The premise is comedy, the style designedly over the top. Given this, it is
up to the audience to sit back and take it or leave it. To the uninitiated the
film is a Tollywood version on Rohit Shetty’s Bol Bachchan. The comic caper
functions within a very clearly defined territory and in that sense makes clear
that it is for the viewer to take it or leave it depending on whether the
viewer finds comfort in the said zone.
The story deals with Rahman (Ram) and his sister Sania (Anjali) who are forced
to leave the city and at the instance of their foster uncle Narayana (MS
Narayana) reach the village of Bhimarajapuram which is governed by a whole set
of seeming hooligans under the charge of Balram (Venkatesh) and his man Friday
Eddlodu (Jayaprakash Reddy) Balram has an instinctive intolerance to people
speaking lies and would get disproportionately violent with anyone who speaks
lies. He has a fetish for the English language as has his Man Friday.
The relationship between Rahman who is introduced to Balram as Ram and his
sister Sania as Sarita grows of a whole set of falsehoods and thus the attempts
to hide some only lands a few more. Unlike Premchand’s Gaban, this is fun
filled and the script is full of Rohit Shetty inclusive of situational foolery
and destruction aplenty. With a cliff hanger climax, the audience is given a
treat of English indulgences by the actors.
Without an iota of doubt the film belongs to Venkatesh and Jayaprakash Reddy.
Venkatesh is aging and aging well. Not for him the usual romance but not yet
the non-romantic space either. It is a crucial stage of an artist’s career and
it is obvious that Venkatesh is handling it wonderfully. In fact, arguably, if
there is one definite area where the film can claim to be a tad better than the
original than it is the performance of this central character. There is
something more interestingly down to earth in Venkatesh in compare to the
performance by Ajay Devgun. In a light hearted film script of this kind,
performances often tend to get secondary and it is the treatment that matters.
Having seen the original, one would expect the redo to offer something
different in treatment. That is not to be. This is a faithful rehash inclusive
of its loud decibel levels. One very interesting aspect of the original was the
fine sense of dressing that the female cast. Here it goes haywire and they
simply fail to deliver. Of course when it comes to Kovai Sarala as the mother
(Archana Puran Singh in the original) the over the top level and design is
obvious and intended. Ram tries his best and falls short in compare with
Abhishek who has such a wonderful sense of timing for humour.
The director K. Vijay Bhasker has the task cut out for him and delivers just
that. No attempt to strain and offer anything different. Perhaps the script was
not a bad idea for the native humour that is distinctly different in the region
and thus could have offered a lot more to offer if experimented. None of that
though is undertaken. The film remains true to its original and thus is a
salute to the school of cinema that is defined by Rohit Shetty and nearly
monopolised. The formula to the bank is always a good bet and so believes
K.Vijay Bhasker.
As the title song suggests the film is Jolly Jolly Masala Venky Ram Masala.