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Pawan Kalyan’s star power needs no introduction and for more than ten years, he has been trying his best to do everything to enthrall his fans. I am certainly not one among them and I have no qualms accepting this fact. Except for Jalsa, I can’t think of a single film that I liked from his filmography since Thammudu (I didn’t like Khushi for some reason). Yet, the moment I stepped out of Panjaa, I knew that I had liked the film for what it was. Maybe it did help that I was expecting a film about Jai (not Powerstar Pawan Kalyan) set in a mafia backdrop. It certainly made a whole lot of difference compared to so many other viewers and critics who seem to know exactly what a Powerstar’s film should contain.
Everyone expects films to be entertaining and that’s fair because it’s the order of the day. Action entertainers are in vogue but to expect every film to be entertaining (read as packed with action, comedy, romance and emotion) is one of the tragedies of the current trend. Maybe that’s where Panjaa stands apart or for those who didn’t like the film, fails. Directed by Vishnu Vardhan, the film has Pawan Kalyan, Sarah Jane Dias, Anjali Lavania, Jackie Shroff, Adivi Shesh, Thanikella Bharani, Atul Kulkarni, Ali and Brahmanandam in lead roles.
 Pawan Kalyan plays Jai, a close aide of a mafia don Bhagwan (Jackie Shroff). Vishnu Vardhan takes us right into the story and leaves it us to guess how powerful Bhagwan is. The opening scene shot on Atul Kulkarni introducing Jai as Bhagwan’s shadow is a clever scene to establish the lead character. Twenty minutes later, it becomes clear that Vishnu Vardhan had brought in his own style into the film’s narration and it’s not the usual Pawan Kalyan’s film which his fans have got used to for more than a decade. What I really really loved about the film is Vishnu Vardhan manages to keep Pawan Kalyan as Jai throughout the film. I can’t think of any other director in the past ten years who has been able to do that. For once, it was refreshing to see that the film gives more importance to lot more characters rather than stick to one character.
Jai believes in loyalty towards the man who stood by him in his darkest hour and he vows to do anything to protect him. Although he kills people, he’s not entirely a bad person. We come to know that since he missed a lot of things in his childhood, he spends a lot of time in a nursery. It makes him happy, even though it’s only for a little while. He yearns to be a good man, although his loyalty towards Bhagwan often brings him back to the dark side of his life. This is the story of a man who’s torn by what’s happening in his heart.
When Jai falls in love with Sandhya (Sarah Jane Dias), it helps him to take his mind off the clean up act he usually does for Bhagwan. He likes spending time with her and soon realizes that he’s in love with her. In turn, Sandhya likes his company although she doesn’t realize until much later that she’s in love with him. After a while, he only cares about three people – Chotu (Ali), Sandhya and Jhanavi (Anjali Lavania) because they remind him of the other side of life. The good and happy side of life. No wonder, when two of them are killed, he’s blinded by mad rage and vows to avenge their deaths. Bad things happen when the entire story is about people who are morally corrupt. We are told that power matters the most in mafia business and people can go to any length to have power.
 One of my favourite scenes in the film comes in the second half. Jai removes his shoes and runs for a while in the hills near Sandhya’s (Sarah Jane Dias) house. He tells her that it reminded him of his childhood when he used to fly kites. Being with her at that moment means the world to him and he ends up confessing everything about his life to let go the burden of holding a secret for too long. In those five minutes, the whole crux of Jai’s characterization becomes clear.
Panjaa is a well-written tale about people who would do anything for their love, respect and power. The ‘so-called’ weak storyline has one of the best three-act structures I have seen in recent times. The characters are introduced, a lot of things go wrong in the middle of the journey and finally the protagonist has his revenge. Of course, it evokes a déjà vu in terms of how the story is narrated because of the choices Vishnu Vardhan makes right in the beginning of the film. Maybe only he can answer why he chose to narrate a story where the story progresses exactly how it should throughout the film. Mind you, there’s nothing sophisticated about the film’s central conflict. If someone tells you that there’s no ‘conflict’ in the film, then that person might have been watching the wrong film. This film is a story about one man’s internal conflict as much as it is about his conflict with the antagonists.
Pawan Kalyan excels in his role. Yes, he doesn’t show-off his full potential and energy in this film, but considering that he did exactly what he must for the role, his performance stands out. At no point of time, does the Powerstar dominate Jai and that was quite refreshing to see. The film’s other stand out performance comes from Adivi Sesh, who plays Munna. His characterization bears striking resemblance to Sundeep Kishan’s role in Deva Katta’s Prasthanam and Sesh has done an amazing job as the badass guy who fucks up a whole lot of things due to his impulsive nature. Bhagwan (Jackie Shroff) loves his son, Munna (Adivi Sesh) way too much and it’s completely justified that he wants to kill Jai, despite the latter being his most trusted aide for twenty years. Thanikella Bharani and Atul Kulkarni have decent roles and they deliver credible performances.
There’s a reason why the onscreen chemistry between Sandhya (Sarah Jane Dias) and Jai (Pawan Kalyan) lacks the zing which you normally expect. Jai is a mafia guy and to expect him to be like a 20-something whose hormones are on full throttle is a bit too much to ask for. The romance is subtle and it remains so for most part of the film. Anjali Lavania plays a club dancer who’s in love with Jai and she’s alright in her role. Ali and Brahmanandam have limited screen time and you can’t blame them for not bringing the house down with their antics.
Shot mostly in Kolkata, the film’s cinematography is another stand out feature. Call it slick or stylish, PS Vinod leaves a distinct mark with his cinematography. Yuvan Shankar Raja’s music is good and it’s still surprising why most of the songs were kept as bit numbers in the final edit. And kudos to Vishnu Vardhan! To have one of the biggest stars in Telugu cinema as the protagonist and making him stay within the character is quite an achievement. It’s true that the film’s best portions come in the first half and most part of the second half revolves around Pawan Kalyan and Brahmanandam, but there was hardly a moment where the story and narration seemed awkward. Right after the interval bang, you can imagine how the story would unfold and except for couple of twists, the proceedings go as you would have predicted.
Panjaa is not an extra-ordinary film but it has enough substance to appreciate the finer nuances. All you need is a little patience and an open mind to realize that it’s not a ‘laugh-out-loud’ entertainer. Words like a ‘sensible film’, ‘riveting action drama’ seem too alien but Panjaa is exactly that sort of film. And come on, you can’t complain about the ‘violence’ in the film. It’s a film about people who kill each other at the drop of hat for heaven’s sake!
P.S : Since a lot of you have already concluded that there’s ‘nothing’ in the film, good luck with ‘Gabbar Singh’. I sincerely hope that you find ‘a lot’ of things in that film to rave about.
By
Hemanth
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LOL@the last parting shot on violence. I know who that was aimed at! ;-p
Just so we clear, i *love* action movies. Give me MI, Bourne and Syriana, any day compared to soppy romantic ones! There *is* a difference between violence and action. Scream for instance is horror. Some of Sesh’s antics bordered on that. Did the role demand for it? Maybe, maybe not. That’s subjective.
Maybe it’s me. Am no wimp and can stomach some crazy gun and blood (as an aside, am trained to wipe blood and handle a knife and cut thru skin) but some of it was crudely placed. That is all.
I *loved* the scene where he gets all cuckoo and shoots Sampath’s son in a fit of rage. Perfect! He could have killed Jahnavi however too, why show us more than 1 plate?
“For once, it was refreshing to see that the film gives more importance to lot more characters rather than stick to one character.” –
I don’t get that? PK’s in every frame of that movie! His presence is not subtle. Not at all. Am not contesting your line, you obviously know your movies than I do yours, so asking.
“Being with her at that moment means the world to him and he ends up confessing everything about his life to let go the burden of holding a secret for too long. In those five minutes, the whole crux of Jai’s characterization becomes clear.”
I loved that scene too. Except that he doesn’t confess his story then, but after the Paparayudu song and her bad guy’s killing? I could be wrong…
Done. I know am pushing my luck here, but what the heck?
Good review and one of the best I have seen.
I agree with most of your observations. ANd kudos to PK for accepting being just Jai and not Powerstar.
Personally I think not many of our telugu audience have the patience nor the liking to these type of films.
So the commercial success can elude the movie.
I am hoping I can be proven wrong.
It is a good attempt and start.
Gabbar Singh will bring back the cheer for those who miss Powerstar as I am sure it will have the normal ingredients.
Sensible review..
finally i saw one review which really made sense…god knows when ppl come out of so called mass masala entertainment……
PS-I AM NOT A PAWAN KALYAN ADMIRER
good review!!
A writer should tell reason too. You should have mentioned why you did’t like Khushi. That was certainly Pawan’s best performance till date. There also he was with the character. No fan of Pawan made any of his movies hit after Khushi except Jalsa. But he experimented with Johnny and to an extent Gudumba Shankar. By the way, you only wrote a review saying you liked Theenmaar and how good Pawan in that movie. Please check your review. People tell he is doing experiments and ready for experimenting, but you always find Powerstar dominating his roles.
Coming to Panjaa,
You said narration nowhere seemed ackward but how are Brahmi and Sambha Shiva characters connected to Jai or main point. Zero connection. You may say he kills Samba Shiva for Sandhya, but it was poorly handled. As you said, Jai running on grass (I doubt if it was Pawan’s idea not Vishnu’s) is brilliant but it doesn’t take off from there.
Nobody is putting any attention to deck of cards and why Munna gifts and explains resemblance of each card relation to Bhagavan’s kingdom. We can see the King card on Bhagavan’s tummy and other cards around him when he died. That’s a clear message from Director that Bhagavan and his kingdom is no more. Great direction from Vishnu.
There is no mention of few vital technical departments in your review especially Action choreography which is awesome.
Only ‘Anukone leduga’ and title track are bit songs in movie but all others are of same length in both movie and audio album.
Bottomline: I am big fan of Pawan and I want him to experiment more and more. But Panjaa is definitely average movie. If it was not a let down in 2nd half movie would have been great. There is no mention of few vital technical departments in your review especially Action choreography which is awesome.
Firstly, a big congos to Pawan and the whole Panjaa team for coming up with such a project…….
THE GOOD
Way back in 2003 did Telugu cinema witness a technical marvel called JOHNNY and the credit goes to our very own Pawan.
Yet again, it’s Pawan who has brought back those standards teaming up with Vishnu…..
And this guy Vishnu is amazing……his narration at many places is fresh and thought provoking……
Specially those titles….
Pawan entering Kulkarni’s den…..
Pawan enjoying his freedom running bare foot on the grass – Loved this….
The way kulkarni rises and Bhagwan falls – The whole narration was simply awsum….
And of course the climax slow motion shots…….
Technically, this movie is by far the best seen by Telugu cinema crowds……And I wish this continues……
Though am not sure if any other Tollywood actor would risk himself like how Pawan does……They need hits, Pawan needs meaningful cinema…..
THE BAD – Not really, but I just wanted to sound genuine……
Technically, the movie is FLAWLESS…..
Except for the script at certain places, the movie is a technical marvel……
Had the screenplay been a bit more gripping, the movie would have witnessed an even better fate……..(Am not at all qualified to make this statement, but as a viewer, the connect at places could have been better was what I felt)
Nonetheless, Pawan has rocked it big time in the movie……It was JAI that was seen on the screen, not pawan…..and love u pawan for that……
Seriously, HITs kosam maatrame movies teeyakunda, edo kothaga cheyyali ani movies chesthune unnadu……..Hatsoff raa bhai…….
THE UGLY
OUR AUDIENCES…..
They are still stuck to those stereotype movies and am not sure how they would receive this movie……
Though I see a lot of positive buzz making rounds……
BUT one good thing enti ante……PAWAN is gonna get more admirers with this movie Panjaa…….Coz he simply lived the role…….Even these so called antis loved him in the movie……..
PS: In fact, koncham entertainment unte baagundedi ani nenu kuda anukunnanu (keeping in mind our audiences, manaki etu movie nachuthundi)……
but then I realized…….Christopher Nolan cinemaalakelli V.V Vinayak cinema chudaali anukovatam murkhatvam ani realize ayyanu
……..(Am not comparing Vishnu and Nolan, flow kosam vaadanu anthe 
)
Technically superb film okati ichaadu kabatti, Gabbar Singh maatram ooraa naatu maasssss undaaali and entertainment peaaksss lo undaaali ani hoping
…..
Pawan lo energy levels alaage unnnayi ani Panjaaa chupettindi…….OKA entertainer with peak energy levels padaaalii……..
Thanks for posting it it this late Hemanth. Was waiting for this kind of Review since ages…I think this longest essay of yours I read.
Coming to Film, I completely agree, It is Jai and Not Pawan Kalyan you see in the film. A dare act by Pawan to chose a character in which he should underplay the character. its more like a Vishnu Vardhan’s Film rather than a Pawan Kalyan’s film.
But, I was Awestruck seein the remaining reviews. More than their ratings it was their -ve points that amazed me a lot. How come one can expect entertainment(as to be read as you mentioned) in this kind of films???
Any way your P.S. Surely will be an answer for all those who want that SO CALLED Entertainment.
Sophisticated review. The review lacks the masala which our audience prefers. A typical telugu movie review must contain a few lines about how sizzling hot the heroine looks and how the heroism of the protagonist has shone through. It might work with twitter audience, but we must wait and see how the facebook and orkut audience receive it.
When Mahesh has done comedy in Khaleja, some fans of him didn’t like it. They said he overacted like Pawan.
When Pawan has underplayed his character in Panja, some fans didn’t like it. They said the director didn’t know Pawan’s strengths and wasted him in the film.
Like dookudu became a hit, I won’t be surprised if Gabbarsingh becomes a hit.
Because these are ‘full meals’ films to our audience.
God bless telugu cinema fans.
P.S. I am a fan of mahesh & pawan, hence the comparisions.
I really enjoyed the movie and had the same feeling reading your review. I feel Telugu audience don’t have the patience to watch movies like these. Its unfortunate that most of the Telugu audience don’t like movies like Kaleja n now this one. I feel khaleja is far better movie than Dhookudu but commercially Dhokudu is a hit.
I just want to react to keerthy’s comments
It is true that brahmi and samba shiva’s chars are not connected to central theme but
That is an argument or discussion with the director
I think he made the heroine char more stronger by adding the Samba siva char which could have been probably avoided and struck to the main theme and make it more engrossing or adding more entertainment to reach larger groups of audience
One can make a lot of arguments after the fact
No movie would be flawless and I am not saying panjaa is not perfect either but it is a good attempt and a start.
I frankly think no other star in Telugu could have done the role ..if they did we would not be discussing like this and it would have been a dud
The reason for keeping bit songs is may be director doesn’t want to spoil the narration
GENRE based films are a BIG no in telugu films, u hardly find any, Panjaa can be called as a close shot at Genre based film, its an out n out action drama genre movie except few scenes wid brahmi, it was true to its Genre but sadly telugu ppl like to see swapping of all genres in a single movie so no wonder this movie fails to impress large group of audience but gud to see atleast few guys like u appreciate that
One of the best reviews. Still there are certain issues to be addressed. Firstly, why does a reviewer/critic need to establish the fact that he is not a fan of the hero. A reviewer is supposed to be unbiased and atleast not make his likes and dislikes blatant. Maybe the motive could have been to exhibit the fact that inspite of him not being a fan of the actor he liked the movie. the intention may have been to create that effect. but still makes the case weak for its inclusion.
Secondly, reviewing a film means viewing it as a solitarily exclusive event. there was no need to mention that the reviewer did not like any films of the actors filmography. This aspect of the review sounded amateurish.
Thirdly, there is a undercurrent of trying to address the grievances of the common audience or majority of the critics who had already panned the film. there was no need to take up the cause of the film in a review.
Yes, as far as panjaa film is concerned. it is definitely a break away from the routine comedy centric telugu commercial potboilers with hero mouthing insanely heroic dialogues . I felt the brahmanandam bit was forced. and slight inconsistency in characterisation in the latter half where pk is boisterous in comparison to his morose potrayal in the 1st half. but all in all a refreshing telugu movie.
Pothuraju,
I absolutely agree with your comments.
I thought the same too. Hemanth boasts disliking Pawan whenever there is a chance( in this case he himself crated the scenario).
Sathya Prasad,
I also felt the movie good but is definitely a let down in 2nd half with Brahmi episodes.
This is the first genre based movie in recent times if not ever.
Most part of screenplay stuck to Action that too with beautiful choreography.