The Men in Blue got off to a winning start in the first Test of the Freedom series & seems poised to reclaim it yet again unless the Proteas batsmen are able to weather the storm. As most of you would be aware the trophy is named in honour of Gandhiji & Mandela,both of whom played key roles in the freedom struggle. The freedom that we enjoy is the product of millions of nameless or faceless patriots & one such individual happens to be Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy. Despite a keen interest in history, I had no clue of such a patriot & when the trailer of it came out with an enviable star cast led by Chiranjeevi, I was more than eager to check it out.
The First War of Indian Independence in 1857 had commenced & our battalion incurred huge losses which dented the confidence of the soldiers. Jhansi Rani (Anushka Shetty), one of the main leaders of that rebellion boosts their self belief as she narrates to them the valour
of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (Chiranjeevi) who had stood up against the British a
decade back. The Rayalseema area was
ruled by a group of regional rulers known as Polygars of which Narasimha Reddy
was the prominent one among them. As the British Empire continued to squeeze
the poor with hefty taxes, Narasimha initiates a rebellion & in due time,
the other Polygars also becomes part of the movement. What subsequently follows
is how this brave warrior challenges the might of the Empire.
Surender Reddy is a relatively well known in the Telugu
industry as he got quite a few movies to his credit like “Kick”, “Race Gurram”
etc. However, his latest has to be his most ambitious project to date as it was
made on a canvas as expensive as about 300C. This magnum opus is bankrolled by
Ram Charan, which has his father as the protagonist based on the script by the Paruchuri
Brothers, the veteran writer duo. They deserve credit for penning an entertaining
drama that builds momentum as it leads to an engrossing latter half. The last
half an hour was just exciting especially the climax which many might say was
over the top but did give me goosebumps. The makers have made sure that they
brought in the best of talent from various industries & ensured that it
appealed to a wider audience due to the familiarity in the star cast. However,
when something like that is attempted there is invariably the trouble of many
characters ending up being poorly etched as is the case here with only Sudeep,
Jagapathi Babu & Tamannaah given some credible screen space. The screenplay
handled by the director himself could have been much better in the first half
as there were quite a few sequences that could have been chopped off. Rathnavelu
deserves praise for the cinematography while Julius Packiam’s BGM elevated the
mood of many sequences.
It’s been a while since we have seen Chiranjeevi in a meaningful
role & boy!!! he more than made enough for it with a superlative performance
here. His screen presence was exceptional & it still goes onto show that
the Megastar still has it in him if an apt script comes along his way. Another
person who really wowed me was Tamannaah as I have never seen her in any
meaningful roles. She absolutely nailed her part along with Sudeep who
impresses with his ability to mix slyness with patriotism. Each & every member
has done their parts aptly, but you can’t help feel that Big B, Vijay
Sethupathi & even Nayanthara to a certain extent could have been offered
meatier roles.
Verdict: Dussehra holidays & positive word of mouth meant that
the movie cashed in impressive numbers at the box office with close to 130C
until day 5. However, to break even it would still need a lot more footfalls
across the globe. As far as my opinion goes, it’s an engrossing drama which is
powered by Chiranjeevi’s thumping performance & a solid support cast. In
short, definitely give it a try!!!
Rating: 3.25/5
Regards…Ben
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