A little like Lalu

Haven’t we had enough of Prosenjit this year (he had around 10 releases, including the arty ones)? The busy Tollywood hero sure doesn’t think so as he is back at the theatres, with his Christmas gift Rajkumar.

To give him his due, Prosenjit does try out a few new things this time. First, there’s Lalu Prasad for inspiration. So, our man is a cattle-owner who keeps his hair very short, sports John Lennon shades, chews paan and romps around in lungi.

He’s all over the place — cow sheds, households, police stations and universities — hopping, skipping, jumping and pinning down baddies, swinging his colourful gamchhas, Rajnikant-style. He also speaks in a raspy voice, Amitabh Agneepath Bachchan-style.

Despite the same ’ol plot and subplots, there’s no denying the bit of unpredictability in the flow of events, which is as bizarre as it can get.

Confusion rules from the very first scene, when an all-sacrificing mother (Laboni) decides to abandon her 12-year-old son Rajkumar (Prosenjit) and marry the moneyed widower Suryakanta. Suryakanta goes looking for the kid, only to give him away to a cattle-owner. Let’s not ask why or go into the details.

The real action begins years later with Suryakanta’s offspring (a son from a previous marriage and a daughter with Laboni) squabbling over his property. Enter big brother Rajkumar, armed with Suryakanta’s power of attorney (why, we don’t know), to teach his step-siblings a lesson.

Sleeping through parts of the film may be a good idea as the story gets twisted beyond one’s comprehension. But with the tempo rapidly oscillating between full action and full farce — which had the Christmas crowd at Bijoli cheering and laughing out loud — it seems Swapan Saha has got a winner on his hands.

Anu Chowdhury as Prosenjit’s love interest is pretty and pleasant, but the director doesn’t let their romance progress more than a few dream sequences. Drama queen Laboni, always tearful, is annoying.

There’s very little to choose from the music, choreography, story or acting. Prosenjit, yet again, is the only reason to buy a ticket for Rajkumar.