There is a tipping point which actors often fail to reach time and again. But once they reach that, they find a pandora's box that's filled with unfulfilled promises, expectations, and hope. It's at this juncture, that you desperately wish that actor will rise above his own shortcomings to unleash some sort of a magic spell, which heals your scars from the past.
With Bharat Ane Nenu, Mahesh Babu not only crosses the tipping point but also breaks open the pandora's box and burns the unfulfilled promises to ashes, to show why he's such a fine actor. You can't take your eyes off when he's on screen pulling off his role with utmost sincerity and conviction. You might go gaga over his looks, but the most charming thing about Mahesh Babu in this film, in particular, is that there's an air of confidence he exudes. He's in full control of what he's doing.
Cast: Mahesh Babu, Kiara Advani, Prakash Raj, Posani, Brahmaji, and Others
Director and Writer: Koratala Siva
Producers: DVV Dannayya
DOP: Ravi K Chandran and Thirru
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Editor: A Sreekar Prasad
Banner: DVV Entertainments
Rating:3.0/5.0
Release Date: 20th April 2018
Story
Bharat Ram(Mahesh Babu) is an Oxford graduate with 5 degrees to his name. He returns to India after the demise of his father Raghava Raju(Sharath Kumar) and takes charge as the Chief Minister of the then united Andhra Pradesh owing to pressure from his father's friend Varada Raju (Prakash Raj) without knowing ABCDs of Indian politics. Just like any educated person, he starts ruling the state on his own terms right from the day 1. This creates a ruckus in his own party members and as the head of the party, it starts worrying Varada Raju. Bharat starts changing all the rules and regulations in the state to bring in a positive change in the never growing society. In the process, he falls for Vasumathi (Kiara Advani) who is a girl from a middle-class family preparing for her civils. How will Bharat cope with the political pressure and what are the consequences he will have to face? Will his good deeds do him any good?
Performances:
After that four disasters in his last five films, the character of Bharat and Mahesh's performance in it are truly game-changer for the Superstar. It is amazing to note the tremendous transformation he went through in the film. He set aside the subtleness and delivered an energetic performance in the film. His dialogue delivery suiting the political theme is also good.
As an Oxford graduate, he had to have a foreign touch in his dialogue delivery and he has absolutely nailed every scene of it. His screen presence is terrific throughout the movie as usual.
Kiara Advani as Vasumathi is a delight to watch and is so expressive. For a slow-paced first half, her presence was so refreshing. Not for a single scene, you feel like it is her first movie in TFI.
Prakash Raj gets another important role after a long time and he was at his usual best.Posani as MLA managed few laughs here and there.
Rao Ramesh as Vasumathi's father gets a small role and he made his presence felt. Brahmaji was good as well. Aamani had a short role and she was okay. Arjun Reddy fame Rahul Rama Krishna gets another good role. All other roles did not have much importance.
Technical:
Koratala Siva is successful as soon as he selects a time-tested political theme and redesigned Mahesh Babu to fit in it. Some of the blocks which he has written are terrific but then due to run-time issues, he struggled to justify them. But they are still enough to pump the adrenaline of fans. The movie has some major highlight every now and then. Contentwise we see they are not adequately addressed but they still deliver. Some excellent dialogues are also on offer. The good thing is the director stayed loyal to the script and did not embed comedy forcefully. The love track is also in sync with the story. A couple of fights, the Pressmeet scene stand tall for Koratala's ability and Mahesh's redemption.
Devi Sri Prasad excelled with the background score and the songs are good as well.
Ravi K Chandran and Tirru's visuals are excellent. A Sreekar Prasad's editing could have been better. The Production Values are immaculate.
Analysis:
To start with, the movie opened with "I don't know" song which reminds you of Venkatesh's movies where he has an opening song with foreign chicks. The director brings Bharat back to India, shows him the current situation of AP and makes him a Chief Minister. But you would get an impression that the narration is a bit slow paced. As the movie was going slow, Vasumathi characterization brings a freshness to the screen.
When dealing with sensitive scripts like this, it is important that the director doesn't deviate from the storyline to bring in unnecessary comedy and the director was spot on. One has to commend him for that. The only quotient of entertainment was the chemistry between Mahesh and Kiara augmented by Brahmaji's comedy once in a while. The internal politics in a state where one party has to support another party in tough times is a known thing in Indian politics and Siva koratala narrated this brilliantly marking the end of first half. The Durga mahal fight and the assembly scenes are the highlights until then.
Mahesh Babu has always been a director's delight throughout his career and he proves it time and again. A director and his story might fail but Mahesh Babu as an actor has never failed to perform. His dialogues and fights are a treat to watch. Especially in the second half on how Bharat is coping with the political pressures and the measures he took to save Rahul Ramakrishna and the way the pace in the movie picks up was impressive. Mahesh babu's speech in the press conference is one of the highlights of the movie. As a fan, you would want to get up and clap after that scene. The movie again drags a bit in the climax. The runtime needs a little trimming.
Except for the irregular pace in the narration, the director had done nothing wrong in the movie. His ideology in changing the current Education system, especially in government schools having English medium and the ways to make traffic better and how Media is making money with sensationalizing news was very well shot. The DOP Thiru was equally good with the visuals. All the songs looked so pleasant and DSP again proves that he gives the best background score in TFI, especially for big hero movies where it plays a crucial role. The movie might not please all the kinds of the audience but it is a much-needed movie for bringing a change in the current society.
Verdict
At the end of the day, watching a Koratala Siva's film feels like reading a book. He has consistently proven to be a good storyteller, and with Bharat Ane Nenu, he has shown yet again that there's plenty of drama when a normal guy takes an uncommon path. Bharat might have become the messiah of the state in the story, but it's Mahesh Babu who leaves a long lasting impression in the end. Two big thumbs up for the film. It delivers more than what it promises.
