It’s astonishing to see Mahesh Babu, at the age of 46, looking better than ever before. There are moments during this film that had me grinning from end-to-end just from how good he looks in this film. Now, if what you just read doesn’t interest you much then you are probably not the right audience for “Sarkaru Vaari Paata”. This is a film made for Mahesh Babu fans who simply long to see their hero on the screen.

The story centers around Mahi (Mahesh Babu), an NRI who owns a US private loans company. After getting swindled by one of his clients, Mahi heads back to India to recover the money from a wealthy and powerful coastal businessman related to his client. The business man, played by Samuthirakani, just so happens to hate repaying loans.

I had a real blast with the first-half of this film. The comedy was on point, the songs were entertaining, and the chemistry between Keerthy Suresh and Mahesh Babu is a high point. However, the second-half of this film really takes a turn for the worst. The plot becomes convoluted and looses focus. Mahi conveniently beats and forces his way out of every conflict he encounters. There’s a scene where a road is blockaded in-front of Mahi. To get around it, he just uses a lorri to bash through the blockade of bricks a fire, with barely a scratch on him or the truck. You see bricks flying all over the place and you’re telling me not one of them smashed through the truck’s windshield? Top Gear did the same stunt and Jeremy Clarkson almost died.

Sure, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen physics defying nonsense, but the film doesn’t earn these moments or even tried to suspend our disbelief. It all comes off as lazy writing and convenient rather than something worth the whistles.

The film centers on the important issues of loans and repayments, and how the wealthy use their influence to take out humongous loans that they then don’t repay; leaving the burden of repayment on the working class. it’s something admirable to be talking about, and there was a lot of potential here. However, this is a mass movie so we never really see much nuance on this issue and there are lubricious solutions like everyone withdrawing all of their money from banks and boycotting repayments.

Furthermore, what happens to Keerthy Suresh’s character in the second half of this film is incredibly sexist and appalling. Not only that, but her character’s feelings on Mahi and her morals do a 180 spin in a matter of minutes. All of this leads to a lengthy second half that bogs down the film as it tries to juggle being a mass film, a social PSA, and a romantic comedy.

So why an I giving this film 2 stars? Well, all that being said, I did end up having a good time because I’m a fan of Mahesh Babu. His charisma and energy carries nearly every single scene, and I never got tired of watching him do his thing. But, I’m not blind to the issues plaguing this film. I was able to enjoy this film despite those flaws because of Mahesh Babu; however, most people probably shouldn’t bother.