Adhinayakudu (2012) Movie Review

Release date: 01 June 2012

Rating : 3/5

Director : Paruchuri Murali

Producer : ML Kumar Choudhary

Music Director : Kalyan Mallik

Starring: Balakrishna, Lakshmi Rai, Jaya Sudha

Nandamuri Balakrishna’s powerful action drama ‘Adhinayakudu’ has hit the screens today and the film is being watched keenly for its supposed political overtones. Paruchuri Murali has directed this movie and Lakshmi Rai is the heroine. ‘Adhinayakudu’ has been produced by M.L.Kumar Chowdhary and Kalyani Malik is the music director. Let us see how the movie is.

Story :

Balakrishna portrays three characters in this movie – Harischandra Prasad (old man) , Rama Krishna Prasad (bearded man) and Bobby (younger Balayya). Harischandra Prasad is a powerful leader from Rayalaseema and he has the love of the people. In order to provide employment to the people of the area, Harischandra Prasad plans to bring in a major steel plant  with the help of foreign investors. This is resented by powerful rival factionists Ramappa (Pradeep Rawat) and Kota Srinivasa Rao. So they hatch a plan to finish off Harischandra Prasad. Coming to know about this, Rama Krishna Prasad thwarts the plans of the villains and tries his best to follow his father’s footsteps.

But in a cruel twist, the villains strike at the heart of the family by manipulating Bobby. How do they do it? What is the twist? And will the family succeed in its attempt to empower the Rayalaseema region? That forms the story.

Plus Points :

When given powerful characters with punch dialogues, Balakrishna excels and same is the case here. His performances as the old man and the bearded Rama Krishna Prasad is very good. In both these roles, Balakrishna has given a restrained and composed performance.

Lakshmi Rai is there simply to provide the glamour quotient and she does this in ample measure. Saloni looks good but she is not a heroine in this movie. She simply makes an appearance in one song. Jayasudha is ok in the role of a mother.

Brahmanandam entertains very well as Brahmam. His comedy track with Balakrishna has been etched out well and keeps the momentum going. Kota Srinivasa Rao does what is needed and Pradeep Rawat is good.

The interval episode and the second half of the film have some good punch dialogues that keep fans entertained. There is good pace throughout the film and the flashback scenes have been handled pretty well. There are ample commercial elements in the movie for C Center crowds.

The crucial twist in the story is good.

Minus Points :

Care should have been taken with respect to the wigs and costumes of a big hero like Balakrishna and the Director is completely at fault here. Except for the old man’s character, the wigs and costumes are not apt and the director should have ensured a better output. The romantic track between Balakrishna and Lakshmi Rai is also quite superficial.

The characterization of villains is quite poor and they do not have a very central role to play in the film. For a powerful drama to unfold, a strong villain is essential and this is missing here.

Venu Madhav and Murali Sharma are wasted in silly roles. Aditya Menon and Ravi Prakash have very insignificant roles. The father and son conflict angle is very interesting, but it could have been handled a lot better. There is no emotional conviction in the conflict. Some of the narration techniques are very outdated. The placement of songs in the first half could have been better.

Technical Aspects :

Cinematography is very average and there are no great visuals here. Editing is poor and mars the flow of the film. Dialogues are good, especially the ones written for Harischandra Prasad’s character and Rama Krishna Prasad’s character.

Kalyani Malik’s background score is very good and it elevates the movie during key scenes. Music for the songs is average though.

Paruchuri Murali has shown promise in a few areas, like elevating the hero’s image. But he messed up completely in the costumes, look and screenplay department. Dances and fights are just about ok.

Verdict :

Adhinayakudu is a trademark Balakrishna entertainer and the movie has elements which fans and movie lovers expect from Balayya. Some good punch dialogues and a decent comedy track keep things interesting. Poor costumes and improper characterization for the key roles in the story are glaringly obvious.On the whole, Adhinayakudu is a reasonably decent one time watch if you want a masala entertainer this weekend. As for the movie’s Box Office range, it depends on how B and C center crowds respond.

Rating : 3/5