Director: R Balki
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Dhanush and Akshara Haasan
Rating: ***
What it's about:
It's a story of a boy Daanish (Dhanush) from Igatpuri, who wants to be an actor. And his dream comes true thanks to Assistant Director Akshara (Akshara Haasan) who finds him talented and decides to help him. She also helps him to find a voice -- a drunk who lives in a cymetry -- Amitabh Sinha (Amitabh Bachchan), who is a bitter man who once wanted to be an aspiring actor. Trouble begins when Danish or Shamitabh becomes a superstar overnight and the egos between them drive them apart. Both want to credit for his stardom.
What's Good:
A brilliant concept by R. Balki who is an unabashed admirer of Amitabh Bachchan. The first half of the film keeps you engrossed and entertainment. Balki draws you in easily and holds your attention through Danish's journey from village to his struggle to superstardom. The real hero of the film is Amitabh Bachchan's voice. Big B has never played a gruff, bitter frustrated man before and he is simply delightful. Dhanush is perfectly cast, and the two actors feed off each other's energies. The relationship between them is always bordering on volatile and that is one of the film's highlights.
What's not:
The film derails post interval. It's almost as if the director didn't know how to take his story forward. Post interval, there are some interesting bits but the film soon begins to drag. Akshara Haasan, who makes her debut in this film should have worked on her dialogue delivery. In this the in-film branding has been taken to a new level. You lose count of the number of times people say Lifebuoy and the jingle is placed. No one has done drunken scenes better then Senior Bachchan, and he has done quite a few in the film. But the Mrs Gomes scene was totally unnecessary. If the Piddly song was meant to be cheeky/funky then it didn't turn out that way. You can see the climax coming and predicting the end ten minutes before the end credits role.
What to do:
For Bachchan fans only
