'Sharabha', starring Aakash Kumar, Mishti Chakravarty, Napoleon and others in key roles, hit the screens this Thursday. Here is our review.
Story:
Set in a village named Singapuram, 'Sharabha' is a socio-fantasy. Chandraksha (Punnet Issar) has to perform 18 rigorous poojas over a span of several years to be able to become a ruler of the human world and of ghosts. His son has successfully completed 17 pujas by slaying a virgin every time.
For the finale, he needs to sacrifice Divya (Mishty Chakraborty), the daughter of a Union Minister. As expected, she has the protection of our hero Sarabha (Aakash Kumar) and his widowed mother (Jayaprada), who herself has a backstory involving Chandraksha's backstory.
Analysis:
'Sharabha' is cut to a template for sure. In the initial portions, the evil side is introduced through cutting-edge graphical output. The bad guys are of mythical proportions, the villain has extraordinary abilities, he bays for blood (in fact, his 'adda' has a separate drainage system for blood to flow without interruption), so on and so forth.
The hero, on the other hand, indulges in below average stuff like boozing with his uncle (Nasser) and a sidekick. He loves recording dances and habitually teases the heroine with the full knowledge that she is the daughter of a Union Minister. Since she is super rich and powerful, she falls in love with our hero. This is the only 'ritual' in this film that comes without the accompaniment of mantras (Thank God).
The love story is so funny that our Union Minister's daughter doesn't offer any help to the hero and his mother (Jayaprada) when they want to leave the village fearing for their lives. The chemistry between the lead pair goes for a toss with immature lines worsting worrying songs.
The story-telling is entirely muddled in the first half. When the hero is around, the tempo seems to suffer but for the climax. It's almost predictable as soon as the good Swamy reveals that our hero is the chosen one by God.
The villain has supernatural powers except when he is kidnapping the heroine. Dialogue writer Sai Madha Burra assumes that this wannabe God of all souls, living and dead, knows English. So, he has the hero use words like fire and mortuary in his very first scene with the mythical evil guy.
The hero, a debutant and apparently related to the producer, comes with stiff expressions. In the beginning itself, he asks for a leeway. "Hero avvali ani evarikaina untundi kada, encourage cheyandi," our Aakash dude beseeches. He is portrayed as a major star at times. A massy song, a comedy fight that graduates to become a serious fight. He gets everything he wants on a platter and through the computer (this is a VFX-heavy movie).
To be fair to the makers, the last 30 minutes is interesting. This is where the narration is gripping. The visuals are efficient (the track of Mishti being possessed is very well done) and the performances are impressive in these portions. Jayaprada does a confident act when she is possessed. The way the evil men try to install a huge Chanda Bhairavi idol is good.
Koti's RR is routine and overall, it's on the lines of what we have seen in socio-fantasy movies involving a fight between God and Evil. The cinematography by Ramana Salva is below average.
Verdict:
'Sharabha' is an ambitious film filled with VFX shots in large number. The graphic shots and the prosthetic make-up are adept. However, the writers and director N Narasimha Rao fail in engaging the audience with a breathtaking screenplay that is marred by run-of-the-mill tracks. Too many elements are old fashioned.
