Sivaji is …p.v.

By Patrick Joseph

OK, let’s cut the crap, and cut to the chase, for you. Sivaji is …paisa vasool, machan! If I have said it once, I have said it a hundred times, it’s p.v. But whether it’s going to match up to all the hype, and create box office record, the truth is still not whistling in the wind, so keep your fingers crossed.

Rajni in the title role as Sivaji (what else dya expect) is a warrior waging a war, not against any ideology or establishment, but against the corrupt, the hoarders and holders of black money. A NRI computer engineer, he returns from the US to India, with dreams of starting colleges and hospitals for the poor. His dreams of doing something concrete and permanent to the unwashed masses of India faces massive roadblocks in the form of powerful and well entrenched big business tycoons, symbolized by Adiseshan, played by the still handsome and suave looking Suman. The elected representatives and big business gang up together and thwart Sivaji’s dreams from coming true. An idealist, Sivaji baulks at greasing the palms of government officials but is forced to do what he hates, thinking that he is the price he has to pay for realizing his life’s mission.

The story then takes off from here to show how a well-meaning individual is defeated by the combined forces of the ubiquitous system. The law of the land comes in handy for the forces arraigned against Sivaji, and eventually, he loses all his wealth and finds himself in the streets, penniless and hopeless.

How he recovers from his position of Ground Zero and emerges triumphant as The Boss, forms the crux of the second half. While you see him in all kinds of weird hairdos, it is the tonsured head style of his that is certain to appeal to the youth. Somewhat lack luster in the first half, Rajni comes in to his own in the second half, breathing a lot of energy into his role. As for others, Vivek with his one-liners, is a scream. Shankar’s direction is racy, while Rehman’s music is alternately soothing and trendy. Especially hummable is the melodious Sahara Saran number. Art director Thotta Tharani’s sets are stunning and perfectly complements some scintillating camera work by KV Anand.

Don’t go by the hype, and you will love every bit of it.