Rating: 6.5/10 (Action Packed-Mediocre)
Allu Arjun has been on a roll ever since Race Gurram and has a set new record for back to back 50 cr+ share films. He teamed up with mass masala specialist Boyapati Srinu for the action packed film, Sarrainodu. Can Boyapati deliver a hattrick for Allu Arjun? Read my review to find out.
Story: Gana (Allu Arjun) is an ex military officer who bashes anyone to a pulp if they do something wrong. His uncle (Srikanth) is an honest lawyer and they work together to bring justice to people. He has a large family consisting of his father and all his relatives. in the process he stalks and harasses the local MLA Hanshita Reddy(Catherine Tresa) and eventually she gives in. When a girl is brutally raped and her parents asks Hanshita for justice, she accepts but is defeated by the prosecution whoa are afilliates of Vairam Dhanush (Aadhi). This angers Gana to the core and hacks two of the men and comes into direct conflict with Dhanush. His fathers wants him to get married as soon as possible and he sends him for a matchmaking session with his friend's daughter (Rakul Preet Singh). Hanshita wants to marry Gana and their family accepts her proposal but at this exact time the girl he went to go see Mahalaxmi(Rakul) is being attacked and he saves her and officially announces he will wage a war with Dhanush. What actually happened when Gana went to the village for match making and does he defeat Dhanush? Watch this action entertainer to find out.
Performances: Allu Arjun has come a long way from Gangotri. You could see a more mature Bunny in Race Gurram and he's growing as an actor in each film and has what it takes to be the next superstar of Telugu cinema. In Sarrainodu, he is simply amazing as Gana and his dedication and physique he built for the role is simply outstanding. He fights, dances, and romances with ease. This is without a doubt Allu Arjun's best performance in his career and his action in the interval and climax were spotless. He is also exceptionally good in the action sequences. It's his one man show all the way and he carries it on his shoulders.
Catherine Tresa and Rakul are wasted as the heroines as they are just there for some 5 odd scenes and 3 songs each.
Aadhi is excellent as the villain and he should be casted more often in these roles because he is a villain that can actually speak fluent Telugu and is already an established actor in Tamil. Vairam Dhanush is one of the best villains but his character loses the powerful grip towards the end.
Jayaprakash and Srikanth are good as father and uncle of Gana. Saikumar has a meaningful role. Anjali is miscast as item girl. It is Annapurna who steals the show with her comments against her Tamil daughter in law and the interview with Catherine is simply hilarious. Brahmi is wasted as usual and Vidyu Rahmans comedy isn't good either.
Technicalities: Music by Thaman is very good and the background score is excellent. Dialogues by Ratnam are ok and works in certain scenes. Cinematography by Rishi Punjabi is world class. It is simply outstanding. Editing by Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao is good and crisp. Art is good. Production values by Geetha Arts are extravagant and amazing. Allu Aravind has not compromised a single penny to make his son's film look the best .
Analysis: Boyapati Srinu is known for his larger than life, action packed films that usually contain excessive violence and gore and loads of punch dialogues. This is film is somehow rated U/A when people get stabbed 20 times and entire village is hacked to death and a man has his head chopped off with a sickle the lentgh of a meter stick. But they've added some comedy and family scenes terming the movie a family entertainer.
First things first, I love masala action films but have been taking a dislike towards excessive violence though in my young days all I cared about was action and couldn't give a damn about a cohesive story or script. But times have changed and I still enjoy these films but have to take a look at it as a whole. Sarrainodu is a hardcore action film, that barring Allu Arjun's performance and a few well taken scenes, falls short of the massive expectations that come along with it.
The 1st half is ok with the introduction of Gana and Vairam Dhanush in a parallel track and the "romance" scenes between Allu Arjun and Catherine is actually stalking and You Are my MLA is a song purely about harrassment and other things which people fail to realize. This part is a complete waste of tome and so are the family comedy scenes. Boyapati has never been good at comedy and is still trying to induce it into his script but he's failed 9/10 times. The fights every 10 minutes and the interval bang and the court scene keeps us hooked in the first half and you'd expect the film to be so powerful in the 2nd half after a pulsating interval block. But it really doesn't have much in it. We are fed with a flashback that if you've seen enough action films you knew what was coming and what happened after.
The highlight of the 2nd half is easily the confrontation between Allu Arjun and Aadhi. This is the best scene of the movie and Boyapati could have ended it there. But he prolongs the movie for another 30 minutes extra and you wonder why. Boyapati's taking this time around was average and lacks the racy narration that made Legend a hit.
On a whole, Sarrainodu is a mediocre oora mass action entertainer that's worth watching for Allu Arjun's performance, the action sequences, and the cinematography and a few well taken scenes. If Boyapati had focused more on the conflict and less on the entertainment factor, it would have been even better. Allu Arjun should be able to take it to the next level and make it a hit. I'm going with 6.5/10.
Hey! your synopsis is excellent, I was earlier under the impression that you were a professional film critic before going through “About” page. Seems tollywood stuff is your favorite past time. I believe you have a profound knowledge on Indian movies. Good job, Hoping to see latest reviews.