Lingaa(2014) Telugu Movie Review
Punchline: Dam It!
Genre: Social/Action
Type: Bilingual
Banner: Rockline Entertainments Pvt. Ltd
Cast: Rajinikanth, Anushka, Sonakshi Sinha, Jagapathi Babu, K Viswanath, Karunakaran, Santhanam, Dev Gill, Brahmanandam, Radha Ravi, Vijay Kumar etc
Cinematography: R. Rathnavelu
Editor: Samjith Mhd
Music: A. R. Rahman
Art: Sabu Cyril
Action: Lee Whitetaker & T. Ramesh
Choreography: Brinda, Chinni Prakash & Shobi
Lyrics: Suddala Ashok Teja, Chandrabose, Anantha Sriram, Vanamali & Kandikonda
Dialogues: Pon Kumaran
Story, Screenplay & Direction: KS Ravi Kumar
Producer: Rockline Venkatesh
Release date: 12 December, 2014
Theater watched: Big Cinemas, Tirupati
Story
There
is a 70 year old Lord Siva temple in a village called Singanoor. The
temple was closed on the day it was built. It was built by Lingeswara
Rao (Rajinikanth), an oxford educated engineer who is also the local
Zamindar. He builds a dam for local people and spends all his money in
the process. When the local leaders decide to reopen the temple, they
are in search of the grandson Lingaa (Rajinikanth). The rest of the
story is all about how Lingaa comes to know about the greatness of his
grandfather and how he lives up to the reputation of his grandfather.
There
is a 70 year old Lord Siva temple in a village called Singanoor. The
temple was closed on the day it was built. It was built by Lingeswara
Rao (Rajinikanth), an oxford educated engineer who is also the local
Zamindar. He builds a dam for local people and spends all his money in
the process. When the local leaders decide to reopen the temple, they
are in search of the grandson Lingaa (Rajinikanth). The rest of the
story is all about how Lingaa comes to know about the greatness of his
grandfather and how he lives up to the reputation of his grandfather.
Artists Performance
Actors: It’s a cakewalk for Rajinikanth. His get-ups are nice and his charm is in tact. Anushka has a limited screen space. She is nice as an TV journalist. Sonakshi Sinha played village belle of pre-independence era. The dubbing done by Chinmayi didn’t suit her character. Jagapathi played a villain character. The white actor who did the role of British collector is impressive. Santhanam entertains as a sidekick. Technical departments
Story - screenplay - direction:
The story of the film has good commercial point. But it’s the
screenplay that played the spoilsport. Direction though old-fashioned is
good in parts. By the time flashback is over, we feel like the movie is
completed though Jagapati Babu’s character is unfinished. The climax of
the film is tedious and cumbersome. The conflicts created in one scene
are resolved in the next scene. 
Other departments: Songs scored by AR Rahman are not of his standard. Background music is good. Camerawork by Rathnavelu reflects the mood of the movie. Dialogues which are one of the strengths of Rajinikanth’s movies are written well. Editing by Samjith is alright. Production values by Rockline Venkatesh are grand.
Analysis: Rajnikanth
movies are known for creating magic on screen with nice story and punch
dialogues. Though the intention is to create a good content, the magic
in Lingaa is missing. Plus points of the film are Rajinikanth, dialogues
and characterization of Lingeswara Rao (pre-independence). The
screenplay is uninteresting and direction should have been better. On a
whole, Lingaa is for fans! 
