Review of movie Petta

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Rating:3.5/5

The last few years have been unkind to a Rajini fan. After Endhiran, at the turn of the decade, the Superstar did Kochadaiiyaan, a motion capture animation film; Lingaa was a commercial film that turned formula into a parody; and of course, Pa Ranjith's Kabali and Kaala, which brought back the actor in him, couldn't decide if they wanted to be a Superstar film or a director's film. Even 2.0 didn't feel like a Rajini film. True, Rajinikanth is a fabulous actor in a certain kind of role, like the ones he played in Mullum Malarum or Aarilirunthu Arupathu Varai, but come on, let's be honest, they are not what made him THE Superstar. It was the films like Murattu Kaalai, Moondru Mugam, Dharmathin Thalaivan, Annamalai, Baashha, and Padayappa... where he was an entertainer first that put in a league of his own. 

Karthik Subbaraj, a self-confessed, die-hard fan, understands this. And that is why Petta works. The basic plot is a reinvention of the Superstar's biggest hit - Baashha. But Karthik Subbaraj introduces minor variations into this template and keeps the film from turning predictable. Petta succeeds where Lingaa failed - it sticks to the formula, but it also makes it feel fresh. Kaali (Rajinikanth) joins a college as a hostel warden and sets things in order in his own playful way, playing Cupid to a young couple (Megha Akash and Sanath), romancing the girl's mother (Simran) and putting the rowdy boys, headed by Michael (Bobby Simha) in their place. But there is more to him than meets the eye. And soon, Kaali has to take on Singhar Singh (Nawazuddin Siddique), a right-wing politician, and his violent son, Jithu (Vijay Sethupathi) in Uttar Pradesh.