Krack

Story: Pothuraju Veera Shankar (Ravi Teja) is a hot-headed circle inspector from Andhra who doesn’t like to hear the word ‘background’. Wherever he is appointed in the state, he brings all the notorious gundas to their knees with his signature policing style. When Shankar is appointed in Ongole, the brutal Katari (Samuthirakani) commits a spine-chilling murder and angers Shankar. How the rivalry between Pothuraju Veera Shankar and Katari turns worse is what Krack is all about.

Review: It has been a tough ten months for movie lovers, especially the mass audience who cannot stop themselves from whistling when a high-octane sequences plays out in slow-motion on the big screen. Ravi Teja and Shruthi Haasan starrer Krack will serve as a full meal with dessert for them all. As OTT platforms have brought global cinema to our fingertips, Krack proves the value of watching a pakka mass commercial entertainer in theatre.

Cop dramas are often stuffed with ruthless policing and this film is no exception. But director Gopichand Malineni successfully manages to add fresh elements to it and it nowhere feels like the same old wine. The movie begins with a happy Ravi Teja, enjoying life with his wife (Shruthi Haasan) and son. The family track feels super adorable and the romance between the married couple is written well.

But the romance stays short on screen and the movie slowly prioritises the plot which shows just how ruthless Shankar is in dealing with criminals and gundas in his jurisdiction. It is good to see a brutal woman on screen in Jayamma (Varalaxmi Sarathkumar) as it’s rare to find an antagonist like her in Telugu cinema. Katari has a special track in the movie that explains why the antagonist is no less than a protagonist in this film. Nothing out of the box happens in the first half, but you nonetheless enjoy it as people clap and whistle at the fights and mass dialogues. The other notable and scary part of the film is the ferocious Vetapalem gang, who drink blood of donkeys to keep the cruelty in them alive. It seems like Gopichand has done a lot of research before writing the track as such people did exist in that area, once upon a time. The first half ends with a heroic interval fight that is whistle-worthy.

Just like any other commercial film, the downfall of the hero begins after his tremendous domination on-screen and Pothuraju finally finds an ingenious way to curb the criminals. Shruthi Haasan, who completely vanishes from the screen after the initial few minutes makes a powerful comeback on-screen in the second half with a not-so-bad twist. Yes, it does feel illogical, who cares about such things in commercial cinema after all! The climax fight is shot well and the action sequences are top-notch. The only little disappointment is that this Ravi Teja starrer misses his trademark comedic scenes. More than his songs, Thaman once proves that he can amp up scenes on-screen with his background music.

When it comes to the performances, Ravi Teja is back to his arena and proves why he is called a Mass Maharaj. His toned look is a mirror to his dedication and he clearly still gives tough competition to his younger counterparts. Despite very less time on-screen, Shruthi Haasan’s talent is utilized well. Samuthirakani scares to an extent and his villain antics are on point. The rest of the actors too do their job well.

Every Sankranti remains incomplete without a mass entertainer and Krack kick-starts the year on a great note. Apart from ignorable flaws, it is a perfect watch and more so, proves why the theatre experience is still relevant.