
Genre: Drama
Release Date: 31st March, 2017
Cast: Rahul Bose, Aditi Inamdar, S. Mariya, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Heeba Shah, Harshavardhan, Arif Zakaria, Gyanendra Tripathi
Writer/Director: Rahul Bose
Producer/s: Rahul Bose
Plot:
Thalaivii Movie Review Rating:
Star Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Arvind Swami, Nassar, Bhagyashree, Raj Arjun, Poorna
Director: A. L. Vijay
Runtime: 153 minutes
What’s Good: A flourishing acting department
What’s Bad: A flourishing acting department getting choked by the limitations of what’s shown & what’s skipped
Loo Break: It’s 150 minutes & if you make it quick you’ll be back on the same Rajat Arora dialogue you left
Watch or Not?: Want to watch Kangana Ranaut’s good acting? Watch this. Want to watch Kangana Ranaut’s good acting backed by a good story? Watch Queen!
User Rating:
The story depicts the journey of J. Jayalalithaa (played by Kangana Ranaut), from making a mark as a no-nonsense actress to the most important person for millions in her entire state. Makers hint they’re taking a controversial route when they start the film with the scene of Jayalalithaa (fondly known as Amma to many) getting manhandled in the parliament, but it’s all ‘ruko zara, sabar karo’ moment since then.
It all proceeds with the transformation of turning Jayalalithaa into Amma. Despite the stance of ‘I hate politics’ Jaya gets into it solely to support her reel-life hero M. G. Ramachandran aka MGR (Arvind Swami). The remaining story is all about her rise and shine to be Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister. How does all of this reflect her relationship with MGR? Will she be able to manage together & much more such questions are answered in the second half.
Thalaivii Movie Review: Script Analysis
I just wish one day I wake up to Bollywood finally making worthy biopics, hence the review ends here because I’m sleeping as today’s not that day. Such an epic tale of a legendary person is yet again narrowed down to be a predictable puzzle made by some extremely convenient pieces.
The more you watch what you’re been served by K. V. Vijayendra Prasad’s story, the more you think of the things which never come to your plate. It ends at a point that restricts the story to cover a plethora of interesting things like her much-controversial jail term, her real rise & fall in the world of politics, her bond with Sasikala, facing MGR’s widow V. N. Janaki.
Even in its current version, Thalaivii is a compilation of few heroic sequences but they aren’t enough to hold your intrigue. Vishal Vittal’s camerawork does boost the already designed grandiose by K. V. Vijayendra Prasad‘s screenplay. Did this film even require Rajat Arora’s soul-deafening dialogues? I thought Anthony & Ballu Saluja’s editing would get the majority of the blame for the mess but Arora’s dialogues took me back to ‘Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai’, the sequel and trust me it’s not a good place to be at.
The first half is dedicated to the actress in Jayalalithaa, second is for the politician in her but none of them justifies the 150-minute runtime. I had no problem with the length (that’s what she said) being a ‘journey’ story, the problem starts when you start expecting it not to follow the same B-town biopics’ route.
Thalaivii Movie Review: Star Performance
It shows why Kangana Ranaut was an ultimate choice for this one when certain scenes force you to believe it’s her biopic. She’s so natural on-screen, you won’t believe it if she’s playing some other character. Through a commendable change in accents, looks, and physical attributes of a single character, this is a one Kan(gana) show.
Arvind Swami as MGR gets the most difficult job of bottling in the charm, aura of yet another legendary artist in front of a person on whom the film is based. Though dependent a lot on Jayalalithaa’s character, Arvind helps MGR’s character to find his own ground. Nassar as Karunanidhi is a spot-on casting decision but wasted materially.
Bhagyashree looks stunning as Jayalalithaa’s mother nailing her ‘tell me you’re an actress without telling me you’re an actress’ role. Raj Arjun, the surprise package of Secret Superstar still holds the secret to how to stand out amid brilliant performances. He shines bright as MGR’s ‘cold-hearted lieutenant’ R. M. Veerappan. Poorna as Sasikala gets no scope due to her limited screen presence.
Rating: 2.5/5 Stars (Two and half stars)
Star Cast: Rahul Bose, Aditi Inamdar, S. Mariya, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Heeba Shah, Harshavardhan, Arif Zakaria, Gyanendra Tripathi
Director: Rahul Bose
What’s Good: Rahul Bose’s attempt at bringing forth a story that many of us don’t know must be lauded.
What’s Bad: How archaic the film’s presentation gets is slightly annoying. This underdog story never manages to rise above its potential.
Loo Break: Yes! You could use a few.
Watch or Not?: At best, Poorna should have been a short film that tells us an inspiring story. As a feature film that Bose probably wanted to taste commercial success too, it fails to balance out on the realism and drama, hence not a must-watch.
User Rating:
IPS officer Pravin Kumar (Rahul Bose) voluntarily takes up a non-uniform job in Public Welfare department in Telangana. He is assigned to examine the status of state run schools, who are grappling with high drop-out rates for girls in the age group of 12-13. It is here that he comes across Poorna (Aditi Inamdar) who on insistance of her cousin sister, Priya (S Mariya) is enrolled to a state run school that shelters children and also provides them mid day meals. Priya is forced into a marriage by her parents but manages to convince Poorna’s parents to let her continue education.
While at the new school, Poorna gets new friends and in an extracurricular activity event, discovers her talent for rock climbing. This talent is further nurtured by Praveen who sends her and a fellow student to train for more and is further enrolled for a Mt Everest camp.
While on her expedition, Poorna catches high fever. Will she be able to complete the mission is what is left to see.
Poorna Review: Script Analysis
Poorna‘s story is certainly jaw-dropping. How many 13 year old underprivileged girls you know have the talent and will to climb the Mt Everest without any fear? Yes, it is inspiring in many ways and that’s where the film score good. It is a story that needs to be heard. In 2014, Poorna Malavath achieved this task of being the youngest woman in history to scale the Everest. Why it is important is because of the circumstances she rose from. The mix of Hindi and Telugu in dialogues works well for the story’s setting.
Where the film’s script mainly hits the right notes is how cleverly it showcases the role of bureaucracy. When Praveen Kumar, a public welfare sector officer, has a meal with the children, he realizes what are the problems they are facing. Where is the mid day meal money going is what bureaucrats like him need to ask.
Where the story lets you down is making it extremely formulaic. The hint of realism is lost in scenes where the writers desperately want you to pity and empathize with Poorna and those at her level. Weren’t we supposed to feel proud rather than pity her? Particularly, in the second half, the film drops with emotional turmoil of death and further, a very Bollywoodish sentimental letter that forces Poorna to take the expedition just when she is contemplating it. It exactly suffers like Mary Kom in this case.
Poorna Review: Star Performance
Aditi Inamdar as Poorna gives a good performance and is convincing enough as a scared yet strong willed Poorna.
Rahul Bose who directs the film as well as acts in it, is seen as the IPS officer Praveen Kumar. He pulls off his act well, except the uncomfortable Telugu that he speaks.
S Mariya as Poorna’s cousin Priya does a fabulous job. She has a powerful screen presence.