'Jaya Janaki Nayaka', starring Bellamkonda Sreenivas and Rakul Preet Singh, hits the screens.  Here is our review.

Story:

Gagan (Bellamkonda Sreenivas) is the son of an industrialist, Chakravarthy (Tamil actor Sarathkumar).  Gagan and his brother (played by Nandu) are their father's doting sons.

Enter Janaki (Rakul) as the hero's friend, with whom the entire family develops a strong emotional bond.  The father extracts a promise from Gagan that, come what may, Janaki will be protected from any danger.  Unforeseen circumstances lead to a distance between Gagan and Janaki.

Janaki now faces a threat.  What is that and who is the cause?  How does the hero come to know about it and what does he do to save the girl?  What is the cause of the bad blood between Gagan on the one hand and Ashwad Narayan Varma (Jagapathi Babu) and Arun Pawar (Tarun Arora) on the other hand?  Answers to these are found in the second half.

Analysis:

It's difficult for an actor to fail when Boyapati Srinu is the director.  It's said that the maker proudly creates the right mood on the sets, so much so, the artists have no option but to get squeezed into the proceedings.

Spiritually, this film has been much juxtaposed by Boyapati with his debut movie, 'Bhadra'.  A damsel in distress, a hero who becomes her unconditional saviour, a family catering to that distraught soul, so on and so forth.  Minus the innocuous manners of Mira Jasmin in 'JJN', Rakul comes with several shades of the heroine of 'Bhadra'.

Sreenivas is one of the few youngsters out there who has been trying to hard-sell himself to the mass audience right from his first movie, 'Alludu Seenu'.  In Boyapati, he finds that dab hand who makes him beat up the baddies like a pro - with a lot of gusto.  'Nuvu yedisthe, veedni champestha' could have been said with so much rage only by a Boyapati hero.  (A Puri hero would have omitted 'veedni', though).

'JJN' unfolds in the backdrop of a largely saleable canvas.  Goody-goody people prone to emotionalism, villains who can evoke disgust while retaining their class, etc.

Different elements of the film cater to different segments, but the film itself doesn't rise above some limitations that are organic to the story line.  If at times the story seems to be dragging the film down, at others, the male lead's constraints extract a price.  And comedy is as Boyapati-esque as it can get.

As performances go, Rakul does a fine job months after giving an admirable output as Brahmaramba in 'Rarandoi Veduka Chuddam'.  She is at ease as both a playful buddy as well as a troubled woman.  Sreenivas may still have a long way to go, but he definitely shows maturity in the hands of an able director.

If Tarun Arora's antagonism scores full marks, Jagapathi being on the verge of breaking into heavy-duty emotions is welcome.  Sarathkumar, Pragya, Suman (as a Minister) and others fit the bill.

Devi Sri Prasad's music and background score raise the film's appeal, so also Rishi Punjabi's adept visuals.

Verdict:

Fans of Boyapati-style filmmaking are sure to find it a lot interesting.  Rakul takes up a challenging role and succeeds.  The hero shows improvement but has a long way to go.  Could appeal to sections of family audiences.

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