This is a thriller with just too
much happening. It looks a filled refrigerator and therefore you spend more
time digging into the compartments and pulling things out then really enjoying
the offer. It is a thriller with the protagonist being a tiger killer, then we
have the villain and narcotics, we have the lecherous police officer ogling at
the heroine who could put plain Jane to shame. We also have the brother
sentiment in good measure. All this extended for over a period of three hours
is a clear indication that the film maker simply is out of tune with the demands
of the times.
Remember how Salim Javed burst into our mainstream cinema telling the tale of a
lad who is a hiding witness to the killing of his parents. He is thus psyched
into having to avenge the tragedy as his life mission. This time round we have
Dad (Santosh Keezhatoor) in the backyard of God’s own country in some vague
illegal activity. Mom (Anjali Upasana) has just delivered her second babe and
dies in labour. With the police on the hunt for forest offences, the dad and
the two kids are on the run. Big Bro Kumar (Ajas) is a witness to a tiger
attacking his dad and making a meal of him. He thus vows revenge. Now, many
years later Kumar (Mohan Lal) is in the deep forests with an established
reputation for being the master tiger killer in the area. People in the nearby
villages look up to him to save them from hungry tigers. Bro Mani (Vinu Mohan)
is in the city looking out for a white-collar job and is with friends Shiva
(Bala) and Benny (Nobi). The friends arrive in the forest area to carry forest produce
without the authority of law for commercial sale under the leadership of the
Drug don Daddy Girija (Jagapathi Babu).
The non linear tale told in circles takes you forward and backward with long
spells of flash back and sudden thrust into the present. You wonder if even the
film maker has lost a sense of direction with his narrative. For the romantic
angle, we have Kumar in love with Myna (Kamalini Mukherjee – in a woefully ill
cast role). The local forest ranger (Kishore) is lecherous outing and stops at
doing nothing to get Myna.
The script dedicates long mileage to the tiger attacks and the fights with the
tiger. This part of the film keeps you absorbed and introduces the Telugu
audience to a completely different paradigm on how to present the action
scenes. For an audience fed on the Rayalaseema dust and stars caged in their
images this is a whiff of fresh air. Our hero is not the quintennial six pack
all talent package. Mohan Lal defies all his shortcomings with the superior
talent he has as an actor. Truly gifted and committed it is he who makes the
big difference to the film. As the clumsy lover, as the naïve forest savvy but
illiterate person and the doting brother he is just there. Not a moment does he
over state or under perform. In fact, the long boring romantic scene, are a
flop not because of him but because of the absolute lack of chemistry with the
heroine. However, watch how he injects credibility to the action scenes with
his huge weight never an impediment and you know cinema is not just about
stars. It is about actors. Remove Mohan Lal and the film is a long bore.
Otherwise it is a great outing for those who love thrillers.
Rating : 2.5 stars.
– Excruciatingly long
+ Mohan Lal and thrills.
L. Ravichander.