The trailer of Ramayya Vasthavayya had plenty to indicate that it was a run-of-the-mill regular Tollywood entertainer. However promised to show NTR Jr in a new avatar and promised a lot more. However when you look at whether or not it delivers those promises, it is a mystery that remains to be seen.
Plot: Nandu (Jr. NTR) is trying to woo Aakarsha (Samantha) by hook or crook. He uses every trick in the book and follows those tricks to the dot. A few people are trying to kill Aaraksha’s father (Mukesh Rishi). The rest of the plot is about the motive this attempt how it pertains to Nandu.
Analysis: Hero bashing up the bad guys by the dozen whilst defying all known laws of physics; menacing villains who would stop at nothing; stereotypical lovely lasses as the leading ladies; and dialogues that induce whistles and claps – Ramayya Vasthavayya has it all. But will it be enough to send the box office ringing?
In his role as Nandu, NTR Jr shows lot of commitment and has enough screen presence to sustain the movie. Dialogues are delivered with panache and the diction is spot on as always. His blows and punches no know boundaries. He is supposed to portray every kind of emotion there is in this movie. Anger, Love, Hatred, Grief and you name it. He does well and delivers in style. He is one of the biggest pluses or maybe it’s only plus.
Samantha and Shruti Hasan both do well, but their roles are limited to the regular stereotype. Shruti Hasan though has a better scripted role and she does well in justifying it. Supporting cast including Rao Ramesh, Mukesh Rishi, Rohini Hattangadi, Tanikella Bharani, Kota Srinivas Rao and P Ravi Shankar do ample justice to their roles
The music by SS Thaman is good enough. So where does this movie fall out of line? Why, despite all these actors who deliver results, Ramayya Vasthavayya fails to reach the expectations? Here is the main draw back – The Story.
The story of Ramayya Vasthavayya is too main stream and is ridden with clichés and stereotypes that would make you wonder what is new in this film. These days audience want something different and though nobody expects our Telugu Film Industry to churn out radically different movies, one would have expected at least a little dose of freshness in a movie of this magnitude.
The screenplay wavers from delightfully slow to breathtakingly fast at times. But how many times can you eat the same dish before getting bored by it. The director in his attempt to keep the commercial values intact, has ended up dishing out the very same formula that we have been seeing since decades.
Verdict: If the director wants to serve the same old wine in a fresh new bottle, not many will take the bait. Yes, if considered as another regular Tollywood entertainer, Ramayya Vasthavayya fits the bill. However, it remains to be seen how the audience will accept the same old recipe served over and over again. I am going with 2/5 for Ramayya Vasthavayya. Watch it only if you want to see NTR give it his best shot in a losing cause; holding together the loose ends.
Reviewer – Sriram Madhav
