Movie Review Power: Riveting Ode to The Godfather!

POWER: Riveting Ode to The Godfather!

It’s yet another story of Dons in a family and is all about the stress they undertake over gang wars with their rivals. Essentially, Power which is being beamed on the OTT Zeeplex is a film set against the backdrop of Mumbai underworld, where Kalidas Thakur aka Dada (Mahesh Manjrekar) runs an organized crime business with the help of his trusted aid Anwar (Zakir Hussain), elder son Ramdas (Jishhu Sengupta) and Ramdas' brother-in-law (Prateik Babbar). Soon, Kalidas' youngest son Devi Das Thakur (Vidyut Jammwal) returns from Singapore and is all set to get hitched to his childhood sweetheart and Anwar's daughter Pari aka Parveen (Shruti Haasan). Jyothi Venkatesh

How this thick-as-thieves family unit navigates these unprecedented times

The lives of several members of the crime family of Thakurs are suddenly under threat as rival gangs and goons gang up against them and launch a deadly attack on the patriarch Kalidas Thakur and his younger son, Devidas. How this thick-as-thieves family unit navigates these unprecedented times and the bonds they break along is the crux of the complicated plot which offers a lot of twists and turns to the viewer.

The message that the complex film sets out to drive home is that hatred is never an answer in mind. The heart of the movie is in the right place but the manner in which the story has been laid out in front of its viewers is extremely uninspiring. The highlight of the film is the high-octane action sequences and emotionally-charged scenes cannot keep you hooked almost continuously since the first frame is unfurled. The fight sequences by Vidyut Jamwal and Salil Ankola are mind-boggling and appeal to the core of the viewer in you.

The actress underperforms her role by sleepwalking through her role

In terms of acting, Vidyut holds his own as the calm and calculative Devi, lending his character a unique dimension of its own. Vidyut, who is a version of Michael Corleone, gets ample opportunity to show off his skills as a top action star. Shruti as his fiancé who carries his love child lacks the conviction of a bereaved daughter who is seeking vendetta from her wrongdoers. The actress underperforms her role by sleepwalking through her role, especially in the physical confrontations. Manjrekar as Kalidas, commands respect – not just from his underlings, but also the viewers! Vidyadhar Joshi has not been utilized to the hilt

Salil Ankola scores without any dialogue just by the strength of his expression and body language

Jisshu Sengupta sports a lot of foul words every time he opens his mouth to tell a dialogue but scores as an actor. Sachin Khedekar as Rana is as usual good while Sudhanshu Pandey stands out with his character. Prateik Babbar is just about average and it is high time that he got out of such mediocre roles and made a place of his own as an actor like his father Raj Babbar. Salil Ankola scores without any dialogue just by the strength of his expression and body language.

To sum up, I’d advise watching this (POWER) riveting ode to The Godfather at least once for its effective dialogues and sterling performances of the actors. The only minus point is that the film is front lined by mostly more than at least a dozen of Marathi actors

Producer-Vijay Galani

Director- Mahesh Manjrekar

Star Cast- Mahesh Manjrekar, Vidyut Jamwal, Shruti Hassan, Jisshu Sengupta, Prateik Babbar, Yuvika Choudhary, Sudhanshu Pandey, Vidyadhar Joshi, Sameer Dharmadhikari, Medha Manjrekar, Mrinmayee Deshpande, Bharat Dabholkar, Sachin Khedekar, Salil Ankola, Zakir Hussain, and Ganesh Yadav

Genre- Social

Rating- **1/2 (Two and a half)