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ENGLISH => Cine News & Movie Reviews => Topic started by: MysteRy on January 12, 2020, 10:13:52 PM

Title: Darbar
Post by: MysteRy on January 12, 2020, 10:13:52 PM
Darbar Review

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Star Cast : Rajinikanth, Nayanthara, Nivetha Thomas, Sunil Shetty
Director : AR Murugadoss

Director AR Murugadoss, who gave us such smartly packed action thrillers like Ramana, Ghajini and Thuppakki previously, injects Darbar with so many varied influences that it never finds its own distinct identity.

The drug mafia and child trafficking in Mumbai milieu and most of the characters in the film look alien to Tamil audiences. However, it is Superstar Rajinikanth with his body language, swagger, the physical chops, and even that hint of humor which keeps you entertained ( Banu's splendid job with his makeup and the costumes by Niharika Khan & Anu Vardhan deserves a big round of applause)

Aditya Arunachalam (Rajinikanth) is a badass upright commissioner of police in Mumbai who does not go by the rule book. The film begins with various news reports saying Aditya has become mad and his rampage encounter missions continues in the city. When a human rights officer summons him, Aditya threatens her and makes sure that she sends a positive report to her superiors.

Cut to the flashback, we see Aditya dances at a party with her daughter Valli (Nivetha Thomas). His superiors ask him to clean the Mumbai city as the reports on child trafficking, illegal drug deals and other nefarious activities are on the rise. Aditya nabs the young drug mafia head Ajay Malhotra (Prateik Babbar) and he is put in Nasik jail.

But during a random inspection, Aditya finds that a proxy has replaced Ajay in the prison. In a neatly sketched operation, Aditya kills Ajay and there comes the twist as  he is the son of the most wanted international criminal Hari Chopra (Suniel Shetty) who killed several cops by burning them in a staged fire accident. Now, the cat and mouse game begins between Hari and Aditya.. In a planned car accident, Aditya loses his daughter Valli and now he is on a revenge spree.

The first half of the film is quite enjoyable due to the style and swag of Rajinikanth. The scene where Aditya brilliantly kills Ajay provides a perfect intermission point.  But the second half is a huge let-down  with shoddy sets and innumerable shoot-outs. The villains are all caricatures and the rushed climax fight is a big disappointment. Nayanthara has precious little to do, but carries her small role with grace and dignity. Nivetha Thomas has some fine moments and she has done her part with dedication. 

For a large portion of Darbar, you don’t know where things are going… and then it all stretches on so needlessly that you stop caring. It has glaring loopholes that are embarrassing. Like the scene when doctors tell a grievously injured Valli that she has a brain hemorrhage and what we see next is that the girl roams around the hospital spending time with her dad in bed and recording video on her phone!!

The action in the film is choreographed slickly, but you can’t help feeling a tad let down. In these days of visceral fight scenes and breathless chases that you’re accustomed to seeing in the Bourne, Bond and Mission Impossible movies, the editing of the action sequences here never allows you to take in the repercussions of the violence.

Technically, there is nothing much to rave about Santosh Sivan's work in the film. Anirudh's Chumma Kizhi and Thani Vazhi are hummable. Editor Sreekar Prasad should have ideally chopped off the wedding song and few scenes to make it crisp. On the whole, Darbar is an average cop action entertainer packed to satisfy the appetite of the die-hard fans of Thalaivar.