The Rajnikanth of the 90s is back. Yes that's right. Featuring your favorite tropes, fundas, punch dialogues & all that jazz. What's missing? A better story line & casting.
To be honest, this is the first accessible (and likeable) Rajnikanth film in a looong time. Pa Ranjith's dalit politics and anti-BjP propaganda films Kabali and Kaala failed to project Rajni into the his Mullum Mallarum or even a Thalapathi like phase. Till date, I would think only Mani Ratnam has the ability to write and treat a Rajnikanth film with panache. Karthik Subbaraj comes close, but like all fanboys, he forgets to be himself. Watching his brilliance in writing/direction in Pizza and Jigarthanda and then watchng Petta with great expectations left me wondering why this indulgence? On the other hand, this is the first recent Rajni film to see Rajni lively again and not jaded like he was in last recent films. Subbaraj plants references of Rajnikanth throughout the film using SRK's Main Hoon Na (college backdrop) as the springboard.
On the other hand, I've really gotten fed up of Vijay Sethupathi. He's now entering Parthiban level of acting. Once a gimmick's been patternized (body language, dialogue delivery or his case, yelling) it enters an irritation phase. I don't understand the hype/hoopla around him. He's going through the same motions and sleep-walks his role and lacks the enthu of a villian. With Super Deluxe showing him in a drag role, god knows how much torture we the audience have to endure. He will fade quite fast at this rate.
SImran had a better role than Trisha and it's a real pity we saw less of her instead of being limited to 10 minutes and a song.
Petta is once watchable, but much like Puri Jagan's revival of the "Angry Young Man", for Amitabh Bachchan, it revitalizes the genre of 90s Rajnikanth.
To be honest, this is the first accessible (and likeable) Rajnikanth film in a looong time. Pa Ranjith's dalit politics and anti-BjP propaganda films Kabali and Kaala failed to project Rajni into the his Mullum Mallarum or even a Thalapathi like phase. Till date, I would think only Mani Ratnam has the ability to write and treat a Rajnikanth film with panache. Karthik Subbaraj comes close, but like all fanboys, he forgets to be himself. Watching his brilliance in writing/direction in Pizza and Jigarthanda and then watchng Petta with great expectations left me wondering why this indulgence? On the other hand, this is the first recent Rajni film to see Rajni lively again and not jaded like he was in last recent films. Subbaraj plants references of Rajnikanth throughout the film using SRK's Main Hoon Na (college backdrop) as the springboard.
On the other hand, I've really gotten fed up of Vijay Sethupathi. He's now entering Parthiban level of acting. Once a gimmick's been patternized (body language, dialogue delivery or his case, yelling) it enters an irritation phase. I don't understand the hype/hoopla around him. He's going through the same motions and sleep-walks his role and lacks the enthu of a villian. With Super Deluxe showing him in a drag role, god knows how much torture we the audience have to endure. He will fade quite fast at this rate.
SImran had a better role than Trisha and it's a real pity we saw less of her instead of being limited to 10 minutes and a song.
Petta is once watchable, but much like Puri Jagan's revival of the "Angry Young Man", for Amitabh Bachchan, it revitalizes the genre of 90s Rajnikanth.