A long, scrawny, voice-less aspiring actor rides piggyback
on a hypnotic, heavy baritone to super success in Bollywood: the premise of
‘Shamitabh’ is delightful on many levels.
A peculiar idea that has several memorable moments with
dollops of originality thrown in, Shamitabh oscillates from being super fun to overemotional.
As long as there are smile through moments, courtesy the game of one supremacy
between Amitabh Bachchan and Dhanush, Shamitabh brings in chuckles abundant. But,
the places where emotions start running high and full-on drama is thrown in,
Shamitabh ends up taking a different route altogether. Now if only Balki would
have kept is as a mainly happy movie with laughs thrown in for good amount,
Shamitabh would have been much bigger and pleasant than what it turns out to
be.
An aged, mealy-mouthed, self-destructive alcoholic Amitabh
Sinha (Bachchan) is a spent force, having been thwarted four decades ago in a
bid to make it as a movie actor.
His rich baritone is the man’s only belonging that counts for anything and he
still revels in mouthing lines from Mughal-e-Azam.
A young wannabe actor Danish (Dhanush) is the exact opposite. He is full of
passion and ambition and wants to see his name up on the movie posters.
But he, too, suffers from an impediment. He does not have a voice – his vocal
chord is paralyzed. But his dreams are unstoppable.
An enterprising and sympathetic assistant director Akshara (Akshara Haasan)
gets the two men to collaborate. Danish gets a voice processor, and Amitabh
gives words to his thoughts. As the Voice and the Face combine, a star is born.
The movie is pleasurable for a good part though, both in the first and the
second part. One may find Dhanush's rise to fame a little too rapid. In fact it
seems practically fantastical in the way it is narrated. But, Balki was perhaps
making a statement on the current state of affairs where a '65 crore opening
weekend' can raise a rank newcomer to become a darling of the masses and the
media.
Well, Big B and Dhanush are creatively intermingled into the
story of 'voice meets body' plot of Shamitabh, hence bringing in quite a few
interesting episodes in the lives of '43% whiskey and 57% water'. Though it is
a different matter that the character played by Amitabh Bachchan thinks
otherwise but the ego between the voice and the body has its own complications
set. Now whenever it is all light hearted, you do go with the flow.
This is when you miss Akshara who is really the most natural
actor between the theatrics of Big B and melodrama of Dhanush. She makes a delightful
impression right through the course of the movie and plays an Assistant
Director to the T. Her dialogue delivery is unique. Akshara Haasan, in her
debut, holds her own with an air of confidence that bodes well for the future.
On his part, Amitabh Bachchan is wonderful indeed, particularly
when he demonstrates it all through his voice. But, his many solo scenes in the
graveyard or otherwise (and trust me, there are many) start seeming repetitive
after a while. While you are also reminded of his act in The Last Lear here, it
is also seeming that Balki is in love with the man and is enjoying his fan boy
moment by making Big B perform just for his eye.
In the meantime Dhanush showcases yet again, after
Raanjhanaa, that what a good actor he is when it comes to internalizing the
emotions of his character and then bringing them out in equal measure for
screen. Just for his scene in the pre-climax where he delivers a monologue on
'paanch sach', Shamitabh is worth a watch.
As a matter of fact, the movie could well have been an even
better watch had it ended right after this mighty powerful and meaningful
scene. But, Balki decides to pick for an altogether different ending and
extends the movie by 10-15 minutes.
But, all of that is forgotten for that priceless expression
on Rekha's face when she interacts with Amitabh Bachchan. Now it is nuggets of
brilliance like these that guarantee that you remember Shamitabh for all the
smiles it brought in.
Shamitabh is embellished with great music
(Ilaiyaraaja), some exceptional camerawork (P C Sreeram) and many remarkably
skilful directorial touches.
‘Shamitabh’ had the potential to use satire and knowingness
and a self-awareness, and the presence of the most strong star in Bollywood
whose velvet-and-iron rumble has become part of the national soundtrack, to
give us a remarkable tale of ego and identity, rejection and acceptance,
success and failure. There are a few moments which sparkle, and we laugh in
acknowledgement.
While Bachchan is indeed the selling point of the
movie, Shamitabh might have benefitted had Balki gone a little easier
on his fascination with the ageless megastar.
Generally, Shamitabh is admirable to watch once
for its story idea, the quality of the performances and its technical
brilliance.
