Mr. Kalyan Movie Review: The end doesn’t justify the means

Story: Chapel, aka Coach (Sapthagiri), runs a business with a bunch of call boys, but his earnings take a hit when Kalyan, aka CB (Maanyam Krishna), enters the market. Parallelly, Kalyan is deeply in love with Sarika (Archana). Under what circumstances did Kalyan turn into CB? Is there more to the story?Review: Mr Kalyan, directed by Pandu, seems to have taken the end justifies the means approach. The movie begins with Kalyan being a total wreck – a contemplating long-bearded man lost in booze and smoke. From here, the makers try to narrate how he landed in that position. In the film’s first half, the character of Kalyan is presented as a macho guy with a double life, one as a deeply responsible lover and the other as a call boy, CB, who renders his services upon receiving phone calls. Chapel and his gang of boys act as antagonists as well as comics. It’s an unwanted and unwarranted situation which seems frivolous at best. Chapel wants to eliminate his competition when CB refuses to join him. And this leads to scheming and fistfights, giving ample scope for well-choreographed fight sequences. Fights by Shaovlan Mallesh look decent, given the towering personality of Maanyam Krishna. Through the character of CB and his interactions with his clients, the makers tried to bring out various problems faced by women, ranging from abuse to neglect.On the other hand, Sarika is a broken girl when she learns about Kalyan’s business. The two have known each other from school days before life throws challenges in the form of an unsupportive and struggling family. The second half takes a different tangent and highlights the reasons behind Kalyan’s actions. The problem with the film lies in the way it is narrated. From the word go, it feels jerky and frivolous. The choppy screenplay isn’t the best way to present the story. Unending sorrows and too many subplots make it a tedious affair. The lead pair, Maanyam Krishna and Archana, do a decent job. Krishna excelled in the fight sequences and tried to carry the whole film on his shoulders. Raaj Vara, as Vijay did well in his short stint in the second half. A couple of songs shot in exotic landscapes look decent. Comedians Sapthagiri, Dhanraj, Thagubothu Ramesh, and Chitram Srinu, some of the well-known names in the film, ended up with mixed-bag performances with a few hits and many misses. The other supporting actors include Satya Sameera, Lavanya Reddy, Ramana Bhargav, Surya, Navya, Nakshtra, Krishna Murty, Madhavi Reddy, Sankar Mahanthi and Srinu. The film had cinematography by Nanaji P and M.V. Gopi, music by Sukku, lyrics by Sukumar, editing by Vinod Advay and choreography by Anesh.The romantic action drama works in a few parts but fails to impress overall. It could have been consistent and more engaging.