Rajnikant starrer Petta is all human, unlike his releases of late. And I think the audiences are lapping it up. The Rajnikant of yore, the common man's hero from amongst themselves. Revenge and avenging murder, mayhem is nothing new to Tamil cinema but there is something more to this in Petta, an offering by Karthik Subbaraj.
A hostel warden is what Rajni portrays when the movie opens. The wide canvas that a hostel and college allows a movie maker is well exploited but it keeps track of the story and every scene more or less contributes to the progress of the story. Thankfully no slapstick which stands in isolation of the main plot. The story is thick with matter and characters of all hues, of emotions that range from filial, maternal, paternal to communal and revengeful. Dwelling more on the story will be a spoiler for those who have not yet seen the film.
Vijay Sethupathy in a villains garb shines. Nawazuddin Siddiqui, the other baddie also spews villainy. M Sasikumar, Bobby Simha, play the second line characters and Trisha, Simran,as the two leading ladies, get a minuscule portion of the film in which to perform. That they were ex-leading ladies of Rajnikant helped. All three, are still fit and since they have aged remarkably gracefully, look good enough on screen to woo you. I wish the next national award for make-up goes to the person who has done Rajnikant's make-up.
Much can be read into Rajnikant's recent foray into politics and Petta. The climax tells you much. There could have been two ways to end the movie. One, the conventional and sentimental way as all traditional movies end and the other, as it ends in Petta. Many scenes are straight out of the political circus that we see around us. That all's fair in love, war and politics can be read into the climax. The hero says that, in fact.
The movies and politics are so inextricably welded together in Tamil Nadu that the climax may well turn out to be a precursor of alliances and breakups. In short, Rajnikant does not want to make his political preferences clear. That's what I gathered.
Oh...we actually went to see the movie because our own Manikandan is acting in it. His role is very small but he has done that very well. He could have been used better. Nevertheless an opening in Tamil cinema is great for Manikandan. It never drags and the cinematography is magical. Good suspension in disbelief.
A hostel warden is what Rajni portrays when the movie opens. The wide canvas that a hostel and college allows a movie maker is well exploited but it keeps track of the story and every scene more or less contributes to the progress of the story. Thankfully no slapstick which stands in isolation of the main plot. The story is thick with matter and characters of all hues, of emotions that range from filial, maternal, paternal to communal and revengeful. Dwelling more on the story will be a spoiler for those who have not yet seen the film.
Vijay Sethupathy in a villains garb shines. Nawazuddin Siddiqui, the other baddie also spews villainy. M Sasikumar, Bobby Simha, play the second line characters and Trisha, Simran,as the two leading ladies, get a minuscule portion of the film in which to perform. That they were ex-leading ladies of Rajnikant helped. All three, are still fit and since they have aged remarkably gracefully, look good enough on screen to woo you. I wish the next national award for make-up goes to the person who has done Rajnikant's make-up.
Much can be read into Rajnikant's recent foray into politics and Petta. The climax tells you much. There could have been two ways to end the movie. One, the conventional and sentimental way as all traditional movies end and the other, as it ends in Petta. Many scenes are straight out of the political circus that we see around us. That all's fair in love, war and politics can be read into the climax. The hero says that, in fact.
The movies and politics are so inextricably welded together in Tamil Nadu that the climax may well turn out to be a precursor of alliances and breakups. In short, Rajnikant does not want to make his political preferences clear. That's what I gathered.
Oh...we actually went to see the movie because our own Manikandan is acting in it. His role is very small but he has done that very well. He could have been used better. Nevertheless an opening in Tamil cinema is great for Manikandan. It never drags and the cinematography is magical. Good suspension in disbelief.
