Mohanlal and Jr NTR in 'Janatha Garage'.Janatha Garage has all the elements of a typical Telugu flick, though you can watch it in Malayalam. Its theme is the archetypal clash between the good and the evil. It has a young hero who lost everything, including his parents, and is still ready to sacrifice anything, even his sweetheart, for the cause he stands for.
It has stunt sequences where the superhero eliminates all his rivals all alone. It has songs for all moods and troupes of dancers. Yet what makes, perhaps tries to make, the film different is the presence of one of the finest actors of contemporary Indian cinema -- Mohanlal.
Janatha Sathyam (Mohanlal) runs Janatha Garage, a workshop where 'everything gets repaired'. Sitting in the dimly lit interiors of the garage, Sathyam listens to the complaints of the people who come to him for justice, which people with money and muscle power have denied them.
Sathyam and his loyal, well-built aides believe in helping others or fixing problems of the commoners. Yes, you got it. He is yet another Indian avatar of the Don Corleone.
Mohanlal and his gang in 'Janatha Garage'.As the film begins, Sathyam loses his brother and sister-in-law as some evil minds hatch a plot against him. The killers leave the toddler son of the couple alive. The brother of the deceased woman fears that the future of the little one will be spoiled if he grows up in Janatha Garage and he pleads Sathyam to stop all his activities. Sathyam refuses to do so and instead sends the kid with his uncle and promises not to appear in his life again.
The plot is set thus, and the narrative progresses in two setups – in Hyderabad where Janatha Garage continues to run a kind of parallel government and in Mumbai where the little kid, Anand (Jr NTR), has grown up as an environmental activist. But it's life, moreover life portrayed in a Telugu film, and it comes to a cycle as the young hero arrives in Hyderabad and has an encounter with Janatha Garage. Let the rest be on the screen.
Nithya Menen, Jr NTR and Samantha in a still from the movie.The film has an interesting first half where Mohanlal's character is given prominence. The sequences, though cliched, are presented in a convincing way and keep the audience waiting for what's next. However, as the film enters the second half, the story evolves in a much expected manner, leaving no room for any twist or suspense.
In the never-ending fight between the good and the evil, the director has not left much space for humor, except in one or two sequences involving Nithya Menen.
Mohanlal and Jr NTR in the movie.It's mere pleasure to watch Mohanlal playing Sathyam who speaks less. With glances and subtle moves, the natural actor in Mohanlal conquers the screen every time he appears. Jr NTR does dance and stunts with ease that is expected from him, but struggles to emote. Unni Mukundan convincingly plays Rahul, the villainous, prodigal son of Sathyam.
Samantha and Nithya Menen are the leading ladies and Kajal Aggarwal does a cameo for a special song. The songs fall in expected spots though the tunes are not likely to stay with you.
The director, Koratala Siva, has tried to keep Janatha Garage as entertaining as possible for regular audience of Telugu films with a mix of popular ingredients. Siva deserves applause for finding Mohanlal fit to play his kind-hearted don with a salt and pepper beard.
Jr NTR and Mohanlal in 'Janatha Garage'.Onmanorama rating: 2.5/5
