Rowdy Rathore

So the hero goes something like “Chinta ta ta chita chita” and does a unique dance step with just his hands as he beats a table top with rhythm. Do the words mean anything? Does the step mean anything? Does the mindless grin on the hero’s face mean anything? No. It’s all a big charade. It’s an attempt to give a larger-than-life character a signature move that throughout the film defines his wit and verve. This formula to create masala is a bit indulgent. But when it’s catalyst, in this case Akshay Kumar, reacts with such conviction the end result is simply sinful.  

Rowdy Rathore is a film designed to draw reactions. Those in love with Bollywood masala and/or Salman Khan Brand of cinema will probably clap at every one liner. Connoisseurs of cinema will probably tear their hair out. Either way the film will draw a reaction.

 

Like any over-the-top movie, Rowdy Rathore idolises it’s hero from the very first frame. In this case Akshay Kumar or Vikram Rathore is introduced first as a dead policeman and then a street smart thug who has a very funny way of duping people. There’s a reason the narrative creates a mysterious plot around the identity of the hero. At the crucial moment it reveals the truth and tries to take the viewer off guard. In a very cheesy way the film succeeds in doing so. The film also succeeds in differentiating its good guys from its bad guys. The baddie, a tyrant mobster in a Bihar town, doesn’t have grey shades. He’s purely black in every sense of the word. So are his herculean brother and all his henchmen.

Director Prabhudeva does a fantastic job at delivering a film that is unabashedly masala. Mind you, at no point does the film, its characters or its makers take themselves seriously. The end result is you can laugh with the film and you laugh at the film without remorse. But watch out for the choreography and visual setup of the dance numbers. Prabhudeva displays a seminal vision as the dances and their corresponding visuals seem straight out of a Kubrick film.

Moving to the real deal and the reason why Rowdy Rathore succeeds in its attempt to entertain. Akshay Kumar is brilliant. He displays a voracious appetite for action, comedy and heightened melodrama. If he continues to do this he’ll be the next Rajnikanth. Sonakshi Sinha in a role not too longer than her last outing in Dabangg manages to leave a healthy impression. Especially fantastic is her sublime seduction.

So should you watch Rowdy Rathore? Of course. It’s two-and-a-half hours of relentless comedy, action and drama. Most of it requires clinical skills of suspension of disbelief. But believe you me, in the end it’s well worth the effort.