'Patel S.I.R', featuring Jagapathi Babu in the lead role, hits the screens today.  Here is our review of the action-cum-family drama.

Story:

Like 'Kabali', Patel Sir's (Jagapathi) age is just right.  He is a 60-year-old retired army man for good.

But he is soldiering along to avenge something.  Scene after scene, he is busy eliminating them.  'Kalakeya' Prabhakar and Raghu Babu are among the small fish, but DR (Kabir Duhan) is his main villain.

Flashbacks in installments show him leading a happy life with a wife (played by Padmapriya Janakiraman).

What happened in his past and why is he after DR and his men?  That forms the crux of the second half.

Analysis:

Subhash Patel is on a rampage.  Don't ask why and how, but he is killing them one after one as if there is no tomorrow.  In one scene, he leaves the hospital to kill the ultimate one even though he can afford to wait for his little kid to open her eyes after a surgery.

When Patel Sir is around, some scenes have to be there, whether or not they have a rational or sentimental value.  The one being killed will have to call him 'Sir', no matter what.  You wonder what is more important for him - to avenge or to be called 'Sir' before everything else.  Obviously, the first of these is the dearest cause, but at some odd moment, he wouldn't spare on not being called 'Sir'.

One such odd trait about him is that he can't stand some important character wanting to become a doctor.  Because, Patel (err.. Patel Sir) is hell bent on making that character's life a hell by forcing him to become a soldier, dreams be damned.

OK.  Such eccentricities are sometimes a fact of life.  Only that this film asks us to expect the unexpected at interval bang!  If the director meant to talk about the above described eccentricity of the protagonist, full marks to his courage.  But, guess what, he actually tries to mislead us into thinking that there is something really curious in store in Patel Sir's life, something that we hope might have been lifted from a Hollywood thriller.  For the first time ever, it was disappointing that someone didn't spare us by doing at least a copy-and-paste job.

A bit about the introduction scene of the special officer (played by Tanya Hope) enlisted to investigate the murders.  One lecher is waiting to lust after her as she emerges from a swimming pool in a bikini.  This would have been a forgettable nightmare had her character been consequential.

The film introduces too many sketchy characters (played by 'Pelli' fame Prudhvi, among others), only to show them being snuffed out of existence through jaded murders.  The main villain (played by Kabir Duhan Singh) doesn't make the cut.

Jagapathi playing his age is cool, and his get-ups, expressions in emotion scenes, etc are fine.  The child artiste who bonds with his character is good.  Padmapriya Janakiraman is forgettable.  Subbu Raju makes a mark.

DJ Vasanth's theme tune is impressive.  The cinematography and other departments do only a sub-par job.  The budget should have been more to make the proceedings look better.

Verdict:

With a formulaic revenge story, 'Patel S.I.R' flounders along.  It seems to be content in the belief that the audience are still stuck in 1990s.  Enough said.

పటేల్ సర్ తెలుగు వెర్షన్ మూవీ రివ్యూ