When it comes to gangster flicks in Indian cinema, the commercial format has a
typical flow to it, one that we have been seen a million times. Yet, it is a formula that
has worked whenever a bona fide superstar has worked with a director who has had
conviction in his screenplay and direction.
Pawan Kalyan, known fondly as ‘Powerstar’ to Telugu cinema lovers, is back on the
big screen with his latest offering, They call him OG, a gangster action flick directed
by Sujeeth. After a long time, there was unprecedented hype around a Kalyan-starrer
and it isn’t without reason. Having the man himself in an ultra-stylish action zone has
the potential for a paisa-vasool theatrical experience. So, does this film succeed in
that?
They call him OG is set in Mumbai where there are two major gangs whose modus
operandi revolves around their ports. Satya Dada (Prakash Raj) leads one
community of people along with his daughter-in-law Geetha (Sriya Reddy), and they
are the do-gooders so to speak.
The other gang is headed by Mirajkar (Tej Sapru). Satya Dada’s main weapon is in
his adopted son Ojus Gambhira (Pawan Kalyan) a.k.a ‘OG’, a powerful man with
mystic Japanese connections. Meanwhile, Mirajkar has two sons in Omi (Emraan
Hashmi) and Jimmy (Sudev Nair). A major incident at Satya Dada’s house forces OG
to leave Mumbai. Years pass and he is now happily married to Kanmani (Priyanka
Mohan) and the couple also have a daughter.
It’s been years since OG left the city but Mirajkar’s gang do not dare to cause any
problems with Satya Dada and his men, simply because they fear the return of OG
some day. It takes the misplacement of a major deal headed by Omi to reopen old
wounds, forcing the tale of bloodshed and gore to resurface once again.
With no OG to rescue Satya Dada and his men, it is the perfect opportunity for
Mirajkar and his men to take control of the entire city. Will their plans succeed? Will
OG return to save his loved ones? Why did he leave Mumbai and Satya Dada in the
first place? For all this and a little more, you need to watch They call him OG.
For a film of this genre, it is extremely difficult for a director to crack the code in a
commercial format, because there is bound to be a feeling of deja vu in many of the
sequences. You need to either have a racy screenplay that has enough thrills
irrespective of the predictability or have enough high moments to make up for the
lack of creativity in the storyline.
Unfortunately, They call him OG does neither and ends up as a film that fails to
create any solid impact. Sujeeth’s writing lacks the spark and most of the major plot
points in the film are just mundane. There is no adrenaline rush and the emotional
depth is also sorely missing, something that is critical if you want the audience to
resonate with the characters.
There is only one person who has the scope to do anything of note in this film and
that’s Pawan Kalyan. It is meant to be a one-man show from the outset and to be fair,
Kalyan does hold things together to some extent, especially in the action sequences.
His tall frame, effortless screen presence and proficiency in hand-to-hand combat
sequences are the pluses that prevent the film from falling over. However, after a
point, even his antics seem tiresome as the screenplay lacks the punch to keep
viewers interested. The film does show signs of building momentum towards the pre-
interval sequences and the interval block is neat, setting things up for a riveting
second half.
Post-interval, the starting sequences are also decent with some whistle-worthy
moments but soon, the film hits the self-destruct button. A strong antagonist who
fights toe-to-toe with the protagonist is what the film required. Emraan Hashmi,
though, gets a role that is nowhere as meaty as it should be. Clearly, the film wants
to celebrate Kalyan to the fullest and while there isn’t any problem in doing so, what
is fails to do is to give genuine moments of entertainment or thrills. Some of the major
plot twists end up being downright silly and test the intelligence of viewers.
The only departments that have done their job in They call him OG are the music and
action. SS Thaman’s background score is a major factor in elevating some of the
sequences while the action blocks have also come out well.
However, the fights could have created a much bigger impact if the screenplay had a
soul to it. Sujeeth is guilty of cooking up a screenplay that takes the safe route and
yet, fails to take its film to safety. He is over-dependent on Kalyan’s stardom to save
the day but there is only so much that a superstar can do when the product isn’t
efficient enough.
On the whole, They call him OG is another of those cliched gangster flicks that fails
to live up to its hype. It may have been made with a sole aim of catering to Pawan
Kalyan’s fans but even the most hardcore of them might find this film a tiresome
watch.
Cast: Pawan Kalyan, Emraan Hashmi, Arjun Das, Prakash Raj, Priyanka Mohan,
Sriya Reddy, Sudev Nair
Director: Sujeeth
Rating: 2.5/5
Courtesy: Written by Raghav Ravichandran