Story:
Baadshah revolves around the title character Baadshah played by Jr NTR. He is son of a don but is taking on other don’s who have created a mafia nexus outside India and are always looking at targeting India.
In the process he has to befriend Kajal which ultimately leads to love between the two. Why does Baadshah needs to befriend Kajal in the first place and why is he eliminating the don’s one by one forms the overall story of the film.
Performances:
Jr NTR has as usual excelled with his histrionics. He tried a different accent and short punches kind of dialog delivery among which the former worked to some extent but the later was just alright. Also after what seems like a long time he has danced very well in this film.
Kajal gets lots of footage in the first half devoted to her. She just goes through the motion where as the dubbing takes care of the punches. She was given simple moments to dance and she did well with those.
Brahmanandam however was the show stealer here with his performance taking the film to an all time high in the second half of the film.
Complementing Brahmanandam was actor Nazar who seemed to be enjoying each and every moment he had on screen.
Vennela Kishore was alright. MS Narayana was inconsistent not because of his performance but because of the writing which lacked punch at many times.
Navadeep was effective in his role despite it being a short one. Jayaprakash Reddy was wasted.
Finally the villains in the film Kelly Dorji, Pradeep Rawat etc. all had nothing much to do except walk in stylish suits to get beaten up by the hero.
Positives:
Jr NTR
Brahmanandam And Nazar
Sangeeth sequence
Dances
All songs of the second half
Negatives:
Pre interval sequences dealing with the Baadshah.
Fights
Screenplay
Analysis:
The film begins on a predictable note and continues on a predictable note but since it’s a typical routine commercial movie one is willing to give it a pass. When one leaves it behind all that one is left behind is with a series of gags sometimes followed by action sequence and sometimes by a song.
First half of the film mostly revolves around hero and heroine and the building of the relationship between them with the flashback of hero shown right before the interval. The writing is weak in the comic portions of the first half giving one a feel of dragging. Even the flashback portions are dealt in a way that doesn’t either create excitement or curiosity. Things just happen with absolutely no involvement from the audience perspective.
The pre interval and interval feel of absolutely carelessness carries in the beginning of the second half too till the characters of Nazar and Brahmanandam are introduced. From this moment on till the pre climax they steal the show and provide entertainment nonstop giving the film its highest point. But the real success here is the director being able to create an episode that the audience takes complete liking too.
Director Srinu Vytla once again follows his brand of comedy in this film as well but the punch is missing on a bigger level. However when it works like in the second half with the Nazar and Brahmanandam episode it leaves one in stitches completely.
Music by SS Thaman is good and is already a huge success before release itself. They have been picturized well on screen with each song containing a fabulous moment of dance by Jr NTR. The background score is inconsistent, its good at times but is also noisy at times.
Cinematography and choreography is very good. Editing is not up to the mark especially the entire pre interval portion could have been edited in a better manner.