Return of the King
Film: Lingaa
Cast: Rajnikanth, Anushka Shetty, Sonakshi Sinha
Directed by: K.S Ravikumar
Duration: 2 hrs 55 mins
Rating: * * 1 / 2
It has been four years since Enthiran when Rajini saar graced the
screen (not counting the live action capture disaster Kochadaiiyaan) so Lingaa
comes after a considerably long for wait for the fans of. They will be and
usually are happy with whatever he does, there is no two ways about that. But
what about the rest ?
Well, as a film Lingaa is not just old school it is antique
school. As a story there is absolutely nothing novel on display here, in fact
some of it is embarrassingly shoddy, like a heist scene for example inspired by
Peter O Toole’s How to Steal A Million
(1966). But you have to hand to the man, the superstar himself who brings a
great deal of zeal to the table and becomes the singular reason you want to
watch this film.
Lingaa (who else by Rajnikanth) is a petty thief aspiring to pull
off a Rififi kind of job with his
friends. A television anchor (Anushka Shetty) who otherwise is a crusader to
exposed wrong doings is a witness to the crime but instead of bringing him to
book, she is highly impressed by him. After all he is Rajnikanth.
There is also a dream sequence song and dance routine inspired by
Pirates of the Caribbean and Mission Impossible. Not quite sure what the lyrics
meant in Tamil but the subtitles said the following – “Mona, my catalyst
gasoline darling” and “"Your Mona is like Fort
Knox treasury.”
Ms. Anchor takes him to her village because he has
‘royal blood’ and the doors of a temple which has been locked for decades
should be opened by royalty. In flashback we are told about the origins of the
temple where during the British era, in 1939 to be precise, Rajnikanth plays
Raja Lingeshwaram who volunteers as the district collector of Madurai since he
has studied civil engineering at Cambridge. He is also seen reading Joseph
Campbell’s A Hero
With A Thousand Faces (self reference?) and we can only
presume it was a draft because the novel was published in 1949.
King turned collector turns king again to help the
people suffering from an acute water crisis to build a dam. Sonakshi Sinha
plays his love interest and sleepwalks through her role as if she was romancing
Akshay Kumar or Ajay Devgn.
There are plenty of references to Rajini’s reel
(Baasha, Billa) and real life (his profession as a conductor and political
statements). The well informed crowd (even in Goa) whistled and clapped at
every such occasion.
The dialogues are a hoot, at least the subtitles certainly are. Surely
a lot of effort has gone into writing some of those crackling lines and to suit
his image, there are social points made as well.
For those unaware of why Rajnikanth is such a phenomenon, Lingaa
gives ample reason and proof. Whether it is his dialogue delivery, his facial
expressions, his style or even his walk, you know you are watching a very
special actor in action.
And that brings us to the grouse I have with the film and some of
his other films recently. Why have such inane scripts for such a talented
actor? The audiences love his act anyway so isn’t there any writer /director
out there who can raise the bar instead of just dishing out the same fare time
and again?
The audiences may or may not but Rajnikanth surely deserves better.
But meanwhile, if you are his fan, Lingaa is a wet dream.
Published in The Navhind Times on 14th Dec 2014
