Naga Chaitanya has come up with Bejawada, an action drama that has been directed by Vivek Krishna and produced by Ram Gopal Varma & Kiran Kumar Koneru. The movie is set in the city of Vijayawada and there are some high expectations on the movie. Let us see how the movie stacks up.
Story :
Kaali Prasad (Prabhu) is a major force in the city of Vijayawada. He is immensely powerful and people come to him for help when all else is lost. Vijay Krishna (Mukul Dev) and Jai Krishna ( Ajay ) are two brothers who work for him and are very close to Kali. This is extremely hard for Kali’s brother Shankar (Abhimanyu Singh) to digest and he sets about scheming to grab power. On a separate note Shiva Krishna (Naga Chaitanya), who is the brother of Vijay Krishna and Jai Krishna, is a college student who is in love with Geetanjali (Amala Paul). She happens to be the daughter of Police Commissioner Adi Vishnu (Ahuti Prasad).
A sequence of events unfold and in the game for power, a series of murders follow. Shiva Krishna is suddenly thrust into the murky world of factionism and power struggles. A revenge drama follows and the rest of the story is about how Shiva Krishna sets about cleaning up the mess and correcting the balance of power.
Plus Points :
Naga Chaitanya is a revelation in this movie. He has done a good job and he looks dashing in white Khaddar. His rugged looks and mannerisms are perfect for the character of Shiva Krishna. He has done his job well. Amala Paul looks good and she is extremely sensuous in the song ‘Adagaka Nannemi’, but she hardly has any scope to do anything else.
Prabhu is good as the powerful Kali Prasad. Mukul Dev and Ajay have done a good job as the trusted aides of Kali.Kota Srinivas is apt as the scheming politician Ramana. Brahmanandam’s spoof on the Raktha Charitra scooter entry scene of Vivek Oberoi is hilarious. Subhaleka Sudhakar is good in the brief role of Sagar Raju.
Some of the camera angles and the innovative ways in which people end up killing each other will appeal to hardcore action buffs. Anjana Sukhani sizzles in the item number.
Minus Points :
Abhimanyu Singh, who ends up as the main villain, fails to bring out the extreme evil atmosphere that he created in Raktha Charitra. For the hero to be elevated, the villain needs to be equally powerful and sinister. Sadly, this is not the case with Bejawada. The first half is spent in setting up the stage for the hero’s elevation in the second half, but the poor etching of the villain’s character does not allow this to happen. Direction is the biggest drawback for the movie.
The scenes lack emotional depth and there is no conviction in story telling.
When a major powerful character of Vijayawada is brutally murdered, the very next scene you would expect is not that of a father lecturing his daughter on her romantic endeavours. There are no scenes of despair. No scenes of the fallen don’s followers swearing vengeance. Instead, the movie abruptly shifts to the father daughter lecture. There are many such illogical sequences in the movie.
The comedy track between Brahmanandam (Sketch Gopi) and M.S.Narayana (Veera Venkata Durga Prasad) appears forced and does not succeed except for the Raktha Charitra spoof scene.
Technical Departments :
Dialogues are a major handicap. They are not sharp and powerful enough. Cinematography is ok in places. Some of the camera angles are good and will remind of you of a strong RGV influence. A few fight sequences have been choreographed well. Dances are ok but there is really not much scope for them in this story.
Editing is poor and it is extremely jerky. Background music is a big let down. A powerful and stirring background score would have really elevated the movie.
Verdict:
Bejawada is a movie that could have been a genuinely good offering but it is let down by some poor direction and a lack of conviction in story telling. The villain’s character just fizzles out and the intense rivalry that is expected in such situations is just not there. The movie has some good performances from Naga Chaitanya and Mukul Dev along with a few others, but it might not be enough to overcome the other handicaps in the movie. Looks like Naga Chaitanya needs to wait for ‘Autonagar Surya’ for a break as a mass hero.
Note: The story and the picturization of the movie has nothing to do with the Nehru and Ranga camps as was speculated before release.
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Mahesh K.S
123telugu.com Rating : 2.75/5
Legend: 5 – Flawless
4 – Must Watch
3 – One Time Watch
2 – Wait for the DVD
1 – Stay Away
