If you go to Srimannarayana expecting an intellectual side to our heroic journalist, you will be in for disappointment. As the story moves forward, you will realise that the gutsy young chap (Balakrishna) fights impossibly, murders miserably, talks funnily, dances at the drop of a hat in the presence of one or both the heroines, but never makes sense!
It is easy to convince a wannabe full-time politician to act in your movie by infusing an enticing element involving the fate of victims of land grab or thousands of 'rythu biddalu'. In Srimannarayana the hero has the job to piece the password to the villains' illegal account so that he can lay his rightful claim on five thousand crores his now-murdered father collected as the trustee of Jai Kisan Foundation. It is a Telugu film and none in this large, democratic country (not a single investigating agency worth its name) is interested in following the trail. This even as neither the Chief Minister nor any other political heavyweight has a share in the scam! So who is stopping the CBI or the police from helping the lone journalist?
Alluri Kalki Narayanamurthy (veteran actor Vijay Kumar) has collected Rs. 5,000 cr by way of donations for the welfare of farmers. Minister Bylu Reddy (Jayaprakash), Malaysian-based don Harshad Kothari (Suresh), Pulikeshava Reddy (Supreeth), IG Marthand (Rao Ramesh) and Dr. Sreekar Prasad (Nagineedu) cleverly transfer the money from his bank account to their account with the help of bank manager Kota Srinivasa Rao in the absence of our hero. The responsibility now falls on the great son to extract the six-letter password to their account, kill them one after one and materialize his late father's lofty dream. (But for the fact that the password is `4kisan', the hero would not have been able to know the sequence of the letters. Thank God that Ravikumar Chavali knowingly or unknowing did not miss the logic here.)
Having read the paper-thin storyline, do you like to read our review further? Here are some Ghatikachalam gems for the brave-hearted.
- "... So don't trouble trouble. If you trouble trouble, trouble troubles you. I am not trouble. I am truth." Is Srimannarayana trouble or truth?
- "6 watts bulb lo velu pedithe, cheema kuttinattu untundi. 60 watts bulb lo velu pedithe, telu kuttinattu untundi. Ade transformer tho pettukunte, madi masi ayipothav." Do you want to laugh or cry when Balayya says this after killing the last villain in the climax fight?
- "2G Spectrum scam lo laksha debbai ayidu vela kotlu tini chankalu guddukontunnaru. Prajulu chanka nakipoyaru." Does a journalist talk like this?
- "Na eye ball ku inkosai kanabadithe, foot ball adukonta." Laugh but don't forget to forgive the dialogue writer for the rhyming.
- Parvathi Milton says to Balayya - "Poyi midnight masala programme ku anchoring chesuko ra." If you are a Balayya fan, hit your computer screen with your mobile.
- "Andaru kodukulu tandri aasthi ni vaarasathvanga pondutharu. Nuvvu aashayanni vaarasthvanga pondavu." This dialogue is as old as the hills, but it is repeated thrice in the film as if Ghatikachalam has invented it.
- "Aravaku. Aristhe ara second lo pothav. Aravakunte 6 nimishalu ayina bathukutav." Do you expect the mass audience to clap for lines like this one?
If this is not enough, we pick some more rib-tickling elements from this masterpiece.
- Hero's introduction: He is coming out of a shopping mall, but suddenly floats in the air to sit in his car when he receives a call from a lady journalist. You use wires to make the hero kick the baddies, not for getting him into the car. To make the matters worse, the sharp-witted hero asks the girl in danger to tie the blue jerkin around the waist, instead of asking her to throw it away.
- The shine on Srimannarayana's rosy cheeks doesn't fade even after being locked up in jail for so many days and committing difficult murders in different get-ups in the meantime.
- He reads his father's last SMS at the latter's funeral. What an occasion to check his mobile! You may thank God that there is no weapon used anywhere, but technology is effectively used to seem ridiculous.
- Which bank account allows you to transfer Rs. 5,000 cr at the click of mouse? Not only the CBI, but even the RBI goes on a holiday in Ravikumar Chavali's film.
- It is clear that Srimannarayana is an unintentional comedy film. Neither was Balakrishna given commendable lines nor was his look properly worked. There is no reason in trying to seem young at 53, because the audience will like only if a hero like Balayya graciously plays his age and does activities that befit his dignity in the film.
The songs especially were spoiled by the combined effort of the costume designer and the art director. We don't say that the songs came at the wrong time, as there is no right time for them in the story.
It is not surprising that Balayya ably pulled off the role, though he was meted out injustice by practically everyone concerned with the film. Chakri was asked to score music as if he were scoring for a 20 something hero and he did that. The cinematography (Surendar Reddy) was mediocre.
Bottomline: Watch it, if at all, for that seductive beauty, Parvathi Milton!
Released on: 30th August, 2012
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