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Nandamuri Balakrishna’s ‘Srimannarayana’ has released today across the world. Parvathi Melton and Isha Chawla are the leading ladies while Ravi Chavali is the director. The movie has been produced on Yellow Flowers Entertainment banner. Let us see how it is.

Story :

Srimannarayana (Balakrishna) is a courageous and aggressive journalist who fights for justice. He exposes the various scams of an evil gang comprising of Minister Bylu Reddy (Jayaprakash Reddy) , Harshad Kotari (Suresh) and Pulikeshava Reddy (Supreeth). The gang loses a lot of money because of Srimannarayana’s activities.

In the meantime, Kalki Narayana Murthy (Vijaykumar) is seen as a social activist who fights for the welfare of farmers. He also happens to be Srimannarayana’s father and he forms a Jai Kisan Trust for the welfare of farmers. Public responds in a big way to this initiative and the fund receives donations to the tune of 5000Crores. Bank officer Rajan Mudaliar (Kota Srinivasa Rao) , Corporate Hospital chief Srikar Prasad (Nagineedu) and IG Marthand (Rao Ramesh) also support the initiative.

But just as the funds are about to be put to use, Narayana Murthy dies in mysterious circumstances. The amount of 5000 Crores goes missing. Suspicion falls on Srimannarayana and he is arrested. From the jail, Srimannarayana must fight to prove his innocence and trace the missing money. He is shocked to find a trail of betrayal and greed. Will Srimannarayana succeed in recovering the money for the benefit of farmers? That forms the story.

Plus Points :

Balakrishna is good in the role of an angry journalist. He has done well in the emotional scenes and his dialogue delivery is impressive as always. His pre-interval costume in white robes is good. Isha Chawla looks good and has sufficient oomph to attract the masses. She has good potential as an actress and will go a long way in the industry if she takes care of her career well.

Comedy scenes between Balakrishna, Parvati Melton, Duvvasi Mohan and Isha Chawla are a major highlight for the film. Dialogues for these episodes have been cleverly written and the hidden double meanings will work with the masses.

Vijaykumar is decent. Kota Srinivasa Rao, Jayaprakash Reddy and Rao Ramesh are good. Nagineedu does not have much to do but he turns in a dignified performance. Krishna Bhagawan and M.S.Narayana have a few good moments between them.

Concept of the film and basic story line has appeal. Balakrishna’s dialogues on scams and the CBI evoked a good response from the public. The last song “Aaru Adugula” is good and has been shot well.

Minus Points :

Care should have been taken with respect to Balakrishna’s wigs and costumes in songs. Also, there is no justification in the story for Balakrishna to appear in various costumes except for the Narasimha Swamy look.

Parvati Melton looks uncomfortably thin, almost anorexic. She is a major turn off and her glamour has all but disappeared. She needs to put on some weight immediately.

The second half of the film and the climax are weak points. Climax in particular is highly cliched and does not bring about any interest in the film. Also, the CBI does not seek to investigate the destination account to which the 5000 Crores were transferred. It is a matter of simple logic to checkout the account to which money was transferred illegally.

Some scenes where Balakrishna moves in and out of the jail with ease look silly.

Technical Aspects :

Cinematography is good and the visuals have a nice feel to them. Editing is ok. Chakri’s music has nothing to write home about but background score is alright. Dialogues are good in places. Choreography could have been better

Ravi Chavali does not impress too much with his direction. He has managed to do a good job in a few scenes but overall, better care should have been taken. He has not pulled off the emotional aspects of the story well.

Verdict :

Srimannarayana is a film that has the content to satisfy Balakrishna’s fans. For regular movie goers, the movie is a very routine fare. A good performance from Balakrishna and some mass comedy scenes will strike a chord with the masses. The concept of farmer welfare will also appeal to some. A better second half and a more interesting climax would have helped.

123telugu.com Rating – 3/5

Reviewed by Mahesh S Koneru

Click Here For ‘Srimannarayana’ Telugu Review

Legend:
5 – Flawless
4 – Must Watch
3 – One Time Watch
2 – Wait for the DVD
1 – Stay Away