Since am a die hard fan of Superstar Rajinikanth, i dont want to review Darbar as a regular film. Hence gonna restrict my thoughts on what i liked and did not. Another Thalaivar movie and another opportunity for the fans to celebrate and experience the Rajinism in theatre.... Unfortunately I was stuck up in Mumbai and could not experience the film in Chennai. Have heard a lot about Aurora talkies in Mumbai and the early morning shows, but i could not get a ticket. Hence had to watch the film at PVR. It was not a full show but the crowd did create some noise to make it worthwhile. AR Murugadoss is one director who knows how to handle mass films with a unique concept and present it in such a way that it reaches all classes. But when he joins with Superstar for a film, it's understandable that any director will wonder how to satisfy his fan base. Darbar supercedes that expectation and that's where the problem is. Positives
Superstar and his screen presence. Leave the makeup etc...but at the age of 70, hardly few actors in the world can entertain the audience to this extent through Comedy, Action, Sentiment, Dance, Swag and what not. The two long scenes - one in the beginning where Aaditya Arunachalam (Rajinikanth) uses three kidnapped girls to unearth a huge racket and later towards the interval, where he hunts the main accused Ajay Malhotra (Prateek Babbar) is a Murugadoss Special. The father - daughter relationship is very unique and presented well. Nivetha Thomas rocks the role here. I wouldn't be wrong to call her the heroine of the film. Sentiment has never been Murugadoss's strenght but he does it well here. Railway station fight - though it was exaggerated (yeah its a sin to talk about exaggeration in a thalaivar film, but still), reminded us of vintage Rajini and that dance with transgenders is an added bonus. Scenes with Nayanthara and Yogibabu are written just to increase the film length, but it was enjoyable. Intro song and the romantic one are shot well. Negatives
Weakly crafted scenes in the second half towards the end spoil the show.
Sunil Shetty does what he can do but is never a match for Superstar. I think from next film, Rajini has to do the villain role himself.
Not sure why the film was set in Mumbai, it could have very well been Chennai. Just because it was Mumbai, we have a huge starcast of villains and businessmen in suits looking like mannequins without any expression. Imagine it was chennai and had a strong villain like Prakash Raj atleast?
BGM by Aniruddh was disappointing. While he has tried to recreate the 'Annamalai' score, it just does not sync to the subject.
Santosh Sivan is the cinematographer. Yes, believe me. Am still searching for the Santosh Sivan who did Thalapathy, Roja etc.
Some scenes were presented so badly like the one in the hospital where Aditya falls sick (it was funny actually). The climax fight being another one. Like Thupakki, looks like Murugadoss just dint know how to end the film. To make it worse, they drop the guns and fight with eachother. Why can't we think little more and conceive some different climax for such important films.
Murugadoss throws away the "what a man" dialogue from Padayappa to space by showing Rajini topless and working out in a gym to get fitter. But was it required?
Lack of good punchlines a big disappointment.
Well, nevertheless i enjoyed the film as an overall commercial package. Am looking to catch up another show with my family, once in Chennai. Inspite of the shortfalls, i think Darbar is definitely a good one time watch (with family) for the entertainment it provides. So don't miss this opportunity to experience Rajinism and it's a limited period offer in your life time. Isn't it?
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