BOTTOM LINE
Junk Jathara
RATING
1.5/5
CENSOR
2h 25m, ‘U/A’ Certified
Lakshman Bheri is a sincere railway police officer. He won’t leave anyone who commits illegal activities within his jurisdiction. Naveen Chandra, on the other hand, is a drug peddler operating the biggest racket on the Vizag coast.
The movie’s basic story is how the two worlds collide, and does Laksham manage to end the vast drug empire? The subplots involve a relationship drama and a love story.
Performances
Ravi Teja is his usual self with energy and timing. Here, he tries Telangana slang for a change, which is okay. Besides this superficial change in the dialogue delivery, there is nothing memorable from the actor. He tries using Telangana slang and at times it comes across as forced, to be frank.
Ravi Teja performs the usual songs, dance and fight routine in his typical style. There are serviceable moments that show a glimpse of his past highs. Unfortunately, we don’t have anything else to add to these minor touches that could make the fans happy.
Sreeleela makes a joke of herself while delivering a rural Massey girl performance. Neither her accent nor her body language feels authentic. On screen, it comes across as awkward. We hope she takes this feedback seriously and does more homework before attempting such roles in the future.
Bhanu Bhogavarapu directs the movie. He has been previously associated with movies like Samajavaragamana, Geethanjali Malli Vachindi, Waltair Veerayya, Daaku Maharaj, etc, in different capacities. In his directorial debut, he has picked a familiar mass template subject.
The movie’s opening block sets the tempo for the rest of the narrative. We have a perfect template situation that makes for a dashing heroic introduction. We get that and also have the hero’s characterisation revealed.
What is also revealed is the template and outdated treatment in the whole thing, where the idea of freshness is just a new job and slang for the hero.
The same continues as we move forward with further additions of entertainment to the proceedings. Sadly, these entertaining blocks and characters don’t work. They feel forced in the tale and act as mere fillers when we look at the overall story that’s related to the drug mafia.
It’s the outdated notion of commercial mass entertainment that works to the detriment of Mass Jathara in reality.
The effort to blend “commercial elements” like glamorous colourful songs and comedy in what could otherwise be a tight and gripping narrative is where Mass Jathara flounders.
The first half makes it amply clear. The hero and villain scenes are the decent parts of the entire duration. The rest makes one restless after a point. The interval bang makes one hope the narrative moves to an action zone, at least in the second half.
But, there is no change, and Mass Jathara continues in the same template commercial format in the second half as well.
Case in point, the two or three songs that come during this hour. Everything is designed in the old-fashioned (heroine inviting hero to a place to extract information, etc.) way, even though they are shot trendily. The lack of updation of these cliches is the biggest sore thumb.
Again, it’s the action blocks that manage to hold attention even during this half. The whole War Zone stretch (villain enters a Tiger reservoir to hero, warning the villain his house) – the hero faces the villains’ relatives and ultimately ends up at his house in a payoff situation of the first half. The movie required many more of these kinds of stretches, but they occur only briefly.
The climax, after all these events, is the biggest downer with the director trying an emotional payoff where there is none. It never had that build-up and connection in the first place. The vintage touches only add to the irritation.
The climax fight feels way too lengthy and prolonged, with loud music that one feels happy to leave the screens as soon as possible if one has stayed that long in the first place.
There is nothing wrong with doing a mass entertainer, one doesn’t blame anyone for doing it. Its efforts like Mass Jathara with an outdated thought behind the whole thing, and also in content where things go wrong.
Overall, Mass Jathara ultimately comes with a narrative that highlights the old thoughts and ideas, and eventually turns into an outdated chore of a mass outing. Even for the die-hard fans, Mass Jathara would be a tired and uncomfortable watch. Ravi Teja should have given more thought to this, as it’s his landmark 75th film.
Performances by Others Actors
There are not many artists playing crucial roles in the movie that one can recollect immediately. Naveen Chandra easily shines among them all. He is given a different look and villainous swag. The actor manages to pull it off decently by giving his best. Among the rest, Rajendra Prasad gets is used more, but his character doesn’t work out as expected.
Naresh, Samuthirakani and Murali Sharma are wasted. They don’t have much to do but fill up the space obligatorily. The rest, involving actors like Ajay Ghosh, Hyper Aadi, etc, are wasted, barring a few comedy punches here and there.
Bheema Ciciroloe provides the music and the background score for the movie. They are extremely loud and in tune with the overall set-up, but fail to register anywhere. Vidhu Ayyanna’s cinematography is neat. The visuals are what gives the movie a topical look. They have the vibe, unfortunately, the content is the exact opposite. Naveen Nooli’s editing, mixed with the screenplay choices, doesn’t build the momentum properly. The energy is missing, narrative-wise. The dialogues lack the bite for a mass entertainer. The production values are good, though.
The production values from Sithara Entertainments and Fortune Four Cinemas are quite decent for a mass entertainer like Mass Jathara
Highlights?
Couple of Action Blocks
Drawbacks?
Outdated Story, 90’s Commercial Elements
Screenplay
Recycled Entertainment
Sreeleela’s performance
Romantic Track
Songs
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
No
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