'James' movie review: Celebration of a mass hero

James

Kannada (Theatres)

Director: Chethan Kumar

Cast: Puneeth Rajkumar, Priya Anand, Sharath Kumar, Rangayana Raghu

In an interview with DH last year, Puneeth Rajkumar had said that he doesn’t take pride in being great at stunt sequences. “You are a hero for a reason. I don’t believe in talking about how difficult it is to execute action sequences. It’s my job and it's my duty to do it,” he had said, in his typical gentlemanly attitude.

In ‘James’, Puneeth stars in a full-fledged action film, perhaps a rare attempt in the actor’s short yet highly successful career. Perhaps that’s how director Chethan Kumar always wanted to present Puneeth on screen.

When a young director collaborates with his favourite star, generally the fan and not the filmmaker in him dictates the script. Given the actor’s untimely death and the buzz around the film, Chethan’s approach might work with Puneeth’s die-hard fans.

In the past, Puneeth has had directors showing faith in his ability to play different kinds of characters. He played a common man in ‘Jackie’ (2010), an IAS police officer in ‘Prithvi (020)’ and convincingly pulled off the role of a man who follows his heart in ‘Paramathma’ (2011). In these three films and many more hits of the actor, he got praise for shining in the action sequences.

No wonder ‘James’ has a stylish action scene that introduces the hero. The first-half ends with a high adrenaline fight scene. So what’s ‘James’ all about? Puneeth plays Santhosh a.k.a James, who manages a security agency called J Wing. As he takes down the mafia, the film transforms into a revenge saga with the patriotism angle making its way into the story.

‘James’ is a typical, old-school commercial film that elevates the hero several times. It does justice to Puneeth’s action-hero image. Puneeth oozes style. The dialogues, slow motions, background score, and camera angles make Puneeth a larger-than-life and invincible figure in the film.

It’s encouraging to see a young director trying to do justice to just one genre while working with a superstar. Chethan doesn’t make the film melodramatic and doesn’t feel compelled to explore the personal journey of the protagonist in detail.

But the bigger question is, how will the family audiences --- who are the biggest followers of Puneeth --- react to the film? There is a friendship story that plays a crucial role in the plot but it feels rushed. Toothless villains and an inconsistent screenplay are other quibbles.

Analysis and ratings will take a backseat as people are watching and will do so in the couple of weeks only to see Puneeth in a commercial film, one final time. They will be ready to overlook the flaws and get emotional and immersed in the tributes that continues to pour in for the Power Star. They will surely miss the high-octane energy Puneeth brings with him, everytime he faces the camera.