Movie Review: Gaddalakonda Ganesh (Valmiki)
Rating: 2.75/5
Cast: Varun Tej, Pooja Hegde, Atharva Murali, Mrunalini Ravi, Brahmani, Satya and Others
Music: Mickey J Meyer
Cinematography: Ayananka Bose
Story: Kathik Subbaraj
Additional Dialogues: Mithun Chaitanya-Madhu Srinivas
Producers: Ram Achanta-Gopi Achanta
Screenplay-Direction: Harish Shankar
Release Date: 20th September 2019
Getting
the makeover of Varun Tej exceptionally well built the buzz required
for 'Valmiki'. Tension prevailed in the past few days over the title
controversy ended with Makers succumbing to the pressure. Finally, The
first ever out & out mass flick of Mega Prince released Today. What
this Mass Drama could offer?
Synopsis:
Abhilash
(Atharva Murali) is an aspiring Filmmaker who wishes to make a film
based on the life story of a real life Gangster Gaddalakonda Ganesh
(Varun Tej). He does the research needed by getting closer to the
Gangster. Here comes a twist...Gaddalakonda Ganesh wants to be the hero
of the project inspired from his life story. How did Abhilash handle
such a tricky situation forms rest of the tale.
Performances:
Accepting
the negative role and undergoing drastic makeover for it is the best
thing Varun Tej did in his film career. Gaddalakonda Ganesh will remain
as a memorable character in his career. Varun Tej deserves all the
praises coming his way. No other Actor would have looked better than him
in this role. Be it the look or mannerisms or body language or dialogue
delivery, Everything appeared more than perfect to make the masses go
crazy. Watching him in such a wild character is like a pleasant surprise
for all those who liked his settled performances in previous films.
Dominance of Varun Tej was so much that not even a single artiste could
come anywhere close to him.
Atharva Murali does a fine job. Pooja
Hegde's glam show stood as a special attraction. Mrunalini Ravi is
alright. Brahmaji entertains thoroughly. Satya tickles the funny bone.
Sathru, Jabardasth Ravi and rest of the actors had done their job.
Pros:
Varun Tej Makeover
Music & Songs Picturization
Dialogues
Interval Bang
Cons:
Run Time
Weak Conflict Point
Pre-Climax
Technicalities:
Mickey
J Meyer unleashed a new angle in him with this mass entertainer. Mass
Songs and Pulsating Re-Recording are an asset to 'Valmiki'. With this
flick, This Talented Composer showed his calibre of offering goosebumps
with mass beats. Cinematography by Ayananka Bose fetched rich look for
the movie. Production Values of 14 Reels are superb. Harish Shankar has
yet again showed his expertise at handling remake subjects.
Modifications he offered to 'Jigarthanda' to reach out to the masses are
really praise worthy. Some of the Dialogues penned by him are terrific.
Special mention for the one-liner, 'Nammakam Pranam Lekka, Okkasari
Pothe Malli Tirigi Radhu'.
Analysis:
'Jigarthanda'
became a cult classic because of the Novel Story and wow factor in the
role of Antagonist. The negative role essayed by Bobby Simha became a
highlight. When such a film was remade in Telugu, Any other Director
would have preferred this Tamil Actor for the villain role. This is
where Harish Shankar showed how different his thoughts would be like by
casting Varun Tej, who has done mostly class films, in an out & out
mass entertainer. In fact, He designed the role much more powerfully
than the Tamil version. That's how the risk taken by him has paid off!
Those who watched the Original might even feel the class/classic touch
gone missing because of the over-powering of mass elements. Still, It
must be said that Harish Shankar made 'Valmiki' the right way to suit
the sensibilities of Telugu Audience.
Viewers connect with the
character of Gaddalakonda Ganesh so much that they doesn't bother about
the flaws in the movie. This character entertains thoroughly and keeps
the proceedings engaging mostly. Varun Tej guarantees new experience to
the Telugu Movie Buffs with his new get-up, mannerisms, body language
and dialogue delivery. Harish Shankar succeeded in making viewers feel
excited every time Varun Tej appeared on the screen.
Interval
Bang is being designed exceptionally. Second Half of 'Valmiki' is beyond
anyone's anticipation. Twists n Turns raise the curiosity. Compared to
the Original, Role of Hero's Mother was increased in Telugu Version for
incorporating sentiment. Even the character of Tanikella Bharani was
etched out well. Cameos of Nithin and Sukumar in the climax are like
special attractions.
On the flip side, Couple of scenes meant to
establish how cruel Gaddalakonda Ganesh is like appear repetitive.
Flashback is very ordinary that viewers wait to see 'Velluvachi
Godaramma' Song. Picturization of this remix track and the manner in
which Flashback was ended were impressive. Harish Shankar took way too
much time to establish characters and that resulted in excessive length
of over 170 minutes. Few scenes could have been edited to make the film
look crisp. 'Valmiki' loses track in the Pre-Climax and even the pace
gets dropped. Of course, There are many factors which work in favour of
'Valmiki'. Harish Shankar succeeded in offering a mass touch to the
class story he borrowed from Tamil. Overall, 'Valmiki' will be the most
preferred film to watch in theatres for the next one week!
Bottom Line: Valmiki - Mass Touch For Class Story!
