Official Trailer:

KGF: Chapter 2:

KGF: Chapter 1:

[SPOILERS AHEAD…]

“You don’t become a Don by killing 10 people”

Above is the question posed to Rocky by one of the henchmen of Don Shetty of Bombay. We don’t hear the comeback from Rocky immediately. We hear it once Rocky proves why Shetty must fear him. And then we get the retort I didn’t become a Don by killing 10 random people…all the people I killed are Dons already. It is more explosive and works better with the delayed fuse. Unlike other movies where the one-liner exists just to hype the hero(ism), here they flow with the story and comes as part of the conversation. They fit in with the narration like a jig-saw puzzle. There are many punch lines like the above in both the chapters that raises the whistle quotient and decibel level in cinemas. Powerful dialogues are one of the biggest strengths of both the chapters. Dialogues are of high octane, and breath fire. Few are insightful too, like this one If you gain courage because a thousand people are standing behind you, then you can only win a war. But if a thousand people get courage because you are standing in front of them, you can conquer the world and this one history tells Powerful people come from Powerful places. History was wrong. Powerful people make places Powerful.

Of course, just one-liners aren’t enough to make the movie entertaining. Few narrative choices made by director Prashanth Neel shows his excellent understanding of the masala template. In both the chapters, we have a narrator to tell story of Rocky. In first movie, it is by the writer himself while in the second his son narrates the story. This narrative device is effectively used to give the buildup not just for Rocky but also for the villains. It also gives a breather occasionally in an extremely fast paced narration. We also get other characters who add to the intensity within writer’s narration. Director gives enough information through the narrator for the setup and packs in more surprises when we shift to the real Rocky. Tea delivery boy does this job in a police station. When he hears Rocky is on his way to the station, he asks the officers there to settle his account and takes away the glasses. Director teases us with humor, you expect something big, and when the action unravels on the screen it is just explosive with Rocky blasting away with the Periamma weapon. This priming device isn’t new. Most masala movies deploy it. Most of the times they don’t work because the pay-off doesn’t match the buildup. In KGF, director makes them work with payoffs above and beyond the build-up.

For a strong, over the top, protagonist to work we need strong villains. Just words will not do. Director gets this right too. Take the introduction of Garuda in Chapter 1. Crowd is waiting for him to unveil the statue of his father. Andrews and his gang have hired Rocky to take him out there, so that they can take over KGF. Garuda not only thwarts the assassination attempt, to top it off, the statue he unveils is of himself 😀 We get similar rocking introductions for Adheera and Ramita Sen. Adheera character modeled like a Viking and Ramita Sen has shades of Indira Gandhi.

For the strong protagonist to work, he must fail too. Rise after a fall gives a high. A better story. A Stronger hero. In KGF, Rocky goes through his ups and downs. With every fall he gets more forceful. Story is unapologetic. Rocky is not a savior. Yes, he frees the slaves. But he makes them work harder, work 24×7 to extract more gold. Rocky is driven by the promise he made to his mother, by his mother’s wish. Rocky is greedy. Power and Greed are the tools he chooses to fulfil his mother’s wish. The way Rocky exits is also as per his mother’s wish.

Cinematography with limited color palettes elevates the mood of the story. Credit to the editor who has done an excellent job putting together the non-linear narration. Non-linear narration worked so well to showcase the character of Ramita Sen. Action set pieces are of high quality and top notch. Loved the way the black screen is used to raise the pulse in car chase scene. Even with limited screen time Sanjay Dutt as Adheera (the Viking) and Raveena Tandon as Ramita Sen steal the show with their performances. Yash portrays Rocky with suave and style.

Both the KGF movies are a product of director’s vision with every department working in sync with him. Story isn’t new…it is an age-old story…an underdog trying to keep the promise to his mother. It all comes down to how the director tells the story. When Rocky visits Delhi to meet the PM, one foreigner introduces himself to Rocky as CEO of so and so company. Rocky checks what CEO means and says I am a CEO too. Other person asks him which company to which Rocky says India. I took it as Prashanth Neel making a statement to rest of the *woods (Bollywood, Kollywood, Tollywood, …) 😃