OG movie review: It has been a while since Pawan Kalyan was seen in a gangster movie, since the 2011 film Panjaa, to be precise. While that film has gained a cult following through the years, Sujeeth’s They Call Him OG, aka OG, leans more towards fan service to Pawan Kalyan than a coherent film with an actual plot that hooks you or has any emotional depth despite pretending to. (Follow OG release and live updates here)
Movie Review
They Call Him OG
A samurai has to come out of retirement when his adopted family’s life and legacy is threatened by a gangster.
Cast
Pawan Kalyan, Emraan Hashmi, Priyanka Mohan, Sriya Reddy, Arjun Das
Verdict
They Call Him OG is a good homage to Pawan’s stardom from Sujeeth, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good film. You’ve seen this story a million times before, and Ram Gopal Varma definitely did it better in his prime.
OG movie story
Years ago, a young samurai, Ojas Gambheera, was training under a secret society in Tokyo when the yakuza (gangsters) decided to reign chaos. Being the lone survivor of a massacre, circumstances and fate led to OG pledging his allegiance to Satyanarayana, aka Satya dada (Prakash Raj), who dreams of putting up a port in Mumbai. Years later, OG is no longer under Satya dada’s wing, living a content life with his wife Kanmani (Priyanka Mohan) and child Tara. But Omi Bhau (Emraan Hashmi) threatens to upend it all, forcing him to come out of retirement.
OG movie review
OG tries its best to create intrigue about a done-and-overdone tale of vengeance. But Sujeeth’s focus seems to be more on writing Pawan a love letter than on delivering a coherent film to his audience. We’re told a lot of things and shown very little in a film that spends most of its time hyping up its titular character. At the end of it all, you can’t help but walk away with the feeling that the director planned around five elevation sequences for Pawan and decided to build the story around them. Emraan just feels wasted in a role that’s written like a token villain and could’ve been played by anybody. Clearly not the best treatment he’s got this month, especially after the glowing cameo in The Ba***ds of Bollywood.
The sidebars
While most of the film feels like a setup for the next part – one long introductory tale for who Ojas Gambheera is – it also takes detours to explore some side stories that are supposed to make you feel for OG. Except, they don’t really land. Priyanka and Pawan share good chemistry; you believe they do love each other, but their love story and the song Suvvi Suvvi only seem to delay the inevitable. Arjun’s (Arjun Das) reason for wanting revenge on OG also comes across as contrived, especially when you can smell the ‘twists’ in their tale coming from a mile away. Sriya Reddy is the only one who gets a good role as Geetha. After making a mark in Salaar, she manages to hold her own in this sea of testosterone.
The high moments
OG is mostly about Pawan, his charisma, his looks, his slow-mos…you get the gist. If the reactions at the theatre are anything to go by, the actor-politician’s fans have enough in this movie for them to love. They will enjoy his costumes, one-liners and especially the mostly well-choreographed action sequences, unlike his previous film, Hari Hara Veera Mallu. Pawan also seems to enjoy playing the part, given how invested he seems even while delivering the famous ‘Washi Yo Washi’ haiku in the film. But for the most part, he and his character don’t need to do any heavy lifting because everyone else, including the director, does it for them.
The Easter eggs
OG is filled with Easter eggs, and Sujeeth is not necessarily subtle about them either. You don’t have to look too hard to notice them shining brightly right in your face. It’s a whole different thing, which, while fun, adds absolutely nothing to the story overall. Many fans have guessed by now, after noticing ‘Waaji’ mentioned in the trailer, that the film will have a Saaho (2019) connection. It does, it’s just not necessarily done very well. Sujeeth also takes the time to pay a very over-the-top nod to Pawan’s cherished 2003 film Johnny, which works for the nostalgia alone.
In conclusion
They Call Him OG is a good homage to Pawan’s stardom from Sujeeth, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good film. You’ve seen this story a million times before, and Ram Gopal Varma definitely did it better in his prime. Do sit through the end credits for a post-credit scene that doesn’t just tease the next part but also hints there’s more to Ojas Gambheera than we’ve already been shown. Though it’s hard to know what else is left to know about him after 2 hours and 34 minutes of him slashing people like a ninja.
