Superstar (Noun) - an extremely famous and successful performer
Synonyms - Rajinikanth, Thalaivar, Kaali, Petta
Karthik Subbaraj's 5th directorial Petta is his most commercial film yet. Still he manages to retain his Midas touch throughout the film, with massive twists and surprises every now and then. The film can be easily divided into 2 parts. The first half belongs to Rajinikanth the Superstar, with little Karthik Subbaraj moments. Whereas, the second half belongs to the 'Thalaivar Fan' with Rajini moments.
The director must be praised for putting together a dream cast like this. Even more surprising is the fact that all of them have performed their best and stand out in their respective scenes. Simran, Trisha, Sasikumar, Bobby Simha, Munishkanth, and Guru Somasundaram deserve a special mention. It takes a lot of effort to act, and even more effort to make it effortless. The actors fall under the latter category. Even though Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Vijay Sethupathi deliver memorable performances, the film leaves us wanting more of them.
Petta is a Rajini fan's delight, as we witness a lot of scenes that remind us of the Superstar from the 90's. There are scenes where he flicks his hair, flips a cigarette, dances to a Kuthu number and what not. A separate thesis can be written on how the man manages to enthrall us in every way possible. As cliched as it may sound, we cannot take our eyes off the Superstar. There is a certain aura about him that breakes the 4th wall and hits us.
In fact, the film by itself has a lot of meta scenes, most of which works. Karthik Subbaraj once again uses Ilayaraja's music extensively. For example, the movie opens with the song 'Andha Naal Mudhal, Indha Naal varai', we get to listen to En Iniya Pon Nilave, and other Ilayaraja hits. The best part is, it all complements the scene well. Despite scenes working well separately, a set of audience can find the story to be less engaging in the second half, partially due to the history that Karthik Subbaraj carries.
Anirudh looks like a man who has been on a penance to work for a Thalaivar movie. He has unleashed every trick in his bag, leaving us with a terrific score. The popularity of the songs aid the film, but a couple of dance sequences creates a lag.
With a run time of close to 3 hours, it could have been shorter by a few minutes. The portions involving Rajini and Simran look as beautiful as the latter.
Petta is also technically strong, with Kunal Rajan's sound design and Vivek Harshan's edits hogging the limelight. Thirunavukarasu's usage of the blue color in the hill station scenes actually makes you feel cold, and the yellow tone used in the mass scenes look delightful and majestic at the same time.
We can safely say this is one of the most memorable Rajini films we've got. The film opens with a card: INSPIRED BY, PERFORMED BY, AND DEDICATED TO RAJINIKANTH. You can't agree more, and that's what the film is all about.