Leo, Review: The hyena trapper’s identity crisis

When a film from the South is set in Himachal Pradesh, there must be a good reason. And when the same film has Sanjay Dutt in a pivotal role, you look forward to some exciting moments. There are indeed such moments in Leo. The problem is that it tries to roll three stories in one joint (a large chunk of the film deals with cigarette manufacturing). The film is redeemed by an inspired performance by ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay, his second collaboration with director Lokesh Kanagaraj, and a suspense track, with the revelation coming a couple of minutes before the end. Leo is the third instalment of what the director calls the Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU). Colleagues who previewed the film with me were quick in expressing the view that Vikram, the second outing in the LCU, was a better effort. I haven’t seen that one, so no comment from me. Leo has a largish family track, which sets it apart from total mayhem madness that is the order of the day for so many Southern productions.

An odd combination, Parthiban is an animal rescuer and a café owner in Theog, Himachal Pradesh. His family consists of his wife, Sathya, and their two school-going children, Siddharth ‘Siddhu’ and Mathi. They are one happy family. One day, a hyena appears in Theog and terrorises the citizens. Parthiban is summoned, and in a dare-devil act, he traps the hyena and injects a tranquiliser near its lungs, rendering it unconscious. This endears him to the locals, though the police take credit for the operation. Just around that time, a gang kills the collector and escapes. However, the man who ordered the killing does not make the payment due, and tells them to lie low for a week.

Short of cash, they start looting anybody and everybody. The gang includes a psychopath, who decides to rob Parthiban’s café, which has just closed for the day. While at it, he gets physical with a female employee, and his gang members enter the café just then. The leader grabs the money Parthiban was willing to part with, and tells the psychopath to get a move on, since they have the money. When he does not do so, Parthiban thrashes all the gang members, and shoots them dead, all five shot in the forehead. He has an emotional breakdown afterwards. Parthiban is released, after being arrested, for having committed the murders in self-defense, but his photo appears in newspapers. This is seen by a notorious gangster in Telangana, named Harold Das. Harold informs his older brother Antony Das, and the two, along with gang members, immediately leave for Theog, to meet Parthiban.

Meanwhile, the relatives of the gang members who were killed by Parthiban make attempts on the lives of Parthiban and his family, which Parthiban wards off after a tough fight. Having no faith in the local police, Parthi requests for an armed guard from his native TamilNadu, to provide protection for him and his family. Parthi's request is granted, and a man called Napoleon, who was recently promoted following his heroics, is assigned to protect his family. Antony arrives in Theog and goes to the café. On meeting Parthiban, Antony insists that Parthiban is his son, Leo Das, who was assumed to be dead, which Parthi vehemently denies. Antony threatens Parthiban to accept his identity and surrender, or face the consequences of not doing so. Antony meets Sathya and tells her about Leo, which makes her to start digging into Parthi's past. At the same time, Joshy Andrews, the Forest Officer and a pal of Parthiban, also starts digging into Leo's past and finds Leo's only living friend, Irudhayaraj D'Souza, from whom he learns about Leo's past.

Though not as violent as some of the other recent films, the film has ‘A History of Violence’. A History of Violence is a 2005 action thriller film directed by David Cronenberg and written by Josh Olson. It is an adaptation of the 1997 graphic novel of the same title by John Wagner and Vince Locke. Leo is a remake of the Cronenberg film, which has a cult status. This version has three writers - Lokesh Kanagaraj, Rathna Kumar, Deeraj Vaidy. Having no reference point, I cannot compare their effort with the original. But a few observations are in order. There are problems with Parthiban’s identity, the details of which will not be mentioned, lest they serve as a spoiler. Though he was quite capable of it, he does not honour the dying wish of a most loved one. His demand for a security guard from Tamil Nadu has little logic. Promises exchanged between Parthiban and Siddhu have a repetitive monotony. Sathya repeatedly tells Parthiban that he need not worry, and she will take care of their children. Isn’t this only to be expected? Moreover, how will she take care of them, when armed gangs are attacking them every few days? Parthiban wrecks car after car, well aware that in any one of them, his son might be riding.

Directing his sixth film in seven years, Lokesh Kanagaraj shows a penchant for mixing tracks and genres. Leo is a family drama, a wild-life escapade, a gang caper, a tale of psychopathic individuals, suspense and investigation, police incompetence and glory-seeking, and more. Laying all those booby traps outside his house was a master stroke from Parthiban, but the appearance of the hyena, on cue, to end the attack is a little too much. It looks cute and claptrap, but belies belief. Likewise, the loyalty of Antony’s men to their master seems misplaced, given the fact that he is trigger-happy by nature and uses them as human sacrifices to propitiate the gods. Fancy décor on the outside, and plush interiors, but one could only spot only one employee in Parthiban’s café. The gang guns down an entire contingent of policemen to get their contraband through. Will such an act have no ramifications for them?

Vijay as Parthiban has a dream role. He gets to go through the entire gamut of emotions, gets to fight dozens of men, not to mention one hyena. Sanjay Dutt as Antony Das is a surprise packet, but his role is entirely negative, leading to the inevitable end. He will not be an audience magnet, at least this time. Arjun as Harold Das looks like an older version of ShahRukh Khan in Jawan, and suits his role as villain number two. His elaborate style of smoking can only be seen as a habit, without any other interpretations. Trisha as Sathya does a decent job. Madonna Sebastian as Elisa Das is comfortable breathing fire or shaking a leg. Gautham Vasudev Menon as Joshy Andrews gets a decent role and executes it well. George Maryan as Napoleon appears as a buffoon initially, but proves his worth when the time comes. Mathew Thomas as Siddharth jells with his family. Mansoor Ali Khan as Irudhayaraj D'Souza, Leo's is a bit of a caricature. Iyal as Mathi, is as cute as they come. There is nothing to Judge about Denzil Smith. Anurag Kashyap puts in a cameo, and before you can assess his talent, he is shot dead.

Credits include cinematography by Manoj Paramahamsa, editing by Philomin Raj and music by Anirudh Ravichander. In a fire (tobacco factory) and ice (Himachal Pradesh) film, cinematography meets the challenges. Action and car chase/crash scenes are particularly well shot. At 144 minutes, Leo is a bit to Leong, but then there are so many tracks to accommodate, so why blame the editor? In some of the songs, the words are bit too crude for my liking.

Having seen the movie Lakadbagga not too long ago, the hyena chapter held no novelty for me. How many men will the hero fight in one go, how many times and how many cars will he destroy? After a while, it becomes repetitive and just numbers. And yet, there is some novelty in this tale of the hyena trapper’s identity crisis. You might just enjoy the suspense.

Rating: ** ½

Trailer: https://youtu.be/3P-t4WRoW5c