Rayudu Review

First things first.  If you are expecting a refreshing story line, 'Rayudu' is not the one you should be looking at.  Inspired by a Madurai school formula, this film is set in the countryside, comes with the usual dose of political rivalries and a bonding between characters that is borrowed from this or that Kollywood film.  The element of loved ones getting embroiled in life-threatening controversies is sought to be perked up by a screenplay that has a grandma involving her grandson in order to undo her past mistake.

Rayudu (Vishal) is a load carrier in an Anantapur village and he has been parented by his grandmother Annamma (Kolla Pulli Leela). His grandma, for whom he will do anything, deflects his attention toward Bhagya Lakshmi (Sridivya).  Bhagya has been fighting a case against the local political thug Rolex Bachi (RK Suresh) along with her father, a lawyer (Marimuthu). This case will hamper the growth of Bachi, who has the backing of a big shot (Radha Ravi).

How Rayudu saves them from such a dreadful and cruel Bachi and what’s the role of his grandma in this, forms the rest of the film.

Formulaic to the core, the film is unexciting when it comes to the screenplay.  Besides being hackneyed, it is lengthy.

The comedy quotient is sought to be raised every time Soori and Kulappulli Leela come on the screen.  Soori's dialogues and antics have worked out well after a pretty long gap. His scenes with Vishal and the grandma in the first half are good.  The sentiment quotient involving Soori is on the expected lines.

The action blocks are just a series of fights between the extremely gutsy hero and the villain's sidekicks, and finally the lead villain.  One too many times, the characters wield their weapons and attack the rivals. One is tired of watching this celebration of bloodshed under the pretext of 'veerathvam' or whatever.  To make the matters curious in a not-so-curious manner, we have one Karrasamu Bhanumathi who can't think of a woman taking it lying down, even if the rival is a macabre contractor.  Well, that is good for an idea, but shouldn't such a character be shown to have brain as much as brawn to spice up the matters before the done- to-death formula sets in?

Too many scenes are squandered away in building romance between the lead pair.  The good thing is melodrama is kept under check. The grandmother's character is used for a bigger purpose than sentiment in this film and that makes it more interesting.

Apart from this, the idea of placing three women characters (heroine, her mother and the hero’s grandma) as opposed to villain is really interesting and almost a matter of celebration for feminists. Though it is the hero who directly takes on the villain, the real problem to the villain is created by the bold attitude of these three women.

Vishal fits well into the role of a soft-spoken but brave-for-good rural Samaritan who would not let go someone who has caused any form of harm to his granny or women in general.  But one feels his expression and character start seeming uni-dimensional after a while.  Every time it's clear that the story is inching towards predictable elements, it becomes tough to stand all this.

Action sequences could have been a big redeemer.  However, all that we get to see are run-of-the-mill ones, although one can't take away from Vishal's real stunts.  The character of Rolex Bachi doesn't excite after a while, thereby taking the zing out of Vishal's Rayudu.

Sridivya is not just an eye candy but also a bold young girl who also has connection to the main plot of the story. She does leave a good impression with her performance. Radharavi has been wasted in a not-so-strong role but the veteran impresses with his gestures and body language that aptly captures a big shot of a small town. Marimuthu after a long time has acted in a positive character and he is apt in his role.

Kulappulli Leela as the grandmother who is also like a mother to the hero is impeccable and her character aptly fulfils the requirement of sentiment and comedy that may go well with family audience.  Vishal rightly said that her character is the film's soul.

RK Suresh is menacing as the villain but his performance is a let down by a predictable and regular villain character.

D Imman’s songs just add up to the length of the film while a couple of them fits well into the rural milieu. Re-recording is adequate. Velraj’s cinematography is one of the big pluses of the film as his selection of tones and colours make us feel the heat of Rajapalayam and its surrounding where the story happens. Veera Samar’s Art direction is another notable plus of the film as the houses and roads look natural.

Verdict:  A Madurai school formula visits the audience again.  Too much of raw Tamil countryside nativity is a turn-off.  A better screenplay would have served to paper over these flaws.  On balance, a technically good output, not to forget neat performances.

తెలుగు వెర్షన్ మూవీ రివ్యూ