'Angel', starring Nag Anvesh and Hebbah Patel, hits the screens this Friday. Here is our review of the socio-fantasy.
Story:
Nakshatra (Hebbah Patel) is an angel who has a new-born infatuation with life on Earth. Her father, Gandharva Raju (Suman) and her mother convince her that humans on Earth are the lowliest (thanks for the compliment!) and so, life on this bloody planet is a foolish wish.
She insists. The dad curses her. She becomes a statue and dashes into a place like a meteor. Nani (Nag Anvesh) and his sidekick (played by Saptagiri) bump into her, she once again morphs into her real self, they get into a trouble with a smuggler (Sayaji Shinde), and, eventually, friendship blossoms into love between Nani and Nakshatra.
In the second half, Nakshatra's actual mission with respect to one Nandu is revealed. What is that mission and what role does Nani have in fulfilling it? That's the crux of the second half.
Analysis:
It's not known why some or most 'Deva kanyas' don't give their heroes any advice when they are in trouble. For God's sake, why are they bimbos? Do the heaven's comforts blunt their brains? They go through emotions, they have their romances, they have their favourite star-struck moments (Hebbah is seen marveling at Prabhas' 'Mirchi' fight), they can even be English-savvy (far from using 'Manava' and such old Telugu words, Hebbah uses English words with the right accent!). And our Nakshatra even has a social motto. But never does she make the mistake of behaving like a beauty with a sharp wit.
When she has to answer questions like 'Who is your father?', Nakshatra is a child-woman. When she has to enjoy witnessing the first ever fight of her life, she is a child-woman. At other times, she is pretty normal (but frivolous nevertheless).
'Angel' has an old-style villain in a rogue moneylender (Pradeep Rawat), whose tactics will put even the 1960s villains to shame. After Nandu's story is revealed, the film becomes prohibitively predictable. One 'mantrikudu' (played by Kabir Duhan Singh) enters the scene, straight from the heaven, only to hand over an amulet to the wrong woman, whose negligence leads to a comedy of confusion involving all the main characters in the climax. This is the sole episode that follows the template of the 2010s Telugu cinema (or should we call it the Jabardasth template?).
Saptagiri's comedy becomes lifeless after the first few scenes. Prabhas Sreenu, Tagubothu Ramesh, Priyadarshi, Noel Seen and others give no reason to praise them.
The romantic track comes with light touch emotions. In the one scene where Nani gets very emotional, the sub-par CG work and the melodrama do the scene in.
Nag Anvesh may well be promising, but a stale script is the last thing he deserves. Hebbah Patel looks out-of-place in a number of scenes. Pradeep Rawat and others are forgettable.
Bheems Cecireleo's music doesn't make the cut. The cinematography and the much-touted Vfx are laggards.
Verdict:
A half-baked socio-fantasy that meets Kranthi Madhav's on-screen social agenda. Utterly predictable, the film treats almost everything half-heartedly.
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