Rating: 1/10 (Just for Mahesh)

Anytime Super Star Mahesh Babu's film comes around, there's absolute hysteria and unprecedented hype that goes along with it. Arguably the biggest star in the industry today, his next film Brahmotsavam directed by Srikanth Addala hit the marquee on May 20th, 2016. Can the combo give Mahesh another record breaking blockbuster after Srimanthudu? Read my review to find.

Story: Mahesh Babu is the son of an industrialist billionaire played by Satya Raj who has made a fortune from a painting factory that he set up with his brother in law played by Rao Ramesh. Satyaraj has a philosophy that everyone in a family should always be together, be happy happy, and celebrate everything like a grand celebration and he teaches Mahesh this same lifestyle as he brings him up. Rao Ramesh tho can't stand the idea of that philosophy and is selfish to an extent. He wants Mahesh to marry his daughter Pranitha but he sees him kissing Kasi played by Kajal Agarwal and he loses it and vents out all the hatred he's had for Satyaraj all these years after the incident. Unable to cope with what just happened, Satyaraj goes into a state of shock and dies of a heart attack. Devastated, Mahesh along with Samantha goes to find his relatives across 7 generations to show Rao Ramesh the meaning of Brahmotsavam. Does he succeed? Watch this movie to find out

Performances: If there's even half a reason to watch this movie, it's only cause of Mahesh Babu. This is one of the worst films in recent times but as usual he always gives a great performance and and carries it on his shoulders. He looks very handsome and his performance in the interval and climax are outstanding. Satya Raj and Rao Ramesh are the next best in the film with latter also being superb and steals the show in the interval. The rest of the cast has many known faces but they're all wasted in inconsequential roles.

Technicalities: Another half reason to watch this movie is the cinematography by Ratnavelu. This man lit the screen up every time it was needed and the camerawork is exceptional in this movie. He is the other real hero of this film. Dialogues are not good and too hard to understand at times. Mickey J Meyer's music is good but too many songs ruin it. Background score by Gopi Sunder is good. Editing is the biggest villain for this movie. No scene matches up to the next and the end result is a mess. Production values by PVP are outstanding but he wasted his money on this one.

Analysis: Srikanth Addala has always made films devoid of entertainment and about family relationships and values. While that's fine one needs a proper script to make a film work and this movie lacks just that. His last film with Mahesh was SVSC and that film worked somehow due to it being the first contemporary multi starrer in TFI. But the emotions in that film could be felt. Here everything seems so artificial. You can't connect with any of the characters at all.

The movie starts off nicely with classical credits and Samantha giving a voice over and then starts to proceed. Each family member is introduced and then Mahesh enters and viola a song. But each and every scene makes no sense. Why are these people always together? Why do they sing and dance all the time? why do they talk in 3rd person about God? And when Mahesh is not with his family, he's with Kajal doing something stupid which is called "romance" in this film.

The first half of the film tests your patience to the extreme limits with nothing going on, no connection from scene to scene, and 5 songs in one half. To be honest Mahesh's dance in Bala Tripuramani was the most entertaining moment of the 1st half.  The interval is good and unexpected. You'd think Addala would show how the family reacts after Satyaraj is gone but everyone is apparently fine and Mahesh's sister who lives in London is never seen again and I guess didn't care that her father just died.

After Samantha enters in the 2nd half you'd think the proceedings would lighten up but they don't. The 2nd half treads on a like a  documentary with Mahesh going to look for his roots and this is told at a snail's pace instead of being told interestingly. If you thought the 1st half tested your patience, the 2nd half puts them to the test even more. By the time the climax comes you don't even care what's going on because you're trying to come to terms with what you just watched.

As a Mahesh Babu fan, this is the worst film in his career in my opinion and Srikanth Addala is the main culprit here. His idea is good but his execution is torturous. Screenplay is horrendous.

On a whole, Brahmotsavam is one of the worst movies ever made in recent times in TFI. Torturous execution, horrendous screenplay and dreadful editing are the culprits of this insipid family entertainer. Even if you are a die hard fan of Mahesh Babu like me, I'd still recommend skipping it and save yourself the time and torture.