Film: Tiger GAlli
Director: Ravi Srivatsa
Cast: Sathish Ninasam, Roshini Prakash, Bhavana
Sathish Ninasam believed that being part of a commercial project will bring him closer to the masses and underwent a makeover for his association with director Ravi Srivatsa, which gave rise to Tiger Galli. Going by the director’s previous films, it was obvious that elements of rowdyism, an overdose of action sequences and bloody murder would make an appearance.
The story is about Durgamama’s (Yamuna) son Vishnu (Sathish Ninasam), who runs a cow milk business, and lives in a lane called Tiger Galli and is also working in a car garage. He gets involved in a kabbadi match, when he accidently comes in contact with rowdies, followed by underworld dons who are associated with the chief minister.
An untoward incident involving Meera (Roshini Prakash), a strict and young police officer living in the area, causes havoc in the neighbourhood. Life takes a turn for Vishnu, who volunteers with the police to kill the goons. Vishnu, a layman, gets rid of the criminals who have taken over the city, forming part one of the plot. The second half sees Sathish as Shiva, a police officer residing in Delhi, who takes a transfer to the city.
He takes charge and makes sure to put an end to the criminal reign. How Vishnu is related to Shiva is revealed during the interval, followed by a major action climax taking place in a court sequence.
A plotline like in Tiger Galli has become very rare in Sandalwood, and the director, who feels a film on the underworld is unconventional, has fit all social evils in this little longer than 2-hour long film. The director shows how a layman can get easy entry into a CM’s house, who is almost at the mercy of dons.
This is one of the few loopholes in Ravi Srivatsa’s interpretation of corruption. We understand that it might be for entertainment purposes, but common sense has to come in somewhere. Storywise, he has brought nothing new to how he deals with the concept of the underworld. The director has not only glorified anti-social elements, but the script is also filled with so much foul language that it definitely puts the film in poor light. On the positive side, the director manages to spin the mother-son dynamics well.
Individually, all the actors have potrayed their roles well, with a few exceptions. Sathish’s forte and strong point is his dialogue delivery, and in Tiger Galli, he is unstoppable. Having experimented with a mass-appeal subject, we can only wait and see whether the audience likes him in this new avatar or not. Bhavana has brought the glam quotient to the film, while Roshni, for her debut film, has a good screen presence with scope to improve.
Actors Yamuna and Pooja Lokesh, who play the role of a mother and a judge respectively, have delivered theatrical performances. Though villains like Shivamani and Ayyappa Sharma have tried their best to get into the skin of their respective characters, the lack of a strong antagonist for a face off scene is a major drawback. Nothing much comes out of film’s music, and there are a lot of glitches in the cinematography as well.
Tiger Galli is limited to those who don’t mind seeing bloodshed, harsh dialogues and several action sequences. Sathish took a chance to experiment with his versatility as an actor, but it is now left to the people to decide whether they prefer seeing him in these sort of commercial roles.