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Friday, February 14, 2025
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BOLLYWOOD I
EDITOR'S PICK
'I'
- big is not always great (IANS Tamil Movie Review)
Rating:
**
Shankar, who wears his commercial tag like a medallion, has an addiction for
making big commercial films. While he's been quite successful at it all these
years, it has slowly started to have an adverse effect on his films to the
extent that even the presence of a bankable star, say Vikram, doesn't add much
value to the output.
In his much anticipated film 'I', Shankar proves that only he can take
a wafer thin story and turn it into something outlandishly beautiful yet
complex, leaving you with an afterthought -- 'Why can't he ever make
smaller films for a change?'
Mostly known for making message-oriented films in which the hero singlehandedly
takes on the system, Shankar attempts to tell a romantic tale in his latest
offering, said to be made at a budget of over Rs.100 crore.
Vikram plays a bodybuilder, Lingesan, who idolises Arnold Schwarzenegger and
supermodel Diya, played by Amy Jackson. If the posters of Arnold decorate the
walls of his lower middle class home and his gym (which is named after Arnold),
there's a box full of women's products endorsed by Diya in his bedroom.
In a funny scene, when he's caught red-handed by his friend and asked what he is
going to do with all the products (holding a pack of sanitary napkin), Lingesan
nonchalantly says he will use it as a pillow.
In these refreshing initial moments, Shankar helps us understand that Lingesan
has extreme liking for Diya but doesn't love her yet because of their social and
cultural divide. There's a wonderful scene where Lingesan's mother asks his
friend what's wrong if her son is fond of a model he sees on television,
newspapers and hoardings?
In any other film, he would've stalked her to the point she eventually gives in.
Here, Shankar doesn't tread that path and that's a big relief. Then, the story
takes a detour when Lingesan turns overnight into model Lee, soon becoming a
sensation in the glamorous world of advertising and earning the wrath of a few.
It is from here that Shankar's 'I' ends up becoming a big budget mess
and an old-fashioned revenge drama.
Shankar likes to take his audiences to vast, unknown locations even if it's not
required. This time he travels to China, shoots in some picturesque locations
and makes Vikram feature in a well choreographed action sequence. It's here he
makes Vikram and Amy fall in love.
He feels the need to create a love triangle and introduces a gay makeup artist,
played by Ojas Rajani, who lusts after Vikram. It's a shame that Shankar resorts
to playing with the sensibilities of a gay character, openly mocking at the
sexual orientation.
Vikram may have worked tirelessly gaining and losing weight for his role, but
that doesn't make the film any less disappointing. In both the roles, as a body
builder and a hunchbacked man, he makes one take notice of his potential and how
far he can go for cinema.
Amy Jackson chips in with a surprisingly decent performance and has worked hard
on her lip sync, at least in some crucial scenes. Upen Patel, Suresh Gopi and
Ramkumar come across as misfits in their respective roles. There are far more
good looking local actors who could've played Upen's part convincingly.
Given the lavish budget, 'I' is visually grandiose and that's not a
surprise. But the visuals don't make up for the weak script. Even A.R. Rahman's
music doesn't make much of a difference but for remaining mostly soothing and
melodic. Returning after a gap of three years, Shankar should've gauged the
pulse of the audiences who now prefer short stories over a three-hour film.
All that's big may not necessarily be great. Hope Shankar realises that much
better films can be made on a smaller canvas and much lower budget.
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