First time, Jr NTR teamed up with Trivikram for Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava. As Trivikram's latest offing Agnyathavasi was a dud, he is determined to bounce back with Aravinda Sametha. Unlike his previous offerings, Trivikram has chosen a faction based theme for this. Producer Radhakrishna, who bankrolled Agnyathavasi is also hoping to listen positive news with this film. Let's see if Aravinda Sametha fulfils these wishes?.
Narapureddy (Nagababu) and Basireddy (Jagapathi Babu) are two rival faction leaders in remote Rayalaseema from 30 years. Narapureddy decides to contest as MLA. Basireddy’s men attack Narapureddy and his son Veera Raghava Reddy (NTR) leading to mass massacre with huge bloodshed. Grief stricken with the deaths of his father and many others, Veera Raghava Reddy leaves village for peace to prevail. In city, he meets Neelambari (Sunil) and Aravinda (Pooja Hegde). Peace monger Veera Raghava Reddy, however keeps Aravinda and her family at risk with Basireddy still on rage. Eventually, Veera Raghava Reddy comes back to village to seek reconciliation. Will faction gripped Seema retain peace?
To begin with, Trivikram stepped into those shoes which he never worn before. Yes, NTR is though familiar for these script, Trivikram is not so. But, he was honest and modest at conveying the old and multiple times tested faction-peace message without indulging in any tricky attempts to divert from central theme. In the process, he also missed the basic commercial elements as screenplay went out of focus many a times with inconsistent characters testing our patience in a rather slow narrative. Despite beginning the film on a bang note, Trivikram narrative graph fell up and down.
Thaman was good at rendering tragic background score in emotional scenes while songs are a pity. Camera work by PS Vinod is top notch as production house pumped good bucks to make sure visuals come out ultra rich. Editing could have been sharp to keep the story telling on. Unfortunately, second half went so lethargic with dull and weak elevation scenes. Production standards from Radha Krishna are spotless despite second half looks to be a hurried fare.
NTR's magnetizing performance is huge asset. He maintained a superb tempo in a serious characterization throughout the film. First half an hour, pre interval and couple of hero worship episodes in 2nd half including climax, NTR Fans will have a feast. Especially action blocks, NTR is just amazing. Pooja Hegde essayed a bubbly role as an Anthropology research student. However, her role is significant only in bits and pieces. Jagapathi Babu comes up with one more meaty character as antagonist but it’s a feeling of déjà vu. Naga Babu's role is limited. Sunil neither generated good fun nor supported hero. Naveen Chandra is one more miscast. All other artists have fit their bills.
Jr NTR
First 45 Minutes
Stunt Composition
Trivikram Dialogues
Cinematography
Production Standards
Slow Narrative
Lengthy, Preachy Conversations
Zero Entertainment Quotient|
Second Half
Art Work
Frankly speaking, none of the Seema commercial templates explored the dialect properly. Here, Trivikram is back with a bang as a master writer. He penned good number of thought provoking dialogues in Rayalaseema dialect which worked out really well. Core strength of AS is, there is superb authenticity in writing and character behavior. Agreed that, Faction and Peace centered scripts are as old as Aravallis in Tollywod but when it comes to combination of Trivikram and NTR, definitely even average stuff appears to be a hit substance. Same happened for Aravinda Sametha where the maverick author cum director and a gifted actor made all the difference.
Movie begins on a bang. First action sequence which runs for 15 minutes is terrifically designed and executed to perfection. Later the process of transformation in hero is beautifully justified with strong content based scenes. Audiences are deeply involved into the theme as we develop sympathy with all central characters. Hero’s pack up to Hyderabad and entry of Pooja Hegde, Sunil drops the tempo. While the romantic track is so-so, a song disturbed the flow. Naresh, Srinivas Reddy track is laugh worthy. NTR’s morale of planting peace is reflected in subsequent scenes and during his conversations with Jagapathi Babu, other characters. Hero's underplay is noticed in all the lighter vein scenes. Lead sequence for interval is also well shot. In order not to interrupt the actual substance, Trivikram strictly stood away from seeding any unnecessary humor.
Second half is filled with NTR attempts to instill peace in the village. In order to get his objective achieved, a rendezvous with Naveen Chandra and eventually with JB as well is all feebly dealt and are shallow. Instead of adopting oral heroism and powerfully vocalized dialogues, Trivikram should have tried a different route to please masses. Pooja’s kidnap is so-so. Rao Ramesh, Shubhalekha Sudhakar scene had no proper elevation. Naveen Chandra characters coming to an end is awkward. How NTR achieves his goal is though not new yet acceptable. Twist which comes during last frames of the film is eloquent.
On whole, Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava is a meaningful, purposeful faction entertainer which is a feast to NTR Fans. Film stood high just for Trivikram’s amazing writing and stellar performance from NTR. Undoubtedly, Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava will open to earth shattering collections all over the world. Yet, this cannot make its way into the The Best Library collection of neither NTR nor Trivikram. CJ goes with 3 stars waiting for records to crumble.