Tejafilms.com Rating: 6.5/10 (One Time Watch)

Jr. Ntr's much awaited Janatha Garage hit the screens on September 1st. Before the releae it generated unprecedented Hype due to Koratala SIva's track record and the presence of a huge multi-starrer. Did it live up to the expectations? Read my review to find out.

Story: Satyam(Mohanlal) is a mechanic who along with his brother sets up a garage. Slowly but surely, people start coming to them to so they can help them with their own problems in their life. The garage was named Janatha Garage meaning people's garage with a tagline that all repairs could be done there whether it be a personal problem or a mechanical issue. In the process, Satyam loses his brother and sister-in law and they have a son. They send him away with his sister in laws relatives and they never come back.

Some years later, Anand (Jr. Ntr) is a environmental student who loves nature and will go to any lengths to save it. He lives in Mumbai. Due to some uncertain circumstances, his uncle send him to Hyderabad and he unknowingly gets involved and stops Raghava's (Unni Mukundan) illegal mining activities who also happens to be Satyam's son. This leads to confrontation between Anand and Saytam but there is more than meets the eye. Who is Anand? Who is Mukesh Rana? What happens to everyone involved in Janatha Garage? Watch the movie to find out

Performances: Mohanlal is one of the finest actors in India and this film clearly shows why. He has less dialogues but always conveys his emotions through his eyes. He is superb. Jr. NTR is my opinion has given the best performance of his career in this film especially in the GMHC and Samantha episodes. But one does feel that his role in the film is more of an extended guest appearance. Unni Mukundan and Sachin Khedekar as the villains lack the loathe needed for typical villains. Samantha and Nitya Menon are wasted. Suresh, Devayani, Sai Kumar, and the members of Janatha Garage are adequate. Rajeev Kanakala finally gets a meaningful role after a long time.

Technical: Music by DSP is good. The background score is excellent especially in the GMHC episode. Cinematography by Tirru is excellent. Dialogues by Koratala Siva are good and meaningful at times. Art is excellent. Fights by Anal Arasu are excellent but some are over the top. Production Values by Mythri Movies are outstanding.

Analysis: Koratala Siva has a knack for telling old stories in an interesting and meaningful manner. But one can't help but realize that Janatha Garage is his weakest film to date. The opining sequence is good and you expect the film to take off after NTR grows up. But the film takes it's own time to unfold. The editing is questionable in the 1st half as many scenes are just there and don't take the story forward. And the main character of the movie is Mohanlal and not NTR. The sub-plot with the MLA and Anand is never resolved and you wonder what happened to it.

Siva's screenplay is below average at best in this film. Barring good performances from the lead characters and a few excellent scenes, it's an average job from the star director. His taking in the GMHC episode is absolutely world class and it gives goosebumps to any viewer watching and the tempo is good here but then drops back down again. The villains are also a problem in the movie because they are poorly written. This one is on Koratala Siva but given the hype and expectations, this could be a smash hit at the box office.

On the whole, Janatha Garage is a great one time watch for it's performances and a few good scenes. But overall, it may not leave a lasting impression at the end.