Shamitabh

R. Balki's 2015 film asks which part of a performance belongs to whom. Daanish wants to act but cannot speak; Amitabh has a powerful voice and a career that never started. A piece of technology lets the two of them build a single star: Daanish's face on screen, Amitabh's voice on the speakers. As the industry lifts them, the question of who the star actually is settles between them. Even the title is made from that fusion. Balki starts from a sharp idea about how Indian stardom is assembled out of a face and a voice, and casts Amitabh Bachchan, an actor known precisely for his voice, in exactly that role. The result is uneven; in the second half the subject slides from a critique of the system into a clash of two egos. Who it's for: viewers interested in Indian films about stardom, and in seeing Dhanush and Bachchan across from each other. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a consistent tone, or careful handling of a character who cannot speak.