Endless entertainment for Rajini fans

From the ages of six to sixty, spread over more than four decades, one hero has been the cynosure of all eyes in the Indian film industry in general and southern cinema in particular. Rajinikanth – the boss of all that he surveys – has stayed on in the industry, solely on this unmatched ability of drawing in crowds by the millions all over the world for his kind of action and screen presence.

Scaling up from his late 2018 release ‘2.0,’ which was received fairly well across the country’s film markets, the Pongal release of 2019 ‘ Petta,’ is a real smasher. A 171-minute long film, built solely on the enduring charisma of the superstar is just what the doctor ordered for the adoring fans of his- a zippy, gripping entertainer. It is a certain booster shot for his legions of followers who had been dismayed with his recent crop of releases, a few neither-here-nor-there kind of ventures, which threatened to sap the enthusiasm levels and demoralise his support base forever. The festival flick has certainly brought the zing back into his persona.

A racy revenge drama, unfolding in a different, urban-cum-rural backdrop, with two scenarios in the first and second half respectively, it effectively feeds the ravenous appetite of the energetic icon, who gallivants around in his title role. Known for his cool dude attitude and gimmicry, Rajinikant is at his arresting best in the first 90 minutes when he takes charge of a college known for its violent students and an indifferent management. Obviously, there is no other option than bowing down to his machismo, which he carries off with panache, doing it at an amazing speed and with an awesome body language.

Director Karthik Subbaraj, a fan-turned-helmsman, carefully crafts out the hero’s personality, pitting it against a whole lot of talented actors like Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vijay Sethupathi, Bobby Simha. He has the erstwhile bombshell Simran Bagga and Trisha as his love interests, even though he has minimal time to spend private moments with them. Working out a clearly etched out characterisation for each one of them, Subbaraj devotes the first half to one set of villains and the others come in when the film gets into the rural zone. He invests a different get up on to the ageless star with a handle bar moustache and swag. The inter-connect between the two parts of the film is also seamlessly established even as the film travels from the south to upcountry locations like Mussorie and Lucknow.

Summing up, despite an emotional twist soon after the first phase, which warms up after a lag, the film maintains a momentum and interest which keeps the audience hooked and delirious. It has taken a while coming but this is surely the kind of a film a core Rajini fan would have wanted to watch and gets it as a great gift with extra toppings.