There are a few things which a good Telengana Masala Mass movie normally has; a likable hero and heroine who we can follow along with (some good romance also involved), a substantial villain or dramatic character that can contrast the hero well, some good laughs every now and then, a couple of catchy songs, an interesting plot that can be loosely followed, and maybe some social commentary sprinkled in between or at the end. Mix all these together into a coherent film (with some good writing and direction), and you have yourself a decent Telengana Masala Mass movie. It’s not easy, but “Sarileru Neekevvaru” is not exactly a good crack at it. It has most of the things mentioned above, but it isn’t mixed well together.
I’ve been a fan of Mahesh Babu for a while now and it’s always a joy seeing him on screen, and this film is no different. He brings his characteristic charisma and performs the comedy in the film just as well as the drama, elevating many scenes. However, the character he plays (Major Ajay) isn’t as memorable, or as well developed, as the characters he has recently played in films like “Maharishi” and “Bharat Ane Nenu”, the latter being one of the best roles he was given. In “Sarileru”, he plays a military officer who is sent on a mission to convey a message to a mother whose son had been put into critical condition during a military operation; the catch being that their family is in the middle of wedding preparations and that Mahesh Babu is not to tell her about her son until after the marriage has gone through smoothly. Though Mahesh Babu does the best he can with the role, I don’t think the military outfit suits him well, there was a certain believably there which wasn’t pulled off. However, thankfully the film doesn’t keep him in the outfit for long.
Soon enough Major Ajay steps away from his post in Kashmir and begins his trek towards the mother’s house, with the only symbol of his military status being cargo pants that he wears every now and then. Which kind of reveals one of the films’ central weaknesses, in that it treats the military in a very very superficial way, treating it as an idea whose values are convenient to bring up during certain plot points, but never actually exploring those values and what it takes to embody them. To “Sarileru” the military is like an outfit you wear, like Mahesh’s cargo pants, it conveniently allows for some social dialogue, just serving as a way to bring up an emotional response of patriotism and responsibility, but never actually representing those ideas in the film itself. Not only that, but by contriving the military into a set of costumes and ideas that barely scratches the surface of what it means to be a solider.
However, the film really finds its groove when Mahesh meets Rashmika’s character on a train. The introduction of Rashmika Mandala and her family especially adds some much needed color and energy to this film. The comedy and chemistry in the train works very well, it was hilarious to watch and was by-far one of the most entertaining and satisfying aspects of the film. Lighthearted and mindless fun is something that the director and writer of the film, Anil Ravipudi, seems to excel at. His previous film, “F2: Fun and Frustration”, was just that and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Though I do have to mention that the way the whole train sequence was filmed was absolutely atrocious, you could clearly tell that the windows were green screened and that they were all acting on a set. It was shocking for me to see something so incompetent like that in this day and age, especially considering that there are tons of films which have adequately mimicked being on a train, but thankfully it’s something that didn’t ruin the scene; however, it definitely took me out of it.
My favorite aspect of the film though is Prakash Raj, and the interactions he has with his former school teacher, whose lessons of morality and ethics he brings up to question in hilarious ways. Not only that, but Prakash Raj’s performance of the character is beautifully realized in typical Prakash Raj fashion with all the eccentric and manic qualities you would expect. The character also adds a good amount of dramatic heft to the film, serving as a good counter to Mahesh’s Major Ajay.
Though there are some good moments, by and large the story and characterizations are woefully underdone with writing and direction that mostly works during the comedic aspects of the film, but really crashes during the dramatic beats. There is a whole investigation and corruption angle that is over wrought and uninteresting, elevated only by the presence of Rashmika Mandala’s character. It’s a shame they don’t do much with her as she is a talented actress who has proven herself in other works, here she is no more than a comedic relief character that is sidelined for most of the film, and it is getting quite annoying seeing repetitively dumb characterizations of females. The character of the Mother is also horrendously handled, especially the way her character arc gets closed is extremely sloppy and lazy almost to the point of absurdity. She essentially get reduced to a patriotic symbol, and don’t even get me started on the social message that this film tries to promote, it’s (as usual) really shoe horned in, it isn’t earned, and doesn’t really say anything we’ve never heard before.
“Sarileru Neekevvaru” is absolutely a formulaic and mindless entertainer with a couple of good moments, and if that’s what you want then this will work fine. I’m personally a Mahesh Babu fan, and I really liked his previous two films, but this one just didn’t know what it wanted to be. I was entertained while watching this film because I had turned my brain off; however when I sat down to actually think about its film making I could not ignore it’s many many flaws. Certainly this is not a film that is meant to be thought over, you are simply suppose to enjoy it in the moment and move on, and from this angle the issues I mentioned above really don’t matter compared to whether you are having a good time or not, but is that really the standard (the “average”) we should be expecting from Telugu cinema nowadays, let alone from one of its most prolific actors? I argue not, but I also can’t say I didn’t have fun with it. I just wish it were better handled.
