Rajinikanth's much hyped film fails to live up to the expectations!

‘Kathanayakudu’ is a remake of the hit Malayalam film ‘Katha Parayambol’ a modern take on the Krishna-Sudama story, with an obvious twist. It could have been a simple and unsophisticated story with a touching theme of friendship. But what it ends up is being raw, loud and missing all that little moments that the movie needs. While the title has been chosen keeping the Super Star status of Rajnikanth and his crowd pulling capacity, the film is essentially about Jagapathi Babu.

Something similar to a debate from ‘A film by Arvind’, in one of the scenes from the film, Rajnikanth meditates on who really a Super Star is - is it the individual or the individuals who write the script and the characters. Rajnikanth gives the credit to all his writers who worked with him and hails them as the real Super Stars. At another point in the film, Rajnikanth says that if the story is not good, then even the Super Star cannot save it. Unfortunately, the Super Star does not succeed in striking a chord with the audience with ‘Kathanayakudu’. The film absolutely lacks believability, and the makers look in to pull off some extra gags by painfully injecting re-enactments from Rajni’s best box-office blockbusters like ‘Narsimha’, ‘Chandramukhi’, and so on. Apparently, these scenes are for their sequels, which makes one wonder how many movies is the Super Star shooting for or is it a film titled ‘Best-of-Rajni’?

Nayantara sizzles in the same i-really-wanna-be-a-bad-girl mood. Meena is just about ok in a brief role. Mamta Mohandas clearly is in the pits of her career to have accepted such a blink and miss role which only lasts for a couple of shots! Prabhu is painfully obese. In fact, our Union Minister for Health A. Ramdoss can use Prabhu for a National Public Health Campaign to show how one will eventually look like with a junkie-sedentary lifestyle. Rajnikanth is his usual self. Poor chap, what could he do having being caught with his own philosphy? With no story, even the superstar can do nothing! The saving grace of the film is Jagapathi Babu who comes up with a brilliant performance.

The director, who had earlier made ‘Chandramukhi’ is completely out of form here. Moved by the original, he has quickly roped in Rajnikanth and shot a hotch-potch film that doesn’t even fit with the theme or the concept of the story! Yes, there will be tears at the end, but that is only because Rajnikanth sheds tears in a well enacted emotional scene. The friendship connection and depth in the screenplay is missing even as the Director is totally out of ideas as to how-to-show Rajnikanth in a new and innovative style - Zorro, 007, Pharoh etc… I didn’t even understand why that irrelevant solo-song in the rain with Nayantara in a skimpy two piece? Didn’t the Director have the confidence in his film and even the Super Star Rajnikanth that he felt he needed a wet and gyrating Nayantara to pull in the crowds?!? The only person who would have enjoyed this song would be the cameraman who was all over Nayantara’s body. The writing is mediocre. The music is just about ok. The village set looks very artificial. It is supposed to be an Indian village but it looks more like a set from a cowboy film in Hollywood!

This movie had all the potential to be simple and beautiful but Rajinikanth’s much hyped ‘Kathanayakudu’ fails to live up to the expectations. Let's hope for Shahrukh Khan's sake his ‘Billoo Barber’ turns out to be a more purposeful and entertaining film.