Robot: Rajni is the Boss
Rating: 4 out of 5*
Starring: Rajnikanth, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Danny
Director: S.Shankar
October 1, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): Super Star Rajnikanth has done it again, that's multiplied his craze manifold amongst his existing fans and created a whole new lot of fans with his latest man v/s machine super entertainer Robot. Touted as a Rs. 160 crore budgeted bonanza making it the costliest ever made Indian film, the sci-fi thriller Robot is a full on paisa vasool entertainer.
Scientist Dr. Vasi (Rajnikanth) after years of hard work succeeds in making an andro humanoid named Chitti. Carrying the power of 100 men, Chitti is well trained in every aspect right. Vasi wants to offer him to the Indian Army but rejection comes from Dr.Vohra (Danny) the ex mentor of Vasi who has some devious plans of his own. It is pointed out that Chitti lacks feelings and can go wrong. Vasi therefore reworks the structure of Chitti and adds human emotions to him. But then complications arise as Chitti experiences the emotion of love from Vasi's fianc�e Sana (Aishwarya Rai). He falls in love with her and begins to disobey Vasi's commands. Sana just considers him her 'toy-friend'. Things spiral out of shape after an angry and disappointed Vasi dismantles Chitti. What follows as Chitti falls in wrong hands and multiplies his obsession for Sana forms the rest of the film.
Seldom in Indian cinema has a film come that has justified its gargantuan budget and managed to entertain you at the same time. A big bow to director Shankar's vision and creativity that makes Robot set a new benchmark in filmmaking. All those expecting a typical Rajnikanth entry however, will be disappointed watching him being presented with a subtle entry. But then he makes it up for it by delivering his best. As the film gradually proceeds towards the climax, the number of Rajnikanth's on screen multiply and continue to entertain. His conversation with a team of mosquitoes or his fights with the goons in a moving local train are extremely delightful. Also, the child birth sequence here is more convincingly done than it was in 3 idiots.
While he is subtle as Dr. Vasi, Rajnikanth has succeeded in pulling off the immensely difficult part of the robot Rajni by picking up the perfect mannerisms of a Robot. After turning villainous, his wicked laughter is just terrific. Aishwarya's character though relevant to the plot doesn't have much to do but she pulls it off well with her dazzling screen presence. She simply looks WOW. Danny is impressive in his short role.
Picking up the best technical talent across the globe that has worked on films such as Jurassic Park, I Robot and Avatar, Shankar has managed to deliver an Indian film that can stand on par technically with the best of Hollywood films in this genre. The last 30 minutes full of action and plenty of jaw dropping moments do make you wish that the film was made in 3D. The only big sore point of the film is A.R Rahman's utterly forgettable music which to some extent is salvaged by Shankar's innovative picturisation. The film's length is around three hours and could have been shorter by at least 10 minutes.
Robot guarantees super fun for the entire family and Rajnikanth re-establishes the fact that what no body can, only Rajni can!
-- Sampurn Wire