KGF : Chapter 2 (spoiler free) movie review

 The Audience : “Kya chahiye re tereko?”

Indian movie directors - “DUNIYA…”

 

 

 

KGF: Chapter 2

Director – Prashanth Neel

Cast- ROCKING STAR YASH, Sanjay Dutt as a mix of a Viking chief and Bane, Raveena Tandon as Pseudo Indira Gandhi, Srinidhi Shetty and BUCKET LOADS OF HYPE AND ENERGY

 

We are living in the era of renaissance of Indian cinema. That’s right Indian cinema. Not Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu or Kannada…but INDIAN cinema. For long Indian movies have been defined by the word-  Bollywood. Not anymore. Bahubali, Pushpa, KGF, RRR and now KGF 2 have shown us what it takes to make intelligent yet entertaining films. Technically, emotionally, they just have cracked this formula of how to actually make epic stories come alive. These films are enjoyed by audiences all over not just India but also the world as well. In interviews during RRR promotions, director SS Rajamouli has often said he dislikes the term South Indian film industry or Telugu or Tamil film industry, he says he likes it to be called Indian film industry since he tells stories about Indian characters and with Indian values who primarily speak a regional language. Perhaps same can be said of Kannada director Prashanth Neel.  

KGF 1 was a surprise for everyone. Because of Rajnikanth and Kamal Hassan, people all over India were well aware of Tamil industry’s ability to entertain, Bahubali had opened the floodgates for Telugu cinema (though Nagarjuna and Chiranjeevi had done that to smaller extent before), Bengali, Malayalam and Marathi movies have been admired often for their artistic and subtle storytelling. Kannada films however had not left a big impact on the national scale yet. Neither did they air on Set Max or any other channels for popular consumption, nor did their stars particularly capture national imagination like their other counterparts did. However, KGF 1 not only surprised the entire country but surpassed the expectation. The mix of a Scarface like gangster story coupled with Mad Max and 300 style visuals and good ol’ desi masala was the perfect cocktail that turned it into a mega hit.

The excitement for KGF 2 was perhaps shot in the arm by the Covid pandemic and the resulting delay in its release. In fact, it was so delayed that another movie about a fearless, bearded, ambitious smuggler released in between and took the nation by storm (Pushpa – The Rise). But just like Rocky Bhai, the hype came back. And Holy shit…being born into a film crazy family, I always used to ask my father how it was to experience the hype when Amitabh was in his prime and he said… it was madness. I had tried to experience that by watching Vijay and Rajnikanth movies FDFS with Tamil audiences when in Mumbai and got a taste of it. I got a taste of it when Salman was actually making fun movies like Dabanng and Wanted. But Holy shit…(coz one Holy shit isn’t enough to describe this)….the excitement surrounding KGF 2 had the theatre full at 8:30 on a Thursday morning. There was so much hooting, whistling and shouting that you couldn’t hear anything for the first 10 minutes!! And I had ZERO complaints. I mean THIS is the experience you wanna have when you watch a movie full of hype and energy like this. KGF 2 delivers on the hype in truckloads.

 

In KGF 1 we saw the rise of Rocky Bhai from a small-time street criminal to a gangster and then to a monster…who had managed to gain control of the secretive KGF gold mines singlehandedly. KGF 2 is obviously the conclusion to that story. Now overall, it goes as you would assume a movie like this goes. But a great man once said- its not about the story, its about how it’s told. KGF 1 smartly used an unreliable narrator device in which a old, senile journalist – Anand Ingalgi (played by Anant Nag) is telling the legend of Rocky and KGF to a TV journalist….often missing parts, often embellishing it, drifting off. This proved to be a fascinating element that kept the mystery going. The story on-screen told by Director Prashanth Neel was told with panache, jump cuts, slo-mo and mind- blowing background music. The movie made Yash a national star overnight. With his presence so manly that had ladies drooling over him and men wanting to be a bearded badass like him.

 

In KGF 2, Prakash Raj replaces Ananth Nag as the narrator. The in-film reason we get is that Ananthh Nag’s character gets a heart attack and Prakash Raj is his disgruntled son who comes in reluctantly to complete the story. The movie changes its story-telling technique here and becomes a sort of hidden history of India often made believable by newspapers reports of incidents which were covered up. Because the powers that were did not want Rocky’s story told. As two-part movies usually go, the first one is the set-up, the second one the punchline. Chapter 2 punches you so hard emotionally and visually it gets you pumped up throughout the movie. The many pieces set up on the board in the first one (a bit too many to be honest) all start moving for the king in this one from the word go. The movie does not waste time at all. Every frame of the movie is oozing with energy, emotion and hype. Every line of dialogue delivered just to add to that legend, the myth, the saga of Rocky.

The movie elevates itself slightly from making a tale about a hero who is a God to his people into the evils of unchained ambition and the consequences of violence. But sadly, to its detriment it sligthly loses that point somewhere. Without spoiling much, it can be said that this strong emotional thread could’ve given the movie more nuance and weight. It also would’ve given actress Srinidhi Shetty something else to do than just stand around and look good. She is somewhere the feminine that can compliment and counter the untethered masculine aggression of Rocky…but sadly the script compresses that entire arc into a completely boring and unnecessary song in the second half of the movie just prior to the climactic struggle. The movie just loses a bit of focus here unlike the first one.  

But what it lacks in focus sometimes, it makes for in action and visuals. Prashanth Neel uses color, contrast and shot composition in a great way in that every frame is a painting. The lighting is immaculate and the use of jump cuts and shaky cam (though a bit too much for my liking) was great and makes the action kinetic. Yash being the star of the movie- completely carries the movie. The ruthless ambition-knowing full well that these violent delights have violent ends- shines through his body language and his eyes. What could’ve been a typical Indian indestructible hero kinda boring character is compensated for by his charming humor and the big Daddy attitude. A good hero is nothing without a good villain and Sanjay Dutt again delivers by the truckload as Adheera. With his Viking inspired look, the script allows to portray all shades from evil to rage to defeat to disappointment to being a sword carrying badass. Raveena Tandon as Prime Minister Ramika Sen is great and her interaction with Rocky is particularly good. Its great to see her back and she should do more roles in my opinion. The movie has Prakash Raj but other than that deep voice, there’s not much use for him.

Although a slight bit more bloated than the first one, KGF chapter 2 is definitely a theatre experience. Think of it like the Infinity War and Endgame. While Infinity War is clearly the better movie, Endgame is still an epic conclusion. But unlike Endgame the movie does deliver on its hype. There is a scene towards the climax where I was praying – Mr. Neel you better bring that reference back from the 1^st one because that would symbolically tie up the story perfectly and you know what…it actually happened. This is the equivalent of you wanting a masseuse to use the right amount of pressure on the right spot and without saying they just do that.

If you scratch the surface a little, the movie is a bit meta in the sense it talks about the power of myth making while making a myth on screen as well. The very legend of Rocky has people shaking in their boots even before he arrives. Adheera knows this and does something that will make a God bleed (A ‘Do you Bleed?’ BvS style parallel which my wife caught and I didn’t! Catching hidden Snyder and Nolan parallels in a story is the sexiest thing a woman can do in my opinion), PM Ramika Sen knows this and stops him from ever being mentioned in history. Whether intentional or not, Prashanth Neel clearly understands the power of story -telling and myth making to a deeper level and uses that understanding really well on screen. The movie even has a Marvel style mid credits scene that keeps the hype going even as you exit the theatre.

 

KGF : Chapter 2 is TOTAL TIMEPASS!! Watch this on the biggest screen with the loudest of crowds possible!

 

 

P S : They showed a trailer for Heropanti 2 starring Tiger Shroff before this movie and well..  Bollywood, Beta tumse na ho payega. 

RRR (spoiler free) movie review

 

In SS Rajamouli we trust...

 

 

 

RRR – RISE ROAR REVOLT

DIRECTED BY – THE ONLY INDIAN FILMMAKER WHO CAN MAKE SOMETHING LIKE THIS LOOK COOL AS FUCK WITHOUT IT LOOKING CAMPY

 

CAST – RAM CHARAN, NTR, AJAY DEVGAN, ALIA BHATT, SHRIYA SARAN AND OTHERS

 

When I first saw the trailer for this movie, I wasn’t moved. It looked like a typical - Indian freedom fighters fighting against the British who are white devils movie. Lots of action, zero sense. If it was any one other than S S Rajamouli directing it, I wouldn’t have looked twice at it. But after Magadheera, Eega and especially Bahubali- in S S Rajamouli we trust. And that trust isn’t betrayed.

Now Indian film makers are known to take extra liberties with historical stories. I watched 45 minutes of the Kabir Khan directed 83 – about our 1983 cricket world cup victory- and turned it off. It was a real story which didn’t need this much masala to make it work. It was a lot of showing off without any substance.  But as Bloodsport in The Suicide Squad says “No, one likes a show-off” to which he gets the reply – “Unless what they are showing off is dope as fuck”.

RRR is completely fictional story about two of India’s revolutionary freedom fighters meeting to fight the oppressive British regime- Alluri Sitaramaraju and Komaram Bheem. But this isn’t just masala movie making- it is myth making of the classiest level. The entry scene for A. Ramaraju (Ram Charan) for example, involves almost zero dialogue from the hero and starts out very much like a typical South Indian mass entertainer scene. There is the hero’s entry set to heart pumping music, you get to see the fire and the conviction in his eyes before he jumps into an angry mob to catch someone. A huge crowd piles on top of him. Normally, you would expect the typical hero pushes everyone off and all people fly in different directions kinda scene...like that oft-copied scene from the Matrix Reloaded. But that doesn’t happen at all. Instead, he actually realistically fights his way out of it...almost reminiscent of that awesome prison fight scene in The Raid 2 and catches the target with a lot of damage to himself.

This I feel is the greatest skill of Rajamouli. This is why Bahubali worked and many other copies of it failed later. Even if there is a lot of masala, just like a perfect Indian cook- Rajamouli knows where to hold back and where to let go. No wonder his movies have so much universal appeal. Even if you were watching this movie in a language foreign to you, you would still understand what is transpiring on screen. There are so many amazing visual scenes here that I risk spoiling the movie out of sheer excitement.

Getting two of the most popular stars from the Telugu film industry together – Ram Charan and NTR Jr. isn’t easy. To give them equal enough screen presence is even more difficult. To honestly get them both to act so well is nearly impossible. Again, Rajamouli pulls it off with finesse. The intensity of fire in Ram Charan and the depth and fluidity of water in NTR Jr. just stands out. One is a trained cop and the other is a Gond tribal. Rajamouli is a visual story-teller and he uses everything from color shades to costumes and body language to create the characters on screen. So, the English-speaking police officer is well shaved, his moments around the goras more confident, he has a gym trained well cut body and his eyes have this sharpness of purpose to it. While the tribal is unshaven, unsure of his moments in the city, he looks at tigers in the eye without blinking and has a trusting but fierce demeanor. Even without dialogue, you understand these characters so well. The way Rajamouli uses themed lighting for the characters – Yellow symbolizing fire for Ramaraju (Ram Charan) and blue symbolizing water for Bheem (Jr. NTR) is something which is noteworthy. Its these little details that make the movie special. Rajamouli uses well known actors for small roles – Shriya Saran, Ajay Devgan etc. but they make the most of the screentime they have been given.

That’s another noteworthy thing about the movie. Its runtime though almost 3 hours- never seems like a dull moment. Even when there is no big visual set piece on screen. The movie is about the chemistry of the main characters and their love for their country and their people. This is the thread which holds together the gems of the visual poetry together. Credit must also be given to K V Vijayendra Prasad (S S Rajamouli’s father and legendary screen play writer) for creating a nearly impossible screenplay where action and emotion are equally balanced. Everything is there on screen for a reason and barring a extra bloody whipping scene, there is no time wasted for anything. Everything flows, everything rhymes.

Poetry is nothing without its inherent rhythm, not only the contrasts and visuals dance and rhyme with each other- but so does M M Keeravani’s music. This may seem like hyperbole but M M Keeravani and Rajamouli are a bit like Zimmer and Nolan. They just come together to create magic on screen. If it wasn’t for M M Keeravani’s rousing tracks and soulful melodies, half of the scenes wouldn’t have hit the way they do. The dance number (Natu Natu in Telugu or Nacho Nacho in Hindi) is infectious and had my whole civilized theatre almost ready to dance.  From Rajamouli’s Magadheera to Eega, Bahubali and now RRR- they just bring the best out of each other. They use different themes for the characters and while it is the oldest trick in the book to let characters have their own musical motifs, I feel it just isn’t used enough these days in Indian movies. RRR makes the best use of it just like Bahubali did.

While comparisons to Bahubali are inevitable, but even as a story onto itself one of the only drawbacks in the movie is the lack of a good villain. The villains are of course the British- who are one dimensional and evil. There is of course one sympathetic memsaab… but that’s about it. I had tweeted halfway through the movie that S S Rajamouli is Zack Snyder on steroids and I am not backing away on those words. The visual style, the operatic dialogue, the use of slow motion is very reminiscent of Snyder’s style yet refreshingly Indian and original.  Come to think of Zack Snyder comparisons again- think of this movie like 300. Not necessarily historically accurate or meant to be a multi-faceted drama, but more as a Ballad…a hero’s song, a Powada if you will.

The movie is a clear tribute to India’s revolutionaries. It is sometimes extra bloody and extra violent, but perhaps that’s the point. If in 2022, you are dumb enough to believe that our freedom was gained just through Charka spinning and turning the other cheek, then you seriously need to watch this movie. A LOT of people, a lot of unspoken heroes literally gave every drop of blood they had and then some more to get us to where we are. The movie celebrates them in the end.  

Like Sadhguru says, the point of our Itihaasa- our mythical epics like Mahabharata or Ramayana- isn’t that if it happened or not. The point is what you learn from it. We know Komaram Bheem and Alluri Sitaramraju probably never met in real life, but the point is what we are learning from this movie. To add to it, it’s entertaining as fuck. Like Rajamouli’s previous movies- it is unashamed of its own Hindu culture. It uses the Vande Mataram flag designed by Madam Bhikaji Cama and Veer Savarkar, it exhibits many aspects of our undiscovered tribal culture, the movie has perhaps the best use of the famous shloka “Karmanye vadhikaraste…” from the Gita, there is a scene which is a reverse parallel of the Ashokvan scene from Ramayana where Rama is the one being held in captivity, and…the climax has some Lord Rama imagery that absolutely convinces me that S S Rajamouli is the only director capable of directing a Ramayana movie.

Indian regional cinema is honestly light years ahead of Bollywood. If you want subtlety and simplicity- Bengali, Malaylam and Marathi cinema explore the nuance of human emotion to their deepest. If you want the panache, epic, operatic storytelling while stretching our imagination to the furthest- South Indian movie makers are the best at it. Success of movies like Bahubali, KGF, Pushpa and now RRR has proved that when you are ready to accept your strengths, you can accomplish wonders.

 

RRR is undoubtedly a not just a movie, but a theatrical experience. It’s meant to be had with loads of whistles and claps and screaming people around. The movie is CLASSIC!