New stories and newer narratives arrive by the day but nothing works like a well packaged, good old mass masala movie of a star in a festive season. However archaic the division of a film into mass, class and comedy segments may sound, all it takes is to re-imagine larger-than-life stories in a different context. With Jai Simha , K S Ravikumar does exactly that and gives a good contemporary action spin to an emotional story that taps Balakrishna, the actor and the star, in equal measure. He commands good directorial control and gives something for every kind of spectator to cheer about.
Balakrishna’s films come with a predefined narrative style unaffected by time, trends and directors. The filmmaker subscribes to that school of cinema here too but doesn’t miss out on his signature elements of storytelling, an emotional hook backed by adequate situational, and sometimes, slapstick humour.
Here, Narasimha’s life comes with a heavy past, living with his barely one-year old son named... Balakrishna. For a change, the actor plays a character who’s on the lookout for a place where there’s no bloodshed. The flashback sequence is, predictably, reserved for the second hour. Balakrishna in this segment, in his blazers and overcoats looks too grand for someone owning a mechanic shed. His life at a point looks set with his childhood pal Gowri (Nayanthara). His societal (read violent) leanings lead him to jeopardy often. He loses someone very dear to him owing to this, the story mostly deals with this transformation.
- Cast: Balakrishna, Nayanthara, Natasha Doshi, Haripriya
- Director: K S Ravikumar
- Music: Chirantan Bhatt
- Storyline: Narasimha is on a transformation path after his violent leanings lead to a personal jeopardy
The story is set against a Kumbakonam backdrop, so there’s a splattering of Tamil to give it some validity, but the nativity doesn’t go for a toss either. This setting, where he works for a chairman of a temple board, is apt for a key action sequence where Narasimha stands up for the dignity of priests in a pilgrimage town. The slokas that the actor chants in every film pertaining to self respect, dharma and women empowerment, continues, but here they don’t feel out of place.
The comedy gets a big role too, who better than Brahmanandam to lighten the intensity? He’s in reasonably good form for a role that he reprised earlier too — suspecting his wife’s equation with the hero. The interval hook too works with assurance.
The three female actors — Natasha Doshi, Haripriya and Nayanthara — all have strong roles. The second hour gives more space for Balakrishna and Nayanthara to provide laughs — their mature chemistry works. Nayanthara’s role has enough substance, she’s a rare heroine (after Simran in Narasimha Naidu ) who asks Balakrishna to mend his violent ways.
The vehicles swing into the houses, Balakrishna dances to imaginary sequences without much apprehension, words like simham, puli, jinka and lines surrounding Telugu roots are thrown in randomly. Yet despite these crowd-pleasing moments, the director is in control, ensuring some calm and things are on track. Balakrishna shows his experience as an actor with the emotional sequences revolving around the kid. His not-so romantic track with Nayanthara and Prakash Raj’s underplaying act help too. It’s an old-fashioned screenplay at the end of the day, the director on his part weaves episodes surrounding chain snatching, illegal medical trade and acid attacks on women to make it more relevant.
Good music, humour, adequate punchlines and pelvic thrusts, the familiar popcorn feels tastier during Sankranti.
