Seven Screen Studio’s Leo (dubbed from the Tamil film of the same name; UA) is an action film inspired by the 2005 Hollywood film, A History Of Violence, which itself was an adaptation of the novel of the same name.
Prathiban (Vijay) is an animal rescuer and a café owner in Theog (Himachal Pradesh). He leads a happy life with his wife, Sathya (Trisha), son, Siddharth (Mathew Thomas), and daughter, Chintu (Iyal). In self-defence one day, Parthiban murders some goons whose relatives then thirst for his and his family members’ blood.
Meanwhile, notorious gangster Harold Das (Arjun) from Telangana learns about Parthiban and informs Antony Das (Sanjay Dutt) who immediately arrives in Theog. Antony is convinced that Parthiban is actually his son, Leo Das (Vijay), who was presumed dead. Antony threatens Parthiban to accept his identity and surrender or face the consequences. Antony even tells Sathya that her husband is a dreaded criminal, Leo Das. While Parthiban denies that he has anything to do with Leo Das, wife Sathya and forest officer Joshy Andrews (Gautham Vasudev Menon) dig into Parthiban’s and Leo’s past to know whether Parthiban is, in fact, Leo. What is the truth? Is Parthiban the same person as Leo? Who are Antony Das and Harold Das?
Lokesh Kanagaraj, Rathna Kumar and Deeraj Vaidy have written the story and screenplay based on the Hollywood film and the book. The first half of the drama moves at a super-fast pace and keeps the audience thoroughly engaged. However, the second half drags a lot. Also, the writers have not cared to go beyond Antony Das and Harold Das trying their best to make Parthiban admit that he is Leo Das. The audience wonder what earth-shattering difference would it make to the Das brothers if Parthiban is Leo. If the writers wanted the viewers to believe that the Das brothers want to seek revenge on Leo Das, the question that arises is: why can’t they simply kill Parthiban if they are convinced that he is Leo; why do they want to hear it from his mouth? This question troubles the viewers a lot because the entire track of Antony-Harold and Parthiban is devoted to just this exercise — is Parthiban actually Leo or not? Had the writers connected Parthiban’s reply to something big, it would’ve made sense for almost the entire post-interval portion to be devoted to solving this mystery. This is a major drawback of the screenplay which, therefore, loses steam after interval. Besides, excessive violence will keep the ladies audience away. There are no light moments, romance or emotions to balance the overdose of gruesome violence. Dialogues (by Lokesh Kanagaraj, Rathna Kumar and Deeraj Vaidy) are alright.
Vijay is excellent in the role of Parthiban/Leo. He performs with a lot of swag and style, which suits him and will be loved by his fans. Trisha makes an impact in the role of Sathya. Sanjay Dutt is good as Antony Das, but he doesn’t get much range to prove his mettle. Arjun is effective as Harold Das. Madonna Sebastian impresses as Leo’s twin sister, Elisa Das. Gautham Vasudev Menon lends superb support as Joshy Andrews. Priya Anand is good as Joshy Andrew’s wife. George Maryan entertains as Napoleon. Mathew Thomas leaves a fine mark as Siddharth. Iyal is endearing as Chintu. Mansoor Ali Khan (as Leo’s friend, Irudhayaraj D’Souza), Babu Antony (as Antony Das’ henchman), Mysskin (as robber Shanmughan), Sandy Master (as a robber), Madhusudan Rao (as Shanmughan’s brother-in-law), Shanthi Master (as Shanmughan’s wife), Janany Kunaseelan (as Parthiban’s employee, Shruthi), Denzil Smith (as the judge), Santhi Mayadevi (as Parthiban’s advocate), Leela Samson (as the public prosecutor), Anurag Kashyap (in a cameo appearance as Daniel) and Kamal Haasan (voice acting in a cameo role as Agent Vikram) lend able support.
Lokesh Kanagaraj’s direction is pretty stylised. Anirudh Ravichander’s music is appealing. Lyrics (Raqueeb Alam) are okay. Dinesh’s choreography is eye-filling. Background music is effective. Manoj Paramahamsa’s cinematography is first-rate. Anbariv’s action and stunt scenes will thrill the masses and front-benchers. Having said that, it must be added that the excessive and over-the-top violence will not be liked by ladies. N. Sathees Kumar’s sets are grand. Philomin Raj’s editing is quite sharp. Dubbing is excellent.
On the whole, Leo is for the masses mainly and will, therefore, do fair business. Its performance will vary — from dull to fairly good — at different places.
Released on 19-10-’23 at Maratha Mandir (3 shows; in daily 1 show from 20-10-’23) and other cinemas of Bombay thru AA Films. Publicity: good. Opening: mixed — fair and good at places, dull at other places. …….Also released all over. Opening was mixed everywhere. The original Tamil version has also released simultaneously. Its opening is far better due to stardom of Vijay.