| Release date: 09 Jan 2013 | ||
| 123telugu.com Rating : 3.5/5 | ||
| Director : V.V. Vinayak | ||
| Producer : D .V. V Danayya | ||
| Music Director : Thaman | ||
| Starring : Ram Charan, Kajal Agarwal, Amala Paul |
Mega Power Star Ram Charan will hit the screens with ‘Naayak’ tomorrow. We have been to an exclusive premiere show held at Prasad Labs and we are bringing out the review for you well ahead of tomorrow’s release. V.V.Vinayak directed this movie and Danayya is the producer. Kajal Aggarwal and Amala Paul are the heroines in the film. Let us see how Naayak is.
Story :
Cherry ( Ram Charan) is a software engineer in CgTrix. He has an uncle named Jilebi (Brahmanandam), who unexpectedly runs into trouble and angers the local Don Gandipeta Babji (Rahul Dev). Cherry hatches a plan to save Jilebi from Babji and falls for Babji’s sister Madhu (Kajal) in the process.
As this is on, a series of high profile killings start taking place in Hyderabad and Kolkata. Minister Rawat (Pradeep Rawat) is targeted and Cherry finds himself taking the blame. A CBI team (led by Ashish Vidhyardhi) starts hunting for Charan and this leads to unexpected situations.
We now get to know that there is another angle to the story, involving Amala (Amala Paul). How does Cherry escape from the CBI’s clutches? Can he prove his innocence? What is the Kolkata angle? That forms the rest of the story.
Plus Points :
Ram Charan did a great job in this movie. His voice modulation is very good now. Charan is a very good dancer and this is reaffirmed yet again with Naayak. Charan’s dances in ‘Laaila o Laaila’ and ‘Hey Naayak’ are superb.
Kajal Aggarwal looks gorgeous in the movie and her scenes with Charan came out well. Amala Paul does not have too much importance in the film and her presence is limited to a few scenes and a couple of songs in the second half. But she looks great.
Brahmanandam has a meaty role as Jilebi and he entertains brilliantly. His expressions and characterization will remind you of his performance in Ravi Teja’s ‘Krishna’. Posani Krishna Murali is highly effective as a Kolkata criminal and his ‘chocolate scenes’ in the second half will leave you in splits of laughter.
M.S.Narayana is funny as a perpetually drunk CBI lip reading specialist. Jayaprakash Reddy is good as Rahul Dev’s Pedananna
The first half of the film is very good – with the right mix of comedy, action and romance. Pace is very fast and there is hardly a boring moment in the entire film. Just as the second half starts to get a little heavy on action and violence, Posani comes in and livens up the proceedings.
Songs have been shot brilliantly – especially ‘Katti lanti Pilla’, ‘Subhaleka’ and ‘Oka Choopuke Padipoya’.
Minus Points :
There is nothing much in terms of script or story and the plot will remind of you of a number of hit Telugu films. Once the twist is revealed during the interval block, you can predict the outcome. There are a few loopholes in the plot and cinematic liberties have been taken, as is the case with most masala entertainers.
The story does not move forward much in the second half and it is saved only by the high entertainment quotient. Violence is a little too graphic in the movie and it may not go down well with some sections of the audience.
Some fights are a little over the top. Climax block is not very satisfactory and it could have been handled in a much better way.
Technical Aspects :
Chota K Naidu’s cinematography is a major asset to the movie. The songs which have been shot in Iceland look spectacular. Editing is good. Dialogues have been written well, especially for the comedians. Thaman’s background score is effective.
Vinayak has a great ‘mass pulse’ and this fact is evident once again in this movie. Though there is nothing great in terms of direction or screenplay, Vinayak ensured that the film has a very high entertainment quotient with a good narration speed.
Verdict :
Naayak is a thorough entertainer. The film has some very enjoyable comedy. Good performances from Charan, Brahmanandam, Posani and M.S.Narayana give a major boost to the proceedings. On the flip side, graphic violence, a predictable script and a less than satisfactory climax spoil the flavour a bit. On the whole, Naayak is a perfect Sankranthi entertainer that has the potential to rake in lots of money at the Box Office.
123telugu.com Rating – 3.5/5
Reviewed by Mahesh S Koneru