begins to imitate a woman—in a pivotal sequence — it’s a hallmark of a movie you must sit through.
First and foremost, there is the insanely loud score. The entire plot of the movie serves as justification for the background music to assault your ears. You get a brief reprieve in between the regular tracks being played, but the actors resume their yelling after that. Do you recall Ross’ well-known F.R.I.E.N.D.S. moment where he commands Joey and Chandler to be quiet with his hands? That sentiment would be passionately repeated throughout the film’s 151 screaming scenes if he saw it.
The movie serves as evidence that the Tarantino-esque approach of enhancing a set-piece with an old song may be losing steam. ‘Panju Mittai Selakatti’ appears. ‘Kannai Nambadhe’ appears. And most appropriately, we hear “Varudhu Varudhu, Velagu Velagu,” which is repeated as a warning to us. What originally seemed to be a stylised homage to our earlier songs now appears to be a convenient trick. seems to feel taken advantage of because of their familiarity with classic songs, blending in subtly with lesser musical excellence and unremarkable filmic moments.
