 Betting high hopes, Tarakarathna has made a comeback with ‘Venkatadri’ directed by V. Samudra and produced by Nandamuri Mohana Krishna on Ramakrishna Cine Studios banner. Mandeep Takkar and Sneha Takkar played the heroines in this film based on Rayalseema factionism, which was released on 20th of February.
Story
A life sentenced prisoner soon to be hanged-till-death, Venkatadri Naidu (Tarakarathna) is a noble guy in heart. Jailor (Sivakrishna) associates himself with him for his good deeds and heeds to Venkatadri’s wish which is to perform in a music concert in the presence of music maestros and to donate the generated collections for orphanages.
With special permission from the Chief Minister (Sharath), Venkatadri’s wish becomes true for real. The Chief Minister’s daughter Shruthi (Mandeep Takkar) falls in love during the concert and she starts brag Venkatadri to teach her the nuances of music. Meanwhile, one day Sheshadri’s followers assault on Venkatadri in jail for unknown reasons.
 Why was he in jail in the first place for killing seven persons? Who’s Sheshadri and why would he want Venkatadri dead? Get these questions answered in the movie hall.
Performance of Cast
Factionism subjects is the lucky mascot for Rathna’s family as it attained stardom for all the stars and Tarakarathna believed strongly in the same. There is a little visible improvement in his acting and speech compared to his earlier films. We can expect nothing more as the character fails to impress. Debutants Mandeep Takkar and Sneha Takkar have done their fair share of exposure which attracts the crowd.
Ranganath, Hariprasad did well within the scope of their roles. Director Sharath as Chief Minister, RamaRaju as Home Minister and Sivakrishna as Jailor are Okay. Ridhima’s character is also on the same line with just passable performance.
Work of the Crew
 Music and re-recording rendered by Srikanth Dev is neither great nor bad. Editing by Nandamuri Hari should have been made tighter especially in the first half which is slow and tests patience levels. Story and Dialogues by Ghatikachalam are mere average. Photography by P.S. Babu does the job of capturing the scenes. Fights composed by Selva and Satish are not up to the mark. Making values of the banner is good but it could have been better on the whole.
Director’s Portrayal
Known for his action flicks, V. Samudra’s work is plausible in the film with this subject based on factionism. But, he didn’t work upright on the script which makes it boring at times. Moreover, the prolonged screenplay in the first half makes on lose interest which should have been cut short slickly.
Criticism
Die-hard vengeance is the main fact of ‘Venkatadri’ which sure might have satisfied Tarakarathna for he was the only one who haven’t done a faction subject until now. Does the audience get satisfied? It’s kind of doubtful as the film is not entertaining as expected even for people who love factionistic subjects. The cast and crew have done a good job yet star value is bit amiss in the film which is just an average watch for film goers.
Verdict: Watch it without expectations
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