Built around Brahmanandam this comedy is meant without any pretention to
exploit the skills of the central actor and build two hours of cinema around
him. For props he has other colleagues who have a repute in similar space, if
not as high. Just when we have Sunil graduate from the status of a comedian to
that of a hero, we have the top of the rack comedian deciding to take an entire
script rather than steal the show with miserly screen space in pot boilers with
big time heroes.
Jasmine Phalguna alias Jaffa, the central character is a software engineer who
is in jail accused of abetting the suicide of his colleague Sujit (Chakravarthy)
though the actual cause is the boss at work Melkote. Don’t take any of this
seriously, as this too is full of laughs and guffaws. In jail we have a
complete assembly of guys who are there just to make life simple for the
viewer. We have Father Suyodhana (Raghu Babu) who bores the life out of the
guys with his version of the Bible, we have the in charge Inspector/Warden
(Venela Kishore). What speeds up Jaffa’s entry into the jail is when his friend
Alladin (Venu Madhav) assures him of assistance from this well connected guy
Quli Qutub Shah Chasmee Badoor Noori. However at the police station he forgets
the name and gets remanded to prison.
In prison he soon becomes very popular and adorns the role of the local
counselor. Anyone with a problem runs to him for cover or solutions. This
includes the jail warden. They both plan an escape. However there is a huge mix
up and the two land up in a grave with the Warden dead and Jaffa with a cell
phone. The rest of the film is about the abortive attempts to raise from the
grave and reach out to people through the cell phone. Also we have Tapasve
Katragada (Ali) who is the investigator on the prowl to get hold of Jaffa who
has escaped from jail.
This laugh riot entertains but bites more than it can chew. If only the editor
had been strict with his scissor, we would have had a winner on hand. Even
otherwise the film is worth a look. If nothing it show cases the brilliance of
Brahmanandam and reiterates that a film need not have the usual hero and
heroine singing songs and dancing to the tunes of a hundred piece orchestra
tucked off in the backdrop. This is laugh riot and could have been better. Far
better. The technical support fails the film. The stars lift it. The post
interval unfortunately meanders and robs the comedy of spirit. The film is
recommended, if nothing for the brilliance of Brahmanandam, if that was ever in
doubt.
L. Ravichander.