October 12, 2012
Cast: Sudeep, Naani, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Voices of Ajay Devgan & Kajol
Director: S S Rajamouli
In Makkhi, the Hindi dubbed version of the blockbuster Telugu film Eega, a man is reborn as a housefly so he can avenge his own death. Few films are as wildly imaginative and as consistently entertaining as this one from director SS Rajamouli, who takes popular reincarnation sagas like Karan Arjun and Karz, and turns them on their heads.
Makkhi begins as inventively as the rest of the film unfolds – with a blank screen accompanied by the voiceover of a father (Ajay Devgan) narrating a bedtime story to his daughter. “Once upon a time, there was a fly,” he begins, kicking off the story of our protagonist Jaani (Naani) a man ardently in love with his colleague Bindu (Samantha Ruth Prabhu). Yet it all goes horribly wrong when a lustful business tycoon Sudeep sets his eyes on Bindu. When Jaani is murdered, his soul comes reincarnated in a fly to take revenge on Sudeep, and to protect his love.
With large opaque eyes, Jaani the housefly doesn’t have the facial expressions that you would see in animated films like A Bug’s Life, but Rajamouli invests so much personality in the insect by making use of his little body and spindly limbs. Makkhi has a superhero, comic book quality; you watch half-incredulously, half-amused as this persistent fly drives Sudeep insane. The fly becomes a character you root for, and incredibly, you can see characteristics of Jaani the human in the tiny bug. The animation in Makkhi is unfussy, but this is a great example of how the idea is truly the star.
Kannada actor Sudeep plays his part of the cold-hearted villain with true comic book flair and even a cartoonish tinge. It is because he is a powerful antagonist that you relish the face-off between the fly and him. Even if the film gets a tad repetitive towards the climax, it ends up a unique cinematic experience.
I’m going with four out of five for SS Rajamouli’s Makkhi. Make sure you don’t miss it; it’s the most fun you’ll have had at the cinema in a long time!
(This review first aired on CNN-IBN)