One of the most awaited, talked about and aggressively promoted film (with it’s every poster/teaser), KGF (Kolar Gold Fields) directed by Prashanth Neel features Yash in the lead and has been released in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi all over eyeing at a wider audience.
However as a film, raising huge expectations among the viewers, it comes up as an unexpectedly weak project which strictly caters to a particular section of viewers and the end-result completely depends upon what you really look for in a film or what you remain more interested in as an individual movie lover.
Giving you the clear picture, if you are a strong follower of typical display of heroism in our cinema with a lot of slow motion action and many well-conceived but loud, over the top fight sequences, completely focusing on a larger than life hero fighting with the evil villains, then KGF should surely work for you.
Plus if you are more interested in the technical part of a project – in its cinematography, lighting, the lavish sets, art-direction, costumes, colour-tone/grading, background score, editing and shot taking to be precise, irrespective of its storyline or content then also KGF should certainly work for you hitting a great score in these particular departments.
On the other hand, if you are always looking for some fresh content in films, a new story plot or innovative logical script bringing forward a subject rarely tackled before on screen, then KGF will be a huge disappointment as the film has nothing of that sort in the name of content, being the first chapter of a two part series to be honest.
As a film going back and forth in time beginning from 1951 reaching the 80s and the present, it’s once again the same tale of an energetic young boy wishing to rule the city as a don, who becomes an influential gangster later in his prime time. The film showcases his journey narrated by a novelist (Anant Nag), whose novel has been banned by the then govt authorities and the very first sequence has the Indian woman prime minister signing an official order to get rid of a wanted criminal.
Putting it differently, KGF only works in its technical excellence and performances led by the sincere Yash (as Rocky), who puts his body and soul into the character as required. The ensemble cast also plays its parts well in the specific sequences depicting various eras but the film falters a lot in its writing department and the more important story progression that doesnt engage the viewers post the initial moments. For instance, almost every other scene reminds you of a similar Hindi film beginning from DEEWAR dealing with Mumbai underworld. And there is nothing unpredictable in the screenplay with only the premise of a Gold mine being there in the name of novelty.
The writer-director take their evident inspirations from films such as BAHUBALI, MAD-MAX: Fury Road and more. Plus every introduction of the evil characters strongly reminded me of the similar treatment seen in many Ram Gopal Varma films in the past. Bowing down to the commercial demand of a Hindi film, it goes on adding another unrequired remake of a hit track of the 90s and I really doubt any such kind of insertion is there in the original and the version in other languages.
Also the film lacks the required emotional depth in such underdog movies as it keeps intentionally stressing on the grandeur, presentation, image building of the hero and excellent action sequences ignoring everything else. For example, where the romantic angle doesn’t appear to be romantic at all, the kids shown in the Gold mines simply look like a big mismatch with the otherwise tense situation around. Moreover their given dialogues (with repetitions) also do not work in any manner.
Frankly cannot say if the director has purposefully saved something extraordinary and surprising as content for his second part of the series. But if he has done so, then that is beyond my understanding, since it has to be the first part which should ideally impress a lot forcing you to wait and expect more from the concluding sequel....... exactly like we experienced in the recent BAHUBALI series.
Anyway would still wait for the Chapter Two as KGF does have its merits though in only the technical department. So you can easily make your choice as per your individual liking and preferences as mentioned in the beginning. But in case you decide to watch, then do watch it in the theater and not on any 5 to 15 inch screen, ruining your own experience of enjoying its praiseworthy technical excellence.
Rating : 2 / 5
