Sankranti in AP generally sees Tollywood releasing their big-ticket movies and the Balakrishna starrer ParamVeer Chakra (PVC) scores by being the first big movie of 2011. Balakrishna’s last release was the blockbuster “Simha” that not only gave him a fresh lease of box-office life after a string of duds but also saw him tone down his typical over-the-top acting style. But with PVC, he teams up with Dasari Narayana Rao of the over-the-top movie making school and the result is a one loud, melodramatic movie reminiscent of the movies made in the eighties and nineties. PVC is like one Sankranti kite that Dasari decided to fly by letting it drift aimlessly all over the place without a semblance of a script (read thread)!!!

What’s it about: PVC is about a lot of things ranging from patriotism, terrorism, corruption, social service, regionalism and everything else beyond it. It starts off with a clip from the NTR starrer “Bobbili Puli” with NTR blessing a pregnant Jayasudha with a son who will make the country proud by joining the army. Much to the dismay of his patriotic mother, the son grows up to be the popular movie superstar Chakradhar. The first half is centered on Chakradhar and his various roles while his self-confessed fan (Sheela) does her song-and-dance routine with him in her fantasies. Enter Murali Mohan as an army captain, who takes him to Himachal Pradesh, where he gets to hear the flashback of the hyper-patriotic Major Jaisimha. The flashback introduces the assorted villains comprising of the corrupt minister, the “nava qaida” terrorist and an army brigadier who successfully frame the Major as a traitor. For a good measure, Dasari also throws in Razia Sultana (Neha Dhupia), a terrorist who is as comfortable in a bikini as in a leather suit. Since the disgraced Major Jaisimha is in a coma after the injuries sustained in a rescue mission, Chakradhar has his task cut where he needs to step into the Major’s shoes to complete the mission and clear his name. How he goes about executing this mission as well as punishing the villains is what the last twenty minutes is all about. As expected, the villains are routed and the major is recommended for a ParamVeer Chakra while Balakrishna gets to deliver a lengthy speech on the ills plaguing the nation before end credits start rolling.

What is Good: The movie is all about Balakrishna and his double role ensures that he is there in every scene of the movie. He plays to the gallery, and if you are a Balakrishna fan, there are strong chances that you will walk out happy. The fans will like the politically loaded dialogues, the bombastic fight sequences with Balakrishna effortlessly beating everyone up, the three heroines breaking into songs at frequent intervals and most of all getting to see Balakrishna copying his father’s (NTR) mannerisms as Major Jaisimha. The dialogues were what got the maximum whistles and cat-calls from the audience. Amongst the heroines, Neha Dhupia is the scene-stealer with her skin show and action scenes while Sheela is cute in her song and dance role. There is also a comic sub-plot with Brahmanandam and Ali spoofing Rajnikant’s “Robot” with Ali playing a robot named “Chaddi”!!!

What is bad: The movie suffers from a total lack of a credible script or screenplay. The basic story of the movie star stepping into a Major’s role is a potential entertainer but Dasari decides to leave that premise and instead concentrate more on sending out multiple political and social messages that don’t take the film anywhere. The first half concentrates more on showing the Tollywood big-shots making guest appearances during Chakradhar’s shoots and praising him while the second half goes overboard with the action scenes in the Major’s life. Most of the scenes defy logic and seem forced into the film esp. the entire segment on Komaram Bheem. The film’s production values are below average and the fights, sets, choreography, etc are like what we used to movies made many years back. The sets look tacky while special effects are amateurish. Ameesha Patel, Jayasudha and Kota Srinivas Rao are wasted in miniscule roles where they have 4-5 dialogues. Mani Sharma’s music disappoints with no recall value.

Me Thinks : Overall, this is a movie strictly for die-hard Balakrishna fans and maybe fans of the Dasari school of movie-making!!!

Final Point: There are multiple guest appearances from various Tollywood personalities like Rama Naidu, Kodi Ramakrishna, Boyapati Srinu, Sreenu Vytla, Roja & also a fleeing glimpse of Chandrababu Naidu!!!

Click here for Parama Veera Chakra Review 1