Director: Mahadev
Cast: Nikhil Kumar, Deepti Sati, Sampath Raj, Aditya Menon, Saurav Lokesh, Sadhu Kokila, Jagapati Babu, Ramya Krishnan
With Jaguar finally hitting the roads, this expensive ‘vehicle’ specially imported by former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy for his son’s debut, is fully loaded with all the costliest top end features. However, apart from Nikhil who drives it exceptionally well when considering that it is his first ever venture and belonging to a political family, the overall performance of it for almost two-and-a-half hour is just an average experience.
If not for Nikhil’s dancing and fighting talent plus putting up an acceptable acting show, Jaguar would have met a disastrous end.
The biggest let down is the story which has been told and retold since time immemorial – A son coming back to avenge his father’s death to re-establish his lost glory is the crux. At least something better than the usual commercial cliché was expected from the writer K.V. Vijayendra Prasad but with insufficient air in the tyres, it runs flat for a long distance till it finally picks up after a brief pit stop (interval).
In no time, the tone of movie is set and the lavish gala of affairs starts to unravel. Nikhil makes his entry and soon even before guessing about his super avatar in mask, the first half is already filled with at least two live murders and two dangerous fights. Later, a couple of songs – one shot at a posh foreign location and another in an expensive, are embedded in the film to add up the charm. There's also a miraculous life saving act by the protagonist who claims to be an orphan, studying medicine on stipend.
The director has packed in a lot of luggage but the heavy load with too may support roles and unnecessary sequences further dampen the travelling experience. In a first of its kind in Indian cinema, we have a dummy CBI officer who hardly does anything but to update the case details through Twitter. He even signs it off with a justice serviced tweet.
Moving on with the music S.S.Thaman continues to ‘haunt’ with his senseless music and about the much hyped Tamannaah’s special item number, it is another big waste without which the second could have easily survived. Jaguar looks stunning from the outside, but minus the driving skills of Nikhil, it is just another costly affair. Hope, Nikhil’s talent will be put to right use in the coming days.
