Kuppathu Raja - A Royal Bore
G.V. Prakash has gone thara local for yet another Kollywood depiction of North Chennai in 'Kuppathu Raja' directed by dance choreographer turned director Baba Bhaskar. Will the audience welcome this masala flick with a red carpet remains to be seen.
Rocket (G.V. Prakash) is a jobless youth who lives off his rickshaw puller father Oor Gnayayam (M.S. Bhaskar). He has a long feud with a local rowdy Raj (Parthiban) and the two always do something to prove to the area who is bigger. While Rocket is in love with Kamala (Palak Lalwani) he also has an eye for the newcomer to the area Mary (Poonam Bajwa). A small boy goes missing suddenly and a loved one of the hero is brutally murdered and the suspects from the hero's point of view are Raj, the area councilor or someone from the outside. Who is the murderer and how the hero avenges him is what the rest of the story of 'Kuppathu Raja' is all about.
Rocket is clearly one of the best performances from G.V. Prakash right from nailing the North Chennai slang perfectly to stepping it up with tharal local dancing. He has also gone the full monty in the romantic scenes with Palak and the lustful ones with Poonam as well. Palak Lalwani is surprisingly a neat fit for the North Chennai girl and she has expressed love and anger very effectively. Poor Parthiban is clueless whether he is a positive or a negative character and all through the film the confusion shows. Poonam Bajwa is used just for the skin show and meets an end that does not affect the story or the audience in any way. M.S. Bhaskar as the alcoholic father of GVP proves his vast experience and his extraordinary talents with Tamil slang. Yogi Babu succeeds in bringing a few mild chuckles here and there while most of the cast have done a fairly good job.
The sole positive of 'Kuppathu Raja' is the authentic recreation of a North Chennai local area and also filling it with actors who suit the backdrop. There is also a subplot involving a crime in a candy factory that would have been very interesting if it had been handled well.
On the downside the characterizations are badly etched, scenes are contrived and repetitive and the screenplay moves haphazardly distancing the audience from the story. The comedy is totally bland and the laughs are heard in the auditorium only when GVP thrashes dangerous looking goons triple his size.
G.V. Prakash's songs this time fail to catch attention but as usual he makes up for it in the background score. Mahesh Muthusamy's camera gives the audience a feeling of being inside a North Chennai street and editor Praveen K.L cannot be blamed for the mess as he has cut what footage he got. Baba Bhaskar's story ideas are not bad to start with but the way he has executed them leaves a lot to be desired.
Verdict : Go for it if you are a hardcore GVP fan and also have a weakness for North Chennai flicks.
