Kanguva Movie Review: Watching it in the Theatre Will be a Great Visual Experience But?
Kanguva Movie Review: Watching it in the Theatre Will be a Great Visual Experience But? - Filmyhype
Director: Siva
Date Created: 2024-11-14 19:34
2.5
Kanguva Movie Review: Kanguva might be Suriya‘s first pan-India film, but his Hindi dubbed films have entertained us for years. Rohit Shetty’s ‘Singham Again’ is making waves at the box office today, the concept is also inspired by Suriya‘s film ‘Singham’. Entertainment along with emotion and unique concepts has been the USP of Suriya‘s films and this is the reason why I had decided long ago that I have to watch Suriya‘s Kanguva on the first day of the first show. In simple words, Kanguva is a ‘Paisa Vasool’ film, I won’t say that it is a perfect film. But you can watch it for a great cinematic experience. The year is 2024 but sadly we are still not able to get good dubbing of South Indian films. But sadly, the year 2024 and the poor dubbing of South Indian films remind me of ‘Kanguva‘. This film is directed by Shiva. Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, and Yogi Babu are in the lead roles.
The film starts in the year 2024. Suriya has played the role of a man named Francis. He is a bounty hunter who works for the police. That is, he catches people on the orders of the police. Though the story of reincarnation has been a sure-shot hit formula of cinema, it requires a very intelligent director. The flavor that Subhash Ghai has added to the stories of reincarnation in the film ‘Karz’, Farah Khan in ‘Om Shanti Om’ and Anees Bazmee in the latest ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’, is not there in the film ‘Kanguva‘. Suriya, Suriya, or Suriya, whatever is the correct pronunciation of his name, has been a big name in Tamil cinema. In the film ‘Kanguva‘, his name appears written as Suriya in big Hindi on the entire screen, so as per the rules, Hindi writers and viewers should write and speak his name like this from now on, but this is possible only if those who write Ram as Rama, Ramayana as Ramayana and Parshuram as Parashurama accept it.
Kanguva Movie Review: The Story Plot
Kanguva begins in a research lab facility from where a child has escaped. The lab guards are searching for him. This child bumps into Francis, who works hard to look ultra cool and is a bounty hunter who hunts criminals for the police for a hefty fee. The child is strange, he doesn’t speak, but in between the film keeps showing that he has some superpower-type secret power. Francis feels a strange connection after meeting this child. Now the story is taking place in 2024, but to show the connection it goes to the year 1070. Here you get to know the story of five islands. Kanguva is the warrior of one of these islands, Perumachi. The naval unit of the Roman Empire wants to capture these islands. And for this, it is necessary to deal with Kanguva. One of the five islands, Aarathi, is ruled by Udhiran (Bobby Deol), who does not get along with Perumachi. Roman plans to use Udhiran to kill Kanguva. A child is caught in the middle of this game. Why is he trapped, how is he trapped? It would be better to see the answer to this in the film (if you are going to watch it). Kanguva makes a promise to this child and this promise is the reason for their meeting again in 2024.
Actor Suriya‘s first film ‘Kanguva‘ was released in theatres in Hindi as well as Tamil. When it was first announced in 2019 just before the Corona pandemic, it was partially eclipsed and was shelved. But the film was revived two years ago and is now in theatres. The story is spread over a thousand years. It is the story of five islands, somewhat like ‘Devra Part One’. A thousand years ago, foreigners came to occupy these islands and before starting the occupation, these islands were fighting among themselves. Kanguva is the son of the king of an island. He appears on screen about half an hour after the film starts. Due to circumstances, he has to fight with Udhiran, the king of an island where there is a tradition of handing over the entire body to crows at the time of the funeral. Udhiran’s sons are killed in this war. He has another son about whom no one knows much. Director Shiva has kept this as a surprise in the film, so it is not right to write much about it.
There are two things in excess in this story of humans living in forests. One is violence and the other is the ear-splitting noise in the name of music. Now since the story is of that era when bloodthirsty people also ruled, it cannot be imagined how much the action director of the film ‘Animal’, Supreme Sundar, can make the screen red if given the opportunity. But, being an action director and making an action film, there is as much difference between the two as Rohit Shetty being an action director and making an action film. At times, it seems that the director of the film Kanguva, Shiva, has hired Supreme Sundar and he went on a trip to Thailand and also shot a few scenes from there. There is also a ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ angle in the story of the film. The film shows that the condition of police in the country is bad in the year 2024. Even the police commissioner is giving contracts to hired criminals instead of getting the criminals caught by his subordinates. The film begins with Suriya playing one such mercenary who, during an incident, comes across a teenager who keeps reminding him of his past life.
Kanguva Movie Review and Analysis
Suriya (or Soorya) has been praised a lot as an actor in Tamil cinema. Hindi remakes of his films like ‘Ghajini’, ‘Singham’, ‘Singham 2’ and ‘Soorarai Pottru’ have also been made. And, he has been respected a lot among Hindi film audiences as well. But, he, along with his director Shiva, has destroyed all this respect in his very first film, at least among the Hindi belt audiences. North Indians have known actor Suriya for his gentle, simple, and easy-going nature, and here Suriya is drenched in only and only Raudra, Veer, Bhayanak, and Vibhatsa Rasas. Whatever touches of humor, Shringar and Karuna are there, they are so less that by the end of the film, one does not even remember that the heroine of this film is Disha Patani. If the length of the film and the duration of Disha’s role are considered, then Yogi Babu is seen on screen more than her.
This film has been a challenge for the cinematographer turned writer and writer turned director Shiva from the beginning. He has a strong presence in both Tamil and Telugu cinema to give one hit film after another, but ‘Kanguva‘ is going to prove to be a big setback for him. Suriya‘s fans may not like this film and those in the Hindi belt who will go to see it for Lord Bobby Deol will be seen regretting their decision. By the way, the same Bobby Deol who was very excited by showing a video of this film to everyone at the success party of the film ‘Animal’, avoided even its press conference as the release of the film approached. It is also sad that the music of the film has been given by Devi Sri Prasad. But, the tune of not a single song in the film is melodious. I have already talked about background music. Talking about editing, the film has become very long due to its mistakes. The audience gets tired even before the interval, partly because of the length of the film and partly because of the film being boring.
Kanguva takes us to two different worlds the year 2024 and the year 1070. Talking about the visual experience, this world presented on the big screen by both director Siva and Suriya through ‘Kanguva‘ is amazing. In the first half of the film, the half hour before the interval seems a bit boring, but in the second half, you can’t take your eyes off the screen. In a film like Kanguva, it is very important to have the right coordination between flashback and present. SS Rajamouli had done this amazing thing in Bahubali. However, after Bahubali, this coordination was not seen in either Salaar or ‘Kalki 2898 AD’. But director Siva has done this coordination correctly in his film and that is why we can enjoy this film in the theater. After watching recently released pan India movies like Indian 2, Salaar, and ‘Kalki 2898 AD’, it seemed that to show part 2, the makers of part 1 of the movie work hard only on the climax, and the rest of the movie is dragged unnecessarily. But this is not the case with Kanguva. Kanguva has a story from beginning to end, even though it is predictable, but while watching this movie, we never feel anywhere that the scenes are being dragged unnecessarily.
Kanguva makes us believe that Siva has done his homework. He knows very well what is needed to make a pan-India film. He completed his studies in cinematography with a gold medal and his talent is visible in the film. Actually, one person can’t kill 5000 people alone, but when Siva makes us believe that Kanguva can do anything he wants, then we believe it and perhaps this is his victory. Even though Kanguva‘s storytelling is excellent, the story of ‘Kanguva‘ is the biggest weakness of this film. It is a predictable story from beginning to end. There is no shocking twist in the climax like other pan-India films. Just like Bhairav’s (Prabhas) Karna avatar in ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ 2898 AD was the high point of the film, there are no high points in this film according to the story. Here we know that now that one villain is dead, another villain will enter. We also know that now in the second part, Kanguva will face a new villain. The film has shock, surprise, emotions, everything, but the credit for it goes not to the story but to the acting of the actors and Siwa’s talent for storytelling.
There are two words in the film. The scale on which Shiva has mounted the old times is commendable. Be it the costumes of the characters or their props. It seems that a lot of investment has been made in that matter. But the same cannot be said in the context of the story. When the film takes place today, there has been a big, failed attempt to extract comedy from there. Anything works in the name of silly comedy, and it does not land. References like ‘Moye Moye’ have been used to get a reaction from the new audience but all of them prove to be futile. The creative choice of the camera taken to film this time is also not clear. Like four people are talking and the camera is moving from all sides and focusing on them. Usually, when you make any frame, there is a reason behind it. Why did this happen here? It is not understood. This method may have been adopted to capture the vibe of the new times, but it does not work in favor of the film.
Then the story reaches the old times. Its meat is red and hot. But the real problem is in the structure, i.e. the writing. The tropes that have been used ten thousand times have been used in the same way. There is no feeling of newness anywhere. A few months ago, some reels went viral on Instagram. Their title was How the Hero Enters in South Indian Films. The creator of the reel says that it is a blazing storm, fire, and then the hero enters. These were funny reels. The problem with Kanguva is that all this is happening seriously here. For some time now, being loud has become a synonym for mass films. Everyone wants to run their car on the same formula. ‘Kanguva‘ also does the same. This film is so loud that it becomes difficult for you to concentrate properly. The art direction of the film, thanks to the music, makes you want to enter the world of those five islands. But the weak writing wants to deprive you of this pleasure. The writing of the film has done the most injustice to Suriya. Whether it is the role of Francis or Kanguva, he has surrendered himself to Shiva’s vision in every way. But after watching the film, it seems that Shiva made his world so big that he got trapped in it.
Looking at Bobby Deol as Udhiran, it seems that he was given only one brief, that he has to look scary. He has done that job with complete honesty. In some shots, he looks like a larger-than-life monster. But his character is limited to just this. Apart from this, the makers kept Disha Patani only for the glamour aspect. The comedy scenes in which she was kept will be called cringe in the pages of history. Bobby Deol has also done justice to his role in this film. But this is Suriya‘s film, and the audience does not take their eyes off him throughout the film so they are not even able to see him. It would have been fun if there were more scenes of Bobby Deol and Suriya, watching them together is no less than a visual treat. Despite being the main villain, Bobby’s screen timing is less in the film. But compared to Animal, he is getting more screen time here than in Ranbir Kapoor’s film. Disha Patni, as always, adds glamour to the film as per taste. Apart from this, she has nothing special to do.
Some songs in the film are good. But South makers who spend crores on their Pan India films should include some good Hindi songs in the film. They don’t need to do anything to match the tune. Because sometimes in the process of matching the tune of the song, such words are used in their Hindi version that listening to them makes your ears bleed. The same is the case with Kanguva, except for one or two songs. Even though the songs of Kanguva are not special, the background music of the film is amazing. From fighting scenes to Suriya‘s entry, many scenes of the film look more effective because of the music. During the promotion of the film, it was said that most of the film has been shot in natural light. This does not bring any significant change. But the framing done for the scenes is very refreshing. Be it the scenes of lush green forests or the scenes filmed at night, they have been captured very beautifully. The scene of Suriya‘s fight with two crocodiles is amazing. Many scenes like Suriya‘s entry and introduction, and Bobby Deol‘s fight do not let you move from your seat. The VFX and CGI used in the film can compete with Hollywood.
It is not that there is nothing good in Kanguva. All the creative ideas of the film were very strong. But the screenplay did not make them worth anything. The world created by director Shiva in 1070 seems to have been designed very thoughtfully. It seems that a lot of time has been spent creating the communication methods of people in remote areas, the behavior of the terrifying tribes, their way of living, and their lifestyle. You may notice a lag fluctuation in the visuals of Kanguva in some places, but despite this, the visuals look amazing in most parts. In this thousand-year-old story, the mound, ship, clothes, and visuals of each tribe’s region are different. Each landscape has its details. Kanguva technically has everything that could have made it a strong ‘pan India’ epic. But the film fails at the most basic place – writing.
In the first 20-30 minutes of the film, the effort to make Suriya‘s modern avatar look cool is unbearable. It seems that in a short while, the makers will write a message on the screen and request the audience to ‘please consider Francis as ultra cool.’ Perhaps the team forgot a basic thing if so much effort is needed to look cool, then it is not ‘cool’. Bobby Deol was not used properly. His look is so scary, but there is nothing in his character except speaking dialogue with a heavy throat and hitting people with a sword. The hero of his film is doing so much hitting without any logic, so why will the audience take the load of the villain? The screenplay did not fully reveal any character. There is no strong female character or mother of ‘Kanguva‘ in the story. In one scene, an attempt has been made to give a message to women to become warriors in a very forceful manner, but then our hero says ‘You all are warriors’ and a Hindi-speaking viewer is left saying ‘Aaah??’ Thank God that Suriya‘s acting is so powerful that with the help of that one thread, I somehow faced this cyclone in the theatre!
Kanguva Movie Review: The Last Words
Overall, in Kanguva, the effort, creative ideas, and thoughts to create a unique world are visible. But any creative idea without the support of writing looks just like Kanguva. You will have to decide to watch the film after thinking about how strong your digestion is to digest bad writing. In this 2-hour 32-minute long film, one cannot take eyes off Suriya. Suriya, who played the role of Advocate Chandru in Jai Bhim, has taken a 360-degree turn for Kanguva. In this film, on the one hand, he shows the rowdy nature and aggression of Kanguva through his expressions, and on the other hand, he introduces us to a completely different personality in the form of Francis. Suriya is such an actor who tries to do something different in every film and he succeeds in that too.
Cast: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Natarajan Subramaniam, KS Ravikumar
Director: Siva
Where To Watch: In Theaters
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 2.5/5 (two and a half stars)
