'Darbar', starring Superstar Rajinikanth in the lead, hit the screens this Thursday.  Here we present its review.

Story:

Aaditya Arunachalam (Rajinikanth), the Mumbai commissioner of police, is on a gangster-killing spree in order to eliminate the drug menace in the city. He also wants to trace someone mysterious.  Cut to the flashback and we get to know that Aaditya's face-off with the deadly gang lord Hari Chopra (Suneil Shetty) was a tumultuous affair.

Can Aaditya successfully trace Hari Chopra and eliminate him?  What happened to his daughter Valli (Nivetha Thomas)?  Can he pluck out the drug menace from Mumbai and become a hero in the eyes of the masses?  That's what the film is about.

Analysis:

Writer-director AR Murugadoss (who has also written the story, screenplay and dialogue, too) tries something interesting here.  He doesn't hurry through the introduction of the chief antagonist.  Instead, he makes him run the show behind the curtains and sort of overwhelm the protagonist.  When Rajinikanth is played, can the Superstar within him keep quiet?  He can't.  He will rage.  And that's where the drama thickens.  

Rajini's character might seem conventional on the surface.  But it's not.  Take for example how Aaditya Arunachalam is portrayed as a mercurial enfant terrible who can scare even a Human Rights Commission member.  At times, he is impulsive and can get too many killings done because he has got no patience.  

The first half establishes the bad cop in the protagonist quite well, ably presenting the sequences that lead to his conflict with the main antagonist. Superstar's stylish, energetic looks and screen presence hold the proceedings together, and though the romance track appears as a diversion, Yogi Babu's one-liners generate laughs.  Nayanthara is drop-dead gorgeous and there are no two ways about it.  Even when she has not got much to do in the film, the 'Sye Raa' actress somehow manages to steal your heart.  

The second half starts with the villain drawing his first revenge and from then on, the film offers a mix of drama, emotions and more action.  The song-fight episode involving Rajini, Nivetha Thomas, the transgenders and the goons is one of the best massy moments in recent times.  The action choreography by the Ram-Lakshman duo takes the cake.  

Rajnikanth is energetic and has a magnetic screen presence. Be it his bonding with Nivetha or the massy moments, he excels with his exuberance.  He brings the kind of charm he exuded in 'Peta' and tries to go beyond. Yogi Babu entertains and guarantees laughs with his one-liners and respectfully trolls the Superstar's inability to confess love. Prateik Babbar, Dalip Tahil, Nawab Shah are adequate.  Some of these couldn't have been caricatures.  

The background score by Anirudh is impressive with the perfect usage of the Superstar theme.  The cinematography by Santosh Sivan is top-notch, capturing the action mass sequences and the stylish Rajini in all glory. Editing by Sreekar Prasad could have been better.  At about 159 minutes, the film could have afforded some trimming.  

The second half could have offered many more fireworks.  The climax fight should have been smart.  In deploying the cop-versus-gangster trope, Murugadoss depends too much on Rajnikanth's unmatched grace and charisma.  The father-daughter sentiment track could have been more spectacular.  With Suniel Shetty's not-so-strong characterization, the film does falter here and there in the second half.

Verdict:

'Darbar' is a true-blue mass-masala entertainer.  There are larger-than-life fights, Rajini's charismatic presence and stylish deliveries, a gangster who is too ruthless, a doting daughter and more.  This one gives a complete treat for Rajini's legions of fans.

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