Naayak

Story: Cherry (Charan) is a Hyderabad based software engineer. His look alike, Siddharth Naayak (Charan) is a people’s don who challenges the domination of, Rawat (Pradeep) a corrupt minister. Destiny forces Cherry and Siddharth to cross paths.

Movie Review: Picture this. Three men (who’ve been beaten black and blue) tied to a flag post in the middle of the night, surrounded by a ground full of goons lit by an entourage of yellow coloured taxis. And just as the men are about to be executed, comes the hero, jumping over roof tops Yamkasi style and landing bang in the middle of the ground. Then the camera zooms into his face holding for a couple of seconds for a good look (its a cue for the fan boys to go berserk) and the fight sequence begins. Needless to say he makes mince meat of all the goons and saves the hapless men.

VV Vinayak is known to dish out such signature opening sequences. Remember Adurs? It opened with NTR beating up a gang of baddies too, though the details were perhaps relatively less spectacular. Well “mass-action-entertainers” in Tollywood are all pretty similar in principle i.e. What changes mostly are the heroes (and each of them come with their nuances), for the packaging is all the same as far as elements go – loads of action, explosions, dancing, comedians, villains and the mandatory item number.

It has to be said the director does a good job of playing to the “mega fan” galleries. Ram Charan delivering a characteristically power packed performance, seems to have raised the bar a notch higher when compared to Racha, especially the dancing and dialogue delivery. There isn’t so much scope for too much variation in the characters because they seem to have been conceived to be larger than life, period.

Cherry is a software engineer who works in Hyderabad who falls in love with Madhu (Kajal), the daughter of a notorious don, Gandi Babji. Even as he tricks and schemes his way into her heart right under the nose of her dangerous brother, his look alike, Naayak makes a dramatic entry. It is revealed Naayak is an ordinary young man who rebels against the excesses Rawat, the evil minister who reigns supreme in Kolkatta. Thanks to a case of mistaken identity the CBI picks up Cherry only to let him off. That’s how their paths cross and what ensues is what the film’s all about.

The comedy in the movie stands out but for once looks like Brahmanadam was overshadowed by Jai Prakash Reddy who steals the show with his Rayalaseema slang. Mind you, Brahmanadam is in his element playing the unmarried middle aged guy desperate to get hitched.

The ladies have little to do except for adding glamorous relief in the proceedings. Kajal and Amala Paul play the eye candy pretty well. The music is very peppy and has a dance feel to it. It has to be said the songs have been shot in the backdrop of some of the most picturesque backgrounds both real and computer generated as well. So all in all it looks like a case of formula coming good. You sure didn’t go to the theaters looking for something more purposeful? For the fault would be yours if you did.

Tip-Off: It’s the pot boiling paisa vasool entertainment, so your gratification levels will be directly proportional to how much intelligence you are willing to suspend. We’d suggest you leave your wits outside the movie hall.