Babu Bangaram Review

'Babu Bangaram' is a case of Venkatesh being allowed to be himself, while Maruthi tries to be someone else (Sreenu Vaitla, if one may say so).  Net impact: While Venky scores a 'Victory' for himself, Maruthi doesn't cover himself in glory.  Between all this, Ghibran squanders away at least two good songs ('Snehithudo' and 'Dhillunnavade') that would have elevated the proceedings had an intense screenplay been going for them.

Krishna, the ACP, is a cop with a bleeding heart.  He falls for Sailu (Nayanatara), whose family is in distress because Sailu's father (Jayaprakash in a hapless middle-aged man's role) is facing an existential threat from Mallesh Yadav (Sampath Raj in the role of a wannabe political heavyweight with his own quirks).  Krishna hides his identity and befriends Sailu by making a 'bakra' out of Batthayi Babjee (Prudhvi as Nayanatara's buffoonic 'bava').  Sailu comes to believe that Krishna is a common man and eventually falls for him as he single-handedly fixes one problem after another.  Amidst all this, Sailu and family continue to live in a shadow of fear and the 'nayanamma' (Shahukar Janaki) has to be treated urgently.  This is when Krishna's other plans are revealed.  Thus comes the interval bang twist.

What follows is more of the same, complete with kid stuff ranging from trapping anti-heroes on camera, to a climax where the villains themselves are not devastated about the prospect of having to bite the dust.

As elevation of tempo goes, this one has to be one of the most recklessly made star hero films in recent times.  So much so, ACP Krishna is hell bent on outdoing Mahesh Babu's CI Shankar (read 'Agadu') in being thanklessly lightweight under all circumstances.

The disproportionate space Prudhvi gets in the first half beats imagination.  Imagine even a heartthrob like Nayanatara having to take him seriously.  At one point, she even smiles at him with a glow in her eyes.  A heroine is expected to walk away after slapping a comedian; she can't be made to talk about his funny misdemeanors in a serious scene.  Reciprocating her love for the hero can be reserved for another scene, two minutes later, however much the director might be in a hurry for a duet.  Further, imagine a hero who sheds his 'jali' nature AFTER a game-changing split with the heroine, but not mainly BECAUSE of that.  Why stretch the grandfather Venky idea?

The number 'Snehithudo' comes without proper tempo having been built.  'Dhillunnavade' too goes down the drain for lack of an effect pre-song screenplay.  Further, the interactions between Venky and his boss (played by Murali Sharma) add nothing.

Maruthi is clearly in awe of a star he grew up watching and admiring.  Good.  But it's not enough to have a Chammak Chandra come in and pay a tribute to such a star.  All such good ideas have been negated by letting the star hero go after two villains (Sampath and Posani) who are greater mortals than are comedians, and lesser mortals in comparison to typical antagonists.  It doesn't help to show a Sampath and a Posani on a par.  The former should have been put on a higher pedestal.

As far as the acts go, Venky delivers goods despite all the limitations.  He is not only handsomer but also in his elements in several of the scenes.  One feels there were a few emotional scenes that took the climax to a new level.  Nayanatara is very gorgeous and surely sizzles in terms of her chemistry with Venky.  Unlike her male counterpart, though, she doesn't get the scope to perform.  She is missing for the most part in the second half.

Prudhvi is getting typecast and repetitious to a fault.  Parodying 'Nannaku Prematho' hardly helps.  Vennela Kishore and Brahmaji pass muster.  Posani Krishna Murali gets more space in the second half and he, along with Sampath, Priya, and the 'Gabbar Singh' comedians, delivers some laughs.  Shaukar Janaki surprises one by the mere fact of being cast despite belonging to an outdated over-acting school.

Production values of S. Naga Vamshi and co are fine.  It's unfair that, despite production values of this standard and good technical talent, Maruthi has wasted a golden opportunity to deliver a good output with a star hero.

Richard Prasad's cinematography is a major highlight; credit goes to him for showing the lead pair glamorously.  Ghibran's music (especially, 'Mallela Vanala') and BGM as a standalone are good.

Verdict: Venkatesh gets it right; those of you who love to watch Venky in a light-veined role should watch this.  As for the flaws, they are glaring.

బాబు బంగారం తెలుగు వెర్షన్ మూవీ రివ్యూ