Veerabhadra

Disclaimer: This is not a review of the movie. This is just what I personally feel about the movie. Since it is a personal opinion, the write up will definitely be pretentious and condescending at places. Please note that it is better to go with real reviews and not personal opinions like this - if you are trying to judge if this is a movie really worth watching.

Strange are the preconceived notions of human beings. Not even once in the last one month have I thought that I would find myself watching Veerabhadra on the very first day of its release. The possibility itself did not cross my mind at all. However four days back, when I saw that it was on the marquee in the best theatre of Chennai, I decided to book the ticket.

Veerabhadra works. It may not be the best movie around these days. However it is honest to itself, has a tight script, a gripping screenplay and zero boring moments. The story is not anything remotely new. However the treatment is pretty good. All the actors did justice to their roles. To my surprise even the songs which normally take a backseat in any Balakrishna movie are refreshingly good except for the last song. Yedukondalu song is the pick of the lot. There are a couple of melodious numbers which are shot very well and recorded nicely. Rerecording by Mani is pretty good.

The story has a little bit of everything. However the director takes care of the emotions very well. An emotionally charged scene is immediately followed by a wisecrack remark by M S Narayana and the tension is eased up.

A special mention should go to Peter Haynes. The fights till the climax are extraordinary. There is some thread work but it was minimal. The power conveyed by the choreography of these fights tells us that given proper direction, Peter Haynes could work miracles. In stark contrast the climax reminds one of the Samara Sinha Reddy or Narasimha Naidu fights. I am not exactly aware of the reason why PH had been replaced by the other stunts man for the climax fight. The difference shows pretty clearly on the screen.

That brings us to Balakrishna, the man who single handedly drives the show right from the very innovative and enjoyable title entry. It is clear that he has put in more than 100% into this movie. At times I really felt pity on him - especially during the songs. He tried hard to manage some really difficult steps - like the one where he has to lie on the floor and make a 360 degree sweep. I really don't think Balakrishna should attempt such steps at this juncture of his career. It really really looked awkward. He doesn't need to prove that he is good at dancing. He should stick to what he is really good at.

And he excels in his forte. Take for instance the much talked about and sometimes laughed about dialogue: \i{"Rakhtam lo uDakapeDutha"} and \i{"Narikaanante, mukkalu erukodaaniki rendu rojulu paDuthundi"} (Not the exact words). When delivered by Balakrishna in the context of the scene, they are really powerful and do not seem out of place at all.

That is one of the plus points of the movie. At no place you'll feel that the dialogues were written keeping Balakrishna in mind. It all blends quite nicely into the screenplay. Balakrishna's histrionics and voice modulation then take them to the next level.

First half of the movie is immensely enjoyable. My opinion on the second half is that the sentiment factor has gone overboard. However it may click with the family audience. A little bit of trimming here and there would have definitely helped the movie.

The movie falls well short of expectations in the department of editing. That is putting it mildly. In the first half Editing is really awful. The transition between scenes is almost always very abrupt. I had to actually put 2 and 2 together to understand what was happening on the screen.

Prakash Raj is the surprise packet. These days I see him only as a larger than life villain. In this movie, he has a three dimensional role and gets a chance to act - instead of shouting dialogues. He essays all the emotions quite nicely and underplays his character to perfection.

Shayaji Shinde on the other hand is unbearably loud - always shouting at 130 decibels. Someone needs to tell this guy that it is getting repetitive these days.

On the whole, Veerabhadra is a nice movie - worth watching once at least. The way the story unfolds at breakneck speed and the high number of non overlapping incidents give this movie some repeat value.

Balakrishna delivers a better movie this time. Whether it becomes a decent hit or not - Only time will tell.