'College Don' hit the screens today. In this section, we are going to review the latest box office release.
Story:
Chakravarthy (Sivakarthikeyan), the son of a domineering father (Samuthirakani), hates studies. His father forces him to study Engineering. Once in college, the hero starts hoodwinking his father in unprecedented ways to make him believe that he is doing well in his studies.
Chakravarthy's indiscipline makes him notorious in the college. He rebels against Boominathan (SJ Suryah), the college's overbearing head of an all-powerful Discipline Committee. The hero sees himself as a college don. A rivalry develops between the two opposing characters.
The rest of the film is about how Chakravarthy finds his true calling while having to contend with his over-strict father at home and Bhoomi at the college.
Analysis:
'College Don', the dubbed version of 'Don' (Tamil), is the kind of film that works despite its flaws. The comedy may not be superlative, but the characterizations, the emotions, and the quirkiness of the proceedings make you root for the story.
New director Cibi Chakravarthy sort of tells the story of an incorrigible lead man who is flawed, wronged, hurt and pampered in equal ways. He carries the burden of abuse, but he has a nice girlfriend who mollifies him. Priyanka Arul Mohan shines in the role of the hero's childhood sweetheart who doesn't always appreciate his ways.
The casting is full of Kollywood actors. Comedian Soori is enjoyable in one of the campus scenes. Radha Ravi doesn't have much to do in the role of the college principal who gives Bhoomi the free hand he needs. Singam Puli, George Mariyaan, Bala Saravanan, Muniskanth, and Kaali Venkat fit the bill.
Sivakarthikeyan headlines the comedy-drama with so much panache. If the tonal shifts of 'College Don' don't call for a suspension of disbelief, it is mainly because of his and other performers. SJ Suryah is turning out to be a delight to watch; like only a few artists, he is capable of easily swinging from looking like a villain to looking like a character we know intimately.
At the same time, Samuthirakani proves his versatility even while looking somewhat stiff. In yesterday's 'Sarkaru Vaari Paata', he played a stock antagonist. In 'College Don', he is a father showing multiple shades.
A major minus is that the film is almost 162 minutes long. The run-time works for the Tamil audience perhaps, but the Telugu version needed to be trimmed down. Also, the comedy doesn't always have you in splits. Considering that the college campus story is a rare, under-explored sub-genre, there was so much potential to go beyond a few obvious ideas.
Verdict:
'College Don' works because of the right balancing of comedy and emotions.
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