NTR Mahanayakudu Review – Adequate Watch

BOTTOM LINE
Adequate Watch

OUR RATING
2.75/5

CENSOR
‘U’ Certified, 2 hrs 08 mins

What Is the Film About?
NTR – Mahanayakudu is the second chapter in the story of legend Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao. As the makers have mentioned, the second part concludes the arc of Basavatarakanm, the wife of NTR who has been suffering from cancer. What happens in between in the life of NTR is what the movie is all about?

How Is Balakrishna’s Performance?
Nandamuri Balakrishna continues from where he left in the first part of the biopic, NTR – Kathanayakudu. As we have mentioned in the review, the old age part of NTR has suited the star well as its more close to his age. He picks up the mannerism of his father well and builds on it to deliver a likeable performance.

The point to remember here is that Balakrishna has made the part likeable and a lot of it is due to the connection with the aggressive body language of the NBK. In short, we see more of Balakrishna rather than NTR on the screen which makes it “likeable” for the fans, but doesn’t become a memorable lifetime role for movie lovers in general. While he succeeds on the former count, he fails on the latter aspect.

Direction by Krish?
Krish has better focus narrative wise on the second part compared to the first. The reason is simple; there are no deviations for ‘cinematic’ purposes. It is also the weakness of the biopic. With no ‘real’ engaging story to tell and it being all about politics and that too only a small part, the whole thing treads the line of propaganda. And on that score, it doesn’t really make a substantial impact.

While watching the opening one is sure to get a feeling that if they could showcase the entire first part and more in five minutes through a song, couldn’t they have done the same with the young age ‘hero’ portions of NTR. The showcasing the rise of NTR as an icon could have been completed briefly in the opening half an hour, and the rest could have been about his political journey. It would have helped avoid the propaganda tag as well.

After a nice opening, we straight away jump into the political activity of NTR. The beginning portions are okay. It gathers momentum with the arrival of Indira Gandhi’s character and continues until the victory. Post that, the energy dips and is again raised with the dissatisfaction of government employee’s block over the retirement age. The whole sequence is neatly executed conveying three different issues related to the governance of NTR, the scheming nature of Nadendla Bhaskar and the saviour of the hour Chandra Babu Naidu.

However, the politics soon gives way for emotional family drama involving the husband and the wife angle. It is an asset and drawback for the movie, as it takes a very regular and predictable path and bores the audience despite all the sincerity shown by the actors on screen. The interval sequence is flat, and we get a feeling of the first half being very lengthy due to the mixing of family and political drama.

The second half in comparison is fast and gets over quickly. The central theme here is agenda driven with the sole purpose of elevating the party leader and the party and in doing so highlighting the role of Chandra Babu Naidu. The sequences involving CBN are okay, but again the drama and everything else happening ‘politically’ is boring. The climax ends on a melodramatic note that is non-political which again undoes all the build-up to that point.

Overall, there are segments in NTR – Mahanayakudu which work, but those are few in a two-hour length film. The husband and wife drama brought in for emotional appeal is very routine and so is the political development. In the end, NTR – Mahanayakudu is a propaganda film that fails in doing what it wants to do, as the narrative gives a clear indication that makers are undecided on what to do. There is a constant feeling of something missing that makes viewers disconnected eventually.

Vidya Balan, Rana and Others?
Vidya Balan continues from where she left. The character is neatly done adding a lot of respect. Rana in the role of CBN is his usual self playing a calculative person. If not for the modulation, he could very well have been playing Jogendra from Nene Raju Nene Mantri. Kalyan Ram is one dimensional and unremarkable. Sachin Khedekar is fine in his part. Supriya Vinod looks like the character she plays, but when it comes to acting, it is like doing a parody. The dubbing and expressions are to be blamed here. Vennela Kishore, Bharat Reddy, Daggubati Raja, and others are alright.

Music and Other Departments?

Music by MM Keeravani is alright. The good thing is that they are placed well in the narrative. The background score is decent. The cinematography is neat. The editing could have been better, especially in the first half. The dialogues by Sai Madhav Burra are superb, and they add significant value to the sequences.

Highlights?
Length

A Couple of Blocks

Casting

Drawbacks?

Lack of Emotional Connect

Predictable Narrative

Screenplay

Alternative Take
It has been said many times before, but having a single part instead of two would have been far better for everyone involved.

Did I Enjoy It?
Few Parts

Will You Recommend It?
With Huge Reservations

NTR Mahanayakudu Review by Siddartha