They Call Him OG Review

Powerstar Pawan Kalyan’s ‘They Call Him OG’ is inarguably the most talked about and keenly awaited film in recent times. The film generated immense hype when it was announced, and the hype peaked to a new level altogether when the team released the first glimpse video in September 2023, on the occasion of Pawan Kalyan’s birthday. The fact that the director, Sujeeth, is a die-hard fan of Pawan Kalyan, is one of the reasons to generate gigantic expectations around the film. It’s been a while since Pawan Kalyan made an original, straight contemporary film, and his fans pinned a lot of hopes on OG. Did Pawan Kalyan deliver a big blockbuster with a straight film after, Attarintiki Daredi(2013), with ‘They Call Him OG’? Did the director, Sujeeth, meet the immense expectations around the film? Did he deliver a memorable film like, Harish Shankar, another die-hard fan of Pawan Kalyan, delivered with Gabbar Singh in 2012? Did Thaman walk the talk with his background score for the film? Did the producer, D. V. V. Danayya, complete a hat-trick with, OG, after delivering two back-to-back successful films, RRR and Saripodhaa Sanivaaram? How did the pair of Pawan Kalyan and Priyanka Mohan, look together on screen? How did, Emraan Hashmi, in an antagonist role do, in his Telugu debut? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

Ojas Gambheera Aka OG(Pawan Kalyan), raised and trained by the head of ‘Black Dragon Society’ in Japan during the 1940s. Why did a young kid from the Black Dragon Society’ in Japan move to Bombay? How did Ojas Gambheera, end up working for, Satyanarayana Aka Satya Dada(Prakash Raj)? After establishing himself as a deadly gangster, why did, OG, leave Bombay? Where did he go after leaving Bombay? What were the circumstances that forced him to return to Bombay again? Who is Omi Bhau Aka Omi(Imraan Hashmi)? Forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

Pawan Kalyan’s screen presence is unmatchable as always. This man has a truly blessed inbuilt style and swag. A simple belt adjustment act of his while walking, also appeared very stylish. His performance in the police station sequence at the start of the second half, is a treat to watch on screen. Rightly so, the entire audience in the theatre went bonkers during the above-mentioned. His display of style, swag, attitude and arrogance, in OG is his best in a very long time. However, most likely due to the time constraints, he did not appear to be his usual self during the emotional sequences.

Emraan Hashmi in the role of antagonist did well and looked like a perfect choice to play the opponent to Pawan Kalyan. However, the writing for his character could have been better. Priyanka Mohan had a very limited screen time and she did well with her role limitations. Prakash Raj made his presence felt and his experience count in a Godfather-like role. Sriya Reddy is superb in a couple of sequences. Arjun Das did well in a crucial role but again, the writing for his character could have been a bit better. The film had at least ten to twelve notable actors in crucial roles and all of them made their presence felt but almost all the characters have very limited screen time.

Technicalities:

Thaman with his songs and background score, delivered first-rate output to the film. He has elevated almost every sequence to the next level, with his terrific background score. Cinematography by Ravi K. Chandran and Manoj Paramahamsa is one of the best things that happened to the film. The visuals looked rich and grand throughout the film. Both the cinematography and the production design team complemented each other in giving the film a very authentic look.

Naveen Nooli’s editing is uneven. His editing looked very good at times but it would have been a bit better during the initial hour of the film and during the episodes before the pre-climax. Around ten minutes of repetitive action blocks should have been edited to make the film more gripping. Production values by DVV Entertainment, were first-rate. Let’s talk more about the work of the writer and the director, Sujeeth, in the analysis section.

Positives:

1.⁠ ⁠Pawan Kalyan’s Swag, Style & Attitude
2.⁠ ⁠Post Interval Thirty Minutes
3.⁠ ⁠Well-Executed Commercial High Moments
4.⁠ ⁠Thaman’s Music
5.⁠ ⁠Cinematography

Negatives:

1.⁠ ⁠Lack of Emotional Depth
2.⁠ ⁠Uneven Pace
3.⁠ ⁠Predictable Drama

Analysis:

Post-interval twenty to twenty-five minutes of drama is the best part of the film. What we see during this period in the film is one of the best displays of swag, attitude and style by Pawan Kalyan, the best of Thaman and the best of Sujeeth. It may not be an exaggeration to say the film can be watched in theatres just for this twenty to twenty-five minutes drama. And, there is an action sequence during the climax involving a gun named ‘Johnny’. The die-hard fan of Pawan Kalyan in Sujeeth is at his best again while designing and executing this sequence. The name of the gun and the idea of using the fusion of the ‘Look At My Face’ song from ‘Thammudu’ and ‘Let’s go Johnny’ song from ‘Johnny’, as the background score with Pawan Kalyan firing the bullets using the gun as if there’s no tomorrow, is brilliant. Along with the aforementioned sequences, he has also written three very good commercial high-moments, placed well and executed those moments equally well in the first half. All five commercial high moments along with Pawan Kalyan’s unmatchable screen presence, worked in favour of the film.

There were excessive political references and dialogues in all the last four movies(i.e. Vakeel Saab, Bheemla Nayak, Bro and Hari Hara Veera Mallu, but in OG, the director, Sujeeth, made sure not to use any political references. He did not try to include Pawan Kalyan’s real-life political ideology into Ojas Gambheera’s characterisation. He did write a few powerful dialogues but all of those dialogues were strictly written only to elevate the film’s protagonist characterisation. Especially, the dialogue about deer, tiger and fear, was written well and it drew thunderous applause in the theatre from the audience. It is refreshing to see a Pawan Kalyan film without unnecessary political references, after a long time. Prakash Raj and Pawan Kalyan may have ideological differences in real life but on screen, they still share the same chemistry like they always do since the days of, Badri. Both of them were able to bring the required emotional depth on screen in a couple of sequences.

One of the major complaints Sujeeth received for his previous film, Saaho, is the complex narration. It seems, he put a conscious effort to correct that mistake in ‘OG’. However, in the process of staying away from the complex narration, he depended completely on action sequences, elevations to the protagonist and the fan-pleasing moments. We have seen the story of ‘OG’ in a lot of movies in the past. There’s nothing wrong with selecting a routine story as long as it is told engagingly and entertainingly. He scored distinction marks as long as he concentrated on commercial high movies but he should have put a bit more effort into getting the required emotional depth on screen. The core conflict point, the drama between Ojas Gambheera and his wife, the antagonist’s characterisation and the drama around, Arjun Das’, character, looked very routine. Better care in writing and executing the drama, should have made it a very memorable film.

Overall, five very well executed commercial high blocks, superb music from Thaman, excellent Visuals and Sujeeth’s writing as long as it was focused on elevating the protagonist character, along with Pawan Kalyan who was at his best at most parts, made ‘They Call Him OG’ a decently packed commercial entertainer. It is definitely a must-watch for the fans of Pawan Kalyan. They may watch it multiple times to witness their favourite hero on screen in all his glory. For the regular audience, the film is a decent watch and they certainly can give it a try watching in theatres. However, better care in writing, especially in developing the emotional drama, would have made it a very memorable film.

Bottomline: Decently Packaged Action ‘Elevation’ Drama

Rating – 2.75/5