'Paisaa Vasool', starring Balakrishna in the role of a gangster, hits the screens on Sept 1. Here is our review of the mass entertainer.
Story:
Gangster Theda Singh (Balakrishna) can bash up any number of men in a jiffy and shoot in the air a zillion times at the drop of a hat. He is sought to be employed as an undercover gangster by a RAW official (played by Kabir Bedi), whose main aim is to catch Bob Morley (Vikramjeet Virk), a dreaded international mafia leader.
In the midst of flirting with a bar dancer (Kyra Dutt, who turns out to be an ACP) and wooing Harika (debutante Muskan) in the neighbourhood, Theda Singh also has a violent brush with a Minister's (played by Dr. Srikanth) hoodlums.
Harika is searching for her missing sister Sarika (Shriya Saran's entry happens in the second half).
But it is not hunky dory as Theda Singh has a secret flashback, which plays out in the backdrop of Portugal.
What is his mission, how did he meet Sarika and what happened to her, so on and so forth, are answered in the latter half.
Analysis:
More than a one-man show, 'Paisaa Vasool' is better described as a one-mouth show. In a long time perhaps, no other male lead got to spoke these many lines. The story itself plays a second fiddle to punch lines.
'Following unnavadni, follow avtana?', so goes one line. 'Image blur aindi. Aina sare.. Neeku, nee blur ku kooda paguluddi', the man says in the film's millionth action sequence. By the way, a fight every 10 minutes is visited upon the unsuspecting audience.
'Meeru bayapadithe nakem vastadi bey.. meeda padithene kick vastadi,' the Puri hero says, provoking the goons. 'I am a freedom fighter. Smugglers freedom kosam fight chesthoo untanu', so goes another 'theda' punch line.
You can be sure of only two elements while watching the movie: Any second, Balayya could brandish a gun and break into an unrealistic fight, and any bloody second, he could say lines like these: 'Godavallo Gold Medal vacchinodni.. blah blah'.
In what may be called one of Telugu cinema's weirdest moments, the lover girl breaks into an item song-like dance and lyrics on the occasion of Karva Chautha. This comes moments after Balayya tells her that wives spend their lifetime training husbands and therefore, they wish to have the same man as their husband for many more lives, thanklessly borrowing from a WhatsApp forward.
Theda Singh enters the street in a drunken state, creates a nuisance at an odd hour, fires several rounds of bullets in the air, all of which seems to stun the heroine. But the next morning, when he flirts with her, this girl reacts as if she is being charmed by the town's most eligible software employee. May be, she was a vamp in her previous 'janam', which is why she doesn't see anything scary about a trigger-happy rogue pursuing her.
Such moments abound. Shriya Saran, we are told, is a journalist. But she almost enjoys the company of a self-confessed smuggler. She is called everything from 'Papa' to 'Figure' and 'Tamara Puvvu' in the very first meeting. And when she tells the other dumb girl that she kissed the smuggler in an unconscious state, the latter animatedly asks her, 'Pedithe pettav le.. Baguntada?' If ever a film had two dumbest female leads behaving as if they were born to be romanced by the same scary male, it has to be this.
In another eerie sequence, Shriya dances to the 'Mava Ek Peg La' tune just minutes after running for life. Except for 'Kannu kannu kalisayi' song, Balayya and Shriya hardly get to be in love, busy as the film is in bombarding us with one action scene after another
Balayya was seemingly enticed by Puri's dialogues. Since he doesn't watch others' movies, he couldn't have been expected to know that the pre-climax twist bears an unmistakable resemblance to one of Mahesh Babu's biggest blockbusters.
Others, barring Dr. Srikanth, deliver forgettable performances.
Anup Rubens' music passes muster. Mukesh G's cinematography is sub-par.
Verdict:
A wafer-thin story line, too many action sequences, over-indulgent hero vs villain scenes, cliched ideas do the film in.
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