Superstar Rajnikanth is back with another film in a record number of days. This time, the movie is said to be playing to the gallery, his fans mostly. Is it so? Or does it have something else to look forward to?
Plot:: Malik (Sashi Kumar) is killed by his own brother-in-law, Singaram (Nawazuddin Siddique). Malik’s friend, Kali (Rajni) to save Malik’s child and wife, decides to take on Singar but in the disguise of a Hostel Warden. Is he successful? Watch the movie to know.
Performances:: Rajnikanth has his own swag. He has his own style. He has his own charisma. But he doesn’t have a good script to support all that. He needs a good character to fight with as well. It cannot be like everyone around him is just waiting to get beaten or saved by him. He did everything to please his fans and carry the movie on his shoulders.
Simran, Meghana Akash, and Trisha played guest roles. Sanath Reddy is fine. Vijay Sethupathi is good but his character is written very weakly. All others are not worthy of mention and Nawazuddin Sidduque is inconsequential.
Technicalities:: Vivek Harshan as an editor seems to have been torn between a scene length that it demands and what the director demanded. So, he just let it all stitch together and did not care about drags or necessity.
Tirru’s visuals are a big plus for the film as they gave a character to the film and a tone. But there are just visuals they don’t have enough strength from writing.
Anirudh Ravichander gave his 100% to the film. His BGM and music are his best for a mass film in recent times.
Karthik Subbaraj as a writer and director has sensitivities of a parallel filmmaker and storyteller. But for Rajni, he wanted to tell his story in complete Rajni style. While doing so, he wanted his signature also not to be missed. Problem is that his signature is dominated again by a fan in him. In the end, he wrote a character for Rajni that no other did in this decade but his detailing failed some moments that just work for being corny and cheesy.
He did try to everything his own style and his own distinguishable mould but as a narrator that is not enough. You need a strong story or at least a weak story told in a strong sense. He did not even have characters to play with other than Rajni.
Analysis:: Petta is a complete reinvention of Rajni style and mass film for a new generation. They might just know Baasha from TV viewings but not the euphoria that a Rajni film can create in Theatres. As he has been trying different things since Lingaa, it is like re-introduction to Rajni-ism to youth who don’t know it.
Well, films don’t just run on that factor. They didn’t in ’80s and they won’t now too. A subject that accommodates everything and a package that seems fun enough is required. While Rajni tried everything that Karthik asked him to do, it is the like young maker wanted his signature and also a Rajni film. So, he threw everything on screen and that seems like a fan-gasm than a maker with the powerful subject using his star appropriately. A chance missed for the young maker still for fans it will be a feast!
Rating: 2.5/5
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