'Khiladi' hit the screens today. In this section, we are going to review the latest box office release.

Story:

Mohan Gandhi (Ravi Teja) is serving a prison term. A psychologist (Meenakshi Chaudhary) approaches him to know his story. He has been falsely implicated in the case of murdering his wife and other family members in the flashback. Gandhi was made to run from pillar to post to fetch Rs 10,000 Cr of black money that has been hidden from the sight of the Home Minister. Whose money is it? Was Gandhi dragged into the dirty world of money and politics? Or did he enter it willingly? That's the second half for you.

Analysis:

In 'Khiladi', the male lead is clear about one thing. He loves only money and he knows that his love affair with it is the best thing in his life. He doesn't fear anybody in his pursuit to make money, not even the mafia. There are one too many dark characters who want to outwit him. But they are always going to fail in the game. It's because Mohan Gandhi is always a step ahead of them.

There comes a point when the heart gets the better of his mind. That's for another day. But the film is essentially about his machinations and schemes. The romantic tracks are incidental. The songs are multiple but their underlying emotion is non-existent.

In one of the early scenes, a lecturer tells his psychology students that an individual becomes a criminal when greed overtakes fear. Cut to Gandhi, who is currently in jail. The flashback has scenes that border on the asinine. Someone falls in love with Gandhi just like that. Dimple Hayathi gets to play a character with two shades. In fact, a lot of them in the film gets to play layered characters with two or more shades.

The over-enthusiasm of Gandhi's family members is an old trope that reminds us of old films. At one point, while listening to Gandhi's flashback, Meenakshi's character puts this 'Where is seriousness in it?' expression on her face. It's a feeling that the audience, too, have.

Arjun Sarja's character was hyped up for no reason. Thakur Anup Singh, Nikitin Dheer and Unni Mukundan speak some lines but we don't remember any of them. It's not like Srikanth Vissa's lines are bad. We for sure remember 'Shut up' that Ravi Teja's character often says.

It's inconceivable how villains who run rackets on an industrial scale don't know how to shoot the person right in front of their eyes. Slow-motion shots are many and we are not complaining, though. "India's most wanted criminal" is supposedly a genius because the individuals on the other side are fools. 'Catch Me' is just a song but it should have been the film's title.

Devi Sri Prasad's music is an interesting feature. The BGM trods the beaten path, though. The cinematography is of quality, thanks to production values. The performances are not consistently engaging.

Verdict:

'Khiladi' is an underwritten film that over-sells its characters and a dozen characters. It has got even more plot points.