Pilla Nuvvu Leni Jeevitham Review

There was a time (and this was till recently) when most directors believed that a debutante from a star family must be projected as a super-hero who can spout the maximum possible number of punchlines.  Then, at the drop of a hat, the debutante with a silver spoon would compare himself with 'simhalu' and 'pululu'.  But even before Encounter Shankar got vexed listening to all this, some filmmakers discovered the pitfalls of portraying an inflated heroism that was abundantly inspired by NTR Jr's scorching success.

In this changed scenario, 'Pilla Nuvvu Leni Jeevitham' is apt for a newcomer like Sai Dharam Tej for the reason that it doesn't get him do three things: 1. Compare himself with, well, wild animals.  2.  Do unrealistic stunts at the college campus, canteen, the nearest temple, Charminar, Qutub Minar, Kulu, Manali, so on and so forth.  3.  Speak in glorifying terms about love and why youngsters like him fall in love in order to save the world order.

Sai plays Seenu, an intelligent guy who has just got into a big college.  The girl he loves (Regina Cassandra as Siri) has been going through a tempestuous phase, and Seenu's fortuitous entry into her life changes their destiny.  Maisamma (Jagapathi Babu) is out to save a political career by getting an investigative journalist (Shafi as Shafi) killed, for he has just been hired to save the political career of a CM contender.

Seenu plots a scheme to meet the feared thug and narrate to him a story.  Maisamma, being soft cornered towards Seenu, agrees to listen to his story and is entertained in the process.  In narrating his story, Seenu fools the self-priding goon by concealing the identity of his sweetheart and that of the man she has been searching for.  When the secret is out, a showdown between the two comes along.  Least do they know that they will ultimately have to face a third player.

AS Ravikumar Chowdhary  of 'Yagnam' fame delivers his best output, technically.  When Maisamma challenges Prabhakar (Prakash Raj) exactly the way he was challenged by Seenu, you know the writer is intelligent.  Seenu meets Prabhakar and instead of routinely going about displaying his heroism in such a scene, he talks about his dream kids, Bunny and Chinni.  The action sequence with a song playing in the background makes an impact; in this scene, the director's taste for dishing out a rustic touch even in an otherwise non-rural set-up can be seen.  The climax scenes may not be perfect but since one has already bought into the hero's cunning ways by then, one loves the last 15 minutes.

Raghu Babu plays a lengthy role and he entertains with his style of humour.  Sathya Krishna as his wife is good.  JP and Duvvasi Mohan are seen in a small-time comedy track, Tagubothu Ramesh in a cameo is OK.

Regina Cassandra fits the bill and after 'Power', she looks a bit off colour though.

Sai Dharam Tej, the mega hero with high expectations on him, fares well.  His dance moves are to be watched out for, he shines in the one or two action scenes that are there.  But it is his easy chemistry with one and all that may be his biggest asset.  Jagapathi Babu in his 'Legend' avatar looks fine.  Although he has to seem to be that cool villain most of the time, he doesn't slip into a been-there-done-that act of the 'Current Teega' variety.  Prakash Raj is a let down, though.

Anup Rubens's music is surely an asset.  Dasaradhi Sivendra's cinematography and Ganesh's action choreography are fine.  Dialogues by Daimond Ratnam & A.S. Ravi Kumar Chowdary are apt.

Verdict: A comedy-action entertainer that is as cool as 'Race Gurram'.

Rating: 3.25/5

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