Release date : April 21, 2017
123telugu.com Rating : 2.75/5
Director : Joshiy
Producer : Syed Nizamuddin
Music Director : Ratheesh Vegha
Starring : Mohanlal, Amala Paul
Continuing with the trend of dubbing Malayalam films in Telugu, yet another film which has now been released is the Mohan Lal starrer Black Money. Let’s see how it is.
Story :-
Venu(Mohan Lal) is a renowned journalist who is feared by the entire political circles. One fine day, he is asked to crack a corruption case along with his fellow journalist Renu(Amala Paul). After making a meticulous plan, both the reporters manage to nab some crucial footage of a political big wig. Just when things seem to be going fine, Renu suddenly ditches Venu and airs the footage on a rival channel.
The twist in the tale arises when the powerful minister who is involved decides to chase down both these journalists. Rest of the story is as to how Venu manages to come out of this tricky situation and also sends the culprits behind the bars.
Plus Points :-
Mohan Lal suits the lead role perfectly. His performance during the investigation scenes is top notch. The way he shoulders the film through the second half with his sincere performance is also good.
Amala Paul is also decent in her role. Though her pairing with Mohan Lal looks a bit weird, she does a neat job in a role which has negative shades. Interval bang and the last half an hour of the first half is very interesting.
The way media operates and how rival channels fight for survival have been showcased nicely. The arguments between Mohan Lal and Amala Paul during the second half look interesting.
Minus Points :-
After a good interval bang and first fifteen minutes through the second half, things become quite tedious for the audience. The way both Mohan Lal and Amala Paul hide from the cops and the scenes that come during this time side track the film a bit.
The background score of the film is quite loud and irritates you at many places. The proceedings look out of the place because of this lack luster back ground score.There are certain scenes which lack logic and come in for no reason. As the film has serious proceedings, all those who look for sheer fun might be disappointed.
Technical Aspects :-
The film has too much Malayalam flavor and this can turn off some audience. As said earlier, background score is too loud and so were the songs. Telugu dubbing is pretty decent and so were the production values. Editing is just about okay as few scenes during the second half could have been easily trimmed down. Camera work is neat and showcases the serious nature of the film convincingly.
Coming to the director Joshiy, he has done just an okay job with the film. The subject he has chosen is interesting and he succeeds most of the time. But he drags the film unnecessarily during the second half and side tracks the film to an extent.
Verdict :-
On the whole, Black Money is one film which has a very interesting premise. The cat and mouse game of television channels and breezy first half are good assets. But the second half is a bit wayward and spoils the interesting proceedings. All those who like investigative thrillers and do not mind the serious nature of the film, can give this film a shot. Rest can watch it when it is aired on TV.
123telugu.com Rating : 2.75/5
Reviewed by 123telugu Team