"Jailor" (Telugu/Tamil) Movie Review: Electrifying!

 

 

 

 

"Jailer" is an electrifying entertainer in commercial format by Nelson who always builds a complex web of crime and police with stylish elements. It is not easy for an aging Superstar like Rajni to ace movies with a familiar template (of a heroic veteran looking like on some gardening leave but having massive latticework of connections in the backstory). Rajni acts like a smiling assassin with dignity and grace aided by a whole infrastructure of talent to resurrect his box-office fortunes after three back-to-back duds. The pace of the narrative never lags and whenever it seems to laze into indulgent comedy or silly scenes, the BGM of Anirudh accelerates the cinematic track back into energy or the gang of villains regroup into their next up move against the “Jailor”.

The story: Varman (played by Vinayakan) is the villain of the film who is on a fancy mission to steal statues of ancient temples. Two people stand in the way. One is a jailor (Rajni) and the other is a cop (Jailer’s son played by Vasanth Ravi) who demands a share. He cleverly seems to have bumped off the son (Has he? Find out) but the jailor is a man who outwits him at every turn. The contest between the Jailor and Varman is the most engaging part of the movie. The best histrionics of the film are by Vinayakan (Varman) who got the most improbable break to act opposite Rajnikanth. Any other film industry wouldn’t have given such a generous role to an actor like Vinayakan with his uncharacteristic looks and personality. But for a villain, what matters is the persona and the punchlines - and in both Vinayakan pulls off an incredible feat that surely must not go unnoticed in future. Yes, Rajni has given a free hand to the director in populating the film with the most explicit and graphical dosages of violence not seen in any of his earlier films. To make up for comedy and glamour, Nelson keeps a tightened grip on drawing a compass around the film with mostly the characters in the plot - most notably, Redin Kingsley for comedy. Sunil, the mass Bollywood comedian recruited for a hard purpose miserably fails to deliver and Tamannah, as his incredulous ladylove also flounders.

Overall, the movie rarely seems to plod on despite 165 minutes, except for the raunchy filmy masala scenes involving Sunil and Tamannah. For Rajni, the comeback is strong aided by a lot of his brethren from the South like Mohanlal and Shiva Rajkumar whose limited footage is cleverly used twice in the film for heightened effects.  The Rajni formula is intact - and neatly entertains. What’s missing is a romantic track with his wife or lover - but the intensity of the plot doesn’t give you options to look outside of the conflict between the Jailer and Varman. The best part of this violent film with a surprise ending that leaves you niggled with a mixed after-taste is that the hero knows his physical limitations and enlists an impregnable pack of sniper commandos who always give him good cover. This is the hard truth of our lives - which many of today’s younger and other aging mass heroes do not realize - and you can see how Rajni’s heroism and stardom do not shrink one inch on screen despite the sniper props Nelson strategically places at various pivotal points in the film. “Jailor” is watchable but if you don’t stomach graphic violence, stay at home. 

My Rating: 3.25/5

How "Bahubali" made the World look to South for films

Has Bahubali made the world change its outlook towards South Film-Industry?

My analysis:

http://www.telugu360.com/move-over-bollywood-let-south-lead-the-way/

"Linga" (This is not a Movie Review)

What made Rajinikanth select a shallow story shows a grandson as a joker and the real hero as a a learned Raja Lingeswara? The contrast was not compatible with each other till the end.

Why the same makeup, hairdo and cowboy costumes used for both the dual roles? When you are showing two generations, the simplest copybook rule is to show contrast in characterisation.

Why does Anushka the heroine for the grandson Rajini insist on taking him to the village of his grandfather? What is her connection to the village or the legend of Linga? Not very well answered.

Was the film based on true story? Why does it give an impression it is based on the life of Sir Arthun Cotton  - who built a bridge, splitting the tributaries of rivers Godavari and Krishna which were anyway flowing into the sea and changed the livelihoods of Andhra farmers forever? Was there any king who built a dam like this? The nation wants to know.

Why was the film so low on entertainment? Why did we not have more of Santhanam in the second half?

Why director Ravi Kumar who relies on good story-telling and drama give such a weak characterisation for everybody? 

Who is the main villain in the film? Is it the Britisher who opposed Linga's efforts to build the dam? Is it Jagapathi Babu who abuses the people of Singanoor? If it is Jagapathi Babu, as he's lasted out, why is he under-utilised? Rajinikanth's best blockbuster hits have been movies where the antagonist gets equal if not meaty footage. 

Why are there so many lags in the film? What happened to director's sense of energy and speed in story-telling? Why do you have to show a museum robbery for 25 minutes? Why do you have to show a dam construction in such detail? Is this a documentary or a film on dam construction? Why is the shot selection so bad? Where did you highlight Rajinikanth? Did the director do justice to Rajinikanth's charishma and  one-liner witticisms? 

In the scene where Rajini and Anushka get ensconced in a close room, when Rajini tries to open up the locked door by using magnets to attract the keys up the path he navigates on the other side of a strong wooden door, does the director know that wood is not a magnet conductor? 

Why were there only one duet song with each of the heroines? While full marks for the lavish settings and the extravagant picturisations, why was there no other relief moments in second half with the heroines or atleast a mass song? 

What was Brahmanandam doing in a film with star comedian Santhanam? Why did Brahmi get such poor lines? Why did his appearance go waste?

Why is the interval so weak? Even if you use flashback for over two hours, did it not occur to the director Ravi Kumar to use current time period to bring a good interval block? Even inexperienced directors do not use flashback scenes for interval bang effect.

The period drama dates to 1939 when the ruling queen of England was Queen Elizabeth. But the pictures show Queen Victoria all the time. Why? You could have used Mona Lisa if you had to use a lady's picture. More masses would recognise her.

When the only conflict in the film is between the Britisher and Raja Lingeswara, why didn't the director concentrate more on that in revving up more emotional quotient - through feelings of patriotism, righteousness and fight against poverty? The only highlight of the film is the dialogues between the Britisher, his wife and of course Linga the Senior. That could have got more mileage and emphasis.

In the opening shot of the introduction of legend Lingeswara, Rajini sits cross-legged reading a seminal book rated amongst the most influential books ever released: Joseph Campbell's "The Hero with a Thousand Faces". The scene looks impressive with shots in the dark on a moving train where a group of bandits try to kidnap Rajini. The shot had all the elements of a firebrand sequence but gets lost in translation into special effects. Why? And why use a book which was originally published in 1949 when the period setting pertains to the last stage of the second war? But the book highlighted was good - it has inspired many film-makers world over.

Why were there so few songs in the film when the scenes lag? The resonation of AR Rahhman's music with Rajini fans is so good that there is room for more songs in a film dominated by too much flashback. The background music, as usual is good but the scenes were not dramatic for a commercial film. So Rahman's effort looks wasted. But the songs  - "Mona Mona" and the song with Sonakshi Sinha stand out in picturisation and feel of the sound.

The dam is in Singanur but the king Linga is from Gadwal. Agree it is a dubbing mistake. But what is the connection?

Director KS Ravi Kumar shows woman as strong and powerful characters. But in this film an over-weighty Anushka and a naturally plumpy Sonakshi Sinha are used as mere paper weights in visually-rich songs. Rest of the time, they have no screen presence. If you take the "Padayappa" or "Muthu" for Rajini or for Ravi Kumar's previous films with Kamal Hasan like "Tenali", "Panchatantram" and "Dasavatharam", the heroines got great screen-shares with the hero. Why? And why is Anushka over-dressed? And why is Sonakshi  so under-dressed?

Why make films with 2 hrs. 55 minutes? At the end of this unbearable duration, why are  commercial elements awfully missing? Where is the swagger of Rajini Kanth? Where is the style of the style icon? What is so creative about this film which got completed in less than 100 days?

Why am I writing such a long post-mortem for a dud fillm? Why are you even reading this?

My rating remains at 1.5/5

#Linga #LingatheMovie #MovieReviews #FilmReviews #Kollywood #Tollywood #SuperstarRajini #Rajinikanth

"Chennai Express" Hindi Film Review

Most Superstars of Bollywood merely adopt the antics of South Film Industry in a bid to taste success but few connect with the masses as Shah Rukh Khan. Despite a string of flops in recent times, SRK has been working assiduously for over a year on the script of "Chennai Express" which was passionately narrated by Action King Director Rohit Shetty. SRK follows the South Film Industry's phenomenal reach keenly and at the last South Filmfare Awards Ceremony, he was entranced by the magical world of Southern Stars and even danced in front of Kamal Hassan reluctantly. With that backdrop, "Chennai Express" was going to be the ultimate blockbuster that SRK planned with Rohit Shetty who loves pace, action, melodrama and romance with a minimalism that connects with the masses. With over 3500 screens, SRK pulls out all stops to make a comeback film - he ropes in lucky star Deepika Padukone as the "Oru G Nali T" Tamil girl, music duo Vishal-Shekar and a maverick production house of UTV Motion Pictures. Except SRK and Deepika in the lead, no recognised artiste from Bollywood can be seen. On the contrast, Rohit picks a fresh team of irregulars as the bevy of villains in the film, including the venerable Tamil star Satyaraj. Satyaraj is an unlikely choice for the role of the heroine's father because he is a hardcore Tamil nationalist and heads an organisation for Tamil lingustic movement in real life. 

If imitation is flattery, "Chennai Express" pays tribute to the surreal world of Tamil and Telugu Cinema with its simplistic romantic tracks over-invested with heavy-duty violence, villains who ooze out menace and drip out sickle-and-sumo violence, sidekick villains who are built like mountains and unshaved girth, comedy thats instantaneous and situational, and costumes that flourish with a garnish amidst plenty of rural prosperity. In short, "Chennai Express" is a Bollywood version of "DDLJ" and "QuickGun Murugan" with plenty of masala fare that rejuvenates your love for South Indian films - if you are already not tired of watching them in the original or in dubbed versions on Desi channels. The story is simple: Rahul (SRK) is a rich Grand-dad's Inheritor of Wealth but is trapped in running the family business of Sweets in Mumbai. His best chance to branch out in pursuit of his real passion comes when his grand-dad dies. His grandma requests him to take one urn of the grand-dad's ashes to Rameshwaram even as she takes another Urn to immerse in the Ganges. Rahul reluctantly agrees even as he is planning a detour to Goa with his friends. He jumps onto Chennai Express waved off by his grandma but destiny lands him into a spot with Deepika Padukone who is helped by him to board the train in a DDLJ fashion. The twists take him to the village of Deepika's father Satyaraj who want to marry her off to a baddie. Deepika mutters in Tamil that she is in love with SRK and they are planning to marry. Predictably, all hell breaks lose and there's a massive chase that doesn't end until the climax. SRK and Deepika fall for each other's charms meanwhile as the chase becomes an ordeal first and a ritual that romanticises life. It's an ordinary story but Rohit Shetty makes it quite a pacy and adorable screenplay with explosive performances by the lead pair and unprecedented entertainment, atleast in the first half.

Rohit Shetty's strengths are cutting the boring part of South films and infusing more energy and nativitiy of the Hindi Cinema as he did in "Singham". But in "Chennai Express", he lets the narrrative and grammar of South film sensibilities to dominate his story-telling. So, you find larger-than-life sets and picturesque scenes on the river-banks, the rustic splendour, extreme close-up shots depicting villainy that is normally inconceivable, the pulverizing violence that gives body blows, the stress-testing limits of endurance for Stuntsmen who dangerously fly the machines we cannot even water-cross - motor cycles, jeeps, buses and lorries. Deepika Padukone fits the part of the authentic Tambram heroine majestically as she rattles off Tamil and Hindi ambifluently. It's her thick English accent that sometimes grates on you and I can say you won't like it if you are a Tamil English-speaking girl. Deepika's expressions and demeanour give the velvety touch to the romance and the agony and the triumphs of the hero in his journey from Mumbai to Chennai. Shah Rukh Khan, as Rahul gives one of his finest performances. He is known for some of the freewheeling comedy that sets him on fire on Filmfare and other stage concerts. Jokes like "Tamil Terima" ("Teri Ma  - what did you say to my mother?), "Which part of Punjab are you from?"  - All body parts), Miss Subtitles and so on abound in the film and SRK gets it on a platter to give a riot. About 30 per cent of the film is actually in Tamil but SRK's expressions and quirky acting put him in a slideshow that delights mostly  - a refreshing change I find in many many years. Even if the dialogues are penned by a duo, SRK carries the film on his shoulders with his original kkkkaka..accent and dumwit dictionary of one-liners. His improvisation and quick sense of comic timing gave us some amazing moments of laughter. (I have never laughted as much in a previous SRK starrer).  It takes courage to accept a script of this dimension and SRK who is smitten by the rising popularity of Thalaivar and other heroes of South Film Industry has decided to do an original film thats a parodic take on South rather than buying re-make rights of South films that his competitors and "friends" do. 

What are the highlights of the film? Music by Vishal Shekar seems to get better with every SRK film; they became the third reason after SRK and Deepika to hit a home run. Surprisingly, the songs are unevenly spaced. First half has just one song  (a nervous Priyamani shaking a leg with SRK) and all the remaining songs in the second half. Anthakshari is introduced by way of a code language between the hero and the heroine in the film and is refreshingly sung in original voices.  Some of the scenes in the first half are loosely borrowed from "Maryaada Ramanna" in respect of the house arrest of the hero in the heroine's home. Despite a relentless charade of visuals meant to evoke humor and occasionally poke fun at the South film texture, Rohit leaves some gaps in the story and the narration. There is no linkage between the flashback and the narration in the second half. There is no realism in the clothing of the lead pair - one scene you see Deepika decked up in temple jewellery and next you see her in different attires without a carry bag, whereas SRK is in immaculate dress  - the same but ironed everytime even if he carries a backpack containing urn. There is no attempt to show SRK trying to contact his family and friends after losing a mobile phone in the train, how can anyone forget the landline number of one's home?  Also, there is a concocted scene where SRK is hidden in a bunker in a police station and the next moment he re-surfaces in a boat like a "Life of Pi" hero. Minor blemishes  maybe these, but they don't deduct the entertainment value of the film - its a dizzy cocktail of fun and masti. Rohit Shetty has truly assimilated the idiom of the eye-popping masala film of the South by inter-mixing hundreds of DVDs; it reached that potential of globalization and universal appeal because of the stamp of SRK's approval. Running time of 142 minutes, about 125 minutes is pure fun of which 30 minutes must accompany subtitles because of Tamil.  SRK has used five words in Telugu too - "Konchem", "Evadu", "Po", "Telusu" and "Chaala". Lungi-Dance which comes as a tribute to Rajinikanth has been well choreographed. 3.5 out of 5 for the effort and it's a SRK film all the way.