May 13th, 2022
Rating: 4/10 (Bad Auction with Sensational Mahesh)
Cast: Superstar Mahesh Babu, Keerthy Suresh, Samuthirakani, Vennela Kishore, Subbaraju, Ravi Prakash, Tanikella Bharani, Nadiya, and others
Written and Directed by: Parasuram
Music: Thaman S
Cinematography: Madhie
Editing: Marthand K Venkatesh
Production Design: AS Prakash
Producers: Naveen Yerneni, Y Ravi Shankar, Gopi Achanta, Ram Achanta
Banner: Mythri Movie Makers, 14 Reels Plus, G. Mahesh Babu Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.
AFTER A GAP OF 2.5 years, Mahesh Babu is finally back on screen. His latest action entertainer Sarkaru Vaari Paata is up for release and has humongous expectations riding on it. Directed by Anjaneyulu and Geetha Govindam fame Parasuram Petla, the film stars Keerthy Suresh as the heroine and Samuthirakani as the villain. Also starring Vennela Kishore, Subbaraju, and Nadiya in other roles, it has music by Thaman S who's been in red hot form, cinematography by Madhie, editing by Marthand K Venkatesh, and production design by AS Prakash. Can Parasuram give Mahesh Babu another blockbuster and make it a hattrick for the Superstar? Let's find out in today's review.
Plot
Mahi (Mahesh Babu) owns a finance company that gives loans to people. He comes to Vizag to nab Rajendranath (Samuthirakani). Why does he want to bring him to justice? How does Kalavathi (Keerthy Suresh) fit into all of this? Watch the movie to find out.
Performances
After being absent on screen for 2.5 years, Mahesh Babu is AMAZING as Mahi. The characterization is badass and gives Mahesh Babu a lot to work with. The mannerisms, dialogue delivery, transformation, and razor sharp comic timing is a feast for his fans and will be enjoyable for the general audience as well. He's fantastic in the action sequences as usual and his god like screen presence shines in every single frame. It's a one man show from start to finish and Mahesh Babu excels in a tailor made character. He's super energetic and unrestrained which proves to such a refreshing departure from the bland subtle roles he's been doing the last half decade. Overall, he's simply sensational and as expected the main USP of the film.
Keerthy Suresh as Kaalavathi looks beautiful and despite an attempt at a different characterization, the character falls flat in the end due to poor writing. She does her best in what she's given and makes a good pair with Mahesh Babu.
Samuthirakani as Rajendranath is adequate. His character was hyped much before the release and some huge names which were never revealed were considered. It's a typical villain role for the talented actor and reminds us of his character in Krack.
Veenela Kishore is wasted for the most part but manages to get a few laughs overall.
Subbaraju, Tanikella Bharani, Ravi Prakash, Brahmaji, Nadiya, Nagababu, and Pavitra Lokesh are all part of the ensemble and other than Nadiya to the slighest degree, everybody else fails to make to an impact.
Direction
Direction by Parasuram is subpar. Sarkaru Vaari Paata is his jump to the big league and putting it bluntly, he fails miserably and completely wastes the opportunity. His forte is comedy and family entertainers with some good writing and dialogues. Action and mass entertainers have never been his strong suit and the genre shift didn't work at all. Other than Mahesh Babu's characterization, Parasuram fails to get anything else right. The romantic track, the emotions, and most of all the core point of EMI's, banks, and loans is all lost in translation and ends up as a huge mess. By the end you're left confused as to what the director was trying to say as he meanders around the core point with no proper explanation or execution. Mahesh Babu literally carries the entire film and there's not much of a story for him to support him. The first half has some decent entertainment and it breezes by but the 2nd half is where all the problems unravel and you start to question what's actually going on. The action blocks and comedy track in the 2nd half don't exactly work. The Jessi track is farcical and fails to entice any laughs. The leg comedy is funny to an extent but overall, this is not a Parasuram mark film as it's missing the entertainment and decent writing associated with his films. He's completely banked upon Mahesh Babu to carry the weak story and it ends up another message oriented film in Mahesh Babu's filmography.
Technical Aspects
Music and BGM by Thaman S is DECENT. The songs are shot well on screen and the BGM is fine and not as a bad as others said. But given the context and hype surrounding the film, Thaman fails to elevate crucial scenes with BGM like in past films and renders a lot of scenes ineffective as a result. Let's hope he returns to form soon.
Cinematography by Madhie is EXCELLENT. The film has such rich visuals throughout and Madhie keeps the cinematography colorful and simple the entire film. The songs specifically are dipped in gorgeous colors and Madhie has captured so effectively.
Production Design by AS Prakash is WORLD CLASS as usual. The bank sets and the Casino set as well as the sets in Penny and Ma Ma Mahesha are all SUPERB.
Editing by Marthand K Venkatesh is ADEQUATE. The 2nd half could use some serious trimming to make the narrative have a better flow.
Action Sequences by Ram Lakshman are POOR. The compostions are poor and laughable at tines. Mahesh Babu's screen presence and ease in action sequences give you goosebumps more than the choreography itself. Lots of gravity defying moments overall.
Costume Design is SUPERB. Mahesh Babu's styling is his career best and Keerthy Suresh also had fantastic costumes throughout.
Sound Mixing and Sound Design is DECENT.
Dialogues by Parasuram are Disappointing. There's not a single memorable comedic or emotional dialogue that we expect from his films. They're just there for the sake of being there.
Production Values by Mythri Movie Makers, 14 Reels Plus, and G Mahesh Entertainments Pvt. Ltd. are EXTRAVAGANT. They clearly spent a lot on the movie and made it looks visually appealing.
Positives
+ Mahesh, Mahesh, and Mahesh
+ Cinematography
+ Production Design
+ 1st half
Negatives
- Story
- Screenplay
- Direction
- Dialogues
- Less Entertainment
- 2nd half
- Confusing Message/Director's Vision
Analysis and Final Take
As with any Mahesh Babu starrer, there's always tremendous hype surrounding his films. After the blockbuster success of Sarileru Neekevvaru, the pandemic hit and Mahesh Babu announced his next with Parasuram of Geetha Govindam fame. As with any Tier 2 director making the jump to Superstar league, there's bound to be an added layer of pressure of expectations. When it comes to a star like Mahesh Babu, expectations are multifold because he has the biggest fan following the general and family audience and he also has to satisfy the expectations of his hardcore fanbase.
Initially rumored as a revenge tale about a Vijay Mallya type person, it stays true to that story for the most part. Cut to the release amidst the sky high expectations, Sarkaru Vaari Paata isn't worth the hype. Other than a fantastic Mahesh Babu who looks his career best and delivers a knockout energetic performance, it doesn't have much to offer.
The first half moves at a good pace with the love track taking up most of the runtime and it's strictly adequate at best. The hype and associated fun or comedy we expect is not there at all. Very few scenes make you laugh and despite the pairing of Keerthy Suresh and Mahesh Babu, they don't have great chemistry for you to take the track seriously. Wasting Vennela Kishore is also something tough to do but Parasuram manages to succeed in doing so. After the story shifts to India, it's still entertaining and the beach fight has some goosebump moments with a decent interval bang.
All the problems unravel in the 2nd half where you questions where the proceedings are headed. Scene after scene go by and the film feels exhausting. Parasuram takes up a burning social issue which is relevant - Rich people increasing the financial burden on lower social classes by increasing interest without their notice. In between there's a lot of terminology featuring EMI's, loans, banks, defaulting and a lot of financial terms which are not explained properly. The face off and cat and mouse game between Mahesh Babu and Samuthirakani is not anything new and is a typical Telugu movie hero villain conflict. By the end, you're confused who was right and what Parasuram was trying to say and his message or intention gets lost in translation.
The film is neither entirely entertaining or gripping. It falls somewhere in between which is disappointing because if the writing and direction had been sharper, Sarkaru Vaari Paata would have been an amazing action entertainer. Instead Parasuram relied on Mahesh Babu to carry out such a weak story filled with patience testing scenes in the 2nd half and a poor romantic track throughout.
Other than Mahesh Babu being in great form, Sarkaru Vaari Paata doesn't offer much to those seeking entertainment or some good timpeass.
Overall, Sarkaru Vaari Paata is a bad auction with a sensational Mahesh Babu who delivers an all around performance and it's a complete one man show as he carries the entire film on his shoulders.
Fans might like the movie but it will most likely fail to entice the general audience. It's a strictly adequate ONE TIME WATCH that plays to Mahesh Babu's strengths and comic timing. Parasuram fails as a director but Mahesh Babu shines.
Signing off,
- Teja Rao, Die Hard Telugu cinema fan.
