Ambitious aspiration, humongous scope and big ticket budgeting — K.G.F. Chapter I has it all. Actor Yash has sought to shed his romantic hero image for a heavy-duty action hero avatar. However, all the pluses do not translate to an enjoyable experience. Director Prashanth Neel’s hope of pouring money on the screen in the hope of things falling in place is exceedingly optimistic.
Neel loses the plot as he focuses on image building rather than coming up with a credible tale. Raja Krishnappa Beria aka Rocky takes on the big bad world of gold smuggling. After stopping Inayat Khalil establish his fiefdom in the bullion black market in Mumbai, Rocky is sent back home to cross swords with Garuda, who runs the Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) with an iron hand.
The plight of the enslaved gold diggers in KGF distracts Rocky. He, however, steels himself to achieve his objective, successfully setting up for Part II. Despite taking one back to the 70s and 80s when smuggling was almost a rite of passage for the good life, with well-designed sets and black-and-white photography, the film fails to live up to expectations. Film makers need to understand that wielding machete and thundering dialogues do not make a powerful film. Yash goes about his task like a zombie, never rising above the poor script.
The film’s format of a writer telling Rocky’s story to the editor of a TV channel is unconvincing. By using a non-linear structure Neel has provided a different feel and texture to K.G.F. Chapter I . There is a certain finesse to the edgy, moody cinematography (Bhuvan Gowda). Audience will be lost in the world of the gold fields of 70s. Neel proves again that he is master of craft. There are sequences where three scenes run simultaneously. The director has used VFX and the effort to go on location is evident. As far as the colour scheme is concerned, Neel and Gowda have used black and brown for a raw feel.
The climax is spectacular with the support of brilliant cast. The sets and locations are spot on. Beyond that there is nothing in the film that we have not seen before. It lacks soul, a believable story and a rounded protagonist.
