King of Kotha Movie Review: Dulquer Salmaan's Violent Swagger is Trapped in This Inconsistent Gangster Flick (LatestLY Exclusive)

King of Kotha Movie Review: Dulquer Salmaan's best gangster film - Kammatipaadam (King of Kotha sadly doesn't dethrone the film) - takes some heavy inspirations from Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time in America, but without feeling like a cheap remake. I found Once Upon A Time in America vibe also in the prickly, broken and battered camaraderie between King of Kotha's protagonist Raju (Dulquer Salmaan) and the antagonist, Kannan (Shabeer Kallarakkal), friends-turned-foes whose past bonhomie keeps coming between their enmity. It was a nice idea, but it was unfortunately overshadowed by the film's attempt to create a mass appeal for the handsome lead actor and its half-baked revenge drama. King of Kotha Review: Netizens Hail Dulquer Salmaan’s Swag and Action Sequences in Abhilash Joshiy’s Film!

King of Kotha, directed by Abhilash Joshiy (the son of popular filmmaker Joshiy), begins in the 1990s in the fictional town of Kotha. Kotha is currently ruled by the despotic Kannan Bhai and his dreaded gang, K-Town, even the police fear him. But Kannan Bhai is only ruling Kotha because the previous ruler, Raju, vacated the town. Raju was once the law and order of Kotha and also best friends with Kannan, but their last encounter left Kannan with a scarred eye and a broken ego.

When Kannan Bhai belittles the newly transferred CI Shamsul (Prasanna), Shamsul realizes that he can't do much to Kannan and his gang within the law. So he decides to bring back the one man who could destroy Kannan Bhai's kingdom all by himself.

Watch the Trailer of King of Kotha:

The first half of King of Kotha mostly takes place in a flashback to the 1980s, which shows why Raju was feared and respected even by his rivals. This is narrated to Shamsul by Tony (Gokul Suresh), his subordinate and a former member of Raju's gang. I have to say that I found King of Kotha to have one of the most mass-oriented buildups for a protagonist in recent Malayalam films. Even more interesting is how Raju was written as a character in these portions. He is said to be benevolent by Tony, but what we see are more of his violent streaks. The film, at least in these scenes, does not justify his dark deeds and insists that he remains an anti-hero who will not hesitate to kill anyone. Raju is still bound by his morality by his love for his sister (Anikha Surendran), his girlfriend Tara (Aishwarya Lekshmi), and his friends. 

Chemban Vinod, who plays Raju's rival Ranjith Bhai in the first half, is easily the best part of the film. His "English" speaking is sure to bring laughs, but he is not just a comic character. Unfortunately, when the film moves away from Ranjith Bhai, King of Kotha loses much of its luster.

The first half is still promising thanks to the anti-hero protagonist, the scene-stealing Ranjith Bhai, and some good performances. However, I could still see cracks that I feared would widen in the second half, and that is unfortunately what happens with the film. After a decent and acceptable first half, King of Kotha delves into a cumbersome second half that is more of a done-and-dusted revenge drama with unimpressive action scenes.

The problem starts with the protagonist himself. After nicely establishing him as a violent anti-hero, King of Kotha suddenly turns him into an infallible action figure that seems to have come straight out of a Telugu potboiler, while at the same time, the film tries to be a Kammatipaadam. This combination does not work. You cannot have an undefeatable hero in a grounded crime drama.

I heard someone in the theatre ask, "Ivanu aaru? John Wick-o?" (Who does he think of himself? John Wick?). I can't blame that person for making that comparison. Like with that Keanu Reeves' character, Raju easily bulldozes through all his assailants in all manners, even when he is stabbed, slammed or even thrown chilli powder at. There is also a scene where an assassin (Soubin Shahir in a very wasted cameo) tries to kill him but not before paying his respects. It was like that climax of John Wick Chapter 3. But again, that kind of 'mass appeal' isn't justified by the setting or with its very conveniently edited action scenes.

I believe that the filmmakers had some very good ideas about how they wanted to portray certain main characters in the film. Whether it is Kannan, his wife Manju (Nyla Usha), who is Lady Macbeth to Kannan's Macbeth, or even Raju's father Kotha Ravi (Shammi Thilakan), these characters give the illusion of depth, but they are never explored in depth. We are given the impression that Kannan is hesitant to attack Raju because of his lingering feelings of friendship. There is also a nice scene where the former friends bond over football and drinks. Unfortunately, all of this goes out the window when King of Kotha moves into the more boring good-versus-evil territory, which is full of clichés.

For example, an estranged character is killed right after having a heart-to-heart conversation with Raju. Or former enemies come out of nowhere to help the hero seek revenge. Or a drawn-out third act with twists that you can see coming from a mile away. However, Raju and Kannan's friendship, however messed up it was, had more depth than the flimsy love story between Raju and Tara or even his relationship with his sister. And Manju had more impact on the story than poor Tara. King of Kotha: Dulquer Salmaan Talks About the Challenges of Making a Tentpole Film.

Technically, King of Kotha leaves a better impression, even though it still leaves a lot to be desired. The period feel is recreated nicely, but Kotha itself lacks a personality, unlike say, a 'Vietnam Colony'. Jakes Bejoy's score is terrific and amps up some of the good build-up scenes. However, there are scenes where I felt the impact was lost when they relied too heavily on editing and camerawork. For example, the football tournament scene in the first half didn't have the momentum it needed because of its flashy cuts and drone shots.

The dialogue is also a weak area, which is surprising for a "mass" film like King of Kotha. When Mammootty says "Kochi pazhaya kochi allennu ariyaam, pakshe Bilalu pazhaya Bilalu thanneya" in Big B, we felt goosebumps. But when Dulquer Salmaan gets a similar situation in KOK, the dialogue fumbles it up for him. Another crucial scene in the climax is ruined by the needless addition of a couple of English lines, which may be a callback to a certain character, but feels unintentionally comical here.

As for the performances, King of Kotha is a Dulquer Salmaan mass show and the actor does not disappoint, although he is not that impressive either, having seen him in a similar character but in better movies. Shabeer Kallarakkal, who was quite the scene-stealer in the Tamil film Sarpatta Parambarai as "Dancing Rose", puts up an impressive act as the main villain. I loved how the actor convincingly carried the two looks given to him in the film. Among the supporting cast, Nyla Usha and Shammi Thilakan make an impact. Prasanna and Gokul Suresh pass muster, while Anikha Surendran is given limited scope. Aishwarya Lekshmi, unfortunately, does not get a role fleshed out enough to showcase her caliber.

Final Thoughts

King of Kotha is undoubtedly ambitious, but those ambitions are thwarted by inconsistent writing and clunky editing. The film has strong performances and an intriguing setup, but it unfortunately degenerates into a stereotypical one-man show and insubstantial revenge drama.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 25, 2023 09:34 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).