'Manashankaravaraprasadgaru' Movie Review

‘Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu’ Movie Review

Cast: Chiranjeevi, Nayanthara, Venkatesh Daggubati, Sachin Khedekar, Catherine Tresa, Zarina Wahab, Sharath Saxena, Harshavardhan, Abhinav Gomatam, Master Revanth, Sudev Nair, and others

Music: Bheems Ceciroleo

Cinematography: Sameer Reddy

Producers: Sahu Garapati, Sushmita Konidela

Written and Directed by: Anil Ravipudi

Megastar Chiranjeevi’s last outing, Bhola Shankar, was a huge disappointment for fans. In the hope of scoring a blockbuster, he has joined hands with Anil Ravipudi, who is known for a series of blockbusters at the Box Office. Their collaboration resulted in Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu. After last year’s Sankranthi blockbuster Sankranthiki Vastunnam with Venkatesh, has Anil managed to impress audiences with the Chiranjeevi film as well? Let’s see.

Story:

Varaprasad (Chiranjeevi) works as an officer in the Intelligence Department. After he saves the Home Minister (Sarath Saxena) from a serious threat, the Minister wants to pay him back. Then, Varaprasad shares his flashback about his estranged wife, Sasirekha (Nayanthara), and their kids. With the minister’s help, he tries to get close to his ex-wife and kids. What challenges did he face on this journey? Why did Sasirekha leave him? And will the Children get close to him? These are some of the questions we will find on the screen.

Narrative and Analysis:

When top stars who once ruled the box office fail to deliver hits, fans get deeply disappointed. In such situations, some directors know how to present these stars well, such that fans are excited. Harish Shankar did with Gabbar Singh for Pawan Kalyan, then Sujeeth delivered the max with #OG. A few years ago, KS Bobby gave a similar vintage-style treatment with Chiranjeevi in Waltair Veerayya. After all these movies worked, even Anil Ravipudi followed a similar path.

Like most of Anil’s movies, Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu doesn’t have a strong or complex story. There are no shocking twists, explosive sequences, and the comedy isn’t over-the-top funny. Still, the film manages to entertain and keep the audience hooked for its two and a half hour runtime. Most importantly, it brings the vintage Chiranjeevi on the screen, pleasing Mega fans big time.

Chiranjeevi is a huge mass hero with a unique heroism style, while his dances and fights are legendary. But his comic timing doesn’t get the recognition it actually deserves. Films like Annayya show how effective his comedy timing can be, and scenes from those films are hugely popular on social media. In this film, Anil Ravipudi makes full use of Chiru’s comedy timing, though there’s no single scene as iconic as the Bulliraju episode from Sankranthiki Vastunnam.

Like the case of most of Anil Ravipudi’s movies, the story is weak here in Mana Shankara Varaprasad too. The plot and the villain are too ordinary for a star like Chiranjeevi, making you wonder if the story is matching his stature. The film focuses on a hero trying to reunite with his estranged wife, a story that we have seen umpteen times. However, the main goal seems to be showcasing Chiranjeevi at the best of his comedy timing. Anil studied Chiru’s past hits big time to craft this film. Dialogues like “Miss Jwala!” (Chantabbai), to dance-like walks while teasing his father-in-law (Shankardada MBBS), to modern lines like “Na Whatsapp Number Unblock Cheyyavva?” (Jai Chiranjeeva), the film brings a nostalgic feel for fans, while the general audience also enjoys it. Chiranjeevi maintains the steady rhythm for his character, from beginning to end, keeping the flow smooth.

Even though the primary objective is comedy, the film has emotional overtones here and there. Father and kids scenes are heartwarming, and a scene between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is thoughtful. A satire on wives troubling their husbands works well too. However, the second half slows down the pace with predictability and repetition kicking in. At a time when the film slowed down, Venktesh’s entry adds some energy, though those scenes aren’t extraordinary. And the climax is a pretty simple one.

Overall, Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu is a vintage-style Chiranjeevi film that provides light-hearted comedy and makes it a breezy 2.5-hour watch in the Sankranti festive season, as long as we keep our expectations low.

Performances:

Before the release of the film, when it was in the making phase, mega fans might have many doubts and fears, but they quickly vanished in thin air as the movie started. Chiranjeevi owned the character so well that his look, styling, despite feeling unnatural at certain parts, still impresses us. Anil Ravipudi presented his best version.

Nayanthara aptly suits Sasirekha's character and delivers justice for the film. Though it’s not a rare character, it worked out, and she did her own dubbing, which added more flavour. Sachin Kedekar fits the bill in the father character. Zarina Wahab as Chiranjeevi’s mother is too impressive. Venkatesh is attractive for 20 minutes. Catherina Tresa, Harshavardhan, Abhinav Gomatam, and others did their best in the role. Playing villain, Sudev Nair is just okay as his character doesn’t have any substance. Sankranthiki Vastunnam fame Bulli Raju, Revanth, is also okay. Sarath Saxena, who appeared on the Telugu screen after a long time, is also okay.

Technicians:

Bheems Ceciroleo’s songs are impressive, with the Shashirekha song being the standout for its visuals as well. Hook-Step song and Meesala Pilla song are also attractive. However, his BGM is pretty average. Sameer Reddy’s color visuals are also exceptional. The quality of the film is amazing as the spending is visible.

Anil Ravipudi has delivered exactly what the audience expects from him. Even in this movie, he succeeded in designing episodes that are designed to the hero’s body language and fame. While Bobby has shown a vintage Chiru’s teaser in Waltair Veerayya, Anil Ravipudi has shown the full trailer of it. He made use of Chiru’s comedy timing big time. Though all this sounds good, he hasn’t written a story of Chiru’s stature. Though he made the audience laugh, he hasn’t made them jump out of their seats. Has Anil had worked more on the comedy part, Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu would have been special.

Finally: Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu... a vintage Chiru performance

Rating - 3/5