This is one Rajanikanth film that is made for the family and it doesn't deserve the adulation and the anticipation built into it. A colossal waste of money and effort, in short. Made with lot of passion and talent and money riding on it - screenplay by KS Ravi Kumar, cinematography by Rajeev Menon, music by AR Rahman and of course, direction by Rajani's daughter Soundarya Aswin, the film is an animation film shot in 3D with motion capture technology - similar to what is used by James Cameroon in "Avatar". The only difference is despite having the money to spend in making a great film sound on technicalities, Rajani's team cut corners in editing, lighting, landscaping and set design and in the execution itself - resulting in a shoddy output that is below world-class.
The story is itself is nothing new - another fable from Chandamama folklore without drama and twist which straight-lifts scenes from some of the famous films that capture the cult of the colossal hero like "Braveheart", "Gladiator", "Ben Hur" and "Robin Hood". The story by KS Ravi Kumar, the most successful director for both Rajani and Kamal is a simple tale of rivalry, love, betrayal and revenge. The rivalry is between two ancient kingdoms - Kotapatnam and Kalingapuram. A commoner Vikramasimha (Rajani) rises from the ranks to command respect from Kotapatnam that armies cannot get. He becomes the most trusted and powerful man until one day he foregoes his army with Kalingapuram in a trade-off between their fight for survival and their slavery. Blamed for treason, the King of Kalingapuram (Nazar) orders Vikramasimha's beheading in the presence of his family and the people. Vikramasimha's son Ranadheera watches that and vows to get back the enslaved people of Kotapatnam. He achieves that and much more including the love of Deepika and the love of the people. This is the story but the screenplay, to be fair, runs in reverse to the order in which I have narrated. That is the most interesting part. The dullness is in the narrative and picturisation.
Director has failed in embellishing the story with the right visuals and richness. In every scene of the animation you see on screen, there are huge gaps - the battlefield sequences look unimpressive, the king's court assembly look like an Amar Chitra Katha cardboard illustration, the shots are mostly either dark or under-lit, and the animations of characters and objects outside of the screen characters are lazy and imperfect. With such a vast canvass of two mighty kingdoms and huge stadia fights, one expected better ouput on screen but the quality of visuals is a big let-down. Except for Rajanikanth as Ranadheera and Nazar as the arch-villain, the motion capture technology has failed to capture the right facial expressions of most characters. Yes, the famous legendary comedian Nagesh finds a reboot in the film but after initial promise, the characterisation fizzles out. Even for Deepika Padukone, this is a forgettable film, her portrayal shows her lacking in feminine grace, bewitching beauty and dancing grace - all of which made her famous in the first place. Characterisation apart, the film's biggest weakness is lack of entertainment and emotional connect with the audience.
The team should have consulted better screenwriters who worked on the best animation projects in studios like Pixar (more now part of Disney's) and Disney's. Today, an animation film in the West is made with a budget of $40 million which is still more than what a "Robot" or "Enthiran" can collect in a first-run. Except for the pirates scene in the beginning and the bamboo sticks fight before the interval with Deepika Padukone, there is no wow factor in the film. Talk about music by AR Rahman, despite an energetic and exceptionally wide-ranging musical score by the Indian Mozart, the songs do not lift you much out of the dark monotony of the film. The dance movements by Deepika Padukone or second heroine Shobhana are in a world of themselves, out of sync with Superstar or too fast for the music. I wonder if thats a chronic problem with motion capture/performance capture technology. It is unwise to compare with "Avatar" alright but why attempt something with imperfections and expect a blockbuster out of it? If you look at Pixar, they made one smash hit after another from "Toy Story" to "A Bug's life" to "Monsters" to "Finding Nemo" to "Cars" to "Ratatouille" to "Wall-E" to "Brave" and their movies are becoming more Indian, more poetic, more emotional and less prosaic. Prosaic, thats the word that sums up "Vikramasimha" because it lacks that x-factor to make you want to go that extra mile to see and come back for more.
Are there any other redeeming factors from music? It is Rajanikanth who looks like a 21-year old Samurai - nimble, large-hearted, charishmatic and metrosexual. Like in "Basha", Rajani sprinkles aphorisms and pearls of wisdom in the opening song with Ranadheera and the song that comes after interval with the real hero in flashback - Vikramasimha or Kochadiyaan. Lovely references to Kriya Yoga, difference between ownership and leadership, living long by waking up before sun-rise, the transcience of the world, the fate of being born to parents and the will of choosing right friends. Those pearls embody the personality and principles lived out by Rajanikanth - and find a place in the soundtrack too. On the whole, a film with mammoth effort but minimum impact. If you are a Rajani fan, you will anyway skip this review and go for the film. If not, you may suffer one anyways. Is the film unwatchable? No, but it is not remarkable either.
My Rating: 2/5.
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