Balakrishna’s latest film ‘Simha’ is a testimony of Telugu filmmaker’s love for machismo which is mandatory while making a pure masala and action entertainer. Although masala and action entertainers have been in existence for quite sometime, it was in 1999 that Balakrishna took this genre to a whole new level with his blockbuster film ‘Samarasimha Reddy’. He repeated this feat again in a 2001 film titled ‘Narasimha Naidu’. After a long hiatus, his latest film ‘Simha’ takes us back to the good old days of the erstwhile blockbusters. Directed by Boyapati Srinu, the film has been produced by Parachuri Kireeti on ‘United Movies’ banner. Nayanthara, Sneha Ullal and Namitha are the lead actresses. ‘Simha’ narrates the story of Srimann Narayana, a college professor whose encounter with Janaki brings him close his own past.

Story: Balakrishna stars as Srimann Narayana, a college professor who’s hot-blooded by nature. He doesn’t tolerate injustice and would go to any length to save the ones who are close to his heart. One day, a new girl named Janaki (Sneha Ullal) joins his college and almost immediately Janaki falls in love with him. Even Srimann Narayana’s grandmother likes Janaki and asks him to marry Janaki. However, Janaki has a violent past which is closely linked to Srimann’s own past. Soon, his grandmother narrates all about his past, his father and royal family. What did she tell him? Who was Srimann’s father? How is Janaki related to Narayana? That forms the rest of the story for this explosive action drama.

What is Good: First things first, ‘Simha’ belongs to two people. Balakrishna and Boyapati Srinu. Balakrishna is back with a bang with this film and he dazzles both as Srimann and Narasimha. Boyapati Srinu who also wrote the story, screenplay and dialogues of the film has infused loads of punch dialogues which suit well for Balakrishna’s characterization in the film. After a long time, Balakrishna dazzles not only with his dialogues, but also with his style. In the first half he’s a jeans-clad suave professor and it’s a complete turn around in the second half where he projects a majestic yet furious avatar as Narasimha. The macho look hits a high especially when he unleashes his anger and fury while chasing the villains with an axe. Boyapati should also be commended for writing strong characterizations for the villains in the film who thankfully exude enough confidence and put up a strong fight. Of the three heroines, Namitha is restricted to few scenes while Sneha Ullal has an important role to play. However, it’s Nayanathara who impresses with her portrayal of Gayathri, wife of Narasimha. She’s gorgeous in the film and delivers a credible performance. The rest of the cast including Brahmanandam, Ali, Krishna Bhagawan, Kota Srinivasa Rao and others are apt in their roles.

What is bad: Despite all the right ingredients of an action film, ‘Simha’ does get overboard at times as far as the action sequences are concerned. There’s too much of blood-splattering which makes us a little uneasy.

Technical Departments: Chakri’s music is good and Chinna’s background’s score especially in action sequences is impressive. Ram-Lakshman and Stunt Siva have done a great job while composing action choreography. Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao’s editing is apt. The production values are rich and most of the scenes are wonderfully shot. Boyapati Srinu deserves all the credit for extracting such a powerful performance from the lead cast. He unleashes Balakrishna’s powerful performance in first half, while the second is a totally different story. It’s easily one of the best roles Balakrishna has essayed in the recent few years. Apart from the direction, Boyapati also impresses with his dialogues. With ‘Simha’, Boyapati Srinu has definitely turned out to be a major force to reckon with.

Bottomline: Simha’s biggest strength and also an interesting aspect to note is how it appeals to a wider cross section of the audience. We may have moved on from yesteryears mass entertainers, we may proclaim that the trend has changed and that we are more sophisticated when compared to the audience of the 90s. Yet, every time the hero in the film, Balakrishna in this case, holds an axe or a weapon we go gaga about him. Do we crave for such heroism which has silently taken a backseat over the past few years? Absolutely! This is what gives such films a trademark style, which believe it or not, it actually works! Two big thumbs up for the film. Balakrishna dazzles once again and despite his age, it’s amazing to see how he packs a punch!