BOTTOM LINE
Lots of Smoke, No Story
RATING
1.5/5
CENSOR
2h 27m, U/A Certified.
What Is the Film About?
Subbaraju (Naresh) and Krishna Murthy (Rao Ramesh) are family friends, but rivals when it comes to political ambition. Both harbour the dream of becoming MPTC. Raja (Narne Nithiin) and Nithya (Sampada) are their respective son and daughter, and both are in love.
Raja, however, is a chain smoker, and this habit leads to conflict between him and Krishna Murthy. How does smoking become the ultimate hurdle in Raja’s life, affecting love and family relations? The challenges he has to overcome to bring order to his world are the movie’s basic story.
Performances
Narne Nithiin is his usual self, picking a role that suits his age and is relatable to a lot of people. There is no heavy-duty act here. The actor has to casually go through the typical hero moments without breaking a sweat. The only issue here is that of energy. Many scenes need that energy to hold things together, even when nothing much is happening. The actor still has some journey to do on this count.
Sampada playing the female lead is alright for a movie set in a rural setting. She, too, has nothing much to do dramatically and is alright in the fun parts, which are few. In short, after a point, she gets relegated to the backseat and is forgotten.
Analysis
Satish Vegesna of Shatamanam Bhavati, Srinivasa Kalyanam, and Entha Manchivadavura fame writes and directs Sri Sri Sri Rajavaru. A strong theme (and message) with stories set in or involving a small town or rural backdrop has been a common feature in the director’s past few movies. Sri Sri Sri Rajvaru is no different.
The biggest issue with Sri Sri Sri Rajavaru is its utter predictability. And it doesn’t take much time to understand this. We know it within the opening block where the movie is headed.
What makes matters worse is the lazy narrative. It is a combination of predictable moments, silliness, and missing energy, but the proceedings give a lethargic vibe. It takes an eternity to finally get into the story, which is nothing unexpected either.
The idea here is clearly to make the wafer-thin story work with humour via relatable characters and scenes that provide non-stop fun. Satish Vegesna has had such outings as a writer in the past, where the quirky characters and entertainment held the attention despite predictable stories. Sadly, that isn’t the case here.
By the time one reaches the interval, it feels exhausting, despite a not-so-long run time. It is because of a predictable narrative stretched endlessly to reach a predictable point.
Given the first half, there is hardly any hope for things post-intermission. It works to the movie’s advantage a little bit. The drama that ensues immediately after the interval feels decent due to the dialogue. Similarly, some moments involving the antagonist also work for the same.
Still, things are highly predictable and boring, and the few scenes don’t change that impression. The central conflict involving smoking feels like dealt with very lightly. One never takes the hero’s issue seriously. The pain is not felt, as a result, the core drama involving the hero doesn’t work.
Again, a few dialogues towards the end are alright, but the damage is done way before one reaches that point. The drama between love (for a girl) versus the addiction (to smoking) had potential, but it’s wasted entirely, as the narrative moves into other predictable directions.
Overall, Sri Sri Sri Rajavaru rests on a pretty thin plot and relies heavily on the actors and writing to pull through. It doesn’t happen, and the duration feels painfully sluggish and the narrative utterly boring, as a result.
Performances by Others Actors
Despite the hero having most of the screen time, it is the veterans, Naresh and Rao Ramesh, who deliver the main and important drama necessary for the movie. The latter, especially, gets a slightly meatier part that taps into his usual style. He delivers as expected. Naresh, too, does well in key moments.
Apart from the seniors, there is the comedy batch, which involves the presence of Sudarshan, Bhadram, etc. However, they have been underutilised here. Also, the scenes involving them don’t offer anything fresh and lose fizz immediately.
Music and Other Departments?
Kailash Menon provides the music. The songs aren’t many, which is a good thing considering the wafer-thin plot here. A couple of songs do have a decent ring to them, but lack any recall value, both as a standalone audio and as a video. The background is on predictable lines, taking us back in time to serial days.
The cinematography should have been good, considering the scenic locations the village setting offers. We have a few stock footage shots here highlighting the same, and nothing else. The editing is okay. The writing is alright in a few scenes. They are not memorable kind, but passable within the context and the setup they are presented.
Highlights?
Few Dialogues By Naresh And Rao Ramesh
A few Silly Fun Moments
Drawbacks?
Weak Story
Utterly Predictable Narration
Outdated Vibe
Too Long for Its Story
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
No
Sri Sri Sri Raja Vaaru Movie Review by M9
