Venky Mama

How often have we seen a 'family drama' with an emotional attachment, a flimsy love story and a few evil guys thrown into a mix just so the hero can flex his muscles? Director KS Ravindra aka Bobby's latest potboiler, Venky Mama follows a similar pattern. The film seems to be stuck in an era where filmmakers can't think beyond the usual 'song-fight-sentiment' formula, and the result is an over-the-top, melodramatic farce. Venkata Ratnam aka Military Naidu (Venkatesh) loses his sister and her husband in a car accident and decides to raise his orphaned nephew Karthik (Naga Chaitanya) as his own child. The duo become inseparable, so much so that Karthik rejects job opportunities in London so that he can stay with his mama, and Venkata Ratnam stays a bachelor because women don't love his nephew the way he does. They also set each other up with women using laughable, juvenile tactics, which inexplicably seem to work. However, there are evil forces at play (read horoscope) that tries to break up this mama-alludu combo. But will they succeed in keeping them apart? In most Tollywood family dramas, filmmakers tend to harp on about the emotional equation between a father and son. In this film, it's the mama-alludu combo that comes to the fore. Thankfully, the director spares us the misery of a fight between the two and an emotional patch-up. However, he peppers the film with melodramatic scenes that show how much the two of them care for each other. Picture this, Karthik breaks up with his girlfriend Harika (Raashi Khanna) because he chooses to stay with his mama instead of going to London. But when Harika comes to their village to see the two of them together, it's time for waterworks - she immediately realises her folly and the two of them get together. On the other hand, Venkata Ratnam refuses to marry because no woman seems comfortable in accepting a child along with marrying him. When Karthik finds out about this, he decides to set him up with a Hindi teacher (Payal Rajput). But sample this, the first time he meets her, he runs to her and asks her if she's married or single. If that's not outrageous enough, the next minute, he's driving her and her father home, cracking crude jokes about how he's going to 'set her up'. The humour in the film is downright crass, and not for a moment does it even force a chuckle out of you. The Kashmir track is equally juvenile and save for the stunning locations, there's nothing really going for it. The only saving grace for Venky Mama is the performance of its lead actors Venkatesh and Naga Chaitanya. Venky, in particular is at ease and aces the role of the doting uncle. Neither Raashi or Payal get any scope to perform, and are often sidelined thanks to poorly written characters. Prakash Raj too appears in a blink-and-miss role and hardly makes an impact. The greatest problem with Venky Mama is its writing. Unimaginative and mediocre — it fails to go beyond a tried and tested formula. The mama-alludu relationship is played up, they give their relationship and astrology twist to make it seem like they're in danger. There's a village setting, 'cos it's a family drama. There's an evil MLA with a band of goons, 'cos the heroes need to flex their muscles. Two women are added into the mix for a love track (and songs, of course). There's even a random plot happening somewhere in Kashmir, which of course, makes no sense. The songs-fights-sentiment formula may have worked in the past, but with content constantly evolving, as a viewer, you want more than this.

On the whole, Venky Mama is a typical film drama which has a great premise and good star cast. The first half is impressive as both Chay and Venky create good entertainment. But things fall flat in the second half and disappoint a bit. The film is aimed at the single screen audience and will please them.

Venky Mama slaps together some comedy scenes in the first half, relegating the emotional part of the story to the second half.A hurried climax mars the experience.It drives its theme home.In doing so, however, it commits some mistakes.