2019, Tamil, Amazon Prime, 5.9/10 IMDB, Selvaragavan
I would give RJ Balaji’s LKG a bigger thumbs up (irrespective of the fact who snatched the story from whom). What matters is, who narrated the story better, that we could understand it in the first place, let alone appreciate it and become saviours to cleanse our dirty polity.
The movie is a showcase of suriya and suriya’s capability to emote alone. The actor has given his heart, sole, time, dignity and what not for the project and appreciations are almost tangible on screen and among the crowd in theaters.. It’s selvaragavan’s trademark body language and dialogue delivery that shadows behind all charcters.. Yet it didn’t bring out the magic it ought to like that in Pudupettai (wonder if Dhanush brings selva’s uncanny characterisation alive somehow).
The transformation of an elite common man to that of the freakish political persona should have been subtle, yet contrasingly it was screaming out loud with tamil movie formulae and clichés that has made us numb over the years.. What was unique about the movie you ask yourself as you walk out, I am yet to get an answer for that up and till now..
With Saipallavi’s characterisation you are made to expect more of an authoritative motherly wife who might be a guiding star to the aspiring political hero but the director fails in making her a humdrum suspicious wife like that of Balachander’s Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal, Geetha.
Rakul suprises with her dubbing sync and body language of playing a Cambridge (analytica) graduate (again LKG had a fabulous Priya Anand playing an identical charcter to Rakul’s).
The plot weakens midway and is totally lost with scattered scenes and weaker events. Wonder if it’s got anything to do with the troubled lengthy production and the rumoured hostility among the crew.
Just when you expect a selvaragavan’s touch with unusual close shots with Nizhalgal Ravi playing the ‘Paramveer Chakra’ father charcter or when Sai Pallavi giving a green signal for Surya to enter politics or when Rakul keeps her feeling towards Surya to herself, you are denied of those magical 7G kinda moments..
Illavarasu playing MLA Pandiyan was interesting but again short lived as the story spins off toward hierarchy. The bizarre green mat pop-up sequence troubles you with the camera exceptionally close on Surya’s face and it’s a flat climax with ‘Agni Parichai’ program’s backdrop on the green mat with Karthigaiselvan of Pudhiya Thalaimurai, with Surya answering his question saying, ‘he is still learning’.. We are left to wonder what the entire hype was all about..
Songs play spoil sport and does nothing other than causing frustration as they are crudely timed. BGM, a modest variation of Illayaraja’s ‘Netrikan’ movie cat-mouse chase sequence worthy mentioning (Raja won’t mind if it’s his son who replicates his work). The selvaragavan-yuan magic has either gotten old or presumably gone with the wind or rather gone out of window.
Using green and red light on backdrop may be for good and evil in director’s retro perspective but it dazzles in every other scene achingly. The stunt sequence in the toilet backdrop started off extraordinarily but fell flat as a wearisome stunt that we had been fed by movies for ages.
Trying to recreate magical moments may end one in vain I guess. May be it’s our fault that we expect magical moments to be recreated. I strongly hope it happens some day with selvaragavan yet again..