| Release date : 22 March 2013 | ||
| 123telugu.com Rating :2.25/5 | ||
| Director : Suraaj | ||
| Producer : K.E.Gnanavelraja | ||
| Music Director : Devi Sri Prasad | ||
| Starring : Karthi, Anushka.. |
Karthi’s ‘Alex Pandian’ has been dubbed into Telugu as ‘Bad Boy’. The movie has Anushka as the heroine and Suraaj is the director. ‘Bad Boy’ has been produced by Studio Green Banner and Gnanavel Raja is the producer. The film is getting a decent release and the makers are promoting the project aggressively. Let us see if this movie is worth a watch.
Story :
Alex Pandu (Karthi) is a thug for hire and he is tasked with kidnapping Anushka, the health minister’s daughter. The assignment is given by Mr. Alvin Martin (Milind Soman), Dr. GMK (Suman) and a Swamyji (Mahadevan). Why are they upset with the health minister? Well, he refuses to approve the local distribution of some tablets manufactured by Mr. Alvin. The tablets are not safe for use and they are on the US FDA’s banned drugs list.
Alex pulls off the kidnapping successfully and gets ready to collect his payment. But he has a change of heart when Anuskha explains everything to him. The man decides to save Anushka and he fights back. He takes the help of Santhanam and his family (Mano Bala, Nikitha, Sanusha).
How Alex fights back and thwarts the plans of the criminals is what ‘Bad Boy’ is all about.
Plus Points :
Karthi looks good and tries to charm his way into the hearts of the viewers. But charm only works when the script has something to offer. Same goes for Anushka. She looks beautiful and she even has a scene that highlights her very beautiful legs, but thats about it. Nikita Thukral looks gorgeous.
Some double meaning dialogues and a few cheap comedy scenes may work for the masses. One or two action sequences are ok.
Minus Points :
This film is a good example of how not to make a masala entertainer. Having a few double meaning dialogues, a hot heroine and tons of fights will not bring Box Office success. Will you get great Chicken Biryani simply because you have the money to buy the best chicken, the best rice and the best spices? No. You should know how to mix them all to perfection. In other words, you should know how to cook. The same principle applies for films as well.
Suman and Milind Soman are wasted in poorly scripted characters. Santhanam’s comedy track is terribly written. The actor who appears as his sidekick is extremely annoying. Screenplay is pathetic. There are way too many unnecessary fights in the film and they will end up making you squirm in your seats.
The plot is as old as the Pyramids of Egypt. Interestingly, the ‘comedy’ scenes and the dialogues belong to the same era.
The pace of the film drops pathetically in the second half and will test your patience.
Love blossoms between Karthi and Anushka towards the climax, but there is absolutely no depth to the writing here. The result? You will find it hard to empathise with the characters.
Technical Aspects :
Saravanan’s cinematography is one of the nicer aspects of this movie. Editing is very poor. Dialogues, atleast the Telugu ones, are very poor. Devi Sri Prasad’s background score is nice but the songs leave a lot to be desired.
Suraj fails to make any impression in the direction and screenplay departments.
Verdict :
A respected Tamil website said this in its review of Alex Pandian “Is this supposed to be a spoof of a 70’s Telugu movie? “. The fact is, Telugu films from the 70’s are way better than this hare-brained flick. Perhaps, it was intended as a spoof of some Tamil flicks from the 80’s. That apart, ‘Bad Boy’ is a forgettable project in Karthi’s career. The man has the charm, but he needs to choose his projects more wisely.
123telugu.com Rating – 2.25/5
Reviewed by Mahesh S Koneru
