'BRO' Movie Review
Cast: Pawan Kalyan, Sai Dharam Tej, Ketika Sharma, Priya Prakash Varrier, Rohini, Tanikella Bharani, Vennela Kishore, Raja Chembolu and others.
Music: Thaman
Cinematography: Sujeeth Vasudev
Producer: TG Viswa Prasad
Screenplay - Dialogues: Trivikram Srinivas
Story - Director: Samuthirakani
Pawan Kalyan has been making one remake after another ever since he made his comeback into films. After 'Vakeel Saab' and 'Bheemla Nayak', he decided to remake 'Vinodhaya Sitham' and Samuthirakani who made the original has directed this film too. Titled as 'BRO', star writer-director Trivikram Srinivas wrote the screenplay and dialogues for this movie. With his nephew Sai Dharam Tej as another lead, Pawan Kalyan arrived in theatres today with a good buzz. Let us see how the movie turned out to be.
Story:
Markandeyulu alia Mark (Sai Dharam Tej) is an employee of a multinational company. He thinks that the company cannot run without him. He thinks that he is everything to his family involving a mother, two sisters and a brother who lives abroad. He wants them to listen to him all the time and thinks that there is nothing for them other than him. He doesn't even give time for his girlfriend and always stays busy. One day, Mark has an accident and dies. He meets with the god who controls time (Pawan Kalyan). He gives a second life to Mark who thinks that the family and company cannot survive without him. God gives Mark 90 days of time and he starts seeing life from a new angle. What happens during this period forms the rest of the story.
Analysis:
Pawan Kalyan gave a huge shock to his fans with 'Agnyathavaasi' before stopping acting in films. After three years, he gave his comeback with 'Vakeel Saab' which is a remake of 'Pink'. His next film 'Bheemla Nayak' was a remake of the Malayalam film 'Ayyappanum Koshiyum'. The third film after his re-entry is 'BRO' which is a remake of 'Vinodhaya Sitham'. The story has a class touch to it but the makers made necessary changes and added entertainment and mass moments for fans to enjoy. They did the same for 'Vakeel Saab' and 'Bheemla Nayak' too. Trivikram followed the same path for 'BRO' as well as the original is way too preachy. So, the team added decided to mix entertainment with message. This is why the emotional depth in the remake is a bit less compared to the original but the entertainment keeps the audience engaged.
Pawan Kalyan is not new to playing the role of god. He did it in 'Gopala Gopala' already. He played the role of Sri Krishna who stands behind the common man and drives him forward in that movie. There are a lot of similarities between these two films in that aspect. He will be seen as the god who teaches valuable life lessons to a common man in 'BRO'. But his character is designed based on his mass image. They did not write it in a mature and divine manner but included a lot of craziness to it. This does not mean that they insulted god in any way. The makers made Pawan dance to his own super hit songs and Pawan used his trademark mannerisms as well. This made his fans quite happy. What more do the fans need other than their favorite hero taking them on a trip down memory lane? It seems like Pawan made this film to see his fans happy.
Coming to the narration, there are no twists, shocks or surprises in this film. It is a simple story that says that we have arrived as guests into this world and will leave it in the same way. We need to make use of the time in the best way as nothing can be owned and nothing can be controlled. The life moves on with or without you. This is what 'BRO' tries to say with some sugar coating. It is the story of a young man who thinks he is very important to everyone realizing that he is just a drop in this ocean. Looking at the way the film starts, we can predict how the movie goes on and how it ends right away. The scenes are not new but they were shown in an entertaining manner. Pawan Kalyan took the responsibility of generating fun in the movie. He is the shining light in regular scenes too. 'BRO' looks very ordinary till Pawan enters the scene but the energy kicks in with his arrival. The recreation of the accident scene and Sai Dharam asking for 'another chance' brings out a lot of fun. The screenplay runs quite fast and the first half works out well with crisp runtime.
The dose of entertainment drops in the second half and the director focuses on the emotion. But the scenes showcasing the hero's problems getting solved one after the other are quite routine. The office scenes are quite silly as well. The problems in the house get solved in a very dramatic fashion. The heroine track falls flat and the graph goes down in the first thirty minutes of the second half. But the makers give the message in a strong manner in the last thirty minutes. The dialogues during those scenes are wonderful and we can feel Trivikram's mark all over it. The emotions during the climax worked out well. 'BRO' is not a gripping film and there is nothing new in it as well. But the movie runs on a decent note without boring the audience at any point. Only a few scenes appear a bit jarred but there are ample moments that will please the fans. The movie will connect to normal audiences. Entertainment and decent emotions are its biggest plus points. It can be viewed for timepass this weekend.
Performances:
Pawan Kalyan is undoubtedly the biggest attraction of 'BRO'. The movie is quite ordinary without him. It may look like a guest appearance but he is present in the majority of its runtime. Though he played the role of god, he makes sure that his typical mannerisms are present in the movie. He is the perfect fit for this role and his screen presence is what makes this movie quite special.
Sai Dharam Tej is okay as the ill effects of the accident can be seen in his body language and energy. But 'BRO' too revolves around accident and second life which makes his character relatable to real life. He is the right choice for this character. Heroine Ketika Sharma is quite ordinary and did not have anything significant to do in the movie.
Rohini excels in the mother role and she delivers a wonderful performance as usual. Vennela Kishore as the boss got a brief role and he is okay. Priya Prakash Varrier too did well and Raja Chembolu is okay.
Technicians:
Thaman has disappointed big time with his songs. Apart from the theme of 'BRO', none of the songs impress the viewers. But he elevated a lot of key scenes with his background scores. He injected a lot of energy into scenes involving Pawan through his re-recording. Sujeeth Vasudev's cinematography is good and the visuals are quite colourful. The production values are strictly okay as the grandeur in Pawan's films went missing this time.
Trivikram showcased his mark in some scenes. His screenplay and dialogues are decent. The star writer-director can be heard in scenes involving strong messages regarding time and philosophy in time. But people expect more from Trivikram. Samuthirakani is decent as a director. His story had universal appeal but there are no unexpected turns in this movie. The narration is also quite flat but it is Pawan who saved the movie to a large extent.
Verdict: 'BRO' - A Meaningful Film Coated With Entertainment!
Rating : 2.75/5