In spite of having a good track record at romantic entertainers, Naga Chaitanya, every now and then, gets his luck tested with crime and action entertainers. And Yuddham Sharanam happens to be one more film for Chaitu that falls into the action thriller genre.
Arjun (Naga Chaitanya) is a cool guy who leads a happy life along with his parents Rao Ramesh and Revathi. He is quite innovative and has the technical grip on making Drones. He woos Anjali (Lavanya Tripathi), a medico. However, the happiness of the family doesn't last longer, as an outrageous criminal Nayak (Srikanth) murders Arjun's parents brutally. Nayak is also searched by the city police as he gets indulged in bomb blasts in the city. Rest of the story deals with how Arjun protects his family members and how he takes his revenge on Nayak.
Naga Chaitanya's hard work is seen with an improvement in expressions. Though the romantic thread was slender he did it well while some gripping emotions were flaunted at crucial sequences like when he was confronted with Srikanth. Srikanth was terrific at his new job as an antagonist. His fierce expressions made him established a ruthless and merciless killer. Yet again, as people accustomed him doing soft and family hero's roles over the ages, they couldn't digest his role being portrayed as a dreadful criminal. Whatsoever, Srikanth scored brownie points with his new job. Lavanya Tripathi, on the other hand, oozed out her glamour and performance in the first half but was scarcely seen in any frame in the second half. Rao Ramesh and Revathi were subtle at their performances. Rao Ramesh's punch dialogues at glimpses made audience laughs. "Thandrikunna okey okka entertainment kodukunu thittadam' dialogue received good response. Murali Sharma fitted bill in his role.
Debutant director Krishna Marimuthu appeared promising with first half's narration, though it was run with snail pace. He was good at canning family emotions. An interesting scene on Drone technology in the first shot was shot well. The director, however, tested the patience of the audience in handling second half. While watching the first half, somehow, it appeared like full meals with all ingredients such as family elements and romance were included in it. Once the second half begins, all elements get disappeared except an action.
Story was perplexing. Nayak is ordered for bomb blasts in three locations in the city by a team of four top brass politicians. Nonetheless, they are shown nowhere in the movie. Strangely, hero too gets his revenge confined to kill Nayak. Doesn't he have a moral responsibility to find out the real culprits of bomb blasts?
Music by Vivek Sagar was mediocre. Songs are huge let down. Camera work was impressive. A good number of scenes were shot in night shade which were well captured on camera. Varahi Chalana Chitra's production values were good.
First half
Rao Ramesh and Revathi's family episodes
Dragging second half
Age old story
No comedy
Songs
Predictable scenes
Climax
Chaitu has done something similar role in Saahasam Swasaga Sagipo but the film was a poor fare at ticket windows. It was a suicidal attempt for him selecting the same genre with same role. As a matter of fact, Yuudham Sharanam's story is a simple banana leaf. In such case, the director should have made sure every frame more gripping and well canned to generate interest on the feeble plot. But then, nothing of that sort was happened. The climax of the film is further downer. A fight sequence between Srikanth and Chaitu was expected. But the director ended it up the other way. At the box office, the movie may not do wonders. CJ rates it with 2.25 stars.