Stars:- Rajnikanth,Anushka Shetty,Sonakshi Sinha
Time-175 Minutes
Director-K.S Ravikumar
Ratings- 4.3/5
Lingaa by KS Ravikumar claims to star Rajinikanth in a double role. That of Lingaa a super clever thief and his grandfather, Raja Lingeswaran. But the overpowering presence is that of Rajinikanth himself in the third role. There are so many references to Rajini the person that the real and reel are never quite separated.
The politically loaded dialogues are in abundance. They reflect his position vis-a-vis politics as well. Santhanam who plays the younger Lingaa's sidekick says "even if you say no, the people won't leave you." Anushka Shetty who plays Rajini's love interest suggests he could go all the way to Parliament. The message is clear. Rajini has not made up his mind on whether or not to enter politics but the people have made up their mind about him. And that the day he says yes, PM or CM post is his for the asking.
That apart, the story of Lingaa is simple. So simple that whoever filed a case claiming theft of his script must be deluding himself on originality. The story is of Raja Lingeswaran who sacrifices everything he has to build a dam for the sake of his subjects. He runs into a dispute with the British in this tale set in 1939. Sonakshi Sinha plays his love interest.
A temple that the king builds is shut down and can't be opened by anyone but his DNA. Hence Anushka who plays an intrepid reporter is assigned the job of getting the younger Lingaa into the plot.
With Rajini in almost every scene, it is paisa vasool for his fans. But at 175 minutes, the film drags in the middle portion and could have done with some deft editing. The film suffers from the lack of a strong and powerful antagonist, a la Ramakrishna in Padayappa or Suman in Sivaji. Telugu actor Jagapathi Babu is an apology of a villain.
Music by A R Rahman is a letdown. Except for the 'indianne' score sung by AR himself, rest of the music is disappointing. For the Rajini-Rahman team that gave hit music in Sivaji, Enthiran, this film doesn't match up.
But where the film scores in is having Rajini as the hero. It relies on the time-tested template of making the film ride on his shoulders. The make up has made him look atleast 15 years younger and cinematography and action sequences are a treat.
There is however no chemistry between Rajini and his two heroines. Perhaps that's why almost as a disclaimer he had said at the Telugu audio function that he found it tough to dance with heroines his daughters' age.
Watch it if you are a Rajini fan. Even as a masala commercial, Lingaa entertains.
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