Yes, the magic is there, the charisma is still visible, his first appearance on the screen still gives you goose bumps all over the body and his dialogues in that world famous baritone voice still remain impeccable and incomparable even after almost 5 long decades of his colourful film career. But where is the story, where is the script, where are the clap worthy dialogues, where is the emotion, where is the comedy and where is that VIJAY which was publicized all over in the print and T.V. media before the release of the film?
If you are a fan of THE MAN then its fine but the director Puri Jagannadh just makes his film remaining a fan and never gives you any glimpses of an intelligent film-maker throughout the film. He just keeps working with a larger than life character on the screen with everyone else moving around him as puppets. Neither there are lines which can make you go wild, nor the comedy is such which reminds you of all those Live comic scenes in Bachchan's famous movies shot in sync sound. In short, the film is like a Tribute given to the actor by his avid fan who by chance happens to be a film-maker too.
The whole project has a South stamp all over it, having fast edit cuts and inter-changing scenes with an abrupt kind of sequence. I fact I was highly disappointed with the very first scene of the film introducing Amitabh. The confrontation between him and a police officer at the airport gave the clear indications that the film is not going to be as expected. As it progresses one can easily notice that the characters are just behaving in a silly manner in the awe of Amitabh's powerful presence, which doesn't seem to be convincing at all. Especially the sub-plot of Raveena and her daughter's relation with Bachchan which visibly looks deliberately added for an extra spice in the storyline and nothing else. May be Raveena was added later on at a friendly request but sadly she is completely wasted. In the opposition department, the expressions on the face of villains keep hanging between terror and comedy. As a result they all fall flat including the well known Prakash Raj.
