PETTA (2019)

Critic - No.165

Director: Karthik Subburaj

Casts: Rajinikanth, Vjay Sethupathi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Simran, Trisha, Bobby Simha, Sanath, Mega Akash
Language: Tamil
Genre: Action / Drama
Music: Anirudh

SYNOPSIS:
Kaali (Rajinikanth) joins a college as a hostel warden and sets things in order in his own playful way, from playing Cupid to a young couple (Megha Akash and Sanath), romancing the girl's mother (Simran) to putting the rowdy boys, headed by Michael (Bobby Simha) in their place. But there is more to him than meets the eye.

REVIEW:
Even though Rajini has been actively churning out movies in the past 2 to 3 years, one might miss the Superstar’s core style that is perceived to be his unique strength and the reason for dominating the industry for the past 40 years. But thanks to the die-hard fan turned director, Karthik Subburaj who fills the void by creating pure ‘mass’ film with Rajini’s style stamped over each frame.

Karthik Subburaj, who is known for his trademark voice of filmmaking has let loose his grasp of his style and has weaved a storyline to create a sheer nostalgia of Rajini’s peak times in the 90s. You can see the fan boy’s writing clearly as he checks the box of the wish list of Rajini fans by engineering past movie sequences, actions and even settings into the narrative; some blatantly and some minutely. 

We see Rajini climbing down the stairs in style (Muthu), shouting ‘Ulle Po’ from Baasha (1995), scaring Munish kanth by saying ‘Paambu, Paambu (Snake Snake) and pushing the gate open like how he made his first action in his first film, ‘Apoorva Ragangal (1975)’. There are much more throwbacks Karthik makes in terms of character names, song references and settings in different sequences throughout the film, which I won’t spoil it for the readers who haven’t watch the film yet.

So how’s the core story besides the Rajinified moments? The first half travels in a slower pace and enters a mystery lock at the interval which makes the second half more interesting. It was like as if Karthik made the first half totally for the fans with many whistle worthy moments and the bloody second half to flex his own voice finally into the film. 

The second half travels much faster with Karthik's typical Tarantino-ish violence staging and layered twists that will remind you of the shocker we felt in Pizza (2012). The characters get more defined and the emotional core of the film gets intense. Yes, the revenge plot is as old as hill but Karthik injects his brilliance by laying out an interesting play between the hero and villain.

On the flip side, the leading ladies, Simran, Trisha and Mega Akash are lost in the way with no scope to perform or add any value to the story. For a man who made a film like ‘Iraivi (2016)’, this move might be a shocker. The first half conflict between Bobby Simha and Rajini falls a little flat and needs serious trimming. 

The main problem of the film is the lack of a strong villain which rarely happens in a Rajini film. Karthik who focused on creating a 90s like Rajini film, should have checked the box of creating a ‘Mark Anthony’ kind of villain that is needed to take on the Superstar. Nawazuddin shows traces of brilliance in the flashback but in whole seems very weak. Vijay Sethupathi looks more prominent with his dynamic screen presence. Sasikumar does a brief but meaty role that drives the plot. 

But none of the stars in the film gets our attention as how the 68 year old Superstar does. This film is a tailor made film for Rajini fans to celebrate him after a series of experimenting film by the actor. After Sivaji (2007), ‘Petta’ feels like a much needed complete Rajini film that also feels like a fitting tribute to the actor’s immense contribution to the industry. Kudos to Thirunavakarasu’s magnificently arresting visuals and Anirudh’s ‘mass’ songs and score that elevates the whole experience in getting us all ‘Rajinified’!  



VERDICT: 

The director in Karthik Subburaj takes a back seat in this fan-boy made, ‘pakka’ (pure) Rajini film that throws us back to the nostalgic trails of the Superstar’s peak period in the 90s, quite effectively.

CELLULOID METER- 3.75/5: