Shivam Review

Srinivas Reddy leaves no stone unturned to enlist a bevy of entertainers, ranging from Krishna Bhagawan, Srinivas Reddy, Thotapalli Madhu, Shakalaka Shankar, Tagubothu Ramesh,  Chalaki Chanti, Sathyam Rajesh Posani Krishna Murali, Jayaprakash Reddy, Prabhas Srinu, Fish Venkat, Saptagiri to the Megastar of all - Brahmanandam. The director wrongly thought a film is made up of many parts, which are greater than the whole.  That is not so.  He who takes the story lightly is the 'lighter'.

In brief, the story line is about a egotistic maniac and a luck maniac locking horns with a breezy lover boy, who at present faces no other problem in life except an almost unemotional girl.  This is reason enough for the audience to be not involved.

In his attempt to make a laugh riot with doses of romance and action, the writer-director thanklessly forgot the basics.  When almost no character is emotionally involved, why would the audience be?  On the one hand, you have Vineet Kumar (of Vikramarkudu fame) playing Bhoji Reddy and this arrogant, ruthless feudal lord of Jadcherla is agitated that one Shiva (Ram) humiliatingly beat his son in public.  A whole village is waiting to see Bhoji Reddy humiliated further.  On the other hand, Abhi (Abhimanyu Singh), a trigger-happy businessman is hunting for the same Shiva.  For all the big-time intensity built around their thirst for seeking Shiva, the hero is shown to be carrying on with his breezy life, totally innocent of even a punch line.  The issue is that after establishing the hero's character as a Kick-crazy one, the writer fills the rest of the film with Halwa Rajs and forgets to come up with that challenging Partner.

Shiva has this knack of helping lovers elope in the nick of the moment.  After rubbing a Minister on the wrong side, he escapes from the city and bumps into Tanu (Raashi Khanna), a college student.  The narration flits between the attempts of Bhoji Reddy and Abhi to trace Shiva and Shiva's stalking of Tanu.  When it is interval time, a supposed twist is revealed but we later realize that the more there is scope for substantial story-telling, the more glib the narration becomes.

Srinivas Reddy's intention may have been to deliver a rom-com and not a rom-com-action flick where the hero beats to pulp sword-wielding, dhoti-clad goondas (incidentally, the one gang brandishing daggers is seen in Goa, not in Kurnool or Jedcherla!).  But if a comedy was sought to be achieved with these kinds of characters, then he surely erred.

A flashback that comes like an unwelcome jolt makes the film's sham sentimentality complete.  A heroine who puts that 'my way or highway' test to her lover boy completes the film's imbecility.

The scene where Ram takes Rashi Khanna to the villain's house to meet Fish Venkat to get a confirmation, is the one place where the film comes across as a script having a hero and a villain.  Otherwise, the climax is a cop out, complete with that 'Mirchi lanti kurradu' moment where someone is converted in less than 120 seconds.  Earlier, Shiva had converted Nagineedu, too.

DSP's music keeps reminding us that there is a love story, however half-baked, in the film.  Cliched song conceptualizations are a reflection of the snail pace at which the love story moves.

Ram shows his verve in all the songs and fights, he has a glowing face and looks charming in this role.  Rashi Khanna is made of a different material, she is not someone who can play a college girl showing attitude; may she get roles that make her look adorable and graceful at once (something like 'Oohalu Gusagusalade').

Brahmanandam is again a frustrated scapegoat bursting with impotent rage and mindlessness.  Vineet and Abhimanyu pass muster.  Fish Venkat leaves a mark while others are forgettable.

The cinematography is A-rated, the song Andamaina Lokam stands out for its excellent picturization.

Verdict: It is like an extended parody of a well-known film.  A wafer-thin story line and characters that are superficially involved themselves, everyone completes the 'lighter'.

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