Jai Simha
Cast: Balakrishna, Nayanthara, Hari Priya, Natasha Doshi
Direction: KS Ravi Kumar
Balakrishna is, without doubt, the darling of the masses. And if his film is slotted for Sankranti, it creates tremendous fanfare. Time and again, the 57-year-old actor proved that the festive season works for him and his fans. This time too, his actioner Jai Simha directed by KS Ravi Kumar presents him in a role that suits him the best and how his fans would like to see him.
The film introduces Balakrishna as Narasimha, who has a dubious past and leads a nomadic life with his one-year-old son. He lands in Kumbakonam, earns a living as a driver to the village temple’s trustee -- played by Murali Mohan. During the course, Narasimha learns that his childhood sweetheart Gowri (Nayanthara), who hates him due to some reason lives there. Meanwhile, he gets framed for the murder of the town’s dreaded gangster Kaniyappan’s (Kalakeya Prabhakar) brother. Who is Narasimha and why is he on the run is the essence of Jai Simha.
The first hour of Jai Simha is entertaining with Balakrishna in his elements. The best part is the actor’s discourse about the priests and the slokas highlighting the essential practices they do in pursuance of a faith. The director handles this hour competently with some feel-good moments in the territory that seems quite familiar to us. He extracts the strong performance not only from Balakrishna but also from the supporting roles like LB Sriram, Prabhakar and Murali Mohan. The story begins to unfold from the pre-interval episode and goes on a predictable note. Ten minutes through the second hour, too much of melodrama further slacken the film’s pace.
Unlike some of his recent outings like Lion and Paisa Vasool which shows him in overblown roles, Balakrishna arrives with a restrained performance in a film that is loaded with chilling action sequences, entertainment, and heart-wrenching emotions. He is effortlessly pleasing and infuses his portions with the right part of vulnerability, composure and strength, delivering a performance that is nothing short of perfect. Ravi Kumar didn’t muster up something fresh for the audience and appears like a throwback to several intensifying action dramas of the 90s.
However, he reinvents the much-revered formula with contemporary treatment. Story-wise, there’s nothing much to talk about as you would feel it behind the times, but it definitely unleashes the star charisma and presents Balayya as the messiah yet again.
The film is enhanced by interesting twists, striking camerawork and exhilarating backstory. On the flip side, the mature love track between Narasimha and Gowri lacks novelty. Sample this, Narasimha is too scared to ask Gowri’s father (Prakash Raj) and also the headmaster of the school the duo studied in for her hand. Naturally, her father isn’t quite fond of Narasimha owing to his temperament. The comedy track appears forced and hardly brings out some hearty laughs.
Natasha Doshi torches up the screen with her oomph and ooze, while Nayanthara looked elegant with an effective performance. Hari Priya too finds a strong role. Once again, Brahmanandam’s character is sketched as hyper comical. Others like Ashutosh Rana, Jayaprakash Reddy, Pavitra Lokesh and Priya are good in their parts. Chirranthan Bhatt’s music and background score are in line with the narrative.
Overall, KS Ravi Kumar knows the pulse of the audience and succeeds in his endeavours. He doesn’t deviate from his signature style of storytelling and has neatly packaged the emotional and the comic quotient in a film that will inevitably cheer the front-benchers and enthusiastic fans for this festive season.