Kick over comfort

Ravi Teja is sui generis -- class in himself. His genre of cinema is one that eschews class, serenity and sanity with equal vigour. He has in the process garnered a space for himself and if the crowds at the theatre in Bengaluru are any indication a huge fan following too. ‘Kick’ helped him to safeguard the earned position. Now the crew returns to echo the franchisee.

‘Kick II’ starts well after where ‘Kick’ ended. Kick crazy Teja Senior has moved on. Literally. He has now moved on to Virginia, US, with his eccentric son Robin Hood (Teja Jr). The chip of the old block is out to prove that ‘Kick’ was no flash in the pan. This is no statement from Prakash Jha stables on the problems of the underdog.

His is ballistic Ravi Teja out to entertain and entertain in the only manner he can and has been perceived to be. Our Kick dad advices Kick Comfort against a trip to India to regain some lost property in the hands of local villain Durga (Ashish Vidyarthi).

However, when he lands in India he first has to flex his muscle against Jadcherla Balram (Chakravakam Madhu) and then enter the house of Pandit Ravi Teja (Brahmanandam) who is making a living from Palmistry. In the process he runs into Chaitra (Rakul Preet Singh) who surely falls in love with the guy.

There is parallel story of a village in the middle of nowhere where Solomon Singh Thakur (Ravi Kishan), a Gabbar gone wrong, is harassing the villagers of Vilaspur. He forcibly takes the entire younger generation and gets them addicted to drugs so that they do not revolt. The other part of the seemingly lunatic village is helpless.

Now you do not have to put one and one together to predict that sooner than later the conflict is between the evil Thakur and the hero Robin Hood. The way to the battle field is inevitably love and romance. So while the entire pre-interval story is about the brewing romance in the city, we move on at half-way to the painted station at the middle of nowhere where the battle lines are to be drawn.

There is no point in analysing a Ravi Teja film. It is unpretentiously the type that he has always promised. In case you are the type that sat back, let go your fine sensitivities and enjoyed ‘Kick’ then here is a blast for you. This is a product that comes with the statutory warning called Ravi Teja.

It must be said to the credit of the filmmaker (Surender Reddy) that he does not promise you anything different or mind boggling. It is just that you need to keep your nerves in place. The statutory warning is in place. So you head to the theatre with an informed choice.

The film is completely built on the star value of Ravi Teja and yet again if you approve his type of cinema than this offers you enough and more. However, if you are looking for a grand entertainer with niceties than stay away is the strategy. The rest of the cast play willing second fiddle.

It is obvious that the audience is there to see the thrills that defy logic, the dialogue that have empty grandeur and that is offered aplenty. Also there is Brahmanandam who returns with a role instead of just an appearance and as ever he and Ravi Teja are a house on fire when together. If you are the ‘Kick’ types then ‘Kick II’ is a plateful. As far as comparisons, give me ‘Kick’ any day.

Movie Name : Kick II

Cast : Ravi Teja, Rakul Preet Singh, Brahmanandam and Sanjay Mishra

Direction : Surender Reddy

Genre : Comedy-action

Likes : Ravi Teja & Brahmi

Dislikes : Formula & violence

Rating : ***

By L Ravichander