Darbar (2020)

Only thing he shaved, is his age...

My favourite Hollywood film director is Martin Scorcese and when it was announced that he was going to work with his old regulars, de Niro, Pesci and Keitel, plus, for the first time, joint force with Al (Frickin’) Pacino, I was ecstatic. I was even “ecstaticker” when it was reported that these actors would be de-aged for the roles that spans from the 50s to the present setting.

Having seen part of it, I must say I was a trifle disappointed with the whole de-ageing thing. It was not that good as I expected. In fact, it did mar the performances of those leads.

Which brings us to this new flick by A. R. Murugadoss starring some 70 years old guy they call “Superstar” in the Tamil film industry. You know who I am talking about….

…. oh…who am I kidding. Rajini is a name that has become a brand of its own that no matter how this once Sivaji Rao Gaekwod tries his best to shed it off his off-screen persona of being this old, worn-out looking (not) geezer that he portrays in life, because the real self comes through his police commissioner Aditya Arunachalam persona where he packs a wallop, setting another milestone in the cop saga, considering the last time I was impressed by a Tamil film cop was one played his goddam rival cum BFF.

The still sprightly star does not look any more older than that stage if one were to shave off almost quarter of a century of his actual age. Unlike the de-aging process Scorcese laboured with which costs millions, all it took for our Superstar was a bit of foundation, a smattering of wig and…shitload of charm that can only come from the one and only most successful actor ever in the land that is only known for Bollywood to the short-sighted western hemisphere film fans (I discount Kamal Haasan who is on equal footing only because Kamal spread himself thin with being a producer, scriptwriter, director, singer, makeup artist…among others that is… and now, wallowing in goddam political mud).

The director of this new flick, Darbar, A.R. Murugadoss is in no way an auteur. He comes close to being compared with Shankar for his “concept” flicks and is nowhere near Manirathnam in being showy audio-visual whip and chair handler. But in Rajini, Murugadoss found something that he did not at all have in his previous film -  an actual explosive device in form of a star...real star...a Superstar... not some goddam pretenders of throne. The director lets his star's out of the world persona to enhance and add glitter and grit to what would have rather been a mundane cop and bad guys routine that has been so prevalent since the days of M.G.R’s En Kadamai or Sivaji Ganesan’s Tanggapathakkam.

What makes this film so refreshing is that, one, Rajini is shown as an older cop, nearing his retirement (or past it), who has a grown-up daughter. The best part of this film is just that, his relationship with his little girl. I enjoyed every moment of his banter with her, the affection he showers on her and how his world radiates, when not revolving around disgusting trashes of humanity, with the angel played heart-touchingly by Nivetha Thomas that gives him a reason to not to be too gung-ho and suicidal in his chosen profession.

Then, the annoying part. One thing that I truly detest is the flashbacks that have been a bit too prevalent in Tamil films lately. At one point it was useful, say in flicks like Kamal’s Virumandi, or, if you step really back, in S. Balachander’s Antha Nal starring Sivaji Ganesan as the antagonist. Here, it goes on too long that if you miss that one part you won’t know that you have slipped back in someone’s memory lane. And the bad guys don’t quite register…frankly, Rajini ran out of formidable bad guys. One wishes that Raghuvaran can be resurrected…we truly miss him.

….and if you are familiar with Rajini’s films (who am I kidding), one thing you frequently do is throw the realism out of the window…because there are some wince-inducing scenes, though they are miles ahead of goofy shit you can find in any Rajini films directed by P. Vasu. If you do so, you can definitely enjoy this film much more.

As to our hero’s performance, they are apt and to the point. I still miss the heavyweight Rajini of Mullum Malarum or Tappu Thalanggal. It’s in there somewhere, and I am still hoping there is still one great film of that calibre in him waiting to come out.

Otherwise, I truly enjoyed this film especially the abovementioned quite moments he has with his daughter, and, of course, with Nayanthara who doesn’t do much anyway (also, I am thanking Murugadoss for not resorting the usual shit of having the bad guys kidnap our hero’s love interest).

Fortunately, or unfortunately, his film belongs to “watch it for Rajini” category because if you take him out, it will be just another generic cop movie that can easily fit in the 90s Vijayakanth or Sathyaraj starrer, nothing more or less. But with Rajini still bouncing and running up the stairs like a 20 year old, and kicking ass, shooting bullets and literally puncturing bad guys with knives, boy, oh boy, arms gripping and teeth gritting will be the order of the day.

And…also with Rajini, this ordinary piece of celluloid fare throbs with energy, pulsates with “style” and is ready to give you time of your life if you surrender to his charm.  If currently Kamal is the patron saint of the Tamil film industry, constantly giving it distinguished outputs, Rajini is the rebellious emperor who, after he had done conquering another corner of your heart, makes you wonder, “what the f_ did just happened?”.

He kidnaps you, holds you ransom, and makes you fall in love with him. He is the personification of goddam “Stockholm syndrome” of film fans….understand this…there are many late converts who fell to his charm after he had forcefully grabbed you and kidnapped your taste and made it fall for all the gimmicks, glitter and silliness that he brings to his performance.

Kudos to A.R. Murugadoss who functioned both as a fan and a genre hack, because the two blends well in this entertainer. I have not spoken about the music...but I found it endearing that Anirudh decided to honour Deva's unforgettable theme. I never liked Deva's output, but I must admit, the OO7 inspired theme surely sticks with you because we are dealing with the only superhero of Tamil film that no Marvel or DC leotard wearing shmucks can touch...even with a tent pole.