Cast : Vimal , Bindhu Madhavi , Soori
Direction : Ezhil
Music : D Imman
Producer : Escape Artists Madhan
Desingu Raja is a rural romantic comedy with a plot so stale, your hand instinctively reaches for your nose as you walk into the theater. The story is set between two warring villages featuring two influential families. Idhayakani (Vimal) is the sole male heir of one family and Thamarai (Bindu) is the daughter of the other. Love, obviously, blossoms between the two and quickly heightens, leading to some unexpected kasamusa. Thanks to the generations of rivalry, their romance is strictly opposed by both the families and yawwwwwn.
As the basic premise is laid out in the first few minutes, it becomes very clear how this movie will eventually unfold. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t have any tricks hidden up its sleeve. A bevy of comedians, under the guise of being thai-maamans and pangaalis, try their best to evoke some laughter. A series of made-up villains, posing as chittappas and thathas, do what is expected of them. Then the movie ends without much ado. It is an unambitious film which earnestly wants you to have a good time. In the end, Desingu Raja becomes just another forgettable comedy which very few people will remember after a couple of months.
Until a few minutes ago, I was under the impression that the this film was director Ezhil’s first. Then I read somewhere that he had made a movie called “Manamkothi Paravarai”, a movie which I never knew existed. It was only after I checked the Wiki page that I learnt he has been working for well over 15 years with a couple of hits to his name. I cannot think of any aspect of this film worth praising.
Vimal is one of the dullest lead actors working in the industry right now. In every film of his that I have seen, he is basically playing the same person: himself. Describing his never-changing look, a friend once told me Vimal looks like a guy who hasn’t brushed his teeth in a long time. For some reason, I think that’s a very precise description. What’s most surprising is that “Desingu Raja” happens to be Vimal’s fourth film the year. The two leads have a decent chemistry, though. Bindhu Madhavi looks rather pretty in this film. There’s also this comedian named Singam Puli who deserves a mention. He is often annoying, but he is among the few in this film who at least try.
How can a film which doesn’t take itself seriously expect viewers to do the opposite? It maintains a completely irreverent attitude towards the somewhat heavy subject of family rivalry. I understand that this is a comedy, but it has a ridiculously silly climax which turns the film’s premise itself into a joke. And it is painfully unfunny. Towards the very end of the film, a Kabbadi tournament is arranged and a bunch of cheerleaders assembled. This, we are told, is enough to melt away all the anger that both the families have held for decades. Soon, everyone and their grandmother is dancing to Waka Waka and Gangnam Style and we learn that the movie has ended. Thank you for your 120. You may leave now.
