Priyamani and Jagapthi Babu are the principal leads in the movie along with ‘Kick’ Shyam. The movie has been directed by T.Venu Gopal and Govinda Rajulu is the producer. The movie has hit the screens today. Let us see how the film is.
Story :
The ‘story’ of this film revolves around a powerful village leader Narasimha Rayalu ( Jagapathi Babu ) and his wife Lakshmi ( Priyamani). Narasimha Rayalu changes his name to Naga Penchalayya in order to complete an ancient ritual that is critical to the well being of his village. He is stopped in his attempts by his own Chinnanna ( Kota Srinivasa Rao) and his cousin Viswanadha Rayulu (Adithya Menon). The ritual remains incomplete and the movie shifts to the present day.
Chakri( Kick Shyam) is the son of Viswanadha Rayulu and he falls in love with Sohini (Priyamani), who is eerily similar to Lakshmi. When Sohini comes into the ancestral house of Chakri, strange supernatural events happen and powerful spirits and athmas come into the picture. What happens to Sohini? Will the ritual be completed? That is the story.
Plus Points :
Priyamani is the sole saving grace of the movie. She tries her best to shoulder the film but there is only so much she can do in this case. She is a brilliant actor and you can see why in the second half of this movie. It is so sad to see such a talented performer being wasted in films like these.
Tanikella Bharani is okay as the Achari. Adithya Menon is decent in the role allotted to him. Kota Srinivasa Rao is okay and he has done the maximum he could do in the role sketched out for him.
Minus Points :
Jagapathi Babu is a very fine actor and he should stop accepting atrocious roles like the one in this film. He appears very uncomfortable while trying to come up with a ‘powerful’ performance. He is also let down by a poor characterization and silly dialogues. ‘Kick’ Shyam has no clue as to what is going on around him and he has been wasted in this film.
Brahmanandam’s role is a major disappointment and looks silly. Hema and Surekha Vani are wasted in extremely poor roles. Brahmaji is another wonderfully talented artiste who is wasted time and again by filmmakers. His role in this movie is forgettable. Same goes for Rajiv Kanakala. There are many other artistes who just flash for a minute and then disappear completely.
The movie has borrowed heavily from films like Arundhati and Chandramukhi. Etching of the characters and many scenes in the film will remind you of this fact. Direction is extremely poor and story has colossal holes in its plot. There are many highly illogical scenes in the film. For example, Jagapathi Babu changes his name to Penchalayya officially and the next minute, people around him break out into a song praising him in his old name.
Technical Aspects :
Screenplay is very bad. Editing is extremely jerky and is a major minus. Cinematography is average and special effects are ok. Music is very poor and none of the songs are worth remembering. Background score is a disaster.
Dialogues are a major minus and outdated. They would have been out of place even in Telugu movies of the 1980’s.
Verdict :
Kshetram is a bad khichdi of Arundhati and Chandramukhi. It is so bad that it is a disgrace to even mention those classics in the same sentence with this movie. A better director would have been able to make the movie work atleast in B and C Centers. Kshetram has absolutely nothing to offer movie lovers. This is an avoidable flick.
Mahesh K.S
123telugu.com Rating : 2/5
Kshetram Review Telugu Version
Legend: 5 – Flawless
4 – Must Watch
3 – One Time Watch
2 – Wait for the DVD
1 – Stay Away
