Rating: 6/10 (Mild Entertainer)
Mass Maharaja Raviteja finally breathed a sigh of relief with his last film Balupu putting an end up to his flop streak. He's back again and this time he's teamed up with popular writer KS Ravindra (Bobby) for his debut film called Power. How is it? Find out in this review.
Story: Baldev Sahay (Raviteja) is a corrupt cop who works in Kolkata. He rescues Ganguly Bhai (Sampath Raj) from a police operation but in the process loses his life. Tirupathi (Raviteja again) is wannabe police officer who lives with his sister (Surekha Vani), her husband Animuthyam (Brahmi) and their son. He falls in love with Nirupama (Hansika Motwani) a ring saleswoman.
In the meantime, a politician named Jayavardhan (Muskesh Rishi) is a home minister and his mother suddenly falls ill after seeing the news of Baldev Sahay's death. Unable to see her condition, he sees Tirupathi on TV and he looks like just like Baldev Sahay who is Jayavardhan's brother. He contacts Tirupathi and asks him to be Baldev Sahay and goes to Kolkata to finally nab Ganguly Bhai once and for all. He successfully does so but in a huge twist, Tirupathi is cheated and is left to die. He is rescued by old subordinates of Baldev Sahay (Ajay and Subbaraju) and they start to explain what actually happened. Who was Baldev Sahay? Why did he become corrupt? Is he dead or alive and how is he related to Jayavardhan and Ganguly Bhai forms the rest of the movie.
Performances: Raviteja is his usual brilliant self in this self. He is highly entertaining as Tirupathi and deadly and ruthless as Baldev Sahay. Nothing new in terms of performance as the usual energy, dialogues and action are there from the Mass Maharaja. Had the director taken a little more care of Baldev's characterization, it could have easily been another Vikram Rathod for Raviteja.
Hansika Motwani is alright as the female lead. Regina is gorgeous as Vaishnavi and is a lot better than Hansika.
Saptagiri, Brahmi, and Posani are hilarious with their comedy antics and keep you entertained on each side of either half. Mukesh Rishi, Sampath Raj, and Harish Uthaman do the usual fare as villains and are absolutely ruthless.
Kota leaves an impact as Baldev's uncle. Uttej is alright as Tiwari and Ajay and Subbaraju are good as subordinates of Baldev. Prakash Raj has a limited role.
Technicalities: Music by Thaman is passable but the background score is pretty good. Art by Brahma Kadali is alright. The weapon he designed for the port fight is awesome. Cinematography by Arthur A. Wilson and Jayanan Vincent is good. Dialogues by Kona Venkat and Bobby are good and entertaining. Screenplay by Bobby is good for the most part. Fights by Ram Lakshman are good especially the port fight. That is the best scene in the film. Editing by Gautham Raju is fine. Production Values by Rockline Venkatesh are grand. The film is shot lavishly and it shows on screen.
Analysis: Power is a mixture of all of Raviteja's films into one and its a been there, done that kind of film. The double cop role reminds you of Vikramarkudu and so does the flashback while the comedy in the climax is reminiscent of Balupu (jumping japang) and the corrupt cop angle has been seen in many films like Laskhmi Narasimha etc. Bobby wrote a story that's not fresh but if told in the right way, can be successful and entertaining and he succeeds for the most part.
The first half opens with Baldev losing his life and then we are immediately introduced to Tirupathi and left wondering what happened to Baldev. The comedy by Brahmi, Raviteja, and Saptagiri keep you entertained until Mukesh Rishi enters and things start to get serious. The twist at the interval is nice and unexpected. The 2nd half shifts into Rajamouli mode where the real story lies and has a huge flashback and has to explain why everything that's currently happened is happening. The flashback is good but the motive for Baldev becoming corrupt doesn't seem convincing enough. The port fight before the flashback ends is the best part of the movie and is sure to give you goosebumps. That will remain of the best fight scenes ever composed in TFI history. Truly awesome stuff and it has a certain sentimental value and emotion we see in Rajamouli films. After the flashback, the film goes on and proceeds in an entertaining manner and ends. But maybe it's a little too long.
Bobby does pretty well in his first outing as a director and has a good grip on the commercial aspects of Telugu cinema.
On a whole, Power is a cocktail of Raviteja's films and is highly reminiscent of Vikramarkudu. It mildly entertains and has some good moments. Raviteja's performance, the interval twist, port fight, and the direction are the highlights of this movie. For those who like commercial movies, they can give it a shot and if not then it's a routine fare for the average movie goer. I'm going with 6/10.
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