Nowadays, the new stars of the Kannada-Telugu-Malayalam industry are also trying their best with the ambition to emerge from the south and make a name for themselves across India. In such a situation, a big Tamil star like Surya has every reason to try and reach the pan-India level. The teaser, the trailer and all the promotional material for his latest film ‘Kanguva’ had everything one could expect to offer a great theatrical experience.
The arrival of Bobby Deol in the villain’s role opposite Surya was also a factor that attracted the audience, especially the Hindi audience. But could ‘Kanguwa’ fulfill the promise that Suriya and his team made in the promotions? The answer is plain and simple, but there should be some difference between a movie and a review, right?
What is the theme of the movie?
‘Kanguva’ begins in a place similar to a research laboratory from which a child escaped. The laboratory soldiers are looking for him. This kid runs into Francis, who goes out of his way to look ultra-cool and is a bounty hunter who hunts down criminals for the police for a hefty fee. The kid is strange, he doesn’t talk, but from time to time the movie keeps showing that he has some secret superpower type power.
Francis feels a unique connection after meeting this boy. So far the story takes place in the year 2024, but to show the connection it goes back to the year 1070. Here you have the story of five islands. Kanguva is the warrior of Perumachi, one of these islands. A naval detachment from the Roman Empire wants to capture these islands. And for this it is necessary to deal with Kanguva. Arathi, one of the five islands, is ruled by Udhiran (Bobby Deol), who does not get along with Perumachi.
The Roman plan is to use Udhiran to eliminate Kanguva. A boy gets caught in the middle of this game. Why he is trapped, how he is trapped, it would be better to see the answer in the movie (if you are going to see it). Kanguva makes a promise to this child and this promise is the reason for their reunion in 2024.
What is the movie like?
If after coming out of a movie you find it peaceful to be stuck in the middle of Delhi traffic, then you can understand its meaning. Theaters are asked to keep the doors of the hall closed while the ‘Kanguva’ show is going on, otherwise people present outside might create panic hearing the sounds coming from inside. Each person in the film converses in a scale of notes that is not even included in the harmonium. And the film’s background music takes this noise to unprecedented heights and an unimaginable scale.
There is so much screaming and shouting in this movie that the effect of all this noise is not only felt mentally, but it also bothers you physically. I have seen this movie dubbed in Hindi and it completely surpasses the gold standard of the worst dubbed movies on television. In fact, in some places it is even going ahead. When ‘Gobar ki Garmi’ is used as a metaphor in a movie song, then it must be understood that the Hindi dubbing was done with the help of AI or was done by a very new intern.
However, I apologize for the second point because ‘Kanguva’s’ Hindi is worse than that of interns who write new Hindi. The movie experience may not have been as bad in the original version. But if the best experience of a film is in its original version, what then to do with ‘Pan India’? Throw it in the trash?!
Some good things, many problems.
It’s not that there’s nothing good in ‘Kanguva’. All the creative ideas in the film were very powerful. But the script left him nothing of value. In the world of 1070 created by director Shiva, everything seems to have been designed with great care. It seems that time has been spent creating the communication methods of the people in remote areas, the behavior of the terrifying tribes, their way of life and their lifestyle.
You may notice lag jitter in some places in ‘Kanguwa’ images, but despite this, the images look amazing in most parts. In ancient history, the mound, the boat, the clothing and the images of each tribe are different from their area. Each landscape has its own details. ‘Kanguwa’ technically has everything that could make it a strong ‘Pan India’ epic. But the film leaves out the most basic place: writing.
In the first 20-30 minutes of the film, it tries to show that Surya’s modern avatar is cool. It seems that at some point the creators will start asking the audience by writing messages on the screen that say, “Please consider Francisco ultra cool.” Maybe the team didn’t remember one basic thing: if there’s so much emphasis on looking cool, then it’s not “cool.”
Bobby Deol was not used properly. His appearance is so scary, but there is nothing else to his character except speaking dialogues with a heavy throat and creating a fight with a sword. If the hero of your movie is being subjected to so much abuse without any logic, why would the audience take on the burden of the villain? The script did not fully reveal any characters.
‘Kanguwa’s mother or any other strong female character is not present in the story. Although in one scene a very bold attempt has been made to give the message to women to become warriors, then our hero says, “You are all warriors” and a Hindi speaking audience asks, “Ouch?” It remains after speaking. It’s thankful that Surya’s performance is so strong that with the help of that thread, I somehow faced this cyclone in the theater!
The action is strong, but the duration hurts.
There are many action sequences in the film. These are powerful, but they are so long that you start praying for them to end. A crocodile fight sequence is good, the climax fight is also good and Surya’s intro fight sequence was also strong, but they showed no signs of ending. The film has paid its compensation on an emotional level. The connection of the film’s hero with a child, which should have been very emotional and attractive and on which the entire story depends, is not felt. That’s why this movie seems the most tedious. There is also a cameo by another popular Tamil star at the end of the film. You can still endure it, but the biggest pain comes at the end when it is said on the screen that part 2 is also coming soon.
Overall, the hard work, creative ideas and thoughts to create a unique world are fully visible in ‘Kanguwa’. But any creative idea without the support of writing seems “Kanguwa”. You will have to make the decision to watch the movie considering how strong your stomach is to digest bad writing.
