Directed by : Harish Shankar
Produced by : Dil Raju
Banner : Sri Venkateswara Creations
Music : SS Thaman
Release Date : 2013-10-11
Ramayya Vastavayya is one of the most hyped up project of the year for many reasons. NTR, who has delivered his first forty crore film with Baadshah teamed up with Harish Shankar, who scored a blockbuster with his previous film Gabbar Singh. NTR and Harish duo doing a film on successful producer Dil Raju's banner made it a super hot product in the trade. Did Ramayya live up to the hype surrounding it?
What is it about?
Nandu (NTR) falls in love with Akarsha (Samantha) in first look and teases her and follows her until she reciprocates. One fine day Nandu is invited to Akarsha's sister's marriage. There we get to know that Nandu is a man on a mission. He has a bad past and he targets everyone that caused pain to him.
Performances:
NTR is totally different in this film. His makeover, especially in the first half of the movie is a surprise. His comic timing and different body language is absolute joy to watch. He is good in emotional scenes and his dances in a couple of songs will please his fans. Samantha is lovely and gorgeous as Akarsha. She doesn't have much scope to perform, but she leaves a mark on the movie with her good screen presence. Shruti Haasan's character is cliched and annoying at times. She played a brief yet important role, but bad writing didn't help her much. Ravi Shankar is good as one of the villains. Rao Ramesh has an important role as the investigating officer. He has a very good scene in which he excelled as an actor. All others did their bit.
Technicalities:
Music by Thaman is average. Couple of songs are good musically as well as on screen. Background score is good in parts. Cinematography is alright. Nothing great about Chota's work in this movie. Editing is not up to the mark. The film drags on and on in the second half. Urgent editing of scenes in second hour is needed. Dialogues written by Harish Shankar are just okay. He excelled as a dialog writer in Mirapakay and Gabbar Singh. In this movie, his work as dialog writer doesn't stand out. Story and screenplay are routine. Direction is good in first half, but Harish faltered big time in the second half. Both the halves of the film goes entirely in opposite directions and Harish failed to strike a balance between them, thus giving the feeling of watching two films on single ticket.
Analysis:
Except for NTR's characterization and youthful style in the first hour, Ramayya Vastavayya offers nothing new. It is a very routine subject which has been made many times in Telugu till now. Recent hit Racha has a similar storyline. Most of the scenes in this movie resemble that film. First half of the film is mildly entertaining and races ahead at a smooth pace. Although there is nothing fascinating about the first half, NTR makes it special with his performance and style.
The story takes a U turn during the interval and the mood shifts completely. Second half has no comedy or entertainment of any means. Shruti Haasan character which should have evoked sympathy annoys too much and one will literally wait for her character to be eliminated! Harish Shankar fails to get back on track once the flashback opens. It gets heavy towards the end and excessive violence in last half an hour will not please hardcore fans of NTR too.
Ramayya Vastavayya is a strict no no to family audience. NTR fans may like it as their favorite hero has shown a different angle in him. Masses who like to watch bloodshed and mindless action may find it worth a watch. As per content of the film and cinematic experience, Ramayya leaves nothing to take home. NTR's sincere attempt has gone wasted on a mediocre script. His wait for that much needed blockbuster continues.
Verdict: Routine Ramayya!
