Director H Vinoth takes the core of Bhagvanth Kesari but does some interesting changes. Unlike Arjun Rampal’s greedy capitalist Bobby’s John Himler is more psychologically twisted. The man doesn’t start off bad but eventually ends up in a Hitler mode. Pooja Hedge unlike Kajal Aggarwal too serves a better purpose with the character’s background of journalism. The second half does lag with its election manifesto approach still the movie turns out to be a fine celebration of the star with an important message of women empowerment

Starcast: Vijay Thalapathy, Mamitha Bajju, Bobby Deol, Pooja Hedge, Prakash Raj and others

Genre: Action/drama

Direction and screenplay: H Vinoth

Original story: Anil Ravipudi

Music: Anriudh Ravichander

Cinematography: Sathyan Sooryan

Producer: Venkat K Narayana

Production Company: KVN studios

Running time: 3 hours

Bhagvanth Kesari occupies a significant place in Anil Ravipudi’s filmography. With Bhagvanth Kesari Anil proved his capability in doing an emotional story too. He presented Nandamuri Balakrishna in a different way within the mass template. The film had an important theme of a young girl overcoming her psychological trauma with Balakrishna as a guardian/father figure. One of the most impactful scenes in Bhagavanth Kesari was Balakrishna’s character taking a back seat for a while and letting Sreeleela do all the fighting. H Vinod’s take on the same subject is similar and different at the same time. The crux of a girl overcoming the psychological trauma remains the films strongest suit here too. The changes made though are a hit and miss, the backstory of Bobby Deol with him losing faith in democracy adds an interesting angle. But the sheer density of social themes makes the second half a drag. Also, many actors in the overpopulated cast become mere bystanders. But as a Thalapathy celebration it is a good package. Even if you aren’t a Vijay Thalapathy fan its not hard to feel a little nostalgic.

For those who haven’t seen Bhagavanth Kesari Jana Nayagan focuses on the bond between Vijay Thalapathy’s Vetri Kondan and Mamitha Baiju. Vijji. We first meet Vetri Kondan as a prisoner, Gautam Vasudev Menon in a brief appearance plays a jailer called Srikant. A dramatic turn leads to Vetri Kondan becoming a guardian/father figure for Vijji. in her childhood Vijji talks about wanting to join the army, but a certain psychological trauma makes her rethink about the army dreams. However, Vetri is adamant on her joining the army and doing something substantial in her life overall. How Vetri Kondan’s past catches up with his present and the journey of Vijji overcoming her inner demons forms the core of Jana Nayagan.

It goes without saying that Jana Nayagan is a mass showreel for Vijay Thalapathy and the actor/chief minister doesn’t disappoint. Whether it’s the mass punchlines or the serious dialogues Vijay does complete justice. Vijay carries the massiness in his own style making it an enjoyable experience particularly for those who are watching the original Tamil version. A specific mention must be made of the portions with Mamitha, just like the original the emotional moments of Vetri’s breakdown and his desperation to make Vijji a stronger individual creates a strong impact.

A crucial second half portion with Bobby Deol is also solid both in terms of writing and acting. The ideological differences between the two with Vijay talking on how change is a process and politics cannot change overnight gives a different flavor to the hero and villain clash. Bobby Deol as earlier mentioned gets a different arc to Arjun Rampal’s familiar capitalist. The man doesn’t start bad; we see him as a determined police officer wanting to bring change but a scene of humiliation with him being stripped changes everything.

Yes Bobby’s lip sync is often distracting but the actors committed performance along with an imposing physical presence makes up for it. Bobby is especially good in two portions; one is grappling with his inner demons where we see the dark side gradually taking over. The other is a long monologue on how elections generally function on the basis of religion, caste and symbol.

Mamitha Bajju pulls off Vijji’s transformation well like Sreeleela in the original. Whether it’s the scenes of panic attack or the smooth action moves she more than holds her own opposite Vijay. Mamitha gets her share of solid punchlines too in the pre climax. There is a scene of Vijji mocking Vetri in jest about letting the villain overpower him temporarily. You also have the dialogue “Oru Pere Varalaaru Avanthaaney Jananayagan” This works as a meta reference to mass leadership and power. Pooja Hedge as Kayal lends grace. In comparison to Kajal she plays a more active part, the characters background of journalism comes in handy on more than one occasion.

One of Jananayagan’s major issues is its election manifesto approach and wanting to cram as many things as possible. By the end of the movie a sheer exhaustion sets in on how the film stretches itself too thin. You have biological warfare, corruption in politics on various levels, sexual abuse, the ideological battle between the hero and villain with each having firm belief on their respective ideologies among others. All these make for interesting subplots in itself but as a viewer you get the feeling of the screenplay doing too many juggling acts.

Also there are numerous underdeveloped characters among the supporting cast. Prakash Raj as the local goon/politician makes some impact in his characteristic style but the likes of Nassar, Priyamani etc exist mostly on the periphery. An abrupt twist of Priyamani being John Himler’s girlfriend and how she helps him makes the viewers scratch their heads.

Anirudh Ravichander’s music has an interesting mix of songs. On one hand there is the peppy Thalapathy Kacheri. The fluid dance moves of Vijay Thalapathy makes for a perfect celebration number. At the same time there is also the poignant Chelle Magle. Overall, Jana Nayagan makes for a good rousing swansong in spite of an overstuffed second half.