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Saturday, February 7, 2015

Shamitabh

Was eagerly waiting for this movie to get released. There was something in the trailers which seemed to uphold the promise of being different. And it was!
The movie starts with Dhanush on stage speaking about 'Lifebouy', his first movie. When he starts speaking, you are startled to hear the familiar baritone from Dhanush's lips...that of Amitabh Bachchan. This opening quickly unravels the mystery by taking you back to Dhanush's childhood where he was declared born mute, yet how he nurtures his dream of becoming a hero. His mother has to pretend to be sick to stop him from running away to Mumbai.
There is an indirect tribute to Dhanush's father-in-law of real life, Rajnikant, with his brief role as a bus conductor and to the unique style of flicking the cigarette. But this was done in a cute way with Phantom cigarettes (the sweet sugar candies)  which we remember from our childhood.


Dhanush is, of course, ridiculed when he eventually lands in Mumabi to become a hero... till he meets Akshara Hassan, an assistant director. She believes in his dreams and his ability. She takes the help of her father, a doctor, to equip him with the ability of projecting his voice. Now, the challenge is to find that voice which Dhanush believes would suit him. Many voice auditions fail to impress Danush and Akshara. On the verge of giving up, they find a drunken Amitabh lying on the road side, ranting loudly. Stuck by this voice, they follow him to his home and get him to enter into a confidentiality agreement. Thus born is, SHAMITABH-- the combination of  'Sh' from Dhanush's name and the 'Amitabh'  of Amitabh's name. The lethal combination of  the voice and acting creates waves across the industry. The success, obviously, creates ego clashes and the movie is about how these ego clashes are handled . Akshara is the key that holds these two (super stars in their own way) together.
Cannot write more than this without revealing the whole story. The comic moments in the movie were greatly pulled off by Amitabh's voice and Dhanush's acting. You are caught off-guard when these moments suddenly steal upon you.
Balki, the director, has told a great story, keeping you riveted throughout, yet, the movie could have been shorn by at least 15 minutes to keep it crisp. Even a Balki couldn't resist a couple of (unnecessary) product placements.
Go watch this nicely made movie. The hero of the movie is Amitabh's voice, his acting and, of course, Dhaunsh's and Akshara's acting. Akshara, a great debut.
My rating : 3.5/5