Srimanthudu

Harsha(Mahesh Babu) is the son of a multi-millionaire named Ravikanth(Jagapathi Babu). He is quite simple in life and shares different ideologies to his father. One fine day, he meets Charusheela (Shruthi Haasan) and gradually falls in love with her. Twist in the tale arises when Charusheela rejects Harsha’s proposal and reveals him a shocking truth about his native place and its problems. An upset Harsha, now sets on a personal mission to his village and encounters Sasi(Sampath) and his gang who are troubling the villagers big time. Rest of the story is as to how Harsha’s personal mission becomes a revolution and helps the villagers grow and prosper in the future. Plus Points:- Let’s start by talking about Srimanthudu’s emotional content. The film is quite heavy on moral values and giving back to the society. Credit should go to Koratla Shiva for sticking to the content and sending out a strong message through hero’s character. Mahesh is majestic in his role and gives his career best performance. His role is tailor made and Mahesh carries the entire film on his shoulders. He looks dashing as a college student and the way he brings out varied emotions during the second half is a class apart. Shruthi Haasan gets a meaty role and is quite decent in the film. Her pairing with Mahesh looks fresh and brings novelty to the film. Jagapathi Babu is a royal in his role and gives the added edge to the film. The way his character is etched out and all his confrontation scenes with Mahesh are superb. First half of the film is quite vibrant and has some very classy moments. Second half has emotional undercurrent and Koratala Shiva manages to bring out superb performances from all his artists. Rajendra Prasad is quite pleasing in his character. Production values of the film are quite good and showcase the film in a rich light. Minus Points:- One of the drawbacks of the film is the pace as the proceedings take their own time. There are certain village scenes which could have been edited to make the film crisp. Even though the story is quite novel, it is also slightly predictable in nature. Sukanya is wasted in her role and does not get any screen space. Ali and Vennela Kishore are under utilized and could have been elevated more to generate some entertainment. Climax of the film is hurried up as the proceedings are wrapped up in a simpler way. Technical Aspects:- Screenplay is apt but some scenes during the second half could have been removed to make the proceedings racy.Camerawork by Madhie is top class as all the visuals look quite pleasing. The way he has showcased the village atmosphere during the second half is pretty good. Fights by Anal Arsu need special mention as they look quite new and have been choreographed very stylishly. DSP’s music is pretty good and grows on you once you watch his songs on screen. But it is Devi’s background score which elevates the film to another level. Dialogues are novel and will connect with the common man quite easily. Coming to the director Koratala Shiva, he has done an awesome job and showcased Mahesh like never before. The way he brings out a settled performance and presents Mahesh in an emotional avatar is quite endearing. Shiva narrates the film without any unnecessary commercial aspects and injects some meaningful family moments which will surely go well with everyone. Verdict:- On the whole, Srimanthudu is a stunning emotional family drama which will hit the right chords with one and all. Mahesh Babu’s career best performance and a novel concept are huge assets. Barring the slightly predictable nature of the film, Mahesh’s fans can rejoice as their superstar makes a come back with a vengeance and thoroughly entertains from the word go. Finally, a simple, clean and meaningful family entertainer which is set to rule the box office in the coming weeks. A Must Watch.

Harsha (Mahesh) the only son of billionaire Ravikanth (Jagapathi) gives up his inheritance to adopt his native village, Devarakota to help its impoverished citizens. But Sasi (Sampath), brother of a union minister, will not let it happen. Movie Review: You could say this movie is Mahesh Babu’s Swades (the 2004 SRK film) albeit a little dumbed down. Or a Mirchi (the Prabhas film) rehashed. Yet there can be no denying that Srimanthudu achieves more than any big ticket Tollywood potboiler has in more in that last decade, for the simple reason that it is a drama made like one. In terms of sheer integrity of storytelling, it’s reason enough to cheer to not have a Brahmanandam getting slapped for comic relief. Well Brahmanandam isn’t part of the movie, but there is Ali and he doesn’t have even one cheesy innuendo laden line. No cheesy punch dialogues either. And the first half of the movie actually is part of the movie isn’t a prelude to the interval bang but a gradual progression of the narrative flow. The protagonist Harsha is introduced with a song Mara Mara... which sounds like Rama Rama, which establishes his character sketch. True to his name which means happiness, Harsha, choses to attend the Sriramanavami celebrations organized by the staff working at his billionaire father’s factory, giving a family do a miss. When he retorts, “Manakosam pani chese valu kuda mana famile ne,” to his angry father, it’s obvious, this guy doesn’t feel at home in his home. Harsha isn’t sure of what he wants to do or be but he isn’t interested in taking over the reins of his father’s Rs 25,000 crore business empire. “Nannu kuda nannu thochindi cheyaniyandi, let me earn some respect,” (let me do what I feel like) Harsha expounds to his dad. His purpose finds him through the love of his life, Charusheela, a student of MBA in rural development. In the process of wooing her, he stumbles upon his roots and finds himself. So Harsha sets of on a journey of self-discovery to his native village, Devarakota, with his cycle in tow. Moved by the plight of its people who are exploited by the vicious henchman Sasi, our man decides to adopt the village and in the process discovers that his father too was like him. His journey from a rich man’s son disinterested in his father’s fortune to a village dweller unfolds a little too simplistically but its Mahesh’s nuanced portrayal is what makes it engaging and perhaps will resonate with the sections of the audience who share a similar predicament. The movie isn’t without its flaws. Mahesh keeps seamlessly shifting gears to become this veritable hulk who can beat up 20 goons without breaking a sweat, for all her well-intentioned purposefulness, Shruti transforms into this object of desire in the dream song sequences, and you could argue about the solution the film offers as being too blah. But let’s just say, there is more to like about the film than there is to diss. Last but not the least, the music is easy on the ear and compliments of the mood of the film. Definitely worth a watch.

RK (Jagapathi Babu) owns a business empire. He wants his son Harsha (Mahesh Babu) to take over the operations but Harsha has other plans – serving people. Harsha likes Charusheela (Shruti), a post graduate student studying Rural Development, and joins her college to study the course. Both fall in love. But when Charusheela comes to know that Harsha is son of RK, she stops seeing him. Harsha asks her for the reason, she tells him about her Devarakota, a small village in Uttarandhra. The village’s tank is grabbed by local rowdy Sasi (Sampath) who is the right hand man of central minister Venkata Ratnam (Mukeshi Rishi). The villagers start migrating to the cities but Charusheela’s father tries to stop them in the hope that good-days would come soon. What has this plight of the village got to do with Harsha’s father and what does Harsha do when Charusheela tells him this? Watch it on the silver screen. Artistes’ Performances: The film is undoubtedly one of Mahesh Babu’s best performance in his entire career. As well-educated, good-natured rich man, Mahesh Babu oozes charm as well as gives his best in the emotionally charged scenes. Even in the action episodes, he exhibits class. Mahesh Babu is the pillar of this movie. Shruti Haasan looks beautiful, shares great chemistry with Mahesh and has solid role too. Jagapathi Babu is evolving as a reliable character artiste for dignified father roles. He is perfect to the T as a rich businessman. Rajendra Prasad is good as well. Sampath and Mukesh Rishi have done what is required for the roles. Sukanya, Ali, Rahul Ravindran, Subbaraju, Vennela Kishore, Sitara and a host of actors are present in the movie but they don’t get highlighted. Technical Excellence: Rich frames are the striking feature of the movie. Appreciation should go to the cinematographer Madhie. He has distinct style in filming hero elevating scenes. Songs by Devi Sri Prasad are catchy. ‘Rama Rama’, ‘Charusheela’ and ‘Jaago Re’ songs are effective on screen. The pace of the movie is not only slow but some unnecessary scenes are also there, good editing would have done wonders. Fights by ANL Arasu are neat.