So ‘Robo’ is finally here. Rajnikanth, Aishwarya Rai, director Shankar, music director A.R.Rahman and cinematographer Ratnavel have been enticing audiences with all the talk about their movie. Some thought this would be a copy of Steven Speilberg’s ‘Artificial Intelligence’, or ‘I-Robot’ or ‘Bicentennial Man’ and what not! 123telugu.com finds what ‘Robo’ is actually about and whether it is worth the budget of Rs.150 crore.

What’s it about: Dr.Vasheekaran (Rajnikanth) is a scientist in Hyderabad who is researching on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. He creates a robot, which is exactly similar to him. Vashee’s mom gives it the name ‘Chitti’ and Vashee’s girl friend Sana (Aishwarya Rai) completely adores the new robot. Chitti is not just any robot. It can read books by scanning them in few seconds, it has a zettabyte memory (highest possible for a computer!) , and works at a speed of one terabyte. Chitti can give the highest prime number possible within seconds which might take years for humans to find! But that’s the intellectual part. For common man it can do amazing fights, it can sing and dance but all without any human feeling and emotion.

Though all is clear for Dr. Vashee’s Chitti to be taken into the Army, it isn’t approved by Professor Bora (Danny Denzongpa). Bora thinks that Chitti can't distinguish between what is right and what is wrong, and hence can be dangerous.

What is Good: There are three Rajnikanths in the film. One is a serious looking, bearded, and talented scientist. You would think he’s done a perfect job for this role. However here’s a competitor to him – Rajnikanth himself as the innocent looking, sweet, but emotionless Robot. Just look at the way he says “Hello World!” Again Rajnikanth betters himself in the same film as the Villainous ‘Chitti’. His dialogue “Happy Diwali” made the crowds go into frenzy. It is amazing how Rajni looks, thinks and acts different for each character.

Aishwarya Rai is good too as Sana. Unlike many other Shankar’s heroines Sana has got character and she holds the story together. Aishwarya impresses one and all. The other actor who deserves a tremendous applause is Danny Denzongpa!Danny makes slight variations in his expressions that make him look very dangerous.

The first half is exceptional with the way it raises seemingly simple, but extremely profound questions like - can a robot have feelings, and if so what should its responsibility be?

Even in the second half there are those small references to Ramayana and Bhasmasura story, for those who can find them! At the end of it all boils down to individual, emotional and social responsibility of a human, raised because of the Robot!

Here is a list of some amazing scenes:
1. Chitti using Electrosmagnetic powers to attract few weapons to scare few people
2. Dr.Vashee showcasing Chitti to an auditorium filled with researchers
3. When Chitti is ‘tested’ by the ADR team including Professor Bora
4. The climax fight scenes where all the robots form different shapes including the already famous huge snake and a mammoth sized robot
5. The final message in the denouement (post climax)

What is bad: ‘Robo’ comes with its own flaws. When Bora easily confuses Chitti (in the first half), it is surprising that the intelligent Dr.Vashee cannot find a solution – give the robot one owner and specific instructions! When Dr.Vashee wants to destroy and trash his Chitti, he does it without following scientific protocol of destroying such ‘intelligent’ robots. Also similarities to few Hollywood films might disappoint few. The technical jargon might be a possible let down for audiences of B & C centers.

The beginning of the second half almost makes one laugh and scowl with the Robo finding newly given feelings and talking to mosquitoes. It meanders along lazily till the climax. The way the hero finally wins is also questionable, too vague and too convenient. However, the exceptional graphics make the audiences just watch the film in complete awe!

Technical Departments: : All 24 crafts of a movie never fail in it. The visual effects, and animatronics from the famous Stan Winston Studio are consistent with the script, exceptional and they deserve more adjectives to be added to a language. No wonder they have worked for ‘Avatar’!

Screenplay has the typical scenes of a Shankar film and has some flaws too. It seems Shankar found a way to justify the different sound Rahman employed for this movie. This movie is a fine example as to why Shankar is considered the best song director in the country – Just look at the way songs like ‘Kilimanjaro’, ‘Neelo Naalo’ are done!

Ratnavel’s cinematography is amazing, and editing is top notch. However, what puts the movie aside is Shankar’s honest vision which comes across through most of the film. It is Shankar’s movie from the beginning to the end, and possibly his best film till date.

Final Point: There is no way that ‘Robo’ can be compared to the likes of ‘Inception’, but for a South Indian film fan, this can be called Rajnikanth’s Inception without a doubt. It entertains, thrills, and makes one think of what’s possible! Don’t even think about giving it a miss, and watch it on big screen!