There’s a father-son sentiment angle, but there’s a twist - he doesn’t idolise him quite the opposite again. He’s no hero, and they are no deities - quite the opposite. It takes a usual hero introduction scene - of him praying to deities for a glorious future but there’s a twist. It’s at once aware of the rules, and even while playing by them, shows evident disapproval of them. It’s the sort of tragic silliness we are surrounded by, and while most films use references of these top actors to cash in on their fan base, LKG does it too, but subverts it. I laughed out loud, at the truth of it all.
Lkg movie review update#
Like when a live video of a school’s squalor is being streamed on Facebook, and a random commenter goes, “Thalapathy 63 update please.” Later, in another live video, another one goes, “Thala Ajith massu ”. In any case, the most enjoyable parts of the film concern this. It may all have you conclude that this is a satire about politics, especially given the seeming parallels with the present situation in our State, but I see this film more as a satire on the ills of social media. The company’s called Trust Analytica, an evident dig at the global political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica. This isn’t a film in which you try to analyse why a corporate giant that propels important political parties to power, bites into the career of a lowly councillor (the explanation offered doesn’t cut it). The film too is rather similar it has lofty aspirations but has almost no time to wait around to establish the authenticity of characters, or make some of their decisions seem less forced. The film’s titular character, Lalgudi Karuppiah Gandhi (LKG), has no interest in waiting around to make something of himself in politics. It’s Black Mirror, but in a traditional masala template one that yields fairly enjoyable results. LKG makes it abundantly clear that social media is a madhouse that has the power to make and break reputations, fairly and unfairly. Is the hero in need of some help? Use Twitter! Use the Facebook pages! I can’t remember seeing another Tamil film that exposes this dark side of meme culture and social media, and it’s quite fascinating that it does this under the guise of comedy.
Typically, our films - save for a dig or two at YouTube film criticism - have championed social media as a saviour. Cast: RJ Balaji, Priya Anand, Nanjil Sampath, JK Rithesh