The political satire-cum-drama not only mocks the state of politics in our country and our inability to choose the right leader, but also helps us to realize the power of voting in the most sensible, hard-hitting manner.
LKG review: A political satire with its heart in the right place
Cinestaan Rating
Release Date: 22 Feb 2019 / Rated: U / 02hr 04min
Karthik Kumar | Chennai, 23 Feb 2019 16:32 IST
It would be no exaggeration to say that RJ Balaji’s LKG is just the kind of political satire we need right now, when the state of politics in the country is becoming something of a joke.
Tamil cinema could not have asked for a better political satire-cum-drama that not only mocks the state of politics in our country and our inability to choose the right leader, but, at the same time, also helps us to realize the power of voting in the most sensible, hard-hitting manner.
The story revolves around a local councillor, Lalgudi Karuppaiah Gandhi (LKG), played by RJ Balaji, and how he aspires to climb the ranks in politics.
By hook or by crook, LKG knows how to get his job done and nobody dare stop him. When he finally gets the ticket to contest in a by-election in the ex-chief minister's constituency, he is challenged by Ramaraj Pandian (JK Riteish), his own party member. Everything that unfolds between them forms the rest of the story.
Balaji, who has also doubled up as writer, does not spare anyone in his effort to paint politics as realistically as possible on the screen. By mocking the system and the current state of politics with his inimitable wit, he makes us see politics from a really different point of view.
Beyond the humour, it’s actually sad to see all the mockery that passes for politics around us. As someone who has actively followed politics, Balaji asks all the important questions while eliciting laughter in the process with his sarcasm.
LKG does play safe most times as it merely recreates many recent events in Tamil Nadu politics and gives them a funny twist. But it is by making us laugh at the political system and our leaders and their incompetence that he makes us really understand where we are lacking and that politics can also be an interesting career option.
The film does feature interesting subplots. One of them is how we are all being controlled by corporatization. To groom himself as an invincible politician, Balaji takes the services of a company where Priya Anand works. She plays a political strategist and helps him to become what it takes to be a real politician, one who has to lie through his teeth, win people over with his speech, and be ever ready to switch sides whenever required.
Balaji shines both as actor and writer. This is his maiden film as a hero and the best part is that he never tries to be one on screen. Nobody could have done justice to his character better than him. Priya Anand, who hasn’t looked this fabulous in a long time, nails a role which she comfortably slips into.
LKG is a political satire with its heart in the right place. It achieves everything it sets out to achieve, emerging as one of the best films in this space in a long time.