Konda Polam Review

'Konda Polam' hit the screens today. Here is our review of the latest box office release.

Story:

The film is set in the Nallamalla forest region. Kataru Ravindra Yadav (Vaishnav Tej) hails from a family of shepherds. Since a drought has hit the region, his old-aged father (Sai Chand) has to take his lambs into the forest to help them access water. Ravindra is egged on by his grandfather to accompany him and other villagers, especially Obulamma (Rakul Preet Singh). Once he sets foot in the forest, Ravindra realizes that he needs to rise to the occasion to have meaning and purpose in life. He now has to confront a tiger and beastly humans, too.

Analysis:

Director Krish Jagarlamudi and author Sannapureddy Venkata Rami Reddy have written the film based on the latter's novel 'Konda Polam'. The way the story has been set up, it feels like the origin story of a valiant sphered who discovered his destiny as he started living with animals and reveled in the lap of Nature.

As the writing part goes, 'Konda Polam' is effective. While the novel didn't have a romantic angle, the commercial filmmaker in Krish came to the fore and shaped the character out of thin air. Since the scenes between Vaisshnav Tej and Rakul are etched with care, the thread doesn't look artificial. The romance between the two is peppered with MM Keeravani's enjoyable tunes.

The love track takes off slowly but surely. In the beginning, we find that Ravindra doesn't interact much with Obulamma, who insists that he call her Obu. She trains him on how to live with the forest. It takes time for him to soak into the beauty of it all.

Once he finds his groove, there is no stopping the male protagonist. He realistically takes on the crises coming in the way of him and his fellow shepherds (played by Ravi Prakash, Hema and Racha Ravi, among others). His scenes with his father are not over-dramatic. And the serious episodes have been interspersed neatly with the romantic track.

The second half is gripping in every sense of the term. There is never a dull moment and the tiger-hero conflicts are spectacular. The action choreography is remarkable and it's stunning that the film was completed in just 45 days (production works). The post-production works, especially the dubbing part, must have demanded a lot of time from the team, given that the characters speak in irresistible Rayalaseema slang throughout.

Riding on the success of 'Uppena', Vaisshnav Tej is in for another hit. This film was shot before his debut film was even released in theatres. So, he doesn't look conscious of his image. Rakul Preet is cuddly cute in the half-saree look. Her charm is matched by the neat acting put in by Sai Chand.

Gnana Sekhar VS's cinematography is dignified. Rajeev Rajasekharan's VFX supervision is an asset, while Shravan Katikaneni's editing (the run time is 142 minutes) is apt.

Verdict:

'Konda Polam' is an enjoyable trek into the jungle. The message of the film hits home.