Upendra Review

It's always tough to fight with a government office. Especially if you don't have Anil Ambani's bank account number. And Subhash Chandra Gandhi (Upendra) finds this out the hard way - when his attempt to fight for the pension of an absolute stranger leads to all-out war with the local goondas and MLAs.

Ironically, Gandhi is a man who is used to travelling in limousines that are longer than the average queue of people trying to get out of this film. He happens to be the ultra-rich heir to the prestigious Gandhi & Gandhi group of industries, a London-based company.

Why is Gandhi not using his clout and money to threaten the pension office? Why is he fighting for the pension of an old man he doesn't know? Why is Gandhi in India in the first place? Will you be in a coma by the time this movie ends? Will this movie end by the time your coma ends?

Basically, Gandhi is married to a girl Indira (Nayantara) who cheated him into marriage because she has an agenda of revenge. How Gandhi gets to turn her around, but mainly, how he changes India from a land of losers, corruption and poverty to a land of honesty and riches, forms the plot.

Upendra's trademark eccentricity is up for display in what is a highly jingoistic movie that has no room for subtlety of any kind. The film opens with a passionate narrative of how India was looted and plundered by countless foreign invaders. It then zips to a childishly-fantasized vision of what India will be like in the year 2030 - with Indians having embraced their ancient culture, Westerners employed in menial jobs serving Indians, Indian currency being more valuable than the pound, and so on.

The movie then attempts to explain how India got there, and starts off on its weird train of thought of how the super-patriotic Gandhi woos Indira, and how he eventually gets down to fighting corruption in India.

Upendra's ideas are well-intentioned - the film is one long acrimonious commentary on patriotism, social evil in India, and politics in Karnataka - but lack maturity most of the time. For example, his depiction of Englishmen as modern-day beasts who will do anything for money and women is completely shallow and unintelligent, not to mention grating on the senses.

Upendra, as we have noted earlier, is a fine actor, but has questionable writing skills. His star power might have pulled crowds to making this a hit in Kannada, but to replicate the results here, we'll need free biryani and Coke at the venue, plus a chance each to star in a movie of our own.

So, yes, Upendra acts well and has pages and pages of thumping dialogues to deliver. Nayantara is a gorgeous accessory to the film, what with her traditional Indian look and all. Ali plays one of the "Cheddy" brothers, in a spoof on the Gali Reddy brothers, and is boring.

And the film is loud in general - the conversations, the dialogues, the songs, the imagery, the extra-swanky editing, and a couple of wacko hairdos the hero sports.

Skip it at all costs.