Anupama Chopra's review: Makkhi
Makkhi is the most outlandish film I've seen in years. It's also the most fun I've had in a theatre recently. This is the dubbed Hindi version of Eega, which was released earlier in Tamil, Telegu and Malayalam, but nothing has been lost in translation.
Makkhi
Direction: SS Rajamouli, JVV Sathyanarayana
Actors: Sudeep, Nani
Rating: ****
Makkhi is the most outlandish film I've seen in years. It's also the most fun I've had in a theatre recently. This is the dubbed Hindi version of Eega, which was released earlier in Tamil, Telegu and Malayalam, but nothing has been lost in translation. Makkhi is the story of a young man named Jani who gets killed because he loves a girl coveted by a lecherous billionaire.
Jani is then reborn as an insect but he doesn't let his size get in his way. He takes revenge for his murder by slowly destroying the billionaire's peace of mind, his business and his power. It takes courage to pick a story as weird as this. Clearly writer-director SS Rajamouli is equipped with guts and a ferocious imagination.
First, he creates a creepy villain: Sudeep is wonderful as the baddie unhinged by a fly. Then Rajamouli imbues a fly with enough personality to take on this villain. It's a tightrope act, and there are times when you think the film has gone too far. At one point, the fly is communicating with his girlfriend by writing with her tears.
But Rajamouli keeps you hooked. By the end, I was clapping and rooting for the fly. How many films can get you emotionally invested in an insect? Makkhi is a mad roller coaster ride that's worth taking.