Vakeel Saab wants to fight the right fight, even when it turns its gaze away from the three women at the centre of all the drama to glorify its lead actor.
Language: Telugu
To remake a film like Pink, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee and Kirti Kulhari, in Telugu, with Pawan Kalyan reprising Bachchan’s role as a lawyer, is like walking on a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s an important film that frames the idea of ‘consent’ and underlines its importance, but at the same time, there’s every chance that the message might be lost in the proceedings. After all, there’s Pawan Kalyan and his star image looming large. Thankfully, director Sriram Venu manages to weave these two threads together and delivers a compelling drama, which works best when the Telugu version sticks to the source material.
Vakeel Saab, which literally translates to ‘Lawyer Sir’, is both a celebration of Pawan Kalyan’s stardom and an evocative commentary on how women are judged in the society. Its heart lies in the second half of the drama when the narrative shifts to the courtroom, and it’s here that the film finds its rhythm and soul. The icing on the cake is a terrific performance from the lead cast, led by Pawan Kalyan, Prakash Raj, Nivetha Thomas, and Anjali, who hold your attention till the end.
The film stays loyal to Pink in the opening segment. Pallavi (Nivetha Thomas), Zareena (Anjali), and Divya (Ananya) are roommates in Hyderabad. Their backgrounds are different, but they are happy with their lives and support their respective families with their own hard-earned money. One night, while coming back from a party, they are left stranded in the outskirts of the city when their cab breaks down. Pallavi’s childhood friend, who is on his way to a resort along with his friends, gives them a lift; however, they end up going to a resort. Moments later, Pallavi, Zareena, and Divya run out of the resort, and Vamsi (Vamsi Krishna), an MP’s son, is hospitalised with a severe injury. The rest of the story is about how the life of the three women changes after this incident, and how a lawyer, Satyadev (Kalyan) comes to their rescue.
After this opening segment, Vakeel Saab feels the weight of the expectations of having a star like Pawan Kalyan playing a central character in the story, which is fundamentally about the three women driving the story forward. To justify Pawan Kalyan’s presence in the story, Sriram Venu weaves an elaborate backstory about how Satyadev became a man of the masses, a messiah to the weak and downtrodden seeking justice, and the reason why he was compelled to take up law in the first place. On paper, all this is truly in sync with the character, but one can’t help but feel how out of place the entire segment is in the larger context of the story. The flashback segment is also the weakest element in Vakeel Saab and it doesn’t add any value to the story beyond telling us that Satyadev stands by truth and justice. His name itself suggests so, and Sriram Venu struggles to merge the reel and real-life image of Pawan Kalyan. Thankfully, the narrative undergoes a dramatic course correction and finds its path just when the proceedings seem hopeless.
The reason why Vakeel Saab works extremely well in the second half boils down to how honest it is about what it wants to say. The presence of Pawan Kalyan and Prakash Raj, especially when the two take each other head on, accentuates the drama. Sparks fly during their arguments and director Sriram Venu channelises Pawan Kalyan’s aggression to a dramatic effect. Unlike Amitabh Bachchan’s Deepak Sehgal in Pink, Pawan Kalyan’s Vakeel Saab is a lot more flamboyant, aggressive, and argumentative in the court. There’s no room for subtlety, and the whole second half has an unrestrained energy that uplifts the underlying emotion in the story. As Satyadev, Pawan Kalyan delivers one of his best performances in a long time.
While Pawan Kalyan and Prakash Raj give the film its firepower, its emotional core lies with what the three actresses - Nivetha Thomas, Anjali, and Ananya - bring to the table. They make you empathise with their state instantly and the trials and tribulations they go through feel a lot more personal, even when they play mute spectators to all the drama unfolding around them. It’s the look on Nivetha’s face, even when she restrains her tears, that leaves a lump in your throat. It’s the gaze of a woman who’s trying to stand tall while everyone around her turns judgemental about her character. In Anjali’s case, it’s her helplessness, and for Ananya, it’s her innocence that captivates your attention.
It’s not without a reason why the thing that matters the most in Vakeel Saab is how well the courtroom segments are handled. Right from the dialogues by Mamidala Tirupathi and production design by Rajeevan, to PS Vinod’s cinematography, the courtroom scenes in the second half leave a long-lasting impression. The pacing of the story feels near perfect, and three cheers to music director Thaman for delivering a background score that matches the riveting drama unfolding within and outside the court.
For Sriram Venu, a film like Vakeel Saab is no less than a litmus test about how well he can do justice to both the star and the story. Not only did he pass the test on both counts but also, he leaves you with a lot to think about, beyond Pawan Kalyan’s screen presence. Vakeel Saab wants to fight the right fight, even when it turns its gaze away from the three women at the centre of all the drama to glorify its lead actor. It tells us that one must stand by the truth no matter how hard the journey is and one must not give up fighting in between. It’s this intent that matters the most. After all, what stays the most with you after watching the film is what happens in the court.
Rating: 3.25