Nov 17, 2016 07:20 PM
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It’s a homecoming when NTR first enters the hallowed portals of ‘Janatha Garage’. Unknowingly, something draws him in. He knows the reputation that precedes the place — it’s a haven for anyone in trouble. This problem-solving place, he believes, may not be the supporting force behind an environment-damaging quarry. His first meeting with garage owner Satyam(Mohanlal) has the two characters engaging in a brief, smart exchange of words. It’s one of the few highpoints of the film, steering the story in a new direction.
As the scene unfolds, you wait for a few more magical moments. Yet, when the inevitable happens and Anand(NTR) is handed over the reigns of the garage, there’s an underwhelming feeling of it all happening too easily. This despite Mohanlal and NTR giving their best to their roles. NTR, in particular, delivers a fine performance in the portions where he discovers his past and has tough decisions to make. This actor who romances the camera with such ease has been waiting, for a while, for a good script that will lend itself to a memorable film. The search continues.
Koratala Siva’s Janatha Garage has a hero with unflinching love for Nature. He slows down to smell the flowers and cringes at the thought of losing lung spaces to rampant industrialisation. He’ll take up cudgels against projects that disturb ecological balance. It’s only a matter of time before he meets someone who cares about welfare of people(Mohanlal) and discovers his true calling.
Once he does that, the film falls on a familiar track and doesn’t keep you engaged, because the opponents are too weak to actually matter. The glib-talking industrialist(Sachin Khedekar) and Raghava(Unni Mukundan) are no match for Anand and Satyam and ideally it shouldn’t take that long to put them in place. There was scope, to infuse something more sinister in the drama, since Raghava is Satyam’s son, but that thread too isn’t fleshed out well.
