'Garuda Vega', starring Rajasekhar, Arun Adith, Pooja Kumar and others, hits the screens today.  Here is our review.

Story:

Sekhar (Rajasekhar) is a busy-bee NIA officer with an eye for the detail.  When two shooters accidentally bump into him in the backdrop of a road accident, after which an old lady is killed in an apartments hours later, he grows suspicious and seeks to connect the dots.

In the process, Sekhar zeroes in on a mafia that is out to wreak havoc in Hyderabad by targeting a political rally of Prathap Reddy (Posani Krishna Murali as the opposition leader) the next morning.  But there is more than what meets the eye.

All along, a tech-savvy youngster (Arun Adith as Niranjan) has been secretly dealing with a mafia.  Co-incidentally, he appears at the same site where Prathap Reddy's rally is to take place.  This is when the plot thickens.

It's now up to Sekhar to find out what Niranjan has been trying to gain, and how a political-bureaucratic mafia is involved in what could be a scam of massive proportions and global security ramifications, all while having to convince his isolated wife (Pooja Kumar as Swathi) that she means the world to her.

Analysis:

Quite early on, there comes the film's defining scene.  Sekhar's wife, now vexed to the core that he doesn't give her enough time and love, seeks a professional's help in getting divorce.  Of all, the professional is played by the funny Ali.  The dutiful Sekhar, who is always busy attending urgent national security tasks, tries his best to impress upon her what he and his team were doing with a star tortoises-trading mafia, even as the visuals show a fully-equipped drug mafia being busted at their hideout near a tall dam.  A larger-than-life scene is mounted in the backdrop of a comic scene, giving it both gravitas and a sense of humour.

In another scene in a crucial episode, the hurt wife bonds with her hubby over a light-veined-cum-sentimental conversation even as a catastrophe might be knocking at the doors, literally.  That's the style of narration that Praveen Sattaru prefers for a good part of 'Garuda Vega'.

Then there are scenes where gigantic problems are dealt with by the calm, attentive and earnest Sekhar (kudos to the subtlety and intensity that is writ large over Rajasekhar's face).  Ravi Varma and Charandeep as his trusted lieutenants, Nasser as his henpecked boss and others in the NIA team go a long way in making the proceedings all the more sincere.

A good part of the first half is spent on Sekhar using his sharpness and marshaling his team in cracking a code, literally or otherwise.  Blackmailing and million rupee deals being struck are narrated without much indulgence and that's good.

In the second half, as Sekhar and Niranjan have to race against time, Adarsh Balakrsihnan and his handler (Kishore in a climactic role) make them run for their lives, only to having to stop at a hamlet populated by sex workers and a 'Deo Deo Disaka Disaka' queen (Sunny Leone's special number comes amidst tense moments, as such a song should in an action-thriller).

The climax is surprisingly sans much gravity-defying action and full of a three-team action.

With more raciness in the second half, the proceedings would have been sexier.  The way the unfolding of a scam and its political implications on Prathap Reddy's career is told through a news reporter (Shraddha Das) could have been handled in a different way.  The way Niranjan talks to Sekhar about the big scam that has been in the making comes without a sense of seriousness and urgency.  (It's not clear why an NIA officer wouldn't know the acronym of DAE).

Touted to be a comeback film for Rajasekhar, 'Garuda Vega' definitely lives up to its description.  The actor has not lost his Midas Touch.  He is understated and proves to be in form when it comes to playing that 'Magadu' who saves the nation!  Sai Kumar's excellent dubbing needs no introduction.  Arun Adith fits the bill; he is every bit that greedy yet not-so-hardened techie that he is playing.  Pooja Kumar comes with the vibes of a wrong housewife.  Kishore's role is short-lived but the actor is effective.  Ravi Varma, Adarsh, Ali, Avasara Srinivas are good.  Posani Krishna Murali, Sayaji Shinde and others could have been better.

Sricharan Pakala's background music is a major high-point. The sound engineering department should get big awards for sure.  The cinematography by Anji (and also others) is another awesome attraction.  CV Kumar and team's Vfx and DI work is outstanding, so also Dharmendra's impeccable editing.

Verdict:

It is an action-thriller that comes with a largely gripping screenplay.  The fights are not over-board, thankfully.  Rajasekhar's performance, first-rate technical values and Praveen Sattaru's style of unconventional narration make it a nice watch.

పి ఎస్ వి గరుడ వేగ మూవీ రివ్యూ తెలుగు లో