Rating: 2.75/5
Introduction
The only saving grace of Lakshyam is the energetic exposition by hero Gopichand, smooth and sophisticated performance of Jagapathi Babu and the glamour radiated by Anushka. The story, screenplay and direction follow an asymmetric graph of highs and lows . Telugu film industry, these days, is making only two types of films. Hit or Flop. Moreover, almost all the flop films are being condescendingly described as Average or Just Average. This film may be classified in this category.
Plot
Chandu (Gopichand) is a fun-loving college guy. He has this genial habit of making other laugh and generally enjoys life. A college beauty Indu (Anushka) falls in love with him after the usual hiccups. Chandu’s elder brother, Bose (Jagapathi Babu) is a sincere cop in Hyderabad. He wants to put an end to the atrocities of dreaded rowdy Section Sankar (Yashpal Sharma), who resorts to land grabbing and makes illegal settlements. His modus operandi is to kill his opponents and destroy the evidence completely before the police arrive on the scene of crime, which earns him the nick name Section Sankar. Hand-in-glove with DIG (Dev Raj), he outsmarts the efforts of Bose. When the tug of war between the two becomes hot, Bose is killed by Sankar’s men. Also, Indu is abducted by his own friend (Amith ), who is actually a henchman of the villain. The hero has to act urgently to bring peace to the soul of his brother and freedom to his girl. The Lakshyam is set. The manner in which the hero accomplishes his Lakshyam forms the rest of the story.
Performance
Gopichand looks impressive in dance numbers. His timing of dialogue and stunts are a great watch. Jagapathi Babu’s role as hero’s brother is given lot of importance. The role is a major asset to the film. Anushka is full of sensuous glamour. There is lot of hip shakes which might help her climb on the top with her next films. Kalyani’s role as JB’s wife is routine. Kota as father of JB and Gopichand is impressive, but embarrassing as TV journalist. Brahmanandam, Venu Madhav and Ali succeeded in making the audience laugh. For the first time, Dharmavarapu received good footage with linkage to the main story.
Technical Values
Lakshyam seems to be inspired by Bollywood flick Ghayal. In Telugu, it has similarities with SV Krishna Reddy’s movie with Jagapathi Babu titled Athade Oka Sainyam. There is lot of expectation for this film. Screenplay is good in the first half. A few minutes before the climax, it slumps. Dialogues of Venu Madhav, Brahmanandam and Ali are laced with double meanings. Songs are good with excellent music by Mani Sharma. Fights are composed well. But too much of avoidable graphic work spoiled the impact. Photography is good. The visual of Jagapathi Babu taken as Dhishti Bomma on the roads is planned well. The climax part of the film sounds very dramatic.
Judgment
The movie missed its target, Lakshyam. Some of the striking commercial elements like heroine’s glamour and stunts, homely image of Jagapathi Babu, and overall performance of the hero might help the film swim in the safe waters.
