Nani is on a roll these days. He is turning out to be a safe and bankable actor with a tremendous ability to portray understated and novel characters. This time, Nani comes along with Sega, a tamil film which has been dubbed into Telugu and he has Nitya Menon for company once again. Let us see whether Nani is able to recreate the magic of "Ala Modalaindi" once again.

What’s it about : Sega literally means a burning flame. And that's what the movie is all about. Its a flame burning in people and based on their characters, it can be a flame of love, loyalty, revenge, greed, lust or hatred. The story of Sega revolves around two brothers, Karthik (Nani) and his elder brother Balaji (Mutthu). The movie is a dark and intense portrayal of the lower strata of society and vices like prostitution and drugs that are now prevalent in the seedier parts of any big city. The story starts off with Karthik and Balaji's mother on the deathbed. Their father 'Jyothi Anna' (Shimmore) is a thug who abuses and harasses the family. Fed up with life, Balaji's mother commits suicide and Balaji unknowingly helps his mother kill herself. This guilt hangs over Balaji for the rest of his life and drives him towards intensely hating his father. Karthik meanwhile, is childhood friends with his neighbour Vishnu (Karthik Kumar) and Revathi (Nitya Menon). They grow up together and Karthik earns his living as a painter under Revathi's dad and Vishnu inherits an automobile repair shop from his father. There is a nice romantic track between Revathi and Karthik.

Vishnu is projected as an easy going Casanova and he is always on the lookout for a good 'deal'. A few chance encounters with Vani (Bindhu Madhavi), a prostitute, soon leads to a budding romance between the two.Into this scenario enters 'Jyothi Anna', who has now graduated from a street thug into a pimp and a drug peddler with considerable influence. Jyothi Anna stuns Vishnu with his display of money and influence and soon entices Vishnu into carrying out his shady activities.

Karthik, who dearly loves Vishnu and is ready to do anything for his sake, is soon dragged into this vortex of crime and drugs. A drug peddling mission goes bust and Karthik & Vishnu find themselves on the run from both the warring drug factions of the city, headed by Ammaji and Bai respectively.

A few twists and double crosses later, Vishnu ends up being dead and Karthik is arrested for his murder. Balaji and Revathi do not believe the accusations against Karthik and each mount their own operations to uncover the truth. Balaji goes after his father Jyothy Anna and Ammaji and learns a few shocking truths regarding the real motive behind Vishnu's murder. The rest of the story is all about how each of the main characters quench their respective Sega (of hatred, revenge etc). Does Karthik come out clean? Is he really responsible for Vishnu's death? Watch the movie to find out the answers. The climax shows that life comes a full circle for all the characters.

What is Good : The Characters of the movie are all very believable and are completely etched. There is not a single illogical or unrealistic sequence in the movie. The director Anjana, needs to be commended for doing a good job of nicely tying up all the loose ends of the movie in the climax in a very believable and convincing fashion. A few songs are beautifully choreographed and nicely shot. "Varsham Munduga" is a beautifully shot duet between Nitya and Nani. "Padam Vidichi" is another nicely shot song with a little hip hop choreography thrown in.

Nani renders a fine understated performance once again and needs to be commended for having the courage to take up such roles. His brilliant portrayal of Karthik is an asset to the film. He will surely be a fine actor and force to reckon with in future. Nithya Menon acts in a very unglamorous role but she turns in a fiery performance. She acts with conviction and belief in the role of Revathi.

Karthik Kumar and Bindhu Madhavi share good chemistry and turn in convincing performances in the space allotted to them. Special mention must be made of Mutthu, who portrayed the role of Nani's brother Balaji. He has an intense screen presence and a certain vulnerability about him that is so natural. The rest of the actors are mainly from the Tamil Film Industry and do the job allotted to them.Cinematography is good. The movie is shown in a dark and realistic light as befitting the story.

What is bad: The first thing that the audience will notice is the decidedly strong Tamil flavour that the movie carries. It is a dubbed version of a Tamil film and the dubbing is not top notch. Some of the 'realistic' scenes depicted will not be to everyone's liking and there is a reason why this movie has an Adult Rating.

A few more Telugu actors in the movie would have ensured a better connection with the audience here. Barring Nani, Nitya Menon and Bindhu Madhavi, there is not one single familiar face in the movie. The movie has been made on a very low budget and that is quite apparent in the low production values.

But the biggest issue most people will have is the very slow pace of the movie. The screenplay is thorough but sans any riveting excitement that is needed to elevate movies of this genre to the next level. The twists, though interesting, are a little predictable.There is next to no comedy and absolutely no commercial elements save a few 'hot' scenes between Bindhu Madhavi and Karthik Kumar.

Technical Departments : As mentioned earlier, screenplay is a big handicap for the movie. A little more excitement would have done wonders for the film. Joshua Sridhar's music is average at best and while a few songs stand out, background score is nothing to write home about.

Production values are limited by the low budget. Dialogues are pretty average and are just simple translations of the Tamil version. There is not a single memorable or witty dialogue.

Analysis: Sega is a mature film that aims to cater to the multiplex crowd and has nothing for the fun seeking movie goer. There are next to no commercial elements in the movie and this makes it extremely tough for the movie to run well in B & C centers. A little comedy and a tighter screenplay would have done wonders for this movie. Go without any expectations and without expecting any entertainment and you might just appreciate Sega for its realistic portrayal of human emotions.