They say desperate situations call for desperate actions. In Tollywood, you cannot get anyone more desperate than Taraka Ratna --- the hero with a very rich lineage but very poor films. Launched with fanfare and hype (nine movies were announced on a single day), his career has been lurching from one failure to another. When rest of the filmdom is zooming past him, his career is going nowhere.
In the event, Bhadradi Ramudu is his make or break film.
So, one would have expected him and the director Suresh Krishna (a seasoned veteran) to have taken some chances to capture the audiences.
Alas, that is not to be as Bhadradi Ramudu is nothing but old wine in old bottle itself. Though details may vary, but largely the story is about a country bumpkin of a man ranged against the machinations and cunning of his city-bred wife and her scheming mother. Primarily, the fight is between the hero and his aunt --- and this is a theme as old as Methuselah in Tollywood. Interspersed into this cliched tamasha is some typical caricatured characterization and retrograde ideas.
Seeta (Radhika), the modern girl from Germany, comes to Teluguland (Bhadrachalam) to learn bhajans (chekka bhajana). As it happens, the hero Ramudu (Taraka Ratna) is a skillful performer of bhajans. And when he is compelled to marry, he chooses his student Seetha liitle knowing that the seemingly innocuous and innocent girl has a deeper plan up her sleeves.
Seetha marries Ramudu but immediately scoots to Germany with her mother. Pray why? Well, this was a marriage to secure the real marriage that she is planning with her family fiance Ravi. This is all a game plan of her mother Jagadamba (Vani Sri) as an astrologer had said her daughters first marriage would come apart.
So what does Ramudu do? He flies to Germany with his bhajan accessories and the sacred smear on the forehead to convince his wife to see the right side of the life. Of course, his real battle is with his big bad aunt.
Does he succeed? If you are interested to know see Bhadradi Ramudu.
The film is painstakingly set up to prop Taraka Ratna's fledgling but floundering career. His acting has shown signs of improvement --- he is no longer gawky like a confused rabbit caught in front of a car light. Still, Taraka Ratna has a long way to go. There is little spontaneity to his work. But he is better off playing such innocent boy roles rather than play the angry young man characters that go against his basic mien.
Radhika is hamstrung by the constraints of a strait jacketed character. She has very little do in the film. Most of the focus is on Vani Sri. In a typical role, the veteran actress hams and hams. She has not used her experience to bring some nuance into her role.
Posani Krishna Murali, as a typical South East Asian cabbie abroad, is funny.
The redeeming feature of the film is the songs of Sri --- the bhajans (in different forms) are certainly lilting. There is not much to crib about other technical aspects.
The direction by Suresh Krishna is a major let down. The man, who is known for hardy, earthy entertainers, seems out of control here. He lurches from one cliche to cliche in the film, leaving the audience with a marked sense of disappointment. There is no element of surprise in the entire movie. It is predictable like walkouts in Parliament.
Taraka Ratna now has to wait and see whether Lord Ram bails him out or not.
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