Mahesh- Babu - Maharshi Movie- ReviewBOTTOM LINE
A Boring Mixture Of Hit Films

OUR RATING
2/5

CENSOR
‘U/A’ Certified, 2 hrs 59 mins


Mahesh- Babu - Maharshi Movie- ReviewWhat Is the Film About?
Maharshi, in short, is the journey of Rishi (Mahesh Babu) becoming a Maharshi, a god-like figure, for farmers. In long, it is about how an ambitious, success-driven middle-class youth becomes a billionaire CEO, only to be reminded of his roots via a forgotten friendship. Who is the friend and how it changes his path is what the movie is all about?

How Is Mahesh Babu’s Performance?
Superstar Mahesh Babu is seen in three shades in the movie as has been said. They can be differentiated courtesy of the costume and pitch of the voice and amount of English. In short, they are just surficial add-on with no depth.

Leaving aside that criticism, Mahesh Babu is fine and sincere as usual. The problem is the sameness across back to back films and the resultant monotony associated with it. As said above, the solution for that turned out to be cosmetic changes which don’t make an impact. The writing is to be majorly blamed for that, along with the character sketch. There are short punches like “Elli chaduvuko po” when Mahesh Babu meets the character of Kamal Kamaraju for the first time, which work. But overall, it looks like a lousy mishmash of lively energetic roles of the star from Businessman and Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu.

Coming to the usual deal, the intensity is present throughout. There are a few scenes more so towards the end that do stand out within the narrative. But they don’t have a similar ring to them when seen career-wise. They are good, no doubt, but nothing special either. Considering the promotion as the landmark 25th film, something special was expected from the star, and it is with that view the performance is disappointing.


Director Vamsi Paidipally -Maharshi Movie ReviewDirection by Vamsi Paidipally?
Director Vamshi Paidipally has been in the industry for over a decade, and yet he hasn’t broken through the top tier or is seen one among them having a craze on his own. The reason for that is playing safe and delivering routine commercial entertainers with no real spice. Only Oopiri feels like the odd one out which unsurprisingly is a remake.

It brings us to Maharshi starring Superstar Mahesh Babu in the lead. Vamshi Paidipally seems to be still in Oopiri hangover and wants to deliver something more meaningful than the routine commercial potboilers he makes. Why not, after all, Oopiri was the film that got him laurels. This line of thinking with no originality in content is the first and foremost failure of Maharshi.

Right from the basic plot to the various blocks, they all feel derivative. It feels as if several hit films are rolled into one. They all generate a dejavu feeling despite being mounted lavishly. However, even that is not as much of a problem as the intention to deliver a message. The lead character delivers messages in various modes scene after scene that it gets boring very soon.

One can also see very clearly that there is an attempt to shoehorn various social issues and problems into the narrative. Vamshi Paidipally takes a Koratala Siva detour here and fills the screenplay with one problem after other. Only he doesn’t have the engaging screenplay and writing of the latter. Watching Maharshi makes one appreciate the movies in Mahesh Babu and Koratala Siva combo. They could very well have ended like this.

Still, the first half is passable with all its problems. The real turkey is the second half where the director loses track totally. There is no sense of engagement. The scenes comes and go; the characters go with no impact. Keeping the star is sidetrack makes it worse. Only when the focus shifts on the hero to succeed that narrative gets some bite again. They are parts of the last half an hour preceded by a fight that is good.

Overall, Maharshi is a tedious watch despite noble intentions. The tonal inconsistency and weak writing and roles make the vast majority of the movie unbearable to sit through. Maharshi eventually ends up as a wasted opportunity for a special landmark outing.


Pooja Hegde - Maharshi Movie ReviewPooja Hegde and Others?
Pooja Hegde is totally wasted. It can be said as a fact that even if all her scenes are chopped off, it won’t affect the narrative one bit. Who knows, maybe Maharshi could appear pacier with her entire track taken out. She doesn’t make an impression in the songs as well which is even worse from her perspective. Generally, the heroines get such character, so, it doesn’t come as a surprise, but here, most of the supporting cast (Mukesh Rishi, Kamal Kamaraj, Vidyuleka Raman, Brahmaji, Rajiv Kanakala etc.), antagonist and comedians also get the same treatment. Jagapathi Babu and Vennela Kishore are entirely wasted.

Luckily, there is Allari Naresh to make up for that. He gets a crucial role and delivers even though there is nothing new or fresh for him acting wise. His comedy timing is not utilised at all, and his action is mellowed down with a mix of awkwardness. Rao Ramesh is decent in a limited scope provided to him. Prakash Raj looms large over the proceedings even with a small role. Posani Krishna Murali and Prudhvi are alright.

Music Director Devi Sri PrasadMusic and Other Departments?
Maharshi is a forgettable outing coming from Devi Sri Prasad. It is among his weakest works concerning the music and the background score. The cinematography by KU Mohanan is excellent. It gives the movie a unique slick look. The editing is terrible. The film never settles into a continuous rhythm narratively. The action choreography by Ram-Lakshman is excellent, especially the fight in the second half.


Allari Naresh -Maharshi Movie ReviewHighlights?
Cinematography
Message
Parts of pre-climax involving farming

Drawbacks?
Story
Screenplay
Second Half
Length
Music & BGM


Vennela Kishore -Jamba Lakidi Pamba Movie ReviewAlternative Take
Removing the heroine track entirely would be perfect, but as there are commercial demands, a better-written role into the narrative would have been an ideal alternative take.

Did I Enjoy It?
No

Will You Recommend It?
No

Maharshi Review by Siddartha

Maharshi-Review,-Maharshi-Movie-Review,-Ratings

Final Report:

The second half of Maharshi needed the best of entertainment and emotion but it offers none barring a block. The honest intentions are appreciable but the artificiality and routine hotchpotch ruins everything. The first half itself is somewhat dull but after the second half, it feels better. The same is the case with the love track and the antagonist. Overall at near three hours run time, Maharshi wears you down. Visit back for our frank review soon.

– The journey of Rishi comes to an end on “Idhe Kadha Nee Katha” song. Final report shortly.

– As expected Rishi wins the trust of villagers and the movie is now heading towards the climax.

– Here comes the best block of Maharshi. The fight sequence of Rishi saving his friend is choreographed excellently. It is a perfect combination of action and emotion.

– The second half of Maharshi shifts to India with Rishi moving back. He works from a remote village. Rishi faces Jagapathi Babu who is trying to take over villages for his Megaproject. No prizes for guessing whose village it is that Rishi comes to support.

First Half Report:

The entire first half barring the intro and interval comprises of the college flashback. It feels very lengthy and lacks great entertainment or strong emotion given the duration. There are a couple of sequences which work well involving Mahesh Babu and Allari Naresh, but everything else feels underwhelming. We would like to stay mum on the love track. Overall, an average first half. The second half holds the key now.

– Rishi’s college life comes to an end and moves to the US and in no time he proves his talent. Interval.

– Mahesh tries to channel his father in a couple of brief retro getups in a song but it is not that impressive.

– The beard and moustache look of Rishi takes time to get used to, but it is alright eventually.

– Change in attitude from Rishi as an entrepreneur and as a student. The college life is being established with Allari Naresh and Pooja Hegde joining in.

– It’s time for flashback as Vennela Kishore takes us back to the college days of Rishi.

– The journey of Rishi- Maharshi show started. Rishi (Mahesh) takes charge as a CEO for the corporate giant Origin, and the first song “Nuvve Samastham” follows. Rishi gets a fat paycheck of 950 Cr per year approximately.

Maharshi US Premier live updates will begin at 3 pm EST (12.30 IST).

Preview: Maharshi

Some movies like ‘Maharshi‘ have that blockbuster thing written all over them by the sheer presence of a superstar like Mahesh Babu’s who seems to be in all the good elements in the theatrical trailer. It’s time to know whether Mahesh could deliver this Summer’s coolest hit.

So, it’s all about Mahesh Babu and looks like, ‘Maharshi’ is going to be all those positive things we have to watch about in Mahesh that we have been watching all these years. A superstar like him has the looks, the big screen presence and of course, he has proven his mettle as an actor. That implies it’s up to the content to prove itself worthy of the superstar.

That depends on director Vamsi Paidipally. He waited for two years to do a film with Mahesh Babu. Hope, he really had a worthwhile story to entertain through Mahesh Babu at the face of it. The director looked quite confident, of late. Hope, that confidence translates into success.

The success formula of a film includes its music. Though Devi Sri Prasad’s album was disappointing, one number ‘Idhe Kadaa Nii Katha’ stood out among the rest. However, one can count on his background score and we hope big time, he impresses big time as ‘Maharshi’ happens to be Mahesh’s landmark 25th movie.

There might be surprises in the form of Allari Naresh’s performance. As audiences who want to watch good films, we want other characters also shine not just Mahesh’s show all the way. Dis Allari Naresh gets one such worthy character as he got long back in ‘Gamyam’ as Gaali Seenu?

Coming to the trade perspective, the movie is expected to set some opening day records and if the talk is good, more records were expected to follow.

So, it’s time to know if ‘Maharshi’ gives this Summer treat for the superstar’s fans. Keep checking this space for ‘Maharshi’ review from the M9News team.