Legend

Synopsis: ​Legend is an ode to Balayya of yore and you need to be in on the man to get a grasp of all the tomfoolery that plays out as high intensity drama.

Movie Review: A Balakrishna movie is an acquired taste. You need to have grown up on a diet of Telugu cinema to appreciate its nuances. Like why there are at least two heroines (in this movie he is playing a bit of a dual role), one inuendo laden number that goes lasku tapa, lasku tapa…, the high decibel dialogues, the flying suvs, and “David Blaineesque” stunts.

In many ways his movies are a throw back to another era where visibly aging superstars like NTR, ANR, Krisha and Sobhan Babu romanced the actresses young enough to be their daughters. Despite their gaudy wigs, explicitly thick layers of foundation, sunglasses big enough to cover the wrinkles under the eyes, and clothes tailored to hide the unflattering belly bulge, they still pranced around with the confidence that would embarrass teenagers.

Yet the audiences go berserk with chants of Balayya Balayya at the most juvenile of his antics. Like there is one dance move in which he is trying to pull the collar of his floral print shirt up in one movement while the other hand pulls it down from the bottom even he tried to pull off a wave pattern in the following movement.

The deafening cheers in the theaters in response to those ungainly dance moves might puzzle the uninitiated. For they don’t get it that the cheers aren’t for the athleticism of dance moves on display. The appreciation is more like the guffaw a bunch of friends break into upon the mention of an old joke. It’s part nostalgia, part oh we were so silly then feeling combined with how daft are we still acknowledgement and unbridled love for the man we all love to call Balayya. He is a phenomenon all by himself and has stood the test of time. Rather time stands still. Except for the noticeable new folds on his face, neck and underside of the eyes, nothing else has changed.

Legend is an ode to Balayya of yore and you need to be in on the man to get a grasp of all the tomfoolery that plays out as high intensity drama. The entire first half is a lead up to the interval twist. Balayya bursts on the scene with an elaborate desert stunt dressed to the T driving a swanky black SUV. A hot bikini number to introduce the Sonal is followed by a few old Brahmanandam jokes, some family sentiment and an item number.

Then Jitendra’s brother gets killed. Seething with rage he almost executes Krishna and his family when another Balakrishna, much older but just as dashing crops up from nowhere. Then movie goes into flashback mode putting the pieces together. The post interval part seems like one continuous action episode with some songs thrown in for respite even as the decibel levels threaten to break the human hearing capacity range.

As far as acting goes, well Balayya just does his thing. The climax of the movie with him giving a speech dressed like a politician signaling his entry into electoral politics might just give the politically inclined something to chew on. Besides sizzling in an Urusula Andress – aka Honet Rider from the bond film, Dr No - styled beach number, Sonal Chauhan (although she doesn’t quite have the same impact that Urusula did back in the sixties) has little to do. Jagapati Babu is reduced to screaming his lungs out in every scene besides eyeballing at Balakrishna in every scene he gets.

The music turns out to be a disappointment. It’s just not what do they say…thumping enough. There’s a surfeit of blood, action sequences and deafening punch dialogues. Simply put its Simha remade with bad music. How much you will enjoy it will be directly proportional to your love for Balayya.