An action-oriented flick that revolves around the Police Academy.
Story
Radha Krishna (Nitin) is the son of the Commissioner of Police Nagendra Naidu (Nagababu), who has the support of his mother Sarala (Kovai Sarala) for his careless attitude. The Home Minister of the State (Babumohan) passes a G.O. that allows every honest individual to join the police force so as to bring in more people into maintaining the law and order of the land. A whole mob of people (Sravana Sandhya, Brahmanandam, Satyam Rajesh, Tirupathi Prakash, Tarzan, Priyanka, etc.) including a homely Krishnaveni (Bhavana) queue up at the Police Academy headed by (Ramyakrishna). Eventually, it’s learnt that one of those who joined the Academy thus is a naxalite on the run! Was it wrong to allow everyone into the police force?
Performances
Nitin does an okay job, but his character is much limited and doesn’t give much scope to emote. He has a differently styled attire, which fits him okay. Bhavana looks the girl next door and performs okay, but her character is shallow too. Nagababu as the Commissioner of Police has a lengthy role to play and he’s his usual. Ramyakrishna has a short role as the Director of the A.P. Police Academy. Kapil Khanna as the professional killer from Dubai is fitting. Kota Srinivasa Rao as the main villain Prem Kumar has a rolethat seriously lacks depth or definition. Brahmanandam, Satyam Rajesh, Tirupathi Prakash, Ali and all others are all wasted, like the rest of the lead cast. Tanu Royappears in an item song that’s totally unnecessary for the film.
Technical Departments:
The plot point that anyone can join the police force is innovative. However, the screenplay is totally flat. The first half lacks any story movement, yet has an interesting interval bang. However, the debutant director G.V. fails in keeping the interest through the second half. The taking is seriously affected by various inconsistencies. While his story narration and screenplay seem to be good, he somehow fails in the overall job of running the direction department well. Camerawork is particularly good, but DI work brings in inconsistencies pertaining to focus and lighting. Picturization of songs is okay, but the song placement is totally nonsensical. Choreography offers good moments to the hero to portray his skill but is not a wow. The sets used for songs indicate commendable work bythe Art department. Fights are executed in style, without any slow-motion highlighting, which makes them worth watching. Dialogues are just okay, but they could have more punch given the theme of the film. Music score is good, but some of the tunes are directly lifted – sye kurraaDE… from Shake it ( Naksha), naa vayasE puvvula poTlam… from prEm jaal mein… ( Jis Des Mein Ganga Rahta Hai), and parts of Yahoo Yahoo… from Hutch phone ammaayi… ( Godava); Don and Crazy Frog tracks can be heard all over the film. as a part of the BGM. Lyrics by Anantha Sriram leave much to expect, while Bhaskarabhatla’s mass-oriented song delivers with the goods. Lyrics could have been affected by the improper song placement too. Editing could have been much crisper. Costumes for the lead roles are eye-catching. However, giving branded wear and formal attires to the imprisoned villain and to Brahmanandam doesn’t make much sense; makeup and hairstyling for the lead artistes complements the costumes and brings in a stylish look to the hero and a homely looks to the heroine, as appropriate to their characters. Production values are rich, and the debut producer Ramesh should be appreciated for spending lavishly for the film; how much of it was useful is a different question.
Bottom Line:
Hero doesn’t seem like a run of the mill story, but the novelty is lost soon. The taking and shallow characterizations mar the film. Not even one character is rightly established in the film! Add to this the quite improper song placement, and ill logic, and all these aspects together influence the film’s run.
Cast: Nitin, Bhavana, Nagababu, Ramyakrishna, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Brahmanandam, Babumohan, Ali, Kovai Sarala, Satyam Rajesh, Tirupathi Prakash, Tarzan, Malladi Raghava, Vizag Prasad, Priyanka, Tanu Roy, etc.
Story, Screenplay: G.V. Sudhakar Naidu
Dialogues: Nivas
Dialogue Assistant: Sateesh
Cinematography: C. Ramprasad
Art: Anand Sai
Makeup: P.R. Shashikanth
Costumes: Shaji, Ravi K. Pilla
Choreography: Prem Rakshit, Noble, Shobi
Fights: Kanal Kannan, Nandaraj
Music: Mani Sarma
DTS Mixing: Shyamal Sikdhar
Lyrics: Anantha Sriram, Bhaskarabhatla
Editing: Marthand K. Venkatesh
DI & Visual Effects: Prime Focus
Producer: Manyam Ramesh
Co-director: Vijayasarathi
Direction: G.V. Sudhakar Naidu (debut)
CBFC Rating: U/A
Date of Theatrical Release: October 24, 2008
(TeluguCinema)
