Sunday, February 8, 2015

Film Review: SHAMITABH

Dhanu SHAMITABH Bachchan
The film has enough meat to run for maximum 45 minutes, no more!

Venkat was keen on seeing the film immediately on release as Dhanush is an excellent actor. I couldn’t but agree with him and so tagged along on Friday to watch the 10.15 pm show at Cinemax Sion.

THE STORY

Dhanush (Dhanush) is a famous actor in Bollywood and is on his way to receive a prestigious best actor award. As he gives his speech on stage, we get to know his life story in flashback. Dhanush was born mute with a fiery passion to become an actor since childhood. His widowed mother makes and sells bhajias for a living while Dhanush tries to run away from home many times. He finally gets to go to Mumbai when his mother passes away. 

He makes many rounds of film studios only to be thrown out again and again. It’s quite by chance that he meets Akshara (Akshara Haasan) who is an assistant director. He persuades her to give him a chance to act. She’s completely impressed with his skills despite his being unable to speak. But her boss refuses to cast an actor who is a mute. 

She speaks to her father who is a surgeon and they decide to experiment with a new treatment on Dhanush. He travels all the way to Helsinki in Finland where they fit a chip in his throat. Now he can lip sync with the words he can hear through a hearing aid from a person who is connected to him via a wireless device – something in the lines of Blue Tooth. All that is left is for them to find a guy who has a good voice, someone who is ready to remain with Dhanush 24/7. They find Amitabh (Amitabh Bachchan), a drunkard who lives in a graveyard. After much persuasion, Amitabh agrees to become Dhanush’s “voice”. Watch the film to see what happens when the “voice” refuses to co-operate when Amitabh becomes jealous of Dhanush’s success. 

MY PERCEPTION

The film has an excellent storyline with two great actors at the helm. Dhanush is as good as Amitabh Bachchan. The South Indian actor has given an excellent performance as he auditions as a mute. Amazing!

What’s even better was the child actor who has played Dhanush’s role when he’s in school. That kid has given an equally impressive performance. His teacher challenges him to perform a sequence of a kid who’s just lost his mother. You have to see the film to see how well the child acts. A special kudos!

All that said, the film has enough meat to run for maximum 45 minutes. It’s been prolonged to 2 ½ hours with many songs and repeated scenes that were completely unnecessary. Of these, “piddly si batein” is simply absurd and is all about using a loo. Can you believe that the whole song and dance is around a pot? Utter crap! Yeah, the pun too!

Akshara Haasan has a good role and she is alright. She has a very long way to go before she becomes a good actress. 

The end was simply disgusting. I won’t talk about it as I don’t want to give out any spoilers to those who might want to see it despite the review. 

I like a film that inspires or entertains or makes one feel good. This one does none of these things. It definitely is not worth Rs. 230 per ticket that we spent. A waste of good money! 

VERDICT: Watch Shamitabh at your own risk




*Silly
**Shaky
***Smart
****Snazzy 
*****Super 


4 comments:

  1. Oh! It didnt work for you! That's sad!
    This one is getting such mixed reviews.

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    Replies
    1. You said it - mixed indeed. Good story. It would hv made a good short film. Even then I would disliked the end though

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  2. I just hope that Dhanush was too good in the movie. The southie chap.
    Let him make name and fame in entirety.

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    Replies
    1. He was just too good. Thank you for your comment Ajay Pai

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