After Nenu Naa Rakshasi’s debacle of sorts, Tollywood’s hunk Rana Daggubati is back with Naa Ishtam (means ‘my wish’ in a selfish way). Naa Ishtam is directed by debutante Prakash Tholeti while the bubbly Genelia plays the female lead.
Plot:
Ganesh a.k.a Ghani (Rana) is selfish to the core and believes no man with money is an orphan. He starts thinking different and selfless after meeting Krishna Veni (Genelia), an adorable village belle. Both cross their ways in Malaysia, to where Krishna Veni elopes to marry her boyfriend Kishore (Harsha). But, destiny has different plans and an obvious love story develops between Ghani and Krishna Veni.
Analysis:
After a scene followed by a hero introduction song, starts some story kind of thing. Hero has some 4-5 friends who try hard to make some comedy and help hero to succeed in his love. Then comes the heroine because she has to. Hero falls in love because he has to. Some hurdles are forced into, only to increase the run time. And, every good moment in the love story is followed by a duet. Not to forget those background dancers!
Sounds pretty cliched, right? Well! That’s what Naa Ishtam has to offer. And, this coming from a debutante director was more of a shocking thing, given that debutantes these days are trying unique things and aren’t hesitating to experiment. Even a routine story can please us if narration and direction are in place. But a confused direction and a weak screenplay made Naa Ishtam difficult to bear.
Though the director tried to show Rana’s character differently, but it ended up the same – a sacrificing lover, bangs numerous goons at one go and what not! And, the movie was more of a platform for Rana to experiment with commercial things like dance, fights, comedy, and more. His attempt was relatively good, but it will take time for him to make an impact. Genelia looked so pale and her performance was just average. The chemistry between the lead pair was okay.
Humor shown through the protagonist was considerably good. Dialogues were okay. The movie won’t please you visually. Be it cinematography, locations or even make up of the leading actors – nothing was up to the mark. Music was another put off! It is high time that we come out of the routine 5/6-song thing. Please add songs when relevant and when you think the music is beautiful enough to help the movie but not disturb the flow.
It might sound a bit harsh, but in an age where Telugu Cinema is experimenting and has plenty of talent and resources in hand, movies like these are an utter disappointment. No doubt we’re nowhere to be seen on the National Awards podium.
Final word
Cliched and avoidable! I’ll go with a generous 2 out of 5
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