I finally got to watch ‘Leader’ yesterday, a movie I was planning to watch for quite some time now. With careful promotion, the movie had managed to build up great expectations and at one stage I was more curious about this movie than 'Avatar'. So, it was with mixed feelings that I left the theater after the movie was over. I am not a film critic so please don't judge me about my filmi knowledge. Having said that, when I've been promised a good Dum Biriyani and I get a simple Pulao (without mirchi ka saalaan) after paying for the Biriyani, I think I have a good enough reason to complain. Wouldn't you? I liked the Pulao though. By which I mean that there are several things in the movie that appealed to me but there were several other things that let my expectations down.
Story in one line: A young US-based (aren't they all these days?) Chief Minister's son and scion of a political family Dr. Arjun Prasad returns home after a tragedy and becomes the Chief Minister (CM). As a CM, Arjun wants to achieve a better life for his people. AVM's Leader is this young man's story.
That takes care of the story. So what's the film like? To start with, Leader has some great actors who came up with fantastic performances. With the tone being set in the first shot itself, and with the current political developments in the state, it is easy to get involved into the plot right from the first scene. But as the story unfolds, there is a sense of the film moving from one chapter to the other with bits of the story slipping through the cracks as one chapter ends and the other starts. For a director of Mr. Sekhar Kammula's caliber, these slips should have been taken care of as some disconnects are left unexplained. For example, what happens to the CM's friend after the second half? Did she take Rs. 5 crores and fade away from the scene? Does the hero contest as an independent or as a party candidate after he resigns from the post of CM (because we don't see any of his party members accompanying him in his campaign)? What does he plan to do with the Rs. 100,000 crores that's been collected? Agreed that his one-point agenda is to bring out the hidden wealth but after that what? Perhaps, my inability to understand these subtle points could be due to my ignorance when it comes to politics. I could go on but anything more would only spoil the fun for someone who is yet to watch the movie. Also the vague reference to Lumbini Park bombings and the CM's decision following the incident seems to be more of a knee-jerk reaction than a decision that came from the cabinet or the Home Minister (who is shown as a caricature but considering today's political scene, is not totally off the mark).
I can understand why so many people I spoke to thought that the second-half was like a documentary. But in my opinion, the second-half had the meat that shows political strategies such as swinging power centers, shifting loyalties, moves and counter moves, going to the people and so on. But there is a big disconnect between the first-half and the second-half. While the first-half focuses on consolidating the power and building the foundation for achieving the set objective, it is only in the second-half where the CM's concern for the public is shown. This is totally ignored in the first-half maybe with the exception of the first song. All in all, the first-half and second-half are two different sections of the book.
Coming to other points, dialogues could have been an asset but they are not. Such movies can afford to have the luxury of good meaningful dialogues as the narration is not interrupted by songs or fights. And this was one of the reasons I wanted to watch this movie. However, in many scenes, the dialogues were a letdown. The line, 'I am Arjun Prasad and I am the Chief Minister' seems to have been picked from 'The American President' and seemed a bit out of place. But the line 'With these hands you must have touched Gandhi-garu' (Again a vague reference to Ocean's Thirteen's 'You shook Sinatra's hand. You should know better.'?) was good. What I really didn't like was the way the news channels sing praises about the CM (which of course again is not completely untrue these days). In my opinion, News channels are supposed to show news the way it is and not take sides.
About the cast, the protagonist RaNa is pitted against seasoned actors and there are some scenes in which his rawness shows when he is in the same frame as they are in. In many cases, the cigarette prop didn't work well either. But the flashes of talent are definitely there to see. If only his scenes were better directed. In my honest opinion, if he can refine his body language and acting skills he is going to go places in the future. About others, Harshavardhan shines (he has a great sense of comic timing). So does Kota Srinivasa Rao. Subbaraju seemed to be his ususal angry self from his Pokiri days in some scenes but was a perfect foil to RaNa. Suhasini definitely was the show stealer in her scenes. But the guy who caught my attention is the first MLA, the wannabe CM tries to buy off. When the MLA is told that the former CM liked him and was planning to give him two (or is it four) crores, his expressions swing from suspicion to shock to utter disbelief to happiness to unending loyalty (which of course is temporary) towards the new CM in all of 10 seconds. That's acting for you. Heroines, well, they could have had a stronger role but somewhere they got lost in the plot, never to return.
The movie also suffers from continuity problems. For example, when Arjun Prasad is declared as the CM, he walks out of the party office into a downpour and everyone gets wet in the rain. But when he reaches home and is greeted by his mother at the entrance, the sun is shining, his shirt is crisp and dry and everything else is dry as a bone as well. Another teeny-weeny observation is that in one scene, RaNa's watch shows a different time when it is supposed to be 8pm (small thing that can be ignored and left out but then a small detail that can be taken care of as well or maybe I was not paying too much attention).
I might keep complaining but overall, it is a good and honest effort that will not totally disappoint you. About the music, it was not intrusive and was well blended into the story-telling. It is good to see a different movie once in a while and I hope this movie will set an example for other filmmakers as well. Before signing off, let me mention, if I haven't already, that I am not a film critic and so my opinions might greatly differ from that of experts.
Story in one line: A young US-based (aren't they all these days?) Chief Minister's son and scion of a political family Dr. Arjun Prasad returns home after a tragedy and becomes the Chief Minister (CM). As a CM, Arjun wants to achieve a better life for his people. AVM's Leader is this young man's story.
That takes care of the story. So what's the film like? To start with, Leader has some great actors who came up with fantastic performances. With the tone being set in the first shot itself, and with the current political developments in the state, it is easy to get involved into the plot right from the first scene. But as the story unfolds, there is a sense of the film moving from one chapter to the other with bits of the story slipping through the cracks as one chapter ends and the other starts. For a director of Mr. Sekhar Kammula's caliber, these slips should have been taken care of as some disconnects are left unexplained. For example, what happens to the CM's friend after the second half? Did she take Rs. 5 crores and fade away from the scene? Does the hero contest as an independent or as a party candidate after he resigns from the post of CM (because we don't see any of his party members accompanying him in his campaign)? What does he plan to do with the Rs. 100,000 crores that's been collected? Agreed that his one-point agenda is to bring out the hidden wealth but after that what? Perhaps, my inability to understand these subtle points could be due to my ignorance when it comes to politics. I could go on but anything more would only spoil the fun for someone who is yet to watch the movie. Also the vague reference to Lumbini Park bombings and the CM's decision following the incident seems to be more of a knee-jerk reaction than a decision that came from the cabinet or the Home Minister (who is shown as a caricature but considering today's political scene, is not totally off the mark).
I can understand why so many people I spoke to thought that the second-half was like a documentary. But in my opinion, the second-half had the meat that shows political strategies such as swinging power centers, shifting loyalties, moves and counter moves, going to the people and so on. But there is a big disconnect between the first-half and the second-half. While the first-half focuses on consolidating the power and building the foundation for achieving the set objective, it is only in the second-half where the CM's concern for the public is shown. This is totally ignored in the first-half maybe with the exception of the first song. All in all, the first-half and second-half are two different sections of the book.
Coming to other points, dialogues could have been an asset but they are not. Such movies can afford to have the luxury of good meaningful dialogues as the narration is not interrupted by songs or fights. And this was one of the reasons I wanted to watch this movie. However, in many scenes, the dialogues were a letdown. The line, 'I am Arjun Prasad and I am the Chief Minister' seems to have been picked from 'The American President' and seemed a bit out of place. But the line 'With these hands you must have touched Gandhi-garu' (Again a vague reference to Ocean's Thirteen's 'You shook Sinatra's hand. You should know better.'?) was good. What I really didn't like was the way the news channels sing praises about the CM (which of course again is not completely untrue these days). In my opinion, News channels are supposed to show news the way it is and not take sides.
About the cast, the protagonist RaNa is pitted against seasoned actors and there are some scenes in which his rawness shows when he is in the same frame as they are in. In many cases, the cigarette prop didn't work well either. But the flashes of talent are definitely there to see. If only his scenes were better directed. In my honest opinion, if he can refine his body language and acting skills he is going to go places in the future. About others, Harshavardhan shines (he has a great sense of comic timing). So does Kota Srinivasa Rao. Subbaraju seemed to be his ususal angry self from his Pokiri days in some scenes but was a perfect foil to RaNa. Suhasini definitely was the show stealer in her scenes. But the guy who caught my attention is the first MLA, the wannabe CM tries to buy off. When the MLA is told that the former CM liked him and was planning to give him two (or is it four) crores, his expressions swing from suspicion to shock to utter disbelief to happiness to unending loyalty (which of course is temporary) towards the new CM in all of 10 seconds. That's acting for you. Heroines, well, they could have had a stronger role but somewhere they got lost in the plot, never to return.
The movie also suffers from continuity problems. For example, when Arjun Prasad is declared as the CM, he walks out of the party office into a downpour and everyone gets wet in the rain. But when he reaches home and is greeted by his mother at the entrance, the sun is shining, his shirt is crisp and dry and everything else is dry as a bone as well. Another teeny-weeny observation is that in one scene, RaNa's watch shows a different time when it is supposed to be 8pm (small thing that can be ignored and left out but then a small detail that can be taken care of as well or maybe I was not paying too much attention).
I might keep complaining but overall, it is a good and honest effort that will not totally disappoint you. About the music, it was not intrusive and was well blended into the story-telling. It is good to see a different movie once in a while and I hope this movie will set an example for other filmmakers as well. Before signing off, let me mention, if I haven't already, that I am not a film critic and so my opinions might greatly differ from that of experts.
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