'Lingaa' review: Rajinikanth's majesty not enough!

The big screen gets bigger when superstar Rajinikanth appears on it. There is literally no exaggeration when I say that. Anna was last seen in 3D photorealistic film 'Kochadaiiyaan', where his majestic presence had enthralled the audience. This time he is back with 'Lingaa'.

This KS Ravikumar directed venture starts on a promising note, where Rajini as Lingaa can be seen in a not-so-godly avatar. He is a small time thief, who along with his sidekicks day-dreams about getting rich and spending on foreign travel (not to forget his dream dance sequence). To keep him company is South film industry's popular face Anushka Shetty. The actress, here Lakshmi, plays an active TV reporter, who wants to take Lingaa back to his roots.

Flashback - the real reason of getting Lingaa back to his village is to open the ancient Shiva temple, which his grandfather, Raja Lingeshwaran had built. Looking for a twist? Yes, you guessed it quite right. Maverick Rajini plays a double role. He is the Raja as well as the young thief in the movie.

The filmmaker takes us back in time, when British still ruled our country. We are introduced to Rajini as the collector, who is a good Samaritan and believes in changing others' hearts for the good too. He kicks the butts of attackers in the train hard, and asks them to follow the righteous path of achieving freedom. The collector in the British government is actually a Raja (you have to believe it somehow).

Raja Rajini, who is the Maharaja of Kodiyur has been presented in full majesty and aplomb. However, his heart melts when he sees poor farmers dying of hunger and thirst in the village of Solaiyur. He pledges to build a dam on his own. The whole struggle and efforts of the villagers in building a massive dam has been presented beautifully. There are instances, which make you wonder, if it can actually happen in real life? For example a man falls while working at the dam, and then immediately joins back with a bandaged head.

Having said that, Thalaiva does shine in his signature style clubbed with some good action sequences. Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha too has a small part to play, but looks impressive doing her bit. Sona aka Bharathi in the movie, is the Raja's wife, who stays with him through all his struggles.

The film slowly unfolds to reveal that the Shiva temple holds some secret and Lingaa needs to open it. There is a local MP of the village, played by Jagapati Babu, who has his own evil plans to rupture the dam and stop it from functioning. He tries to bomb off the entire village including the dam to achieve his end. 

Music by maestro AR Rahman is soothing and hummable. R. Rathnavelu's cinematography is worth mentioning. Even the costumes looked every bit authentic, suiting the taste of the script. However, the filmmaker could have tightened the storyline a bit.

The plot is somewhat like a fairy-tale, where Rajinikanth has been given an open space to perform the way he likes. He is the king of this world, and after watching it, we can safely say there is nothing that Rajinikanth can't do!