Meet the angry young fly

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Makkhi

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Okay, so we’re going animatronics now. Super-special effects interspersed with “live” action — that is flesh-and-blood actors — are the USP of the high-concept Makkhi — the Telugu original Eega dubbed into Hindi.

Er… original? That’s absolutely debatable considering hit-maker S.S. Rajamouli has gone on record to insist that he hasn’t been “inspired” by Cockroach, adding that the roach flick was in fact derived from something called Fluke. Evidently, Mr Rajamouli has been keeping tabs.
Buzz karo! Makkhi cannot be accused of either originality or copycatting. Over time, dead men have returned to do their number in The Fly, The Ghost, and as malevolent spirits in practically every horrorfiesta. The plot here is primevally basic: Lover Boy (Nani) hankers after a Cutie Pie (Samantha). So does a libidinous Richie Rascal (Sudeep). Lover is killed by Rascal who has the playfield for himself. Or does he? Noooo way. Lover returns in the avatar of a super-insect, with headphones-shaped eyes, to seek revenge. And in the bargain, rescue his beloved from the Rascal’s bad breath — he smokes! — and worse odours.
Kids and failed paramours should love the sheer fantasmagoric action-dance, antsy-side-up insect. Several set pieces stand out like the emergence of the wonder fly from a cocoon, the manner in which it dodges bullets, and its edge over combatants even when it is wingless. Rajamouli succeeds in humanising the fly to a degree, besides arousing the emotional concern of even the most stone-hearted viewer.
As for Ajay Devgn’s guest voice-over remarks, the actor’s diction is impeccable as ever. Vis-à-vis the film’s dub into Hindi, it is jarring: the awkward lip-sync particularly during the songs-and-dances, keep reminding you that you’re watching something which must have been an uphill task in the sound recording studio. M.M. Kreem’s music score and the sound design (occasionally of the ouch-where-the-earbuds? variety) are the film’s other assets.
The set décor, costumes and editing are serviceable. The running time of 133-minutes is excessive. Crisper cutting would have been a smart, audience-friendly idea.
In terms of indigenous FX, the visual kinetics are as good as they get. Not quite in the league of the Dreamworks and Disney mega-fantasies, but there are clear signs that we are toddling towards a global standard.
It goes without saying that the angry young fly mechanism steals the show from the actors. Bottombuzz: Makkhi packs in a sting.