Finally, one of the most awaited movie of the year has hit the screens across the globe on the eve of our nation's 79th Independence Day. Interestingly, it also marked half a century since the Superstar made his debut in "Apoorva Raagangal". With a stellar star cast from most of the prominent film industries, the question that everyone had was whether Lokesh Kanagaraj could do justice to the lofty expectations. He certainly has the caliber proved by his track record but it is a gargantuan task indeed.
As in his previous flicks, Lokesh has penned the script for this as well & made it clear prior to the release that this was not part of the LCU series. The audience is introduced to Dayal (Soubin Shahir) who is the trusted lieutenant of the much feared smuggler, Simon (Nagarjuna) and coordinated the operations at Vishakhapatnam harbour. He kept a tight leash on the workers with the traitors being mercilessly slaughtered. At the same time in Chennai, Deva (Rajni) who ran a boarding house was informed of his friend's death, Rajasekhar (Satyaraj) which brings him to Vishakhapatnam. Though his death was put down to cardiac arrest, he felt that there was more to it than what met the eye.
So this brings to the question as to whether Lokesh was able to keep us invested in the story? On paper, it certainly did and the manner in which he builds the story did have the intrigue. The issue props us with its inability to keep us engrossed in it as it slacks in between and that is primarily because we are not emotionally hooked onto the characters like in "Vikram". At the same time, there were a couple of sequences and sub-plot in the second half which was good. Anirudh's music did manage to elevate some of the scenes though it was uneven despite the 'Powerhouse' & 'Monica' tracks. Girish Gangadharan's cinematography was fine for most parts while the retro feel didn't gel well. Anbariv's action choreography was reasonably well done while the de-aging VFX though good lacked the finesse.
Comiing to performances, Thalaivar was impressive as his aura shouldered the story and did what was possible within the framework of the character. However, when it was came to the best written character arc, it undoubtedly belonged to Soubin's Dayal and he was brilliant as the slimy villainous gangster. As for Nagarjuna, though the casting choice was ideal & he delivered what was expected, but the screenplay was such that except for a couple of brief sequences it fell well short of tapping the potential which that character possessed.
When I saw that Shruti Hasan was playing the lead female role, I didnt expect much to be honest. But she definitely impressed with her emotional act while Rachita Ram was exceptional with Kanaa Ravi giving adequate support. Satyaraj was fine in a brief role while Upendra was wasted ans his aura (except in the flashback sequence) was barely used. The much spoken about cameo by Aamir Khan was also a damp squid as the character made no sense though the initial appearance did have a wow factor (however, felt they should have kept it under wraps like 'Rolex').
Verdict: It would be easy to say that the weight of expectations would have let down the movie. I dont quite agree to that statement since there is no denying the fact that the screenplay was quite average. Did the movie bore me? Ofcourse not, as it did have a pretty decent story & performed well by the artists. In effect, Lokesh failed to pack as much power & comes across as a missed opportunity. But from Sun Pictures point of view, I believe they should be happy as I would expect it to finish among the top 3 highest Tamil grossers!!!
Rating: 2.5/5
Regards...Ben
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