Superstar Kidnap Review

This is a season of crime comedies.  'Super Star Kidnap' is yet another film belonging to this genre that has less mass appeal.  Set in the backdrop of a city, this one throws in three appealing characters in the form of Fish Venkat (a funny gangster who is now crest-fallen), Posani Krishna Murali (a corporator with a dream to be another Pawan Kalyan), and Shraddha Das (an anti-male Old City don, Farah Khan).  Besides, Mahesh Babu is adequately leveraged and footage from his films and real-life appearances are dished out to reach out to his fan base.

It is about three disparate lives, Nandu , Bhupal, Aadarsh, joining hands to kidnap actor Mahesh Babu for selfish reasons.  One is a spoilt brat and son of a Telugu film producer.  Another is a wannabe director who is desperate to narrate a storyline to Mahesh Babu.  The former manipulates him and keeps fooling him.  The brat ruffles the feathers of the third one when he wins over Priya, the latter's girl friend of three years.

The stage is set for a crime comedy when three amateurish youngsters embark on a misadventure to kindap the superstar for a rason but end up committing a series of gaffes that backfire.  More and more quirky characters become their partners when they dupe one after another into buying their idea.

The first half is definitely a treat to watch and leaves no room for boredom.  At 117 minutes of run time, there are no extraneous scenes as the comedy is interspersed with the main plot.  The personal lives of Nandu, Bhupal and Aadarsh receive a pithy treatment.  Except for the pub number, nothing is odd about the first half.  Nani and Tanish make a cool cameo in two separate scenes.

Vennela Kishore gets a lion's share and playing himself, he gets a bit self-conscious and avoidably so.  An underrated comedian, he surely must have got better lines to spout.  The second half itself has scenes that induce a sense of deja vu.

After a while, the plot becomes less and less gripping.  Shraddha Das gets a Thootal Rani kinda role and she is just about OK.  Tagubothu Ramesh disappoints whereas Posani is at his quirky self.

The three actors don't strike magic with Vennela Kishore.

A good thing is that the film doesn't have forced parodies (despite the presence of a wannabe director as a character) or item songs (barring the pub number). There is no forced love story either.  After Priya gets out of the screen, the wannabe director doesn't have a lover waiting for him to become a filmmaker.  A Sushanth Reddy makes the technical departments give a good output, especially the cinematography.

The proceedings are light-veined but a bit convoluted.  After delivering high-brow scenes, the idea comedy is reduced to one of talking low of Vennela Kishore.

Allari Naresh makes a cameo.

The actors all do a good job.  Shraddha Das is a surprise package.

Verdict: A fairly entertaining crime comedy that has a gripping first half and not-so-engaging second half.

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