Story:
Ravi is a recovery agent whose father is always on look out for a bride to get him married. One day he finds that his friend is cheated by a girl Shruti and he takes the responsibility of teaching her a lesson. He singlehandedly teaches the girl Shruti and his partner in
crime Crazy Mohan (Brahmanandam) a lesson. All this lesson teaching via teasing leads to love from the girl side and she confesses this to Ravi’s father.
There is however a twist in the tale as we know that Shruti is already engaged and the guy with whom she is engaged is obviously not a nice person. But the real truth is something else altogether hidden from Shruti and her family which is revealed during her marriage. What is
the truth that is revealed? Who are Ravi and his father? Where does Anjali (Anjali) fit into all this forms the overall story of the film Balupu?
Performances:
Ravi Teja is his usual self however there is a marked control in his action be it in comedy or in action. This control which he does subtly doesn’t allow the performance to go over the top which he has been accused of, off late, in some previous movies. Overall it’s a good and balanced performance from the actor. Regarding his comic timing and performance it’s impeccable as usual; the ‘inspiration’ speech for patients in the second half is a proof of that.
Shruti Haasan tried for the first time an over the top character. Can’t say the result is satisfying but it’s a good attempt nonetheless. As far as her glamour side is considered she has used it to perfection.
Anjali has a brief role that manages to create an impact. If one is interested in the proceedings in the second half of the film it’s largely because the actress manages to hold the attention. The final scene given to her could have been a real joke had it not been for her wonderful performance.
Brahmanandam is once again the hero after the real hero. He is used to quite a good effect in the first half of the movie. But his real knockout punch lies in the climax of the film despite him being largely absent in the second half.
Prakash Raj once again gets a good role and le leaves his mark. After a long time we get to see him do some action and pathos and he is fantastic as always.
Aushutosh Rana is alright. He gets a role that is predictable in nature once again. He tries his best but there is nothing new that he brings to the table. Adavi Sesh seems to have walked off straight from the sets of Panja to Balupu. He redoes his Panja act here as well. There are a number of other actors like Ali, Srinivas Reddy, Shafi, Venu, Brahmaji and Ajay etc but none have a big enough role to be memorable.
Positives:
RaviTeja
Comedy
Fast paced first half
Motivation speech in second half
Climax
Negatives:
Songs in first half
Analysis:
Director GopiChand Malineni has taken a very predictable plot and tried to pepper it with a constant contemporary humor. All the latest trends, events and recent happenings have been used to generate the humor in the proceedings. Some of them work and some don’t. All these of course are present in the first half of the film.
In the second half the director sticks to the predictable story line that contains lots of action and little comedy. Things become monotonous and one begins to feel restless as the film approaches towards the climax but an ingenious comic stroke during the climax elevates the entire mood of second half and makes one come out with a bright smile at the end of it all. Thanks to this climax an average film so far is elevated to an above average level.
Music by Thaman is not good barring the SPB song in the second half. The BG music is below par. There were lots of moments where the right BGM could have heightened the impact.
Cinematography by Jayanan Vincent is fine. He makes things look colourful on screen and gives the movie a rich look. Editing could have been better. The choreography is routine as usual.
Dialogues are mixed bag the humorous ones have worked well but the emotional once (in the second half) makes one cringe. Production values are neat.
Bottom Line: RaviTeja Is back With ‘Balupu’. It’s a Jumping Japang moment for Massmaharaj fans.
Rating: 3.5/5
