Darbar : A commercial mix of action and drama with failed second half

Darbar, as like most of the Rajinikanth movies, this one also a celebration of his

stardom, the phenomenon, the craze, definitely not the actor he has proven himself

to be through the years. Darbar had reasons to be in hype and build on some sort of

curiosity and celebration among the audience and the factor for that excitement is

the actor joining hands with director A.R.Murugadoss for the first time. In the

director's perspective, Darbar is  an action film and a hundred percent old-school cop

thriller. With an ordinary, predictable and familiar plot and settings, what makes

Darbar watchable and enjoyable is the style, mannerisms and energy level of The

Superstar.

StoryLine :

 Aditya Arunasalam is the Mumbai City Police Commissioner who is nicknamed the

mad cop, on a rampage, he goes on a killing spree and the targets for this daredevil

police officer are goons and gangsters. What awaits him during the course of this

cleansing act and how he deals and handle some critical turn of events is what

Darbar narrate.

Performance

Rajinikath is the keyman for this flick, his action styles, timing in whatever he does

and the punch dialogues especially the one-liners that he deliver in his signature

style gives Darbar a much needed facelift. While the first half primarily focus on

action, comedy and mass situations, the latter half gets emotional with some

sentimental situations getting prominence.  Darbar is nicely placed emotional movie

that explore quite convincingly the relationship between a father and a daughter. It

has comedy at appropriate moments to tone down the serious mood of the narrative.

But the romantic track involving Rajanikanth's character and Lily, enacted by

Nayanthara was an offtrack that only helped in bringing down the momentum and

also extending the running time.

Nayanthara who is casted as the heroine to the protagonist could not create any sort

of impact though the scenes involving the two brought back memories from the past.

Eventually it turned out to be a very ordinary character for her that looked suffocated

between the story and The Superstar. Yogi Babu could evoke some genuine laughs

in-between to make things a little lighter. Sunil Shetty's character Hari Chopra was

given a huge buildup but when finally he appeared it didn't have that sort of an

impact required for a villain. 

Technicalities

Santhosh Sivan has done his part behind the camera with some fine shots and

colour tones befitting Mumbai city. Music scene is largely on the average zone if an

analysis is done on the songs. BGM was apt to elevate the mood of the situations

but still I felt a film of this magnitude demanded much more  on it.

Overall

Darbar alters between a masala and mass movie, offering very little substance for

the demi-god that is Rajinikanth. It is a yet another depressing case where the star

does more to the script than what it does to him. However, here is the flip side to the

movie: it is, if anything, a celebration of a man who is nearly 70, and has been

entertaining fans for four decades.

Critics Rating : 💖💖💖💛💛 (3/5)