Cast: Srikanth, Kalyani, Mumait Khan, Naga Babu, Chalapati Rao, Brahmanandam, Venumadhav, Dharmavarapu, M.S.Narayana, Krishna Bhagawan and others
Director:Posani Krishna Murali
Producer:Posani Krishna Murali
Music:M.M.Srilekha
Action:Vijay
Cinematography:Raja
Editing:Goutham Raju
Story, Screenplay, Dialogues:Posani Krishna Murali
Banner:Aman International Movies
Release Date:May 31st, 2007
Police story misses bulls-eye
Posani Krishna Murali, after penning the script and dialogues for many a movie, has now turned
director (actually his second attempt at direction after the forgettable 'Sravanamasam'). 'Operation Duryodhana' stars Srikanth, Mumait Khan and Kalyani, and is essentially a story about the struggle of an honest cop.
Police stories will never go out of fashion, but with this movie, the writer seems to want to convey many suppressed messages. The focus is lost too often, and logic takes a backseat. The movie has its strong points and portrays reality, but all too soon goes downhill.
Plot:
Bhagwantudu (Srikanth) roams naked in the streets, chops off the hands of a guy who hits a leading party president (Chalapati Rao) and massages the party secretary (Mumait Khan) really well. With these plus points, he manages to become an MLA (No kidding). He is corrupt, blatantly bribes and asks for bribes to
do any work and causes an uproar in the police by irking them too often. But Bhagwantudu is just an alias of an honest police officer, Mahesh, who has a tragic history. Avenging his entire family's death in the hands of these same politicos, he sets out to reform the public, the politicians and the police force at once.
Story, Screenplay and Direction:
The first 30 minutes is terrible. Terrible, that is to say, in the perspective of a logical and rational mind. All the gimmicks-hands being chopped off (used often in the second half also), mouth set in a determined frown and roaming naked are futile. The titillation that the maker wanted to cause by showing Mumait getting massages all the time might work, but is senseless. A party secretary gives a stranger a ticket because he gives her a good massage. Later, the same secretary actually does a cabaret-and this is not a dream sequence.The script has too many elements, too many sub-plots. In the flashback, the taking is better and the content is stronger. A ragging episode, a farmer's sorry tale and Telangana-Andhra rift's parody are good. However, the movie loses its touch too often, and there is no consistency. The police uproar and resignation that corrupt MLA Bhagwantudu causes is laden with morbid violence.The director's opinion on the Telangana issue is very evident, and the tragicomedy generated is interesting. Some of the shots are very well taken, both pre and post break. The pace is extremely slow at times. There is also a lot
of preaching and an overdose of pessimism. A little more focus and rationality would actually have made this movie watchable, as it is a selling concept.
Performances:
Srikanth frowns like nobody else. Throughout. He is a good performer, spontaneous and controlled at the same time. Mumait's dubbing is out of sync, but apart from that, she has got immense screen presence, not to mention sex appeal. She has got some strong points-energy, dance and cleavage. Kalyani in a guest appearance is sincere. Chalapati Rao and Nagu Babu have been cast well.
Music and Dance:
Mumait steals the show in the songs, otherwise the songs are quite forgettable.
Last Word:
Some interesting parts, a lot of preaching, oft-repeated lines-that sums up 'Operation Duryodhana'. And oh, ample doses of violence, a lesson on good massages and limb chopping. Those who go for Mumait will not be disappointed. |  |
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