Star review: Kavin and Yuvan steady a rocky emotional ride that flatters to deceive

Movies are magic. They have the power to transport, transform, and transfix.

Not all movies manage to get all three right all the time, but there are moments when everything around us fades, and we are transported, transformed, and transfixed.

In director Elan’s Star, headlined by Kavin and shouldered by Yuvan Shankar Raja, there are a handful of such moments.

But what transpires between those beautiful moments is what proves to be the undoing of this tale of a young man struggling to chase his dream of becoming an actor.

Synopsis

Star opens with a young Kalai (Kavin), who forgets the iconic Bharatiyar moustache in his fancy dress getup. His photographer-father Pandian (Lal) tells him that an actor of calibre possesses the power to make the audience forget such discrepancies in looks.

Even when he is all grown up and turns into this street-smart youngster with Tinseltown dreams, Kalai is reminded by his father that it is his face card that will determine his success in the world of cinema.

Just when things almost fall into place, after a struggle that feels long rather than effective or relatable, he faces a scarring jolt that derails his dreams.

Will the universe that seems to fall in love with a stubborn heart help Kalai reach his dreams, or does he succumb to the more powerful factor of day-to-day survival? This forms the crux of Star.

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Analysis

We know Kalai wants to become a hero and he says it is his passion.

He also says there is not a single film company’s door he hasn’t knocked.

Kalai also talks about the struggle — mental, physical, and financial kind — and the sacrifices.

He talks, he says, and he explains. But we don’t see any of it actually happening till the film shifts base from Chennai to Mumbai.

As long as Kalai is there in Chennai, he seems to have a life that every college-going guy would be envious of.

He has a father who doubles up as a friend, a friend who doubles up as a confidant, and a long line of women wanting to be with him. He, in turn, gets to be with the love of his life — Meera (a confident and competent Preity Mukundan).

Yes, these portions are cute, and both Kavin and Preity dial up the charm to give us moments of “Pyaar, prema, and kaadhal“. But it takes too long a time to return to the central premise.

However, Star becomes a different film in Mumbai. Some of the finest portions of the film, including a beautiful and emotional surprise happen in Mumbai — fittingly called the City of Dreams.

It is here that Kalai learns the difference between wanting to become a hero and wanting to become an actor.

But soon enough, convenience creeps up in the writing and the film gets back into the comfort zone relying on the charms of Kavin to take us through the motions.

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Weak writing

It is these convenient writing choices that prove to be the biggest disadvantage of Star.

For a film that has lofty aims, the lack of fuel to propel it to the skies becomes apparent when things fall into place rather than the protagonist piecing it all together.

This detaches us from the proceedings, and we stop rooting for the characters.

It doesn’t help that Elan decides to bring in a new character, Surabhi (a woefully miscast Aaditi Pohankar), at such a random time.

Throwing our weight behind her machinations is too much of an ask, when she feels like a convenient afterthought and nothing more.

The portions between Kalai and Surabhi aren’t new; the novelty isn’t the problem; it is randomness.

But these portions allow Kavin to showcase his wares as an actor. The moment Kalai realises he has turned into the person Surabhi despises the most is a wonderful exploration of the human psyche.

But Elan doesn’t allow the moment to linger. It soon becomes something else.

In Star, random happenings often snatch those moments just before they penetrate our consciousness, leaving characters and audience alike feeling robbed of their due.

In between all this, there is a message to women about growing wings and flying instead of wanting to walk.

One good thing about this message is the callback at another point in the film, but it is said by a character that is so poorly written that we doubt the film’s standing on delivering such a message.

Another callback stands out as a wonderfully written, performed, and staged scene, truly ranking among the best things about Star. This dichotomy drowns Star in more ways than one.

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Yuvan’s music — Lifeline of Star

In many ways, the true star of Star is indeed Yuvan Shankar Raja.

The songs are the lifelines of the film that connect the various arbitrary dots in the film.

It gets accentuated by the background score that tugs hard at your emotions, sometimes a bit too much and too hard.

He gets the phoenix’s arc along with Kavin, who grows on you as the film progresses.

It would be fascinating if Elan and Kavin intended to make the latter showcase his acting abilities in a gentle progression to reflect the character’s understanding of acting.

Everyone loves to dream; even if it defies all forms of logic, it is okay because that’s what dreams are there for.

Watching a film like Star that talks about struggle, sacrifice, redemption, and more, many of us would juxtapose our realities with the happenings.

Some of us might be living the dream, some of us might be hoping for the right time to take the leap, and some of us might have already resigned to our perceived fates.

While some of us might be vicariously living our dreams through others, some of us might be stuck in limbo, and some of us might be watching Star and thinking our lives need that bit of magic.

Verdict

Essentially, Star is a long magic trick where the magician pulls out the rabbit from his hat. But it is a reminder that sometimes, we must remain at arm’s length from the magic, happily oblivious to how the tricks work.

(Views expressed here are personal.)