Darbar Move review -- Rajini's Prove

Starring : Rajinikanth, Nayantara, Nivetha Thomas, Sunil Shetty

Director: A.R. Murugadoss

Producers: Subashkaran

Cinematography : Santhosh Sivan

The Sankranthi season has well and truly began with the launch of Darbar today. Let us see how it is.
story
Aditya Arunachalam(Rajinikanth) is a really rigorous police commissioner of Mumbai. He keeps killing all the infamous criminals one after another without any mercy. The Human Rights commission starts an enquiry and in their investigation find out that Aditya is really searching for the killer of his daughter Valli(Nivetha Thomas). Who murdered Valli? What is the entire story behind the murder? And how are Nayanthara and Sunil Shetty connected with this? That forms the remainder of the story.

Plus Factors:

As expected, it's a Rajini series all of the way until the end. The celebrity hero has been showcased in a superb way by Murugudoss and reminds us of classic Rajini. The superstar is very good as the bad cop as his style and mannerisms are too great for the lovers.

Sunil Shetty is super stylish as the main villain and provides a good depth to the movie. Nayanthara looked beautiful but didn't find much to do in the movie. Yogi Babu was fine in his role and are the supporting actors.

The cop installment in Mumbai was showcased well since the first half of this film contains gripping investigation scenes. The way the cop crime and drama angle comprising Pratiek Babbar was showcased is very good.

Last but not the least, Nivetha Thomas provides a good performance as Rajini's daughter. The combination scenes of the father and daughter have come out quite nicely and elicit fantastic emotions in both the halves.

Minus Points :

Following a gripping first half, the tempo in the second half drops somewhat as the film is rushed at the previous fifteen minutes. After showcasing much offense and evaluation to nab Sunil Shetty, one expects a good climax but that is not the case.

Also, the story of the movie is regular as the cop story is given a new twist with screenplay. Sunil Shetty isn't utilized correctly whatsoever as his role is quite weak and has no depth and power in the second half. After Nivetha's passing, things should have been even more gripping but director Murugudoss runs from ideas and finishes the film in a rush.

Technical Aspects :

Music by Anirudh is normal as none of those tunes click in the film. But Anirudh has given a rocking desktop score as it lifts the film to another level. Production values of the movie are extremely good and so was the Telugu dubbing. Editing is adequate and production design showcasing the Mumbai cop globe is wonderful.

Coming to the manager Murugudoss, he has done an adequate job with the film and narrates the first half in a gripping way. He pleases the fans in a big way and showcases Rajini in a mature manner. Story wise there is nothing new from him but if he would have made the latter portion of the second half good, things would have been even more grasping.

Verdict :

On the whole, Darbar is a serious cop drama which has some engaging moments going it's way in the first half. But things become bogged down in the previous twenty minutes creating the movie a bit dull. Rajini's fans will adore their celebrity hero as he's superb. Since the other biggies are also releasing, we need to see how this movie will cope up the heavy competition. Aside from that, this film ends up as a decent watch this week.