Cast: NTR, Hansika Motwani, Tanisha, Prakashraj, Ashish Vidyarthi, Subbaraju, Suneel, Srinivasa Reddy, Sayaji Shinde, Brahmanandam, MS Narayana, Ali and Others
Director:Meher Ramesh
Producer:Ashwini Dutt
Music:Mani Sharma
Cinematography:Sameer Reddy
Art:A.S.Prakash
Editing: Marthand K. Venkatesh
Action:Stun Shiva
Lyrics:Meher Ramesh, Sirivennela, Veturi, Anantha Sriram and Ramajogaiah Sastry
Story, Screenplay and Dialogues:Meher Ramesh
Presenter:C.Dharma Raju
Banner:Vyjayanthi Movies
Release Date:9th May, 2008
The songs are good. There is some humor in the first half, and some very self-indulgent dialouges. NTR dances well, holds the show together supported by a few others. Story-wise, screenplay and sub-plots are very routine, with the direction actually becoming quite shoddy in a 20 minute and somewhat unnecessarily dragged track involving Tanisha. It beats the heat (there are some movies that make you want to prefer the hot sun instead) and it has some entertaining moments in it. Otherwise, a totally routine movie.
Plot:
Pothu Raju kills his employer Krishna and his family, steals their money and runs away-leaving his reluctant wife and kid behind. He becomes a don with his base in Hong Kong and rules as PR. A new recruit into his underworld business is Kranti, who's confident, aloof and ruthless. He stays in an orphanage looking after other children alongside, and one day demands money for the medicinal expenses of the boy he takes care of-when PR and his partner Seshu refuse. He turns against them and takes money from their rival Das to kill them. A confrontation might have resulted in a death or two if not for the orphanage's father who intervenes and tells them that Kranti is P.R's son. Into PR's life devoid of sentiments so far, new emotions unviel and new weaknesses unfold.
Story, Screenplay and Direction:
The story is basically the same old fare narrated in a slightly different way. The much talked about twist is predictable, but it would still have been interesting till the end had it not been for sub-plots that drag and humor that barely clicks. With the amount of expectations on the movie, the overall quality seems inconsistent.
Varalaxmi-Kranti love track begins well enough, but then we don't see the girl for a long time till she resurfaces and the track loses it's prominence. But even that is a minor set-back. Tanisha enters and exits, the reason could be to strengthen the rift that crops up between P.R and Seshu. But the treatment is shoddy, and the movie drags for some part of the second half till it picks up right before the climax.
It has no resemblence to Pokiri, apart from the fact that both the protagonists are seemingly bad guys in the mafia and NTR's dialogues are kept minimal and his performance mostly subtle. The hyped twist also is not unexpected, but the movie picks up pace again after that. Meher Ramesh debuts in Telugu, and his direction is good in the first half, inconsistent in the second.
Performances:
NTR is good, and his dance moves really rock. He is not loud, doesn't have pages of dialogue and has strong presence. Hansika looks sweet, but has some lip-sync issues. Prakashraj does a good job, especially during the climax even though he has no lines. Subbaraju and NTR's buddy gang do justice to their roles. Ashish Vidyarthi and Sayaji Shinde fit their tailor-made roles well. The less said about Tanisha, the better.
Song and Dance:
This is the highlight and the saving grace of the movie whenever the plot becomes repetitive. The music and the choreography, not to mention NTR's graceful moves are an asset for the movie. The title number is Paisa Vasool.
Last Word:
NTR fans will like the indulgent and witty dialouges in the first half (and a few scattered in the second), the last half hour and the song-dance; these factors make the movie watchable, but pretty average.
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