Same old family game

That the average Telugu film viewer is an emotional fool is a known thing. Using their addiction to pursuing sensory thrills like hero worship is again a time-tested technique exploited well by film directors. G Nageswara Reddy, the helmsman of ‘Aatadukundam Raa’ too falls into this trap. Saddled with a not-so-successful film family hero like Sushanth as his lead star, he is hard-pressed to build a credible image for him.

So, he does what many others working with suspect box- office appeal do. Throughout his 133-minute film, he dips into the rich reservoir of the Akkineni film legacy, leaving no one from the thespian ANR to the latest entrant Akhil to lend their star power for his latest offering.

Basing his flick on two parallel tracks friendship sentiment and father-son bonding – the film begins in the usual manner typical of Telugu commercial ventures, when silly misunderstandings split open established relationships. One thing leads to the other and the track gains momentum of its own, with the villains temporarily enjoying the upper hand.

Enters the hero, after the de rigueur entry song, playing the do-gooder and trying to make amends for lost time and facilitating the return of the good old times in the heroine’s family. He succeeds grandly in drilling sense into the bad guys, led by Feroz Abbasi, a relatively new baddie to make his mark in Telugu films.

Still, he is considered an outsider by the very set of people whom he had set out to help, having landed from distant America. Here Reddy introduces yet another sub-plot to the film, which gives him the opportunity to use the other trump card he has paternal love.

If the same line of approach would have been continued, the film could still have managed to entertain, given that the supporting cast of the comedians, including veteran Brahmanandam and the current favourite, Prudhvi putting up the usual acts.

Inexplicably, the director introduces a time-machine concept to play tricks on the villain and rob him of his wealth, over-depending on the antics of Brahmi to take the film forward. The tiresome track robs the film of whatever little watchability it had earned till then, as it continues creeping to an easily predictable climax.

Sonam Preet Bajwa, the newest north Indian heroine on the block, plays the coy bimbette to the hilt and does not trouble the director much. One cannot escape concluding that in his desperate attempt to ride piggyback on film legacies and reflected glory of one leading film banner, the director has ignored the basic requirement of a decent, watchable entertainer –an interesting method of storytelling.

Film Name : Aatadukundam Raa

Cast : Sushanth, Sonam Bajwa, Brahmanandam and Prudhvi
Direction : G Nageswara Reddy
Genre : Comedy
Likes : Sincere attempt by Sushanth to look like a hero
Dislikes : Amateurish second half