Directed by Karthik Subbaraj, a self-confessed fan of the icon, PETTA (meaning locality/area) is a gift to all the die-hard fans of Rajinikanth, following him since the super hits of the 90s which in turn made the actor into a mega-star. And one unique feature of this new release of the year 2019 is that this time we have a second Rajini movie releasing at a very short span of time, when his last 2.0 is still playing in the theaters.
A simple, routine story of revenge by a middle aged hostel warden from a politician and his mobster son, PETTA takes a pretty long time to come to its actual plot and till then uses the fight sequences to keep you engrossed and entertained. However the real action begins before the intermission, as soon as we get into the flashback meeting an even younger Rajinikanth (like travelling through a time-machine) and it’s really mind-boggling how the actor and his directors manage to do that in the present when he is around 70.
Basically re-inventing the superstar from his biggest hits, PETTA completely follows the typical formula and thus would more appeal to the viewers who have actually seen the icon in his prime time. To give you an idea, this has everything Rajini is known for, like a throwback, featuring all his famous trademark actions giving you a fairly good time watching him in action. The cinematography excels, background score is specifically designed to lift up the fight sequences and average songs are as usual there as a necessity. Among the girls, though both Simran and Trisha don’t get much to do, Trisha still makes her presence felt in a brief role. Plus the director does make a political comment too showing the hooligans disrupting a Valentine’s Day program harassing the young couples.
So if you are just interested in watching Rajinikanth back on screen in his old form like a young dynamic hero, then PETTA would surely work for you, but in case you are looking for something new and fresh in the content and execution, then this has nothing of that sort in its kitty. Moreover the biggest disappointment is the way two well-known actors Vijay Sethupathi and Nawazuddin Siddiqui are wasted in the film doing the routine things. Particularly its painful to watch Vijay not being given anything substantial to do in the film (other than being part of the big twist) killing a great opportunity.
No doubt, featuring in a Rajinikanth film is an achievement of its kind for every actor in India. But it really hurts when an explosive possibility gets simply ruined underutilizing an actor like Vijay in a Rajini film, who actually was one of the biggest USPs of PETTA apart from the superstar.
Anyway, as mentioned before, if you are a die-hard fan then PETTA is just for you and you are sure going to enjoy it on the bigger screen. But how I wish, the film had something novel to offer in its content too.
Rating : 2.5 / 5 (with the additional brownie points just for the way they transform Rajinikanth into a young man so unbelievably)
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PETTA (Tamil/Hindi) Review by Bobby Sing at bobbytalkscinema.com, New Tamil Movies Reviews by Bobby Sing, New Rajinikanth film review by Bobby Sing, New Hinid Movies Reviews by Bobby Sing
