Set on a massive budget of Rs 120 crore, Kabzaa starring Indian real star Upendra released worldwide today in over 4,000 screens. The movie is screening in five languages including Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu and is being touted as the ‘the next big thing in Indian cinema.’
While many compared director R Chandru’s directorial with another Kannada film, Yash’s blockbuster film franchise KGF, the resemblances are hard to miss. If you’re planning to watch this film in theatres this week, here is Kabzaa movie review:
Kabzaa Cast
Upendra Rao, Kiccha Sudeep, Shriya Saran, Shiva Rajkumar, Murali Sharma, Nawab Shah, Tanya Hope
Kabzaa Plot
A Gandhian follower is killed by the British army and its followers. His wife, along with their two sons, now relocates to a southern city. The younger brother and the main lead, Arkeshwara is now a pilot in the Indian force and returns back home for a short break.
Meanwhile, two rivals are in contention for power in the state. One comprises of the royals, whose piwers were taken back after 1947, while the other is of the mafia. When the son of the mafia don returns back to country, he is killed by Arkeshwara’s elder brother in a rage.
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The revengeful murder of Arkeshwara’s brother by the mafia don and his gang then fuels him to punish those who killed his brother. How Arkeshwara becomes the king of the mafia world forms the crux of Kabzaa.
Kabzaa First Half
The film’s plot is so predictable that you can narrate it scene by scene. 40 minutes into the film, you’ll witness three songs, a gang war, heads being cut off bodies, and the rise of the mafia. The rest is well, just a build up of how Arkeshwara is a good man turned bad due to the atrocities of the underworld. There are long action sequences, a romantic sub plot which has been woven into the story just to get our hero out of jail, and Ofcourse, the macho heroism of Upendra Rao, which fails to create an impact.
Kabzaa Second Half
There are countless sequences where you can not help but notice the uncanny resemblance between Kabzaa and KGF. For those who have watched the trailer of the film, there were obvious comparisons. But after watching the full-fledged film, you’ll have no doubts that the makers tried to pull of their own KGF. From Rocky Bhai’s ‘I hate violence’ speech to even the beats of ‘Sultan’ being similar to Kabzaa’s title track, the film’s second half is nothing short of KGF-lite.
Kabzaa Cast Performances
Upendra Rao manages to perform with the best of his capabilities as the lead, Arkeshwara. But even with his acting prowess, Upendra as the larger than life hero isn’t the best choice for the film.
Shriya Saran looks stunning on the screen but gets screetime only in the second half of the film, where she delivers a powerful act.
Kiccha Sudeep’s role in the film is more of a cameo. The actor appears for a brief duration and leaves no impact with his role of the cop. But probably there’s part 2 in the pipeline, so there’s hope for his character.
Murali Sharma as the leader of the royals is cunning and sharp. The actor is just as good as ever.
Kabzaa Music
The title track of Kabzaa has an uncanny resemblance to KGF’s Sultan. Even the background music of the film is on a similar line at the Yash-starter. There’s also an item number in the song featuring Tanya Hope, but even that fails to impress.
Kabzaa Overall Verdict
With a part 2 already in the pipeline, Kabzaa is at best an OTT watch, that too if you’re interested to know how KGF could have been with a flat storyline, dull music and uninteresting characters. Plus, you can easily skip major chunks of the film and see when the suffering will end.
Kabzaa is one you can sit out of watching in the theaters.