The genre of “family entertainment” has been one of the most sought after in Telugu films. After all, the films in this genre ensure a minimum guarantee that quite a lot of people will watch the film, if it’s good. However, the big problem with this genre is, the theme itself. Every movie looks like a semi-altered work of its predecessor and in the end it leaves a feeling of déjà vu. . Kalyan Ram-Hansika starrer “Jayeebhava” also falls in this category. Naren makes his debut as the director and he does a good job for a debut film.

What is it about : Bhavani Shankar (Mukesh Rishi) and Narasimha (Jayprakash Reddy) are sworn enemies who just can’t stand each other. Both of them are controlled by another mafia don, Yadhu (Ashish Vidyarthi) whose main business is Cricket Betting. Ram (Kalyan Ram) realizes this predicament which his father Bhavani Shankar is facing and decides to teach Yadhu a lesson. Meanwhile he falls in love with Anjali (Hansika) who later turns out to be Narasimha’s daughter. What does Ram do to win over Anjali? How does he manage to unify both the families? That forms the rest of the story.

What is Good: Kalyan Ram delivers a confident performance as Ram who’s a suave and intelligent guy. The film banks heavily on his ability to underplay his role. As a result except for two fights, there are no traces of his heroism. This makes his character more vulnerable and believable especially in the second half. Hansika, the current heartthrob of Telugu films, sizzles in her glamorous role. She has ample footage in the latter half of the film and she doesn’t disappoint. Jayprakash Reddy, Mukesh Rishi did other major roles and they are adequate. However, the film completely belongs to the comedy department led by Ali, Raghu Babu and Brahmanandam. The entire second half of the film is well conceived with a major emphasis on the comedy of errors and confusion. All three of them do a great job in entertaining the audience.

What is bad: The film almost starts on a wrong note. The entire first half gives the impression that it’s going to be an action film. Even the hero’s introduction into the story is mediocre. The film picks up some pace with Hansika’s introduction, but the initial scenes between them aren’t interesting enough. The film’s biggest weakness is its predictability and in the end it uses the same old characters, scenes, screenplay to narrate the story.

Technical Departments: Story by BVS Raju is alright, although the first half could have been in sync with the second half. Art by Rajeev Nair and Cinematography by Dasarathi Sivendra are good. Music by Thaman is good. Screenplay could have been better in the first half to infuse some life in it. Debutant director, Naren does a good job especially in the second half of the film. He could have handled the initial sequences of rivalry between the two families in a much better way.

Bottomline: “Jayeebhava” is the third film from NTR Arts banner after Athannokade and Hare Ram. Contrary to the high voltage action and sentiment of the previous movies, Kalyan Ram chose a light comedy entertainer for this third film. Although his body language looks more suited for films with heavy dialogues, action and sentiment, he does well in Jayeebhava. The first half and the second have a completely different tone in terms of direction and comedy. Ali, Brahmanandam and Raghu Babu perform well to rise above this mediocre script. “Jayeebhava” doesn’t offer anything new; however it rides high on the fact that the audience has a great taste for comedy. Watch it…it is one of those films which doesn’t harm your intelligence.