‘Bhagavanth Kesari’ is an emotional action entertainer which is made by the crazy combination of Balakrishna and Anil Ravipudi. This film is quite different compared to their previous works and the impressive trailer generated good buzz on the movie. With a positive buzz all over, the movie has hit the screens today and let us see how it turned out.
Story:
Bhagavanth Kesari (Balakrishna) is in jail after committing a big crime. With gratitude for letting him see his mother before her death, Bhagavanth takes care of the jailer’s (Sharath Kumar) daughter Vijji (Sreeleela) after his demise. Vijji suffers from phobia after her father’s death and Bhagavanth tries his best to make her strong both physically and mentally. But Vijji misunderstands Bhagavanth and stays away from him. She even falls in love with a boy but ends up in big trouble. Her life is in danger and once again it is Bhagavanth who comes to her rescue. What problem did Vijji face? How did Bhagavanth solve it? The answers to these questions form the rest of the story.
Analysis:
Ever since the teaser came out, ‘Bhagavanth Kesari’ gave a feeling that it is not a regular mass commercial cinema. Anil Ravipudi said that he tried something new with this film every time he came in front of the media. The promos too suggested that this film will not follow a regular template. ‘Bhagavanth Kesari’ is definitely something different from the average Balakrishna film that we are used to. His introduction looks a bit different in this flick and there is no intro song for the hero. We don’t get to see him romance the heroine too much or have a duet in scenic locations. Also, there are no mass masala songs that please the masses. Anil did not try to show a 60+ Balayya as a young man. He is an elderly man who is the father of a young girl in the movie. It gives a new feeling to the audience. But Anil did not go completely out of the box in terms of story. Though he presented Balayya in a new fashion and did not include routine dance numbers, he followed the regular path when it comes to story and mass scenes. The tailor-made punch dialogues for Balayya, high-voltage action scenes and mass elevations are present in this film too. He made sure that the movie gives a kick to Balayya’s fans and engages them for two and a half hours. ‘Bhagavanth Kesari’ appears as a CI in the flashback. He goes to an MLA meeting and beats him. He puts that MLA in the cell and when an SP arrives to release him, Balayya responds in his typical style. He shows his violent side and sends shivers down the spine of MLA. Despite having a powerful villain, it is the hero who always has an upper hand. This formula is followed by Anil Ravipudi as well. The villain is so powerful that he even controls the CM but Balayya says ‘I Don’t Care’. This is why the hero doesn’t have a lot of challenges and destroys everyone single-handedly. He finishes them without breaking a sweat. The movie is filled with hero domination.
The movie primarily explores the bond between a father and daughter. The father trying to take away his daughter’s phobia and make her stronger is a line that will give a fresh feeling to the audience. After a good introduction in the jail episode and a few refreshing scenes, the movie quickly returns to the regular format. Anil’s attempt to bring comedy and romance through the heroine did not work out. The movie looks quite ordinary during these parts. Balayya makes the masses go crazy in the warning episode as the hero makes the bad guys ask for forgiveness just through his powerful dialogues. The interval action block where the hero beats the pulp out of hundreds of goons will give goosebumps to the fans. The dialogues work out big time as well.
The conflict between hero and villain in the flashback episode is decent and Anil focused on hero elevations here too. Though they worked out big time, the story follows the regular path. The rivalry between hero and villain is quite ordinary and the scenes in the present are not that great between them. Hero wins single-handedly and the villain can do nothing most of the time. But the mass dialogues, hero elevations and other action scenes work in favor of the movie as the audience are impressed by most of them. There are some whistle-worthy moments in the film and the sentiment scenes are okay as well. On the whole, ‘Bhagavanth Kesari’ is just a tad bit different from regular Balakrishna movies but not completely new. He pleases the masses and his fans but people who might expect something new and refreshing in terms of story and screenplay might be a bit disappointed.
Performances:
Balayya showed variation both in terms of his look and acting in ‘Bhagavanth Kesari’. The salt and pepper looked suited the senior hero quite well. Though he did not try something completely out of the box in terms of acting, we don’t see the regular Balakrishna in this movie. He tried to bring something new to the table despite retaining his mark mass dialogues and swagger. We can see his mass hero action avatar in some episodes like pre-interval, interval and a few portions in the second half. He appeared sincere in the role of a father figure who gives his everything for his daughter.
We see the actor in Sreeleela for the first time in this movie. He showed the innocence and sensitivity required for Vijji’s character convincingly. She did very well in emotional scenes where she pleads Balayya to leave her alone. This movie becomes a memorable one in her career. Kajal Agarwal is strictly okay in her role. Her looks and acting appear a bit strange. Arjun Rampal did well in the villain role. He is quite stylish and he should be appreciated for trying to dub for his role in Telugu. Ravi Shankar is quite good and the rest of the artists were adequate.
Technicians:
Thaman gave the required music for a mass movie. Everything should not be compared with ‘Akhanda’ as he delivered what is required for ‘Bhagavanth Kesari’. Songs don’t have a lot of significance in the movie. While the theme song brings a lot of energy while Uyyalo Uyyala is decent. He elevated the heroism scenes and action sequences with his background scores. But the sounds often give a repetitive feeling. Ram Prasad’s camera work is good as there is nothing extraordinary. The movie is decent visually. The production values are top-notch.
Director Anil Ravipudi did not go for his regular style but did not try something totally new at the same time. He managed to find a balance between the two and made it work. He successfully presented Balayya in a different look and proved to everyone that he is second to none when it comes to elevations and mass scenes. His dialogues have a lot of punch as they sound trendy but attract the masses instantly. Overall, Anil did well as a writer and director.
Verdict: New Balayya In A Regular Mass Story!