Raj, The Showman (drama)

Raj, The Showman (drama)
Cast: Puneet Rajkumar, Priyanka Kothari, Aadi Lokesh, Muni, Mamatha Rao
Direction: Prem
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
n Puneeth Rajkumar's dream almost comes true when he bags the hero's role in a film. Unfortunately, heroine Priyanka Kothari's problems may just derail his ambitions. How does he overcome this hurdle?
With Puneet Rajkumar at his best, V Harikrishna's melodious music and S Krishna's eye-catching camerawork, director Prem takes you to an entertaining world in his latest venture.Full marks to him for a neat script and lively narration, especially in the first half. But the second half misses the `Prem touch' with its slow narration. The film can be trimmed by at least 30 minutes, especially the scenes which show the hero's childhood.
The story has romance for the youth, sentiment for women and adventure for action buffs. The plus points are the excellent tunes `Paro,' `Muthuraja...' and `Poli ivanu...' by Harikrishna which linger long after you step out of the theatre. Krishna's brilliant camerawork, especially in the fight scenes, the night effect at Melkote, and a song sequence at Ladakh, are a feast for the eyes.
The story revolves around Muthu (Puneet Rajkumar) who as a child dreams of becoming a film star. His dream almost comes true when he bags the hero's role in the film `Poli'. Unfortunately, the heroine Parvathi alias Paro (Priyanka Kothari) walks away from the project as she does not want to say `I love you' in a scene. She also gets into trouble when two of her uncles fight to marry her. Muthu tries all his tricks and overcomes many hurdles to convince her to be a part of the film so that he can become a hero. Does he succeed?
Puneet's good expressions and dialogue delivery bring alive every sequence. Priyanka Kothari fails to impress. Aadi Lokesh and Muni shine. Dialogues by Malavalli Saikrishna are catchy. Different Danny and Mass Mada have choreographed some stunning fights.
G S Kumar