The Boss is Here... and How

In what is a rite of passage that repeats every two years, I recently went for a Rajni movie. Expectations had been sky-high in the city and initial reviews had heralded a welcome return to form.

I went in a little unsure, considering 'Chandramukhi' had been a massive hit and I wasn't particularly taken with that movie. Chandramukhi didn't seem like a Rajni movie - it was more like a Jyothika movie that had Rajni in it, like he'd compromised on a lot of what made a Rajni movie to try and ensure that it became a hit and ensure that the debacle that was 'Baba' was quickly forgotten.

Well, let me reassure you. The Superstar is back.

The first half of the story is a setup for what proceeds after the interval and has several weak moments, most of which occur during Rajni's courtship of a very stunning Shreya. I shan't bother you with the basic story, which can be found in various reviews on various websites. The love angle is a little weak and the story is only a prop on which to hang Rajni's presence, the SFX and the songs and these positives completely and totally redeem every weak aspect of the movie. In that sense, you feel his presence more than ever.

Rajni looks a cpl of decades younger, the song sequences are exquisitively shot and even better staged on sets that are at times breathtaking. Rahman's songs don't sound as good on the cd and the film picturisation and sets add immensely to them. Vivek is excellent at salvaging what is, at times, a slow and not always engaging pre-interval period but Rajni comes into his own after the break and this is the Rajni of old.

The 2nd half has what is, for Rajni, an extremely risky look and character (whose look and name drew wolf-whistles aplenty) and he pulls it off splendidly. I'm convinced that he must have agreed to this look only after seeing the rushes of his look from the first half of the film (which can also be seen in the film's posters and publicity).

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it. This is how a movie experience should be - tremendous fun, dialogues worth memorizing and a star for the ages, back and shining as brightly as ever.