BOTTOM LINE
Stale and Boring.
CENSOR
.U/A Certified, 2h 38m.
OUR RATING
What is the film about?
Vasu (Vishal) the savior of family. There is a threat from Singanna (Mukesh Tiwari) to the family of Vasu and how he saves his family is what the film is about.
How is Vishal’s performance?
After doing some different stuff Vishal is back to his usual active self. He is at ease with all the action and looks good in them. There is not much in terms of emotional performance. Overall he is fine like he has always been in a simple straightforward mass movie.
Direction By Hari?
Director Hari has known for his racy screenplays with something or the other happening keeping the audience engaged. All this is because he has stories which are pretty simple. In Pooja not only is the story simple but it’s one dimensional too. As a result despite the fast-paced narrative that the director adopts, as usual, everything feeling boring and tiresome. There are few sequences which show his mark but by and large, it’s a big disappointment.
Shruthi Haasan and others performance?
Shruti Haasan has a limited role but its integrated well into the narrative. There is nothing to here to showcase her performance but she oozes glamour throughout which is what the actress has been roped in for. In the Telugu version one has to get used to her dubbing otherwise it could be a great turn off. Among others, Radhika and Sathyaraj are wasted with not so important roles. One gets a feeling that they were taken simply to add weight to the casting. Mukesh Tiwari plays the villain role in a very routine manner and has no scenes to shine. More than all these characters it is Soori who once again makes a big impression with his comic performance.
Yuvan Shankar Raja and other departments?
Music for the film by Yuvan Shankar Raja is poor but the songs have been decently shot with a hot Shruti Haasan which makes them okay on screen. Background score is alright. The cinematography is good. Editing is decent. Dialogues are predictable and boring. Better dialogues would have surely elevated few more action scenes. The comic punches, although overdone, are hilarious in parts.
Highlights?
Few action scenes.
First half.
Vishal.
Few comic punches.
Drawbacks?
Flat screenplay.
Second half.
Lack of strong villain.
Alternative take:
Better characterizations for villain, Radhika and Sathyraj would have brought some freshness to the stale plot. Also it would have helped us connect more the characters which in turn would have made action sequences more exciting.
Did I enjoy it?
No.
Will you recommend it?
No. But if one is a hardcore masala action movie lover, one might give it a try.
OUR RATING
Reviewed by Siddhartha
