Petta - A full on Thalaivar ride

Rajini films were always celebrated for the star’s trademark antics and unmatchable charisma. Anyway, since Lingaa bombed at the box office despite being helmed by Rajini’ s favourite director K.S Ravikumar, the darling of the masses has been trying to reinvent his image by collaborating with young talented directors. Kabali and Kaala featured Rajini playing characters of his age after a long time. Both directed by Pa. Ranjith, were met with underwhelming responses from critics and audiences alike. His next film was Shankar’ s 2.0, the sequel to tamil cinema’s biggest blockbuster ‘Enthiran’. Even though it was a  moderate commercial success upon release and gathered favourable reviews, thalaivar fans still didn’t get their fill. So when Karthik Subbaraj, a self proclaimed Rajinikanth fanatic himself, announced ‘Petta’ with Rajini in the lead, expectations skyrocketed. Before release, the fan boy director had said several times that Petta would be a proper Thalaivar film. After watching the film, one would definitely agree with Karthik Subbaraj because Petta hits the target and presents Rajini in all his glory.

The film begins with a fight scene where the hero rises up and incapacitates the enemies almost instantly after being knocked down from the back. He then chants 'Naan veezhven endru ninaith aayo?' straight to the camera meaning 'Did you think I would fall?, for which the crowd roars with applause. The line teases the recent setback in his career. Rajini plays the role of Kaali, a joyous college hostel warden with a painful past. The actor lends an inimitable exuberance to the character and also exhibits terrific comic timing. Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Singar Singh aka Singaram was a less menacing villain than expected. Only a few scenes bring out his true potential, yet they are adequate. Vijay Sethupathi as Jithu has admirable screen presence that help him escape from being sidelined on combination scenes with Rajini. His perfect Hindi accent adds to the performance on certain scenes set in Uttar Pradesh. It was heartwarming to watch Simran back on the screen after a long time. On her first time opposite Rajinikanth as the pair, the chemistry between them has worked out really well. Sasikumar and Trisha appear in pivotal roles in the flashback portion, but the latter fails to make a lasting impact. 

Anirudh hits the bulls-eye in churning out some memorable songs. The background score is equally appealing and succeeds in elevating the impact of the scenes to a whole new level. Action choreography by Peter Hein is solid and one of the major pluses of the film. Rajini’ s effort in making the fight scenes convincing is evident, especially when he shows off his nunchaku skills. Kaali’ s martial arts background is subtly revealed in the story, adding more authenticity to the stunt sequences. The cinematography, like all other aspects of the film is intended to showcase the larger than life image of the star. Munishkanth provides comic relief as Chittu, accompanying the lead man throughout the first half. Guru Somasundaram as Kaali’ s old friend is impressive regardless of the minimal screen time. All other actors including Manikandan Achari, Malavika Mohanan and Aadukalam Naren have given decent performances.

Above all, one can see Rajinikanth back in his elements. From the vintage title card to the much missed cigarette flipping, Petta has everything a rajini fan would die for. And for fans of Karthik Subbaraj, it becomes a full fledged gangster revenge drama in the second half. The ending is another major highlight of the film, where the director shines yet again. Petta is a comeback vehicle for the superstar which is surprisingly realistic and  ‘Rajini’ at the same time.