Maryada Ramanna Review : 3.25/5

Rating: 3.25/5
Banner: Arka Media Works
Cast: Sunil, Saloni, Nagineedu, Supreeth, Kanchi, Brahmaji, Rao Ramesh, Venugopal, Prabhakar, Subbaraya Sharma, Anuj Gurwar, Jayavani, Sandhya, Anitha Nath etc
Music: M M Keeravani
Cinematography: C Ramprasad
Editing: Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao
Screenplay, Direction: S S Rajamouli
Producers: Shobu Yarlagadda, Devineni Prasad
Release date: 23/07/2010

The tough taskmaster S S Rajamouli has come up with something lighter and entertaining this time and interestingly, he has brought in the comedian Sunil as the hero.

Story
A faction feud in Rayalaseema results in the end of the death of Ramineedu’s (Nagineedu) brother and he along with his two sons (Supreeth, Venugopal) vow for revenge.

Time turns 28 years and comes to Hyderabad. Here lives Ramu (Sunil), an innocent and somewhat unlucky guy whose parents are no more and is ousted out of his job.

His life takes a turn with a correspondence that he has got five acres of land in his hometown in Rayalaseema region. He decides to sell that land and sets off to the village. In this process, he also meets Aparna (Saloni) who is the daughter of Ramineedu.

However, much to Ramu’s bad luck, he happens to be the son of the man who killed Ramineedu’s brother and he ends up in their home itself. Whether he comes alive out of their hands or not forms the rest of the story.

Plus Points:
Music and songs
Raghu Kunche’s ‘Raye Raye Saloni…’
Emotional graph
Back ground score
Dialogue and Direction

Disappointments:
No major twists and turns in story line
Predictable ending

Performances
Sunil has carried out his role with aplomb and he rocked with his dance. Though he didn’t show his regular energy levels, he was an apt choice for those innocent expressions and contained emotions.

Saloni was stunningly seductive. Interestingly, she hasn’t done any skin show but still the oomph factor was revealing itself. She has a natural sex appeal that can’t be missed while she is on the screen. Performance wise, she has given her full and scored good points. She must be given few more opportunities. Costumes played wonderful role for boosting her glamour.

Nagineedu is decent and though it is his debut performance, his act is justified.

Supreeth is standard, Venugopal looks sharp and has a strong screen presence, he can grow further. Rao Ramesh is hardly there, Kaanchi made his presence felt, Jayavani is okay, Sandhya and Anita Nath did their bit as required.

Brahmaji is effective and after a very long time he got some meaningful and meaty role.

Voice over by Ravi Teja for the cycle is impressive.

Analysis
Student 1, Simhadri, Sye, Chatrapati, Vikramarkudu, Yamadonga, Magadheera ...and now Maryada Ramanna. The success track record seems to be continuing for SS Rajamouli, provided this movie is watched without high expectations, rib tickling comedy etc etc etc. It’s an emotional and humorous treat now.

The film takes off on a sparkling note and in no time, the viewer gets into the plot. The momentum is quite high during the start and the emotional graph is maintained throughout.

However, there are a few hiccups during the second half but it is not that injuring. Rajamouli’s USP is the emotional package and he delivers it again. He was well supported by some charging background score, three foot tapping songs, masterly cinematography and professional visual effects.

Editing was crisp and the pace of the film was consistent. On the flip side, the script was predictable and the screenplay was smooth but it could have been tuned in a better way, the discovery made by Sunil could have been kept for the second half or during the climax to keep the mystery factor going on and give it a natural flow. Costumes and styling were appealing and art department was supreme.

Technically, the film has been made at high standards without missing ‘Telugutanam’. The audience walks in with a lot of expectations given the name of Rajamouli. Though he has not exceeded like his previous films, he didn’t disappoint the audience.

Bottomline: Worth a watch but better to see it with open mind and without high expectations

source: SiraSri (rating increased by 0.25)