Legend Saravanan redeems himself in a fast-paced action drama that balances mass moments with a more grounded narrative approach
It is hard to forget the spectacle, deliberate or not, created by The Legend, Legend Saravanan’s first film after making the transition from being an entrepreneur to an actor. The film has become notorious for its extravagances, amusing yet baffling viewers alike. With Leader, Saravanan takes an entirely different route, indicating maturity, discipline, and adaptability to the requirements of mainstream cinema.
Produced by RS Durai Senthilkumar, Leader begins in a fairly restrained manner, eschewing the flamboyant style adopted by Saravanan in his maiden release. With its comparatively low-key opening sequence, the film aims at offering a balanced experience by merging mass entertainment with a well-conceived plot. As in most movies, there are elements of cliché in Leader as well, including slow motion walk sequences, action scenes, and punch dialogues.
The story centers around a risky plan at Thoothukudi port, where Salt (Prabhakar) acts as the kingpin of all illegal activities, which include smuggling of ammonium nitrate. Underneath the sinister activities, The Devil, played by Santhosh Prathap, lurks behind the scene. To unravel the mystery, Inspector Chandhra Sathyamoorthy (Andrea Jeremiah) faces constant obstruction from the same corrupted system which defends the influential criminals.
His colleague SP Bakthavachalam (Shaam) provides some assistance, but not much. Within this mess, Saravanan steps into the picture as a nobleman amid all the criminal-political intrigues.
It is intriguing to note that Leader tries to make a comment about the shift in the sensibilities of the audience. In one instance, his character berates the young generation for looking down upon familial stories as ‘cringe’. Paradoxically, the movie also falls into the same trap. Emotional scenes in the film, especially with his daughter, are highly dramatic and often incongruous with the story line.
One major drawback of this movie is its inability to keep a consistent tone throughout the plot. Wherever there was a sensible moment, somewhere else a highly unbelievable or even dramatic scene would pop up in order to throw off the viewers. From questionable plot devices to over-exaggerated actions, sometimes Director Leader himself takes advantage of that which he does not want to portray. But on the other hand, the pacing of this movie turns out to be beneficial.
What makes this movie truly enjoyable, besides good acting performances, are some parts of the plot that create a sense of excitement in the audience. One particular sequence, which comes before the interval break, is one of the best examples of this movie being enjoyable.
However, after the interval break, this excitement level drops due to the introduction of yet another flashback which seems rather unnecessary. Nevertheless, this time the excitement level soon recovers as the story goes back to its main conflict.
Finally, the third act manages to link several plot points raised earlier in the story. The seemingly insignificant aspects like a hearing aid, a picture, or even an elaborate watch-bomb find their purpose in the culmination of the story. Such consistency makes up for the formulaic elements that would otherwise mar the resolution of the story.
From a performance point of view, Saravanan has come a long way since the previous movie. He is now comfortable enough to portray himself as a calm person. Although his acting abilities may still be questionable, his ability to give precedence to the storyline over his own self is commendable.
On balance, Leader is a mixed bag, but an entertaining one at that. Though it does nothing to reinvent the wheel, it proves that Legend Saravanan can grow into a versatile actor in time to come. If this trend persists, then the future of his career in movies could be promising.
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