The Legend review: Arul Saravanan’s acting debut is truly legendary!

Every generation, there arrives a movie that leaves an inedible mark on people’s minds. Something so profound that Socratic philosophy and Plato’s musings seem worthless compared to the deep philosophical debates that rage within the spectrum of its content.

This content is meant to hold up a moral mirror to itself. Yes, The Legend is legendary. It joins the ranks of some of the most elite star-studded films which I had discovered, while away at a residential hostel for study.

Back in the day, these movies were played for a mass audience in classrooms while the professors slept.

How can I forget the glorious nights spent learning in the company of extraordinary cinema like Gunda, Loha, Madam X (ah, nothing X-rated about it) and Desh Drohi.  Yes, The Legend joins these classics.

The story

Pay no heed to the naysayers who say that the story of The Legend is flimsy and that it has no merit.

The Legend tells you the story of Dr S, a man who has the imagination to end world diabetes.

Now, I want you to picture this moment when the idea was pitched to the hero/producer (Arul Saravanan). He might be sipping coffee from a steel tumbler while seated in one of his top stores.

What would have run through his mind before he said “yes” to this narrative? He might have thought of the rising price of insulin and how big pharma has pretty much destroyed the lives of millions.

He might have been thinking of the geo-political nature of the Trade-Related Aspects of the Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMS) agreements, which were reached by the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

He might also have been thinking of how the patent laws are being abused across the world, even though the man who invented insulin wanted it to be free.

The answer of the character to all these questions is to beat the crap out of the medical mafia while using some of the most extraordinary stuntmen and special effects, and every single villain he beats up pretty much flying away like tennis balls in Wimbledon.

The legend actors

There are very few who would have achieved the feat of ‘Stithaprajna’ (recognising and knowing the attributes of the self through the intellect, but not the actual experience of these qualities). They aren’t moved by anger, grief or even happiness.

Arul Saravanan proves that he is one with a single expression throughout the film — whether he is angry and beating up goons or romancing the heroine, everything seems the same with him. Even when he grieves, his face is pretty much the same.

This man is an immovable object. Here, as a critic, I find my job useless: How can you critique a man who is so sure and confident of himself that he does not even let grief get in the way of his penance of stability?

The rest of the cast, though they emote, seem to be mere mortals pleading their cases to the infinite ‘Sthitaprajna’ and end up praising him every few seconds.

The story itself plays a role, as one of these characters, and ends up honouring the man and the Sarvanan Stores he built. Yes, this is spirituality shown in action.

There is no stopping for #TheLegend and the audience feedback. Festival mood in all theaters.#TheLegendRunningSucessfully #legendsaravanan

Watch @_TheLegendMovie at Theatres near you. @DirJdjerry @Jharrisjayaraj pic.twitter.com/ctJCbEqcEj

— Legend Saravanan (@yoursthelegend) July 29, 2022

The technical departments

Well, it takes a lot of effort to work with such a story and such an actor, but the technical departments simply stick to putting in their best efforts. They give you some grandiose visuals and that’s where the film differs from its core aim and becomes a commercial film.

We actually see the cinematography department, the production design and, definitely, the action directors go above and beyond to try and make this philosophical masterpiece something more palatable for the common folk.

I, as a common man, watched in awe, but the four other patrons I was in the hall with saw this as a comedy.

PS: The Hyderabad rains opened up and drenched me into a flu-like state on my way back home. Or maybe it was movie that induced me into a hallucinogenic state!

(Vichitrakar is a filmmaker who expresses his passion for movies through his reviews. He likes to keep a low profile. Hence the pseudonym.)