Movie Review- Robot

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How dare you review Rajnikanth? So if at the end of all this I am hit by a bullet fired from a remote island in the Pacific which ricochets off the gleaming belt buckle of the superstar, it is not a coincidence. It must be the intended mode of my assassination (plain murder more likely). So at the risk of my life I do declare that Rajni’s Robot aka Endhiran is a must watch for everyone below the mental or chronological age of fifteen. To enlarge the scope of the audience Rajnikanth has reportedly ordered everyone to mentally reduce their ages to the desired level which I dutifully did only to find that the experience wasn’t disagreeable at all if you don’t count the two songs during which I actually went off to sleep.
It’s a sci-fi extravaganza which more than justifies being the most expensive movie made till date in India. The special effects are a first for an Indian film and perhaps they account for a handsome part of the crores lavished on it. It’s a pity though that money cannot be spent on improving imagination because all the effects seem to be a combination of Spiderman, Transformers, Power Rangers, Matrix and The Mask. The so called original stuff is in the classical overkill genre of Tollywood which has specifically been patented for Rajni. But hey, this is a pioneering movie so a minor glitch here and a major faux-pax there is entirely forgivable.
Surprise, surprise, the movie even has a story of sorts but the director could have safely cut the first half and no one would have known the difference. Perhaps there is a lesson here. The movie would have been a taut thriller but for the song and dance routine and the unnecessary love interest sub plot. Having said that what would you have Aishwarya do? I think she is being overpaid for just looking pretty and dancing a few numbers. Rajnikanth can neither act nor dance to save his life but then when was that a deterrent for him. And remember this is a science fiction special effects movie. Who needs to act? The borrowed Robot and Rajni’s two assistants did a better job. The best actor is of course Danny Denzongpa (I always loved the ring of his name) who is back after a long time and does an efficient job of looking menacing in his brief role.
Despite how I may be sounding it’s a good idea to watch the movie if only to watch the science fiction genre coming of age in Indian cinema. Its aeons ahead of the flying arrows in sets of three decorated by the constipated expression of Vijay Arora, a la Meghnath, in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan. It is also agreeable to sleep through a few songs if only to witness the climax which has been conceived on an unbelievable scale. And last but not the least for the coinage of a new word by Rajni, hold your breath...... “Robotsapiens”.
Lord, thou shall have to save me.