Maharshi

It might not be entertaining all through, but its heart is in the right place.

Rishi, a millionaire businessman, returns to his homeland, where he becomes the champion of poor and downtrodden farmers.

Mahesh Babu’s Maharshi is undoubtedly one of the biggest releases in recent times. The film directed by Vamsi Paidipally has hit the screens amidst massive expectations. Let’s see whether it lives up to all its hype or not. Story: Rishi(Mahesh Babu)is a reputed CEO of a multinational company in the US. In his urge to become the best in the world, Rishi forgets his past and several relationships. One fine day, he comes to know that Ravi Kumar(Allari Naresh) a very close friend of his is behind all his success. During the same time, Rishi also finds out that Ravi is in deep trouble in his small village of Ramapuram. Rest of the story is as to how Rishi leaves his rich lifestyle and saves Ravi and his village from all the problems it is suffering from. Plus Points: One of the biggest attractions of the film is undoubtedly Mahesh Babu. He is seen in three different avatars and fans will just love him. Be it the college look or the CEO avatar, Mahesh plays it to the galleries and is different in each of the roles. The manner in which he transforms in the second half and showcases his mature acting is very good. Undoubtedly, Mahesh looks super handsome than ever and leads from the front. Perhaps it was the best decision of Allari Naresh’s career to accept this supporting role. The supremely talented actor proves that he is not only good at comedy but can also portray the emotional part in the best way possible. His chemistry and all the scenes with Mahesh have come out quite well and are a major asset for the film. Pooja Hegde looks glamorous and is a perfect fit in the role. She does well in the company of Mahesh and their college episodes have come out well. The first half of the film is entertaining with good comedy and sensible college scenes. Vennela Kishore in neat in his small role and so were the supporting actors. The emotional subject chosen featuring the farmers works well in the film and is the mainstay during the second half. Rajeev Kanakala, Jayasudha, Rao Ramesh are adequate in their respective roles. The relationship between Prakash Raj and Mahesh Babu has been showcased in an interesting note. Kamal Kamaraju gets a good role. Minus Points: One of the biggest drawbacks is that the film is a bit slow and lengthy. The second half gets emotional and is highly predictable. There is nothing new that is showcased here in the film during this time. The love story featuring the lead pair is not at all interesting. Allari Naresh who is the mainstay is sidelined a bit in the second half. Jagapathi Babu looks dull as the villain as his track and conflict are not established well with Mahesh. Technical Aspects: Though DSP’s music was ordinary, his songs sound good along with the visuals. But his background score raises the film to another level altogether. Lyrics by Srimani are top notch and meaningful. The camerawork is supremely good as the college backdrop, US set up and village atmosphere has its own charm and looks good on screen. Editing is not that impressive as the film can be edited for about ten minutes easily. Special mention to all the stylists of Mahesh as the star hero has been styled in a superb manner. The production design of the film is amazing as the makers have not compromised on the production values at all. Coming to the director Vamsi Paidipally, he has done a good job with the film. Rather than opting for sheer entertainment, he chooses an emotional subject and shows that our roots are more important than fame and money. His narration in the first half and how he establishes the journey of Rishi is very good. In the second half, though he makes things predictable, he adds decent emotions in the last half an hour and ends the film on an impressive note. Verdict: On the whole, Maharshi is the journey of a man who finds his roots back in his motherland. Who better than Mahesh Babu to portray all this which has been narrated in an emotional manner by Vamsi Paidipally. Top-notch performances, decent humor, relatable social message, and Mahesh’s screen presence are main assets. If you ignore the slow pace and slightly predictable second half, this film has in it to work with a major section of the audience and the holiday summer season will help the film in a big way.

The most awaited Telugu movie of the year so far Maharshi is out in theaters now. A lot of expectations were riding on this landmark film of Superstar Mahesh Babu. Did it live up to expectations? Let's analyze. What is it about? Rishi (Mahesh) is an ambitious guy who want to be super successful in his life. He becomes CEO of an international company. But he later knows that there is his friend Ravi's (Naresh) sacrifice behind his success. He comes to make his friend happy and learns that his happiness is in saving his village. How Rishi fights against the corrupt system and corporate companies to fulfill his friend's wish forms rest of the story. Performances: Mahesh Babu is superb as Rishi in all aspects. It is a tailor made character for him. His looks and energy as the college student is a treat to watch. His performance in emotional scenes is the biggest highlight of the movie. Pooja Hegde has a very little role to play. Allari Naresh is good as a loyal friend. We cannot imagine anyone else in his character. Jagapathi Babu appears as a corporate bad guy and he is alright. Prakash Raj and Jayasudha are good as Rishi's parents. Technicalities: Vamshi Paidipalli has a solid script on hands. But he tried to make it a commercially viable one which has diluted it to an extent. The runtime has extended beyond bearable limits which in turn into the biggest weaknesses of the film. He has done well in handling emotional aspects in the second hour, but the screenplay is not coherent. There are far too many ups and downs in the screenplay that it fails to sustain the interest levels through the long runtime. Devi Sri Prasad's songs are very ordinary except for a couple of songs that are situational. Background score is fine. Dialogues are well written. Cinematography is impressive, but the editing goes haywire. There is a lot of trimming to be done. Production values are very good. The film is made on a very high budget and it can be seen in every frame. Thumbs Up: Mahesh Babu Emotional episodes Dialogues Thumbs Down: Slow pace Runtime Uneven screenplay Analysis: Maharshi has a strong script with a very good social message. But the director failed to make it a commercial film that caters to all sections in spite of putting in a lot of aspects like action, romance and family emotions into the screenplay. The film doesn't look coherent as all these additional aspects added into the film appear as purposefully added 'attractions'. The film scores well in the college episodes and the pre-climax scenes involving farmers. Mahesh's infectious energy as the college student is an absolute treat to watch. But that is limited only to the first half. In the second half, we get to see a totally different Mahesh who is serious, emotional sans sense of humor. This shade of Mahesh is almost the same as that we had seen in movies like Srimanthudu and Bharat Ane Nenu. This sure has a good story and a well etched characterization, but doesn't seem fresh as the above mentioned movies are still afresh in our memories. Director and the team of writers have done a neat job in padding the story with nice sub plots. However, the main plot isn't done well. The friendship and bonding between Rishi and Ravi isn't established well. The chemistry between the friends is absolutely lacking. Also the thread of father-son should have given enough time to have that pay offs later. Another weakest link is the hero-heroine thread that seems very silly and out of sync with the main plot. Lack of conflict and a strong villain also makes it a tedious journey to sit through. All in all, Maharshi has its moments here and there, but fails to maintain the momentum for a longer stretches. It is good in parts, but falls short of expectations on a whole. Mahesh doing better films with similar themes also turns out to be a hindrance for it. Maharshi's box office journey will largely depend upon Mahesh Babu's pull and fan power. Verdict: Rishi's Journey is Tedious!

Maharshi is largely a bland film that has a superficial take on the issues it takes up.Dry dialogues and melodramatic conversations should have been avoided.The 'Srimanthudu' favour is palpable.Mahesh Babu's acting credentials are a saving grace.