Cast: Upendra, Kiccha Sudeep, Shiva Rajkumar, Shriya Saran, Murali Sharma, Posani Krishna Murali, Kota Srinivasa Rao, John Kokken, Sudha, Anoop Revanna, Kabir Singh Duhan, Dev Gill & Others
Director: R Chandru
Producers: R Chandru
Music Director: Ravi Basrur
Cinematography: AJ Shetty
Editor: Mahesh S Reddy

iQlik Movies Rating: 2/5

Kannada star Upendra is back with his passion project Kabzaa. Directed by R. Chandru, this action drama is made on a reported budget of more than Rs. 100 crores. It hit the screens today in multiple languages. Here is the review of it.

Story:
The story is set in the pre-independence era. Arkeshwaran (Upendra) hails from a patriotic family and works as a pilot in the Indian Air Force. He falls in love with Veer Bahadur's daughter Madhumathi (Shriya Saran). Meanwhile, Arkeshwaran's brother Sankeshwaran gets murdered one day. His brother's death pushes Arkeshwaran into the mafia world. How his life changed after entering the mafia forms the main crux of the movie.

Performances:
Upendra is the main pillar of the film. He has a peculiar style of acting and he is known for it. Generally, we see him in hyperactive roles. But in Kabzaa, he makes a restrained appearance. However, poor writing makes Upendra's character weak and less engaging.

Shriya gets a role of minimal importance. She looks beautiful and elegant but there is nothing much for her to contribute in terms of the story. Kannada Superstars Kichcha Sudeep and Shiva Rajkumar appear in cameo roles. Their appearances are whistle-worthy. Rest others have nothing great to offer.

Technical Aspects:
Kabzaa is written and directed by Chandru. It seems like he watched KGF and wanted to make a similar film. He was so inspired by KGF that the characters and the setup of his film are almost the clones of Prashanth Neel's directorial. His writing is too weak and never engages you in the proceedings.

The cinematography by AJ Shetty is commendable. But the dark colour palette didn't suit the film. KGF's composer Ravi Basrur composed the music for this movie as well. His work in this flick is too loud and is not remarkable. The production values are great. The editing could have been a lot better. The quality of Telugu dubbing was horrible.

Analysis:
Right from the trailers and posters, it is evident that Kabzaa has KGF feel to it. But Upendra asked the audience not to compare his film with KGF and stated that it is very different from the former. However, Kabzaa is indeed a spiritual remake of KGF.

KGF had a strong emotional element which played a major role in its success. Kabzaa lacks that emotional connect. The scenes are poorly written and the elevation sequences don't have any purpose. Thus, even though it has star power, the film fails to entertain us. On the whole, it is a wasted attempt and may not appeal to the audience.

Plus Points:
Upendra
Cinematography

Minus Points:
Story
Direction
Music
KGF feel

One-Line Verdict: Dummy KGF