'King of Kotha', originally produced by Dulquer Salmaan and Zee Studios, was released in theatres today (August 24). Here is our review of the action thriller dubbed from Malayalam into Telugu.
Story:
The story is set in a town named Kotha, a gangster-infested town. The time period is 1996.
Kannan bhai (Shabeer Kallarakkal) rules the roost there. CI Shahul Hassan (Prasanna as an IPS officer) tries to put him in his place but to no avail. This is when the brave cop learns about the bravest of all - Raju (Dulquer Salmaan), who once ruled the roost in Kotha.
Raju, incidentally, was Kannan's all-weather friend before they fell apart. After learning about the machinations that led to the enmity between Raju and Kannan, the cop decides to make Raju come back to Kotha to eliminate Kannan's gang. But it is not going to be easy, for Raju is not fond of becoming the King. The second half is about the complex arc involving Raju and Kannan.
Performances:
Dulquer sets aside the softness he was known for in 'Sita Ramam'. This time, he is up for an action star image. His screen presence is striking in some scenes.
A drawback is that this saga-like story is not powered by performances by others. Shabeer Kallarakkal is inconsistent in the full-fledged role that he gets to play. Prasanna's dubbing in the Telugu version is meh. Aishwarya Lekshmi is average as well; we don't feel for her misery. Chemban Vinod Jose (as Ranjith) is fun to watch as he struggles to speak in polished English.
Anikha Surendran (who was the female lead of the Telugu film 'Butta Bomma') is seen as the hero's sister. Her character is played up well in some instances.
Technical aspects:
Jakes Bejoy of 'Taxiwaala' and 'Oke Oka Jeevitham' delivers a superb score. His BGM, to an extent, is inspired by Anirudh Ravichander's style. Quite a few scenes brim with energy because of his work.
Nimish Ravi's cinematography is average, while editor Shyam Sasidharan leaves the overlong second half in the lurch. Production Designer Nimesh M Thanoor tries to recreate a bygone era.
Analysis:
Debutant director Abhilash Joshiy and writer Abhilash N Chandran tell a gangster story that is laced with betrayals, friendship, estrangements and romance. The storyline of the first half is decent, although the film struggles to acquire pace till around the 30th minute.
The interval block, the hero elevation moments, and the suspense factor keep the audience engaged. But the second half is where the film completely loses its track. The conversations between the various characters are bland. The tumultuous equations between Raju and Kannan should have been intriguing. Since Kannan's characterization is lifeless, the scenes fail to make the grade.
It would be unfair to say that the film relies too much on Dulquer's swag and charisma. There surely is an attempt to tell an emotional story. This is not a mindless action entertainer like, say, 'Bholaa Shankar'. However, through and through, logic has been thrown to the winds. There is just one thing that the antagonist needs to do. And since he is a powerful fellow lording over Kotha, he shouldn't have taken so long to figure out how to execute his plan. He fails. And every time he fails, he does an even more useless thing. And every time he does something useless, the story gets dragged further, letting Raju and the other primary characters keep on speaking.
The period gangster film is one of the most expensive products to come out of Mollywood. Yet, the film's scale doesn't appear cool in the more crucial second half.
Closing Remarks:
If Dulquer alone could save a film, 'King Of Kotha' would be a hit in the non-Kerala market. But that's not the case. This period gangster drama has too many flaws to mint money at the box office.
