Kanguva

While working as a bounty hunter in Goa, Francis recalls his past life, a centuries-old tale of warrior Kanguva. Turns out, he has an old score to settle and someone dear to protect in the present.

Release date: November 14, 2024 (India)

Director: Siva

Producers: V. Vamshi Krishna Reddy, K. E. Gnanavel Raja, Pramod Uppalapati, Vamsi Pramod

Budget: est. ₹300–350 crore

Music composed by: Devi Sri Prasad

Language: Tamil

For a long time, I wondered how cool it would be if we all spoke in poetry instead of prose — using allegories, rhythmic words, and maybe even sticking to a metre. But director Siva and actor Suriya have shown me that my idea is so stupid that no one should attempt it; proving that some fantasies are better left unexplored as well. That said, Kanguva also made me realise I might have been far too harsh on Venkat Prabhu and “Thalapathy” Vijay for The Greatest of All Time (GOAT), and Koratala Siva and Jr NTR for Devara: Part 1, thinking that they were the sloppiest big-budget “pan-Indian” films of recent times. I didn’t stop to consider that something worse might be on the horizon; and yet, here we are. Also, good grief, neither did I expect S Shankar and Kamal Haasan’s Indian 2 would find a match in terms of awfulness this year itself; that’s some achievement!

Torn between two eras — 1070 and 2024 AD — and united by destiny and a promise that binds two persons across centuries and lifetimes, Kanguva’s basic plot, though tried and tested, is decent and could have made up for a good movie if handled well. From Madhumati, Dead Again, The Fountain, Om Shanti Om and Cloud Atlas to Arundhati, Magadheera and the Baahubali films, numerous films have explored this crux in different manners — some succeeding, others falling short. Nonetheless, the premise is intriguing, with plenty of room to explore intertwined destinies through dramatic storytelling. However, it’s as if the makers of Kanguva used up all their brains crafting the visuals for the 1070s portions that they simply did not have any left to develop the current era and ended up making a mockery of themselves here.