'Lingaa' Movie Review Roundup: Rajinikanth Show All the Way

"Lingaa," which hit screens on the birthday of Thalaivar Rajinikanth, has received positive reviews from critics.

The KS Ravi Kumar directorial has Rajini playing a dual role. Anushka Shetty, Sonakshi Sinha, Santhanam, Karunakaran, Dev Gill, Jagapathi Babu and veteran director-actor K. Vishwananth are also part of the cast.

This is the third time that Rajini and KS Ravi Kumar have teamed up for a film after delivering two blockbusters "Muthu" and "Padayappa." "Lingaa" is carrying huge expectations and it will be interesting to see if the film will be able to impress the audience.

Plot: Raja Lingeshwaran (Rajinikanth), a wealthy man, completes his engineering at Cambridge and comes to Solaiyur village during the British era. The village is hit by severe drought every year. On seeing the plight of the farmers, Lingeshwaran appeals to the British government to construct a dam in the village. Following the British government's refusal, Lingeshwaran decides to construct the dam with the help of the villagers. Unfortunately, when the dam is nearing completion, Lingeshwaran is forced to leave the village.

In the present era, an engineer comes to survey the dam in the village in the presence of the village headman (Karunakaran) and MP (Jagapathi Babu). Unfortunately the engineer dies on the same night,  but before passing away he asks the villagers to open the Shiva temple, which has been closed for several years.

The village headman reveals that the temple should be opened only by Lingeshwaran's grandson. The villagers go on a search of the grandson to bring him back to Solaiyur.

Lingaa (Rajinikanth), the grandson of Lingeshwaran, is a petty thief who goes around stealing small objects with his sidekicks Santhanam and Karunakaran.

Lakshmi (Anushka) brings him to the Solaiyur village. Lingaa finds out that the idol inside the Shiva temple is made of precious stones and decides to steal it. He eventually learns about his grandfather's past and the plight of the farmers. What happens next forms the crux of the story.

Critics have stated that the first half of the film is entertaining while the second half drags. Rajinikanth's performance is the major highlight of the film, while the other actors play their parts well. Rathnavelu's cinematography is one of the plus points of "Lingaa," stated the critics. The film's run time, placement of songs and the climax stunts are some of the minus points of the film. 

Check below the review roundup of "Lingaa"

"Director KS Ravikumar has given us many super hits with the Superstar in the past and is all set to give another one with Lingaa. Known as the king of commercial entertainers, he has lived up to the name in his latest directorial too," according to Galatta.

"The story is larger than life, just what the Superstar's fans would want to see him in on the big screens, after a big gap! The director has seamlessly woven the past and the present in this movie set in two different eras. The dialogues need a very special mention with Superstar getting to deliver some new punch dialogues," the website stated.

"Credits goes to KS Ravikumar for tapping Rajini's strengths and downplaying his age-related constraints. KS Ravikumar has scripted based on a contemporary issue related to Mullai Periyar dam and weaved if effectively in a fictitious story spanning across generations," stated movie crow website.

"A round of applause for DoP Rathnavelu too, for the way he has captured the scenic landscape and offered a treat to the eyes with the high top angle shots. Senior Rajini's little romance track with Sonakshi Sinha is another highlight and the Bollywood beauty fits the bill perfectly with her native looks, cute expressions and remarks. Chinmayee's dubbing for her makes us invest in her role even more," according to Behindwoods Review Board.

"Lingaa" has pleasing moments to satisfy the Rajinikanth fan in you but the cineaste in you is not properly taken care of. Unlike KS Ravikumar – Rajinikanth's previous outings, Lingaa has an unexciting storyline with less elements of thriller, but it does offer an entertaining movie-watching experience in a small-scale," stated Surendhar MK of OnlyKollywood.

Verdict: Rajinikanth show all the way