Kabzaa – Movie Review

Kabzaa (2023)

R. Chandru is the writer and director of the 2023 Indian Kannada-language historical action movie Kabzaa. Upendra, Shiva Rajkumar, Kiccha Sudeepa, Shriya Saran, Sudha, Murali Sharma, Nawab Shah, Suneel Puranik, John Kokken, Dev Gill, Kabir Duhan Singh, Danish Akhtar Saifi, Kota Srinivasa Rao, and Posani Krishna Murali all appear in the movie as ensemble character members.

On March 17, 2023, Kabzaa was dubbed into Kannada and distributed in theaters alongside dubs for Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, and Malayalam. Critics gave the movie a range of mixed to poor evaluations after its debut.

Kabzaa Movie Review

Another pan-Indian action drama from Sandalwood, Kabzaa is about Arkeshwara's journey from being a son of a freedom warrior to becoming an underworld don. The pre-independence era drama Kabzaa centers on the life of Arkeshwara (Upendra), the rowdy son of a freedom warrior who later became a mafia don.

He then proceeds to create a vast business. The major themes of the film are what makes him such a powerful figure and why the patriotic father's son ends up as an underworld don. Additionally, there is another tale about a royal family that maintains viewers interested in the material.

Arkeshwara is a man on a mission who stops at nothing to end British tyranny, but he selects a route that has never been taken. R Chandru, who has placed more stress on the production, successfully recreates the 1940s era by building enormous sets and even wearing costumes that appear realistic on screen. It does seem like the narrative, which could have gone deep, weakens by placing more emphasis on Arkeshwara's character, which causes the screenplay to lose its momentum. The soundtrack complements the story well.

Upendra did a fantastic job portraying his role. Sudeep's appearance as Bhargav Bakshi is particularly noteworthy and leaves an impression. Murali Sharma, Sunil Puranik, and Anoop Revanna gave it their all for Shriya Saran's performance as Madhumathi, who bears the emotional component. Amidst all the gory scenes, Namami song aesthetically fascinates. Arkeswhara sticks out among the film's many villains, despite the fact that there are many of them. There are a lot of one-liners and sassy exchanges that are played for the audience. One of the movie's major points is Shivarajkumar's entrance in the climax, which adds another twist to the plot. The film is entertaining due to the plot, visuals, and supporting characters.

Gaining Ground

Kabzaa's cinematography is simply too excellent, and it does a fantastic job of showcasing the past. Upendra, a director renowned for his distinctive movies, delivered a strong performance. His screen personality is stunning, and he aced it in stunning action avatar.

Kiccha Sudeepa and Shiva Rajkumar's appearances are a huge relief. Despite being on screen for a very brief period of time, the performers leave an impression. The combat scenes are expertly put together, and the intermission bang is fine.

Negative Points

A movie will occasionally establish trends with its original presentation or idea. One such movie that reimagined heroism in Indian filmmaking is KGF. There is nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from such ground-breaking films, but Kabzaa's issue is that it almost appears to be a copy of KGF. Kabzaa lacks an authentic element, which is necessary for a picture to be appealing. Kabzaa closely resembles KGF in terms of plot, narration, and conversation. In order to increase the impact of a certain vehicle chase scene in KGF 2, the producers used a blackout effect. This specific affect is used repeatedly throughout Kabzaa, which greatly irritates the audience. It's imperative that the directors shake off their KGF hangover and realize that certain aspects won't always work in other movies.

But that's not Kabzaa's only issue. The protagonist is forced into the criminal underworld in this time-honored tale. Since there are no emotions in the movie, we cannot experience the characters' suffering. The focus was entirely on creating a picture with a huge canvas that was larger than life, but sadly, the storytelling suffered as a result.

It's very tough to sit through the second half. The romantic scenes are sporadic and add to the never-ending problems of the lead couple's fairly boring love story. Major adjustments needed to be made to the editing. The picture doesn't at all benefit from the quick cuts and awkward scene transitions. The movie drags unnecessarily, and the news that there will be a second is even worse.

Technical Side

The effect of Ravi Basrur's music is severely lacking despite its volume. Furthermore, the story doesn't offer him enough room to demonstrate his abilities. Excellent production standards and cinematography are present. The film would have been intolerable if not for AJ Shetty's superb camera work. The Telugu translation and editing are both subpar.

Regarding Chandru, the filmmaker, he made a subpar movie. He was in charge of the script and plot as well, but he made no lasting impression. Even a full-fledged action entertainer needs some emotion to thrive. However, Kabzaa totally lacks this element. The idea of a protagonist battling the criminal underworld has been done to death, so there should have been some

Conclusion

Overall, Kabzaa is a noisy and dull period action drama that falls short of the standards set for it. In this tedious movie, Upendra and the photography are the only consolation. It is a letdown given the predictable plot, uninteresting narrative, and absence of feeling. You are free to avoid this movie.