'Bhagavanth Kesari', produced by Sahu Garapati and Harish Peddi, hit the cinemas today (October 19).
Plot:
Nelakonda Bhagavanth Kesari (Balakrishna) serves a jail term for an undisclosed crime. Thanks to his equations with the jailor (Sarath Kumar), he is let out. After walking out of the prison, Kesari anoints himself as the guardian of Viji (Sree Leela), the daughter of the now-dead jailor. While Kesari wants his adopted daughter Viji to become a soldier, a billionaire named Rahul Sanghvi (Arjun Rampal) wants her dead. Why does the billionaire bay for Viji's blood? How does Kesari foil his evil plans? That's what the crux of the story is all about.
Performances:
Nandamuri Balakrishna is focused throughout. Some of the heart-wrenching moments wouldn't have felt distinctive had it not been for someone with his image portraying them. If Sree Leela's performance had matched the raw sincerity of his acting, some scenes in the second half could have blossomed even more effectively. Balayya makes the film feel like his one-man show.
There was a time when Arjun Rampal's performance would be dismissed by Bollywood critics. In his rare southern outing, he proves to be menacing enough in the role of a differently-abled, ruthless antagonist who we are told is more powerful than the Chief Minister himself (!). Kajal Aggarwal is limited to a few scenes that neither entertain nor stand out.
John Vijay as Shukla, Sarath Kumar, Bharath Reddy, Ravi Shankar, Aadukalam Naren and others are seen in different roles, mostly negative.
Technical aspects:
In 'Skanda', Thaman's background score was deafening. However, this time around, his musical approach aligns with Anil Ravipudi's quest for a more subdued and less bombastic atmosphere. The director's reformed treatment is well-matched by Thaman's BGM, which refrains from being over-the-top. Nevertheless, the songs 'Uyyaalo Uyyaala' and 'Ganesh Anthem' come across as lacklustre.
C Ramprasad's cinematography is above average. Cinematography has never been a highlight of Ravipudi's films. Tammiraju's editing is passable. Fight choreographer V Venkat was entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that the action sequences didn't stray into the realm of gravity-defying sensibility. For all the pre-release claims about the so-called unique nature of the fights, they feel run-of-the-mill.
Post-Mortem:
Balakrishna's enjoyable performance and Ravipudi's dialogues are unarguably the film's biggest assets. However, if you see the film as a story, it simply falls apart.
The antagonist is after 'Project V', the government's coveted infrastructure project through which he wants to run the country. A drug consignment that must be prevented from being caught within an hour keeps the powerful antagonist on the edge. He could just have made a call to the most powerful bureaucrat and stalled the seizure operation. There is a birthday party in which the CM, the Deputy CM and their party president are present. On the sidelines, two of them and our super-networked villain are tense. Why the hell are they behaving like an MLA, a Sarpanch and a gully rowdy when they have the entire state machinery at their beck and call?
This is the kind of mindless entertainer where an unplanned assassination shocks even the CM. The incriminating evidence that can kill the most powerful person in the country is held by a pen drive. You can imagine the kind of absurdities in the name of such evidence in our films, right?
We never understand why the all-powerful villain even lets Kesari walk free when all it would have taken is for him to bribe a Circle Inspector and condemn him to a lifetime imprisonment. Inanities bombard us throughout the running time of this film.
The film respects the audience when it comes to the emotional beats. The emotion driving Kesari's love for Viji and his undying urge to see her stand up for herself is warm. Every time the graph of the story slides, it is the emotions and the occasionally sparkling dialogue that come to our rescue. The 'Banao beti ko sher' spirit animates the film in the second hour.
The makers also deserve a pat on the back for doing away with routine duets between the lead pair. Balakrishna playing his age is now the hottest talking point, a welcome thing that will be aped by others in the coming years.
Closing Remarks:
'Bhagavanth Kesari' suffers from routine fights and illogical scenes. On the brighter side, it has its share of merits, especially in the form of a delicious performance by Balayya, rich production values, and excellent dialogue.
