In what seems like an unwanted political intrusion in an out-and-out formulistic entertainer, Vijay Sethupathi—who has a pivotal role to play in propelling the plot forward—is attacked in a cowshed by goons who accuse him of being a beef carrier.
Well, to be honest, Sethupathi does have quite a beefy role. In fact it’s the most powerfully written secondary part I’ve seen in any recent Rajinikanth starrer. Seethupathi plays Jeetu, a sleazy hitman in Uttar Pradesh who ends up being horribly confused about his parentage. In fact the script turns his parentage into a bit of a savage joke.
But director Karthik Subbaraj knows when to pull back the punches. He lets the 3-hour marathon masala fare roll on like a steamroller that knows exactly how to run its course without plundering any of the tropes in a Rajinikanth starrer. Petta is a film that satiates both the Rajini devotees and the non-devotees. While it harks back to his most famous screen avatars it gives a fresh fecund flavourful twist to every manoeuvre that brings the plot closer to its nemesis.
To begin with Rajini is a boisterous hostel warden who plays Uncle Cupid to a young couple. While aiding the courtship Rajini falls in love with a spiritual hero(Simran, looking lovely).This part of the film is light to the touch, frothy and tantalizing in a cute kind of way.
In the second half the plot simply takes off, creating a badland of bloodshed and retribution where bullets and bombs pelt down in a devastating tale of caste and communal wars. The clannish violence is cannily constructed to highlight Rajinikanth’s stage-capturing image. He has never looked so young in the past decade. He performs the action sequences and the dances with a disarming relish and his character doesn’t shy away from killing the enemies.
It all adds up to a visually rich drama replete with twists and turns that are not only unforeseen but also deftly written to accentuate Rajinikanth’s image. And yes, Nawazuddin Siddiqui makes a formidable adversary . The confrontations between the two leading to a bloodied finale leaves no room for the audiences to exhale.
In Petta Rajini doesn’t allow his swagger to be weighed down by responsibilities. A genuine sense of fun runs through the taut plot. Except for a few stretches where the director seems to lose grip(for instance the early scenes in the hostel are way too flighty ) this tale of a father-figure fighting to save a young boy (Sananth Sethi) from murderous enemies is just what the Rajinikanth image needed at this juncture.
Petta; Starring Rajinikanth, Vijay Sethupathi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui,Simran and Trisha; Written & Directed by Karthik Subbaraj;