Big B's appearance on the 70 mm screen has been far & few, so it was quite natural that there is a tremendous deal of hype & anticipation surrounding his latest release "Shamitabh". The promos has been awesome as the Amitabh-Danush combo seemed quite interesting & with Balki calling the shots, it seemed like a recipe for success. So were the promos a true reflection of the final product???

The film unfolds with the premiere of "Lifebuoy", the debut release of Shamitabh alias Daanish (Danush) the latest sensation in Bollywood. So how did a bus conductor from a small village manage to make his mark in the film industry??? If that was astonishing enough, Daanish had a much bigger secret which the media didn't know & that he was mute. Daanish's obsession for films began right from his childhood & his dreams landed him in Mumbai, but as expected his handicap proved to be his stumbling block. One of his altercations with the studio people caught the eye of the assistant director, Akshara (Akshara Hasan) who seeing the potential in him, promises to help him out. With the help of medical technology, Daanish was able to speak but it required the help of another individual. Eventually their search for an apt voice led them to Amitabh Sinha (Big B), an irritable drunkard with a formidable baritone who lived in a cemetery. Their combination was an absolute winner as the audience lapped it up, but their bloated egos was getting in the way of their success. So will they be able to keep their egos in check???

R Balki had enthralled the audience with his previous ventures be it "Cheeni Kum" or "Paa", the latter even winning Big B his 3rd National Award (which I felt Lalettan deserved more for "Thanmatra"). Even in his latest endeavour, the film starts off in a promising manner with the master stroke being the interactions between Danush & Big B which were hilarious. However after that initial buildup, the script just meanders along aimlessly offering nothing new before culminating in a rather predictable climax. The legend, Illayaraja had composed the music which interestingly happened to be his 999th album & to be frank, it wasn't great though I absolutely loved the title track rendered by Caralisa Monteiro. P. C Sreeram has done a fine job with the visuals while Hemanti Sarkar could have done a better job with the editing.

The legend, Big B has done a brilliant job & will be in pole position to sweep all the awards once this year comes to an end. Danush has done a fine job as he has been really effective in conveying his emotions without his voice. Add to that, it's quite difficult to match upto a doyen like AB & he has done that with elan. Inspite of being a debutant, Akshara Hasan has done a decent job & augurs well for the future.

Verdict: With no major releases in the horizon, "Shamitabh" should be able to rake in a decent amount of moolah. The film does have its share of flaws with a rather mediocre & repetitive latter half, which will surely hamper the viewing experience. However, it is still worth a watch for Big B's performance!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben