Oh my god, where do I start? I’m still in the trans of the EPIC storytelling. How on earth Shankar can have such a mammoth Imagination. Superlatives apart, what do you do when you like/enjoy a movie or a thing? We usually share it with our friends and family. So, here’s my attempt to share my opinion about India’s most expensive Experience, yup I call it a once a blue moon experience. Calling it simply a movie will surely undermine Shankar’s and the rest of his team’s hard work, passion and most importantly Vision.
Gentle Warning: The below article may or may not contain spoilers, read at your own risk. 😛
A movie’s success majorly depends on how entertaining it is, how engaging it can arrest the audience to their seats for little under 3 hrs and to do this a movie surely needs a solid story combined with loopless storytelling. There is no wonder, Shankar has marveled this art with most of his movies, and 2.0 is no different. 2.0 has a simple, engaging, straightforward story which can connect to the audience instantly. Shankar made sure each and every character was introduced in a timely manner, it may be Vennela (Amy Jackson), Dr. Vasi, Chitti, Baddie Bora, 2.0, Birdman and of course you get to hear Aishwarya Rai (Sana). I’d have loved to see Aishwarya Rai sharing the screen but considering the story it was not at all necessary.
After watching part 1, you can’t imagine any other actor enacting the role of Chitti other than the Superstar. And Oh boy, even at 67 he delivers his best performance in not one, not two but Quadrapul roles. Akshay Kumar extends his streak of performing good roles. We get to see Akshay play 2 roles effortlessly. VFX play a major role in Akshay Kumar’s characterization as a Birdman. Akshay Kumar’s introduction scene just before the interval is a scene to watch out for. The back story of Akshay looks a bit boring but that’s the story on which cinema revolves. Salute to the VFX team for top-notch visuals with a limited budget compared to Hollywood biggies. Shankar constantly focuses on the greatness of India by bringing the achievements of ISRO satellites and space research center established by Homi Bhabha in the first half of the movie.
Considering the first part’s humongous climax, expectations were really high about this movie’s climax. Shankar made sure to give a similar kind of experience meeting 70 to 80% of the expectations. Some scenes like Robots turning into a giant sphere were just rehashed from the previous part. Other than that, the last 10 minutes of the film blows your mind with “Chinni version 3.0”. As I always say, great directors give a small hint which in turn change the course of the movie (Refer to ”The Grit of SS Rajamouli” section in my previous article). Shankar just like his previous movie Shivaji gives a hint of 3.0 before the climax and to be honest I failed to understand.
The film doesn’t have the usual Rajnikant’s swag and style in the first half. Just before I was thinking of this, there comes “Chinni 3.0”, with his matchless swag, style and obviously dialogue delivery. Climax becomes thunderous with the introduction of 3.0 and the movie ends in an unexpected way. All those who expressed mixed feelings about VFX after watching the teaser and trailer will surely change their mind. The best part is Shankar made sure the VFX was not overdone. as they say in corporate – Business requirement, Shankar answer here is VFX is as per Story demands.
Note: Watch it only in 3D to feel the grand experience. Try focussing at the center of the screen to get a 3D feel for the entire movie.
Final Verdict: 2.0 is a Pride of Indian Cinema. Dot. (Read it in Rajnikant’s style after watching the movie)
PS: Loved the way Shankar’s paid respect to each and every technician at the end credits. He clubbed the “Tu Hi re” song with the credits so that we get to know the names of every technician.
PPS: This is solely my opinion and don’t diss me if you haven’t liked the film. After all we are humans with different tastes 😀
Plug: Here’s my Quora answer for a movie seating trick. Try it out and let me know if it works for you: https://qr.ae/TUt1dv
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Sharath Chandra 