Thoughts on Overlord

So, this much-hyped sequel to a surprisingly decent masala star vehicle—one that had enough substance to keep even non-fans interested—has finally been released.

Addressing the Bajrangi (pun intended)in the Room

For those who grew up in the eighties and were educated the way we were, the opening of the internet in the 2000s was a literal eye-opener. Exposure to the vast expanse of information—far beyond what we were fed—led many who considered themselves liberal, secular, rational, and centrist to realize just how skewed those terms had become. Suddenly, they found themselves labeled as Sanghis.

As a result, people today are so sensitized that they detect conspiracies and propaganda everywhere, primed to scrutinize everything for bias.

So, when scenes of the train burning and the subsequent riots play out on screen, viewers will inevitably interpret them through either saffron-tinted or 'secular' lenses, drawing their own conclusions. The filmmakers certainly play loose with facts, portraying one side as the clear aggressor. The imagery and music only enhance this bias.

The titular lead speaks exclusively in riddles, quoting scriptures (of the secular kind), without uttering a single normal dialogue. Meanwhile, the uncouth, illiterate goon vents his anger in cruder language.

There is an attempt at (monkey) balancing with token characters from both sides making inane statements about their gods saving each other. Later, another attempt at balance comes in the form of a terrorist shouting Death to Kaffirs.

Beyond this, the film touches on various themes: the North vs. South divide, Hindi imposition, a northern party gained prominence in a western state while attempting to break into God’s Own Country, central agencies (caged parrots) being used by the Centre to suppress state voices, and a single party standing as a bulwark against communal violence to protect the people. The villian mouthing words to the effect of, 'I don't like colour green'.

Anyone outraging against this is as entitled to their reaction as those who did the same against The Files and The Story that came out earlier.

Intellectual or Pretentious?

With Kerala’s mundu-lifting, Inquilab Zindabad-shouting politics thrown into the mix, the film attempts to weave in geopolitics, globe-trotting intrigue, deep state conspiracies, Axis-Nexus theories, drug and human trafficking, and terrorism. The filmmakers want you to believe that your intellectual side is being engaged, while your craving for mass masala entertainment is also being satisfied.

It’s Just a Movie, After All

Does it boast a scale never before seen in Malayalam cinema? Absolutely. In fact, it almost feels like a calling card for Hollywood.

Ummm... But...

A paper-thin story, embellished with highfalutin dialogues, stretched out to a painfully slow pace as if playing at 0.75x speed, and to top it all off, every single shot of the star treated as an introduction shot—slow motion, gun-toting, shades-wearing foreign extras striding like stormtroopers. Symbolism and imagery are crammed into nearly every frame.

One hot mess is what it is.

Intentional or Unintentional Takeaways

What is a liberally secular person’s wet dream? 

Stephen and Zayed saving God’s Own Country from Bajrangi.

Unsolicited Advice to a Scion of Political Royalty

This isn’t your cup of tea. Hand it over to your sibling and stand behind her in support.

Final Word

One can't deny the fact that it is excellently marketed to create FOMO

If you don’t intend to watch it, you are smart. And for those waiting for the OTT release—hope and pray that it lands on a platform that allows you to increase the playback speed.

As for the 3rd part, there are enough indications that it will be more of the same.

Vikrant Rona and the case of creating 'Mass' content

 

1980s, a remote village in the Dakshina Kannada- Mangaluru region. Legends of bhoota, brahmarakshas galore. Age old rituals, bhootaradhane, deiva, kola. Family with a secret past. Spate of killings – including the police inspector investigating the murders. Throw in a bit of smuggling. Enter 2 strangers with their own motives– one , the long lost son of the aforementioned family and another a police officer who is the replacement of the one that got knocked off. 

This sounds like a blurb of the next Pendergast Novel or the premise of a gritty, atmospheric TV series – a la True Detective. In fact  with new comers or mid-range actors, this could have been a highly acclaimed albeit a modestly successful theatrical movie /TV series. But Anup Bhandari decides to go big. He ropes in one of the biggest star in the industry, decides to dub it in to multiple languages and on top of it, goes 3D with it. The result (at least for me) is an engaging theatrical experience.

The task of marrying content and mass image of a star is a difficult one. Anup does manage it well , even though not everything works. Credit to Sudeep for taking up the role, which relative to his recent outings, is subdued.

The flaws in the script is masked by a great technical team. The set design, background score and for me the biggest achievement is the 3D rendering. This has to be the best Indian 3D movie ever. (In fact, its better than what we see in the Marvel, DC productions). 3D has been used effectively to create the depth in the scenes and also obfuscate the fact that much of the action was shot in sets. And the gimmicky – throw stuff at the screen – parts of 3D too does startle you in couple of places. Achieving this level of immersive experience in post 3D conversion and probably at a fraction of what Hollywood spends is no small feat.

As mentioned, not everything in the script sticks. Certain scenes though look great and are there only for the loyal fan base of the star. Plot points, if you think about later (The famous Hitchcockian fridge logic), doesn’t add up.

In spite of its flaws, I would say Vikrant Rona is a creative success for its attempt in delivering reasonable good content in a super star driven vehicle, for its technical brilliance (especially the 3D conversion). For someone who is from the region where the story transpires, the Kamrottuverse has a lot of potential for  many future tales.