Kabzaa looks like KGF. If you were wondering whether it’s just you or Kabzaa looks like a scene-by-scene copy of KGF: Chapter 2, don’t worry, you’re not alone. From the title fonts to the tone, texture and the colour of the movie, Kabzaa screams KGF in every frame. The teaser of the movie was launched in Bengaluru on Saturday amid a lot of fanfare. The teaser promises us a film about the rise of a gangster in British-ruled India. The filmmakers have added a little spin to the film by mixing a tinge of nationalism.
Kabzaa is written and directed by R. Chandru, who has collaborated multiple times with Upendra in the past. The film seems to mark a departure from the usual run-of-the-mill romantic stories Chandru has made so far. His last directorial outing was titled I Love You, starring Upendra. And the film made headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2019, when the film’s female lead, Rachita Ram expressed regret about doing a ‘bold’ song sequence in the movie.
The teaser of Kabzaa suggests a movie, which falls beyond the typical taste and flair of Chandru. It seems he had a reference point for every shot, scene and emotion in the movie. The teaser suggests that the film deals with the themes of poverty, probably it has a mother-son relationship at its heart, and even the ills of slavery and the rise of a flamboyant and power-hungry saviour. It just feels, reads and looks like a copy of the KGF universe.
And the makers of Kabzaa are not even being secretive about it. Upendra said that he was happy that the film was being compared to KGF. And earlier in an interview, Chandru also noted that “KGF is my inspiration. For me to score a goal, I first need to see the goal post. I feel very proud of Prashanth Neel. He did KGF and made the whole country’s head turn. So, I realised that there is a market for a film with such production value. The language was not a barrier. I have channelled all my experience to make a Hollywood-like film.”
Well, clearly, Kabzaa seems to be indebted to the KGF universe in a lot of ways. And it remains to be seen whether R Chandru has simply plagiarized KGF or he has taken forward what Prashanth had started.
As late legendary film director Jean-Luc Godard said, “It’s not where you take things from – it’s where you take them to.”