Animal - Movie Review

 

Sandeep reddy vanga, after creating enough stir with Arjun Reddy in Telugu and its remake Kabir Singh in Hindi, is coming up with another alpha male centric character portrayed by Ranbir in “Animal”. Expectations are sky high considering the impressive teaser and trailer. 

Story :-  Ranvijay Singh (Ranbir) loves his father Balbir Singh (Anil Kapoor) than anything else in the world. He wants to spend time with his father, show his love to him, be like him. Balbir is busy in running his family business Swastik ans taking it to new heights, due to which he couldn’t spare time for kids. Vijay’s obsession towards his father grows more and more with his age. However, due to his aggressive nature and unnatural approach in dealing things, father and son relation gets strained and Vijay is asked to leave the house. Vijay marries his childhood crush Geetanjali (Rashmika) against the wish of both families and leaves to US. After few years, Balbir Singh gets attacked by gun and he survives the same. Vijay returns with wife and kids to see his father. He feels there is some conspiracy being planned against his father and he decides to find it. Stays with his father, builds a private army, traces the attackers and kills them one by one. In the process, how his health, marital life, his family, father-son relation gets effected forms rest of the story.

Performances :-  Ranbir is there from 1st frame to last frame in various get ups, hairstyles, age. He does a terrific job in all the roles. This is one of his finest performances, though it seems monotonous at some point in 2nd half. Body language, attitude and costumes in 1st half of Ranbir is striking. Rashmika does a good job as his love interest, with some bold scenes and even bolder conversations. She feels overboard in few scenes in 2nd half. Anil Kapoor is decent and dashing as a father. Ranbir’s elder sister, bro in law, brother, grandfather, cousins from village all were well casted and they have lived up to the expectations. Pruthvi has a small role in action sequence and he’s fine. Bobby Deol has a very small role who comes in the later portion of 2nd half. He looks menacing and did a spectacular job. Wouldn’t mind had he was given more screen-time and established his character even earlier. 

Technicians :-  Background score is good in parts, but not as effective as Arjun Reddy. Action sequences are well made, especially the interval block, which is one of the best action scenes made in India. The punjabi song which comes along with it also gives a different picture. Songs are okay, Papa song haunts you for a while as it’s very soothing and effective. Costumes and art work is very classy, showcasing the richness all along. Photography is decent. Dialogues are bold, bolder, boldest. 

Sandeep did a terrific job in 1st half, but falters in 2nd half and agin picks up during climax. He could’ve trimmed at least 20-30 mins in 2nd half where Ranbir recovers his health, the affair part etc. Had he introduced Bobby Deol and continued till climax, it would have been crispier and mind blowing. Few scenes are very well conceived and multi layered screenplay helped it elevate more in 1st half. The first attack in hotel to kill bro in law. The background score where his cousins come to Balbir Singh protection is superb. Unnecessary discussion on shaving of hair, analysis on the sex he had during an affair are awkward and unwanted. 

Positives :-

Ranbir’s acting 

1st half of movie

Action scenes

Negatives :-

2nd half

Dragged narration

Unnecessary adult content 

Analysis :- Animal created all the hype it needed to become a blockbuster, however the end product is not overwhelming. Arjun Reddy characterisation was well established since start and his anger looked real and justifiable. In Animal, the anger looked forced. It could’ve been a far better product had the editing was done crispier. 

Rating :- 2.75/5 (One time watch. Violent adult film, don’t go with kids)

Jailer - Movie Review

Superstar Rajinikanth and Director Nelson join hands for the first time with Jailer. Nelson's last flick Beast with Vijay didn't live up to the expectations of trade. On the other side, Rajni is waiting for a proper hit of his calibre for long time. 

Story :- Mutthu (Rajni) is a retired Jailer who is very composed and leads a peaceful family man life. His son Arjun (Vasanth Ravi) who is an ACP is very sincere in his duty and is tracking a gang who are smuggling idols and jewellery of God. The Gand leader Varma (Vinayakan) wants to eliminate Arjun from his way. One day Arjun disappears suddenly and even the police department couldn't track. Mutthu is forced to bring out his old lifestyle to track about his son. Will he be able to find about his son? How does he handle Varma? Forms rest of the story. 

Performances :- Rajni is back. He is stylish, fierce, funny, and Uber cool. This plot is tailor made for him and he has nailed it. Right from costumes to his antics, he looked perfect. Though it's a mass film, there is scope for great acting and Rajni was spot on. He didn't overdo anywhere, nor he underplayed. He just delivered what's required. Vinayakan as main villain is very good. His acting, dialogues and costumes, were well designed. Vasanth Ravi, Ramya Krishna had limited roles and they did well. Yogi Babu & VTV Ganesh brings good laughs in 1st half. Cameos by Sivanna, Jackied Shroff and Mohanlal clicked well, especially during climax it took to next level. Sunil is okay. 

Technicians :- Anirudh was phenomenal. His background score took an good scene to mind boggling scene. Especially, the Hukum background score whenever and wherever it's placed, it worked superbly. He is the biggest asset. Any mass hero deserves such background score from Anirudh. Cinematography is very good keeping color tone very subtle yet effective. Costumes of All the cast was very well done. Nelson made a terrific comeback. He delivered what a Rajni fan has been asking for ages. At the same time, he pleased family audience equally, barring the violence scenes. 1st half of the movie is one of the best halves I've seen recently. It had all the elements, character establishment, conflict point, submissive and elevation. I don't remember the last time I enjoyed a 1st half of a movie so well. In terms of engaging and entertaining, 1st half is like an Rajamouli film or a KGF, and for sure it will attract repeat audiences. 2nd half of the move is dragged a bit, which is a let down considering a great 1st half. However, the climax is a relief again. 

Positives :-

Rajnikanth

Terrific 1st half

Mind blowing background score

Elevation scenes

Negatives :-

Dragged 2nd half

Summary :- Jailer is a Paisa vasool film that has to be watched in big screens. You would love Rajni in this and it's been ages since one experiences such kind of euphoria in a theatre. 

Rating :- 3.5/5 (Would strongly recommend to watch it in theatres)

Bhola Shankar - Movie Review

Chiru is riding high after the stupendous success of Waltair Veerayya which was kind of a comeback movie after Acharya. However, he chose a 2015 Tamil movie movie Vedalam for remake and he chose Meher Ramesh as director, who was famous for giving stupendous duds to star heroes like Shadow, Shakti, Etc.,

Story :- Shankar (Chiranjeevi) and Mahalakshmi (Keerthy Suresh) are brother and sister who shift to Kolkata for joining Mahalakshmi in college. Shankar takes up taxi driver job for livelihood. A notorious gang is kidnapping young girls and selling them to foreign buyers and there is a big network out there. Police seek assistance of the taxi and auto unions to track this network and Shankar gets a chance to do so. However, he doesn't inform the police and starts eliminating them on his own. Why does he take up the task on himself? What's his & Mahalakshmi 's past? Forms rest of the story.

Performances :- Chiranjeevi looked very stylish, his costumes were good, his comic timing is still intact. The grace in his dance is still the same, phenomenal. There is not even a dip in his energy in dances, Action sequences, comedy scenes. He gave his 100% and there's no doubt about that. Keerthy Suresh gets the meatier role after Chiru and she did good job. Tamannah looked great. There is huge casting in the movie, with almost a dozen of comedians. They were fine. Vennela Kishore was good, Annie master was most irritating. Villains set-up and cringe dialogues looked this was of 90's film. 

Technicians :- There are only very few good things about the film. Costumes, Action sequence in ship, a few good comedy dialogues. Songs are way way below Chiru's standards. It looks as if it's low budget movie songs. Even the background score is a letdown. Mahati Swara Sagar wasted a golden opportunity to move to the big league. Editing should have been crisper and should have chopped at least few fights or reduce the length of them. Same goes with age old comedy scenes of hero elevations and unnecessary build ups. We are in 2023, not in Indra days. Now coming to the famous Meher Ramesh, everyone knew what we are going to witness, the day when this film was announced. We were anticipating a Shakti or Shadow, and he has delivered better than that for sure, but it's of no use. It's still a damp squib. The story, narration, emotions and elevations, all are at least a couple of decades older. You can't expect to pull audience to theatres in OTT days, with such content. I guess Meher Ramesh has ruined his last chance as a director. 

Positives :-

Chiranjeevi

Negatives :-

Meher Ramesh

Poor story selection

Age old drama, comedy, action

Summary :- Considering the age and efforts Chiru puts in, he deserved a way better film. Meher Ramesh lived upto his expectations of delivering a sub-par film. This is the 2nd film after Komaram Puli, which I'm well prepared before getting into the theatre that it would be pathetic, considering the director's track record. This film won't pull audience had it been a 90's movie re-release.

Rating :- 2/5 (Boring to the core. Avoid it)

Whenever a Chiru movie fails, lot of comments start pouring that he is done, dusted or they would advise he should stop doing remakes. He proved everyone wrong everytime and for sure he will do it again and again. He scored blockbusters with remakes like Tagore, Shankar Dada MBBS, Khaidi No. 150. Due to the OTT platforms, people have better access to other language movies and the remakes are not an unknown territory now. That's the difference. If the content is good and modified as per current trend, for sure movie will click. Pointing at Vikram and Jailer, people have started advising Chiru to roles suitable to his age. Jailer is a hit after more than a decade for Rajni and same goes with Kamal's Vikram. Just because they scored 1 hit, people start advising Chiru to follow it. His core strength is dances, comedy and fights, so as long he has the ability and energy to do it, he better so such kind of movies only. Rajni's strength is style and dialogues, he is sticking to it. Kamal's strength is versatility and he is keeping up to it. Chiru is a megastar and you don't need to advise him what he has to do or how to do. At 68, he is doing 2 films a year consistently and is doing promotions with enthusiasm. There are lot of vultures who wait for Chiru and his family to fail since ages and they grab the opportunity everytime available. It's not vengeance or anything, it's just sadistic pleasure. The more you cry, the higher he grows. 

Bro - Movie Review

Power star Pawan Kalyan teamed up with Saidharam Tej for the remake of Tamil film "Vinodaya Sitham", in the direction of Samutrakani, who directed the original. Trivikram pennes the dialogues and wrote screenplay. Sai Tej is on a high after the success of Virupaksha and Pawan gave 2 hits with remakes - Vakeel Saab and Bheemla Nayak. 

Story :- Markandeyulu/Mark (Sai Tej) leads life as a machine without having time for anything, family, love, colleagues etc., stating he doesn't have time. His responsibilities, his ambition are the things that drive him. All of a sudden, he meets with car accident and dies. Before going to heaven, he meets "Time God' (Pawan Kalyan). Mark requests to give him another chance to fulfill all his duties on earth. Time allows him 90 days to lead life again. What does Mark do in those 90 days? Was he able to survive the inevitable? Forms rest of the story.

Performances :-  Sai Tej did an okay job. His acting in majority of the scenes looked artificial and unnatural. He did well in few emotional scenes. All the character artists had very minimal roles and they were fine, be it Ketika, Priya Warrier, Rohini, Vennela Kishore, Tanikella Bharani, etc., Bro is an out and out Pawan Kalyan movie. Not sure if it was a guest character in original, but here he is there for 90% of the film. Time character is funny, quirky, at the same time preaching. There are no limits for the characterization as it's Time God and director & writer used it to the maximum. PSPK was terrific in the nostalgic references of his old songs. He conveys the essence of life in lighter vein pretty well. 

Technicians :-  The basic plot of the story is pretty serious and important. If it's conveyed in serious tone, it would be complete preaching and nobody would turn up to theatres. If it's completely diluted and made completely as an commercial film, the basic essence of it's gone. Both these elements has to be blended perfectly to make it a good recipe. The writer and director have succeeded 50% in doing so. To satisfy the fans of PSPK, they covered old songs of his film every now and then. Gave divine look wherever wanted, some one liners here and there. However, they should have given some more time initially for the emotions between various characters with Tej are well established. Also, the struggles and ideology of Tej should have been well conveyed. Due to half cooked emotions here, we don't connect well with them in the fag end of the film. Dialogues were decent, if not good. Costumes of PSPK was very good. VFX are decent. Songs and background score was nice. 

Positives :-

Pawan Kalyan

Old movie songs of PSPK

Crisp runtime

Dialogues

Negatives :-

Lack of emotional depth

Dilution of core plot

Summary :-  Bro could have been great had there was more emotional depth. It ended up as a commercial version of Aa Naluguru, with an extended time of 90 days life. 

Rating :- 2.5/5 (Feast for fans and average one time watch for normal audience)

Oppenheimer - Movie Review

Christopher Nolan, the master storyteller, who blends science and drama to the highest level, has come up with the bipoic of father of atom bomb "Robert Oppenheimer". He chose brilliant actor Cillian Murphy to play the lead. Though Cillian has been part of Nolan's movies before, they were either supporting characters or cameo, but not as a lead. 

Story :- The movie starts at a time with 4 narrations. AEC hearing of Oppenheimer (Cillian) to revoke his security clearance, Senate questioning the links between Oppenheimer and Lewis Stauss (Robert Downey Jr.), Oppenheimer's initial days as a student, Strauss and Oppenheimer's interactions. Nolan preferred such kind of screenplay, to generate interest in an otherwise normal drama. It would take around 10 minutes to settle down and understand this. The entire story revolves around how Oppenheimer along with his team at Los Alamos built and tested atom bomb, what we're the hurdles, how it is used and what was the aftermath, politics surrounding him, egos of the scientists, spies within the team, his personal life, his stand on war and usage of bombs, his fight to prove his loyalty etc.

Performances :- All the actors lived their characters. However, Robert Downey Jr and Cillian Murphy stole the limelight with their top notch performances. This is kind of revelation for Robert, with subtle yet effective portrayal. His character needs to be looked composed though it has lot of other emotions inside, he just nailed it. Matt Damon as Leslie Groves had a decent supporting character, which he handled well. Casey Affleck did a small cameo. Rami Malek also did a cameo, which turned out to be the turning point in the entire plot, which is revealed during the climax. The Einstein character was a perfect replica of what we would have seen in the photos till date. Florence pugh as Oppenheimer's love interest also had a peculiar character and she was apt. Emily Blunt as Mrs. Oppenheimer also had good scope to show lot of emotions and she is pretty good. When Oppenheimer is down or confused, she motivates him. Cillian was fabulous, to say the least. This film should be able to bag him and Robert an Oscar. As an enthusiastic student, a visionary scientist, a goral oriented leader, a partial communist, a guilty atomic bomb creator, he had many shades and lot of struggle within, which he emoted really well. 

Technicians :- Sound designing of the film is terrific. The scene where Oppenheimer gives speech after the atomic bomb test was prime example, capturing the foot tapping and silence in his brain at at time. Current story was narrated in black & white and past versions in colour. Cinematography, colour tone and costumes were perfectly maintained for the mood. Unlike Inception, Interstellar, Tenet, in this move Nolan didn't bring complicated science theories into execution and confused us. Being a biopic, he stuck to the narration from 2 individuals perspective. He extracted fabulous performances from all the characters. The atomic bomb testing scene was of utter brilliance perfectly setting up the premise, with excellent visuals and sound, natural reactions. He didn't go for cinematic high moments, but just kept it natural and original. This is not an action adventure or political drama, it's a complete dialogue based drama. 

Positives :-

Engaging screenplay 

Solid performances

Great sound designing

Negatives :-

Not a nolan-esque science adventure

No cinematic high moments

Could be termed slow, dull

Summary :- Worth a watch for brilliant performances and screenplay. It's drama at its best. You just have to be patient enough.

Rating :- 3.5/5 

Adpurush - Movie Review

Om Raut scored a hit with "Tanhaji" which had a good blending of visual effects and real life characters. Om and T series have signed Prabhas for the Magnum Opus "Adupurush", the graphical extravaganza of Ramayanam. Prabhad couldn't meet the expectations with Saaho and Radhey Shyam, though he got humongous openings, better than bollywood top heroes. Adipurush success should be able to fill that gap.

Story :- Direct chose the part from where Sita Devi gets kidnapped by Ravanasura and how Rama along with his army defeats Ravana and brings her back, from the entire Ramayanam. Pre and post this part was narrated during titles and end credits for better understanding, to those who are unaware of. Names of the characters were not exactly the same, instead they used alternate names, Rama-Raghava, Sita-Janaki, Lakshmana-Seshu, Hanuman-Bhajrang, etc.

Performances :- Kriti Sanon as Sita was decent. Didn't had much scope for performance but she did her best in the limited scope. Devdatta Nage as Hanuman was apt and he was good. Saif Ali Khan as Ravana (Trendy Ravanasura) was menacing. He did a terrific job with his expressions, antics and action episodes. Prabhas as Rama was good in parts only. In action episodes, obviously he was the man to go for. Looked as if really Lord Rama is using the bow and arrow. In the scene with Sabari, he emoted well. The sadness that Sita was kidnapped, was not well captured and not well acted by him. Also, we remember Rama as a pleasant, elegant and divine features. That was missing on Prabhas face. He looked more of an angry Rama throughout. Also, the problem of Radhe Shyam still continues, in terms of Prabhas looks. His face is out of shape sometimes and nose looked very big. The look of Prabhas before going to Vanavasa in looked very odd and funny, due to hairstyle, moustache, attire. Sunny Singh as Lakhshmana was also a very good choice. Infact, in few scenes, I thought he would be looking good as Rama (Not to hurt Prabhas fans, but this feeling I got while watching the movie). However, you wouldn't get the hype and collections, if Prabhas is not the lead character. 

Technicians :- Background score was good. However, there should have been another option of BG apart from Jai Shriram or it should have been saved till end. But, from entrance fight to climax, only this BG was played numerous times, which made it monotonous after some time. Songs are poor. Dialogues were okayish. Mass dialogue from Hanuman didn't sound well and it felt awkward. Should have avoided it. Costumes were fine as far as Rama and his associates are concerned. The main problem with choosing Ramayana as a story is, it's known to everyone. So, there is no surprise element. Also, you cannot change it, as it's a sentimental and spiritual aspect. So, the only thing Director could do to bring audience to theatres is make it a visual spectacle to attract kids and younger generation. He was only 50% successful in doing so. VFX was not upto the mark, especially in the 2ns half it's too dark and greyish which itself was dull. Since, director cannot modify anything with Rama, as it would hurt sentiments, director took too much liberty in designing Ravana and his associates. Trendy hairstyles, tattoos, weapons, army, palace, etc., But it was too much to accept. Ravanasura, his army and his associates reminded us of Lord of the rings, Game of Thrones, Thor, etc. This might be done for kids. Also, though it's a known story, director should have stressed more on emotions which was lacking. Be it Hanuman meeting his idol Rama for 1st time, laying Rama Sethu, Vibhishana praising greatness of Rama etc, should have been better elevation scenes. 

Positives :-

Background score

Some parts of VFX

Saif Ali Khan

Negatives :-

Dull and greyish 2nd half

Too much liberty taken by Director

Prabhas looks in some parts

Not gripping narration

Analysis :- Either you don't touch spiritual subjects or do 100% justice. That's the mantra. Om Raut missed it big time in terms of judgement, VFX and screenplay. Could have been better, but it's not worst. 

Rating :- 2.5/5. (One time watch to introduce Ramayana to next generation). 

Virupaksha - Movie Review

Sai Dharam Tej has teamed up with debutant Karthik Varma, who is an assistant of Sukumar for Virupaksha, under the production of BVSN Prasad and Sukumar. This is Tej's first outing in 2 years after the dreadful accident.

Story :- Surya (Tej) along with his mother comes to his ancestral village Rudravanam for the first time, to give their land for school building. Exactly then the villages local.god festival Jaatara is scheduled and they plan to stay till it's over. During this time he meets Nandini (Samyukta), who is the daughter of village's sarpanch Harishchandra Prasad (Rajeev Kanakala). Just when the Jaatara is about to start, a bad omen happens in temple and the poojari (Sai Chand) tells that the village's to and fro movement has to be restricted to come out of the bad omen. During this time, suspicious deaths start to happen. How these deaths happen? Would Surya be able to resolve it? Who caused the bad omen? Forms the rest of the story. 

Performances :- Tej is decent in the protagonist role, though his natural act and ease was missing. He has become a bit chubby and is visible during action sequences, especially when running. Samyukta had a meatier role and she was good. Almost all the character artists had scope to perform and they did well, be it Sai Chand, Rajeev Kanakala, Brahmaji, Sunil, Shyamala, Ravi Krishna etc.,

Technicians :- Debutant Karthik didn't go for a regular scares of a horror film, which is refreshing. More than a horror film, this is a thriller with lot of surprise elements thrown in the 2nd half of the story. Execution by director is well done, but Sukumar's screenplay gets the major credit. Avoiding songs, comedy scenes, over the board action scenes or graphics is a good choice. Sticking to the story line only and narrating it is a great job. Background score and cinematography are well done.

Positives :-

Screenplay

Surprise elements

Story

Negatives :- 

Climax

Summary :- Virupaksha can be watched for the suspense elements and different story line. 

Rating :- 3/5 (Watchable thriller)

Dasara - Movie Review

Nani has teamed up with debutant Srikant Odela for a village backdrop story of "Dasara". Nani's last outing "Ante Sundaraniki" had mixed response at box office. Despite that, Dasara was a high budget flick when compared to Nani's regular films. That too with a debutant. 

Story :- Dharani (Nani), Suri (Deekshit) & Vennela (Keerthy) are childhood friends who live in Veerlapalli village, which is in the midst for coal mine. Dharani shall do anything for Suri and shall not leave if anyone goes against Suri. Majority of the villagers are addicted to alcohol and Silk bar in their village is their hub. Upper caste sit inside the bar and lower caste drink outside. After prohibition imposed by NTR, the bar gets closed. The village sarpanch decides that whoever wins as Sarpanch shall has the right to run the bar. After the death of Sarpanch, his sons Rajanna (Sai Kumar) and Shivanna (Samuthrakani) contest in elections against each other regularly. Shivanna's son Nambi (Shine Tom Chaco), who is evil to the core, ensures his father keeps the bar through which he wins elections easily. As part of these elections strategy, they conduct a cricket tournament and announces a special price for the winner. The result of the match turns the entire story. Dharani & Suri get into loggerheads with Nambi and what happens next is rest? What can Dharani do for Suri? Why Nambi targets Dharani & Suri?

Performances :- Nani lived the in the character of Dharani. This is one of his finest performances. His dialogues, attitude, antics, everything was perfect. Be it emotional scenes, action episodes, elevations, he was spot on.  Keerthy had a crucial role and she portrayed it well. Deekshit was fine in the limited scope. Chaco was menacing as the evil, his performance was subtle yet effective. Sai Kumar has couple of good scenes and he was as usual natural. Samuthrakani was wasted in the role. Not much of scope to do. Hero friends, their families, other villagers all did well. 

Technicians :- Cinematographer needs to be applauded for the colour tone maintained throughout the film. It's in line with the tone and backdrop of the movie, greyish. The night episodes were also well shot. Production design and art work were well captured, taking us to the world of Veerlapalli. Same is the case with costumes also. There 2 major action episodes, one before interval and one during climax. Hero introduction fight went a bit overboard with poor graphics. Climax fight is good. But interval fight is fabulous. It's well conceived. Actors also did a terrific job. Background score of Santosh Narayanan is an asset. It elevated the movie, at the same time it didn't sound regular. Songs were not conventional, but suited the story. Dialogues of pure rural Telangana accent were tough to understand. Director has done a stupendous job as a debutant. Though story wise it's not a fresh idea, the premise, dialogues, execution and standout performances made the film work. He maintained the suspense well till later part of 2nd half, why Nambi is targeting Dharani & Suri. I could relate to Rangasthalam at multiple junctures, in terms of story, some episodes, drama. Being protege of Sukumar, that's bound to happen. 

Positives :-

Nani

Premise

Drama

Interval action episodes

Negatives :-

Run time

Old story

Less emotionally high moments

Analysis :-  Dasara works for major part of the movie, with brilliant acting, good action episodes, background score and conflicts. It transforms you into their world. Crisp runtime and few more charging moments would have made it even better. 

Rating :- 3/5. It's a theatre movie, not an OTT one. 

Waltair Veerayya - Movie Review

Megastar Chiranjeevi's last outing in a mass avatar was Khaidi No.150. Sye Raa, Acharya, God Father, all jad either a serious or decent role. The songs and trailers of Waltair Veerayya promises a vintage Chiru. Bobby's last outing Venky Mama didn't fare well at the box office. Myhtri Movie Makers have teamed up for the 1st time with Chiru and Bobby. 

Story :- Solomon (Bobby Simha) is a dangerous drug smuggler, who was captured by RAW agents in Malaysia to bring him to Indian Jail. On the way to India, the flight gets crash landing in Maredumilli, AP due to heavy rains. Till the back-up team comes, RAW agents have to keep Solomon safely in a local police station for a night. Seethapathi (Rajendra Prasad), the CI for the Maredumilli local police station, leaves to hospital for 3 hrs on a family urgency. By the time he comes back, Solomon's brother Michael (Prakash Raj) sends his people and kill all the constables, raw agents and shift Solomon back to Malaysia. As the department doesn't support him, Seethapathi approaches Waltair Veerayya (Chiranjeevi) to help him in capturing Solomon from Malaysia for an 25L amount. Veerayya needs that amount to hold the long pending case of ACP Vikram (Ravi Teja) he has filed. Was Veerayya able to capture Solomon? What is the case Veerayya filed? Who is ACP Vikram? What is the backstory of Michael? Forms the rest of the story. 

Performances :- Vintage massy Chiru is back with a bang. His comedy timing, dances, antics and dressing, all remind us of Gharana Mogudu, Mutha Mestri, Annayya. He has lived the character of Veerayya and enjoyed playing it, which is very much visible in the output. He was terrific as well in emotional scenes and action episodes. Ravi Teja did his character as a police officer in a rather subtle way. The usual energy and mass of Raviteja was missing. Was it intentionally done to bring a decency to the character or was it designed to not surpass Chiru is unknown. Shruthi Haasan looks pretty both in the scenes and songs. She has an action block also, which is well done. Vennela Kishore brings some laughs in 1st half with his dialogues. Bobby Simha is believable as a drug smuggler and has that swag. Prakash Raj as main villain is fine. Rajendra Prasad, Catherine did justice to their roles. 

Technicians :- Story wise, it's nothing new. An age old story of revenge drama when 2 heroes are there, even as recent as Acharya. But the narration and treatment is what makes Waltair Veerayya watchable. Using Chiru's core strengths of comedy, dance, Bobby made an engaging, entertaining, racy 1st half with an high interval block. However, the graph comes down in 2nd half with a slow dragged narration. Had the 2nd half been more racy, crispy, this would have become an blockbuster of the year. Lack of emotionally high episodes or conflict point that hooks us, the 2nd half becomes average. Background of DSP is a big plus for the elevation scenes. Dance in all the songs was good. Poonakalu loading is a bit of letdown, both in terms of song and dance. Costumes for Chiru especially were well done, be it Jalaripeta get up, classy action episodes in Malaysia or songs in foreign location. Action episodes were impactful, however, climax fight should have been trimmed down a bit. The surprise climax brings a high for the fans.

Positives :-

Chiranjeevi

Entertaining episodes throughout 

Whistle worthy elevations for fans

Negatives :-

Average 2nd half

Predictable story and proceedings 

Summary :- An entertaining 1st half and an average 2nd half makes it a watchable fare overall.

Rating :- 3/5 (Vintage Chiru is back)

Veerasimha Reddy - Movie Review

Balayya is coming with Veerasimha Reddy after the blockbuster "Akhanda" and the stupendous success of "Unstoppable" season 2. Director Gopichand Malineni also is coming after a blockbuster "Krack" with Raviteja. Myhtri Movies associated with NBK for the 1st time.

Story :- Jai (NBK) is a businessman in Istanbul who lives along with his mother Meenakshi (Honey Rose). He once accidentally meets Eesha (Shruti Hassan) and she likes Jai. Eesha's father wants to meet Jai's parents to talk about marriage. Meenakshi decided that it is time to tell Jai about his father, Veerasimha Reddy. He is the protector of Pulicherla in Rayalaseem, whom people see as God. Bhanumati (Varalaxmi) and her husband Pratap Reddy (Duniya Vijay), try to kill Veerasimha Reddy multiple times to take their revenge. What is their enemity ? Were they successful ? Why is Meenakshi staying from Veerasimha Reddy? Forms the rest of the story.

Performances :- Balakrishna as Veerasimha Reddy is a perfect fit and he nails it. Costumes, antics, dialogues, were well designed. As a younger role of Jai, he was misfit, should have been given to some younger hero. Varalaxmi as Bhanumati gets a meatier role and she has a done a good job, though on climax it feels a bit overboard. Shruti Hassan is there only for songs and has very limited role. Honey Rose has a bigger role as a mother and as girlfriend in flashback. She did a decent job. Duniya Vijay is a fresh face as a villain and he gets repetitive after half of the film completes. 

Technicians :- Action episodes for father character were well designed and executed. The length of the fights could have been reduced. Songs by Thaman are fine, background score is good. Dialogues were good in some parts. Screenplay could have been more effective with lesser runtime. Director should have taken care of the same. 

Positives:-

Balakrishna in father role

Varalaxmi performance

Action episodes

Couple of songs

Negatives :-

Too lengthy

Too many fights

Slow narration

Repetitive villain attacks

Summary :- 

Story has all the elements for a commercial success, however too many fights, lengthy dramatic scenes hamper the proceedings. 

Rating - 2.75/5. Exclusively for Balayya fans. 

Godfather - Movie Review

After the colossal disaster of Acharya, Megastar Chiranjeevi is coming with Godfather , which is a remake of Malayalam blockbuster Lucifer. RB Chowdary, NV Prasad and Ram Charan producers. Director Mohan Raja who is well known for delivering blockbusters in Tamil with remakes of Telugu films like Jayam, Bommarillu, Amma Nanna O Tamilammai, etc is directing this film. His last direct Telugu film was Hanuman Junction. However, Mohan proved his mettle with an original script Thanioruvan which was a blockbuster then and it was remade in Telugu as Dhruva. 

Story :-  Chief minister of the state dies and political games start for the CM chair. Home minister Varma (Murli Sharma), CM's son in law Jaidev (Satya Dev) are the contenders for it. However, knowing of their cruel intentions and corrupt nature, party treasurer and CM's close aide Brahma (Chiranjeevi) creates obstacles for them. CM's daughter Sathya Priya (Nayanatara) doesn't want to see even Brahma's face and she also supports her husband Jaidev to become CM. Jaidev tries to grab power by all means and tries to win over Brahma, but with his political mastermind and his network, Brahma doesn't let it happen. Who wins this political game? Why Sathya Priya hates Brahma so much? These questions are answered in the story. 

Performances :-  All the actors did a terrific job in this political thriller. Murli Sharma, Nayanatara, Samuthrakani, Shafi, Sunil, Shayaji Shinde, Anasuya, Bharath Reddy, Divi, etc. Satyadev was stupendous, the variation in his expressions, dialogue delivery was superb. Chiranjeevi is flawless. This is infact a challenging role because this character doesn't have his usual comedy timing, masala dialogues, massy warning, no dances at all. However, Chiru managed very well with subtle expressions and smile. Infact his eyes did the major part of acting. Salman Khan's role is very limited and he was fine. Majority of his scenes had graphics and they were not upto the mark. Didn't connect much to Salman's entry or climax. Had it been done by Pawan Kalyan movie would have gone to next level. 

Technicians :-  Mohan Raja's screenplay is racy, crisp and on the spot. The movie doesn't feel bored or slow at any point of time except for last 5-10 mins. There is an elevation scene or dialogue for every 10-15 mins. Director succeeded in maintaining the high at regular intervals and he should be appreciated for that. Chiru's movie without any dance number or songs is itself a challenge, that too a serious & class role, narrating only story for 2 and half hours is herculean task, but Mohan Raja has passed it with distinction. Editing is very neat and made the movie jam packed. Fights were okay. Thaman's background score is terrific. The heroic elevation scenes were boosted with his score. Almost all the songs come as montage in the movie and they were apt to the situation, especially Naja bhaja jajara. Costumes were relatable to the political concept. Dialogues were simple but striking. 

Positives :-

Story and racy screenplay

Terrific cast and their performances

Elevation scenes

Negatives :-

Dragged Climax portion

Salman episode graphics

Summary :-  I haven't seen Lucifer since Chiru is doing it. Having said that I'm sure the changes done in Godfather would surely make it a better entertainer than Lucifer. The reason is, I felt the same after watching Bheemla Nayak and Ayyappanum Koshiyum one after another. Direct Malayalam movies are OTT watchable but not commercial films for our taste. So this story is new to me and I loved it. It has great premise, perfect goosebumps moments, elevation scenes powered by terrific acting and background score. It's a perfect commercial film. 

Rating :- 3.25/5. It's a classy mass film. Must watch it if you haven't seen Lucifer.