In Kshetram you see Jagapathi Babu excelling in his mien, comportment, deportment, body movements, shrieking, wielding a larger-than-life sword, sporting a caricaturish moustache - that is, excelling over Hari Krishna. (He plays Veera Narasimha aka Naga Penchayya, a role which the Nandamuri would have loved to play with gusto). The hero has accomplished a lot -he has won the hearts of his people, even ended factionism in Rayalaseema, our Veera Dheera Kadgadharudu, our Sapthajanma Varudu! In Kshetram you get some 'useful' information - if a spirit resides in a body for three days and three nights, it is dangerous. Besides this, there is nothing useful in this uncharacteristically boring flick. This movie, described by Jagapathi as a film that is on a par with Arundhati, has only one good thing about it: its female lead, Priyamani, delivers a dekko performance. (But the fact of the matter is, she has put up beautiful acting output in many films in the past. All of them, like Pravarakhyudu, went unnoticed. So, her excellence cannot be hoped to be a salvaging high point of Kshetram).
The family of the Rayalus (who belong to the lineage of Krishnadevarayalu) have an unfinished agenda to realize. Six generations of the family have failed to resurrect the idols of Lakshmi-Narasimha Swamy in the local temple of a village because all the heads of the family who embarked on the mission all died under mysterious circumstances. Cut to a foreign location where Sohini Agarwal (Priyamani) and Chakri (Shyam) are shooting for a mock show (they work for a satellite channel). They travel to their respective places and let their elders know about their love affair.
The director doesn't lose an opportunity to show that Vishwanatha Rayalu (Chakri's father) is a negative character. He is shocked to see Sohini, who looks just like his late vadinamma (Lakshmamma aka Naga Penchalamma, played by, again, Priyamani).
They are married off in a span of 10 minutes. The tragedy strikes in the form of a murder: committed by Sohini, the new kodalu pilla in the household. Who does she murder? Her father-in-law, V. Rayalu. She has been overtaken by the spirit of Naga Penchalamma, who refuses to leave her body until her mission is fulfilled.
You already know why she is back, you already know the legend, you already know who the villain of the piece is, you already know the climax - what's left to be known? Count the number of murders, the number of times our Jagapathi is hailed to the skies in scene after scene and a song, the number of times Priyamani impresses us with her smile, the number of attempts on Jagapathi's lives, the number of times our drab hero screams to the roof top, the number of times the person sitting next to you sighs in disgust...
It is difficult to imagine how our producers dare to spend so much on a story that is at best a rehash of one or more hits, and, at worst, a sop-like B grade story. It is even more difficult to imagine why Naga Penchalayya comes as a spirit, after his death, to ask his wife to fulfill his dream. Why can't Naga Penchalayya accomplish it himself? Is it because the noble spirits like Chandramukhi and Arundhathi were heroines whose spirits possessed heroines? (Come to think of it, a hero possessed by a spirit. Writers can take the cue and pen an unintentional comedy).
If Kshetram's story is predictable, the other elements like the performances, music, dialogues are inconsistent. Jagapathi is ok when he is normal but when he is asked to behave like a royal man, he behaves like a possessed man!
All in all, you can give Kshetram a miss. For, in all likeliness you can find such stuff on tv these days.
Released on: 29th Dec, 2011
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