Venkatadri Express Movie Review

Venkatadri Express Movie Review

 

                         

Cast: Sundeep Kishan , Rakul Preeth Singh , Ramesh , Saptagiri and others

Directed by : Merlapaka Gandhi

Produced by : Gemini Kiran

Banner :Anandi Arts Creations

Music by : Ramana Gogula

Release Date : 2013-11-29

Sundeep Kishan's latest film Venkatadri Express, which created some buzz with pre release trailers, has arrived in theaters now. Is the film promising enough?

What is it about?

Sandeep (Sandeep) cannot sit and watch when others are in problems. But his father (Nagineedu) is a strict man, who doesn't want his son to get involved in everybody's headaches. At a point Sandeep's father gets vexed with his son and says that if he commits one more mistake he will be thrown out of the family. But Sandeep can't help himself from getting involved in others problems. Their family boards Venkatadri Express train to reach Tirupathi for Sandeep's brother's marriage. But Sandeep misses the train. Now he will have to catch it before his father realizes that he has done another mistake.

Performances:

Sundeep Kishan's casual acting is good. He suited the character to the T and the director made sure that heroism doesn’t go overboard. Rakul Preeth Singh is a pretty face. She is okay as an actress. Nagineedu is being typecast in these roles. Saptagiri once again excelled with his comic timing. Tagubothu Ramesh steals the show. Brahmaji is competent and all others chipped in when needed.

Technicalities: 

The film has some good technical support. The entire credit of using the technical team to the best advantage of the film should go to Director Merlapaka Gandhi. The story is simple. It’s about a person who commits ninety nine mistakes and is on the verge being thrown out of his home. In the process to impress his family he takes a major deal in brother’s marriage. A funny story that happens around a train journey from Hyderabad to Tirupathi.

Venkatadri Express, which is directed by young debutant director Merlapaka Gandhi (Karmara Devuda short film fame) whose treatment leaves a lot to be desired. Screenplay is shabby in the second half. Gandhi has good flair for conceiving comedy scenes. He succeeded in comedy department in the first half and failed in elevating the emotions part in the second half. The scenes of catching train speed with Auto, Car and Bus are very unconvincing. The scenes in the climax between Sundeep and Nagineedu are unconvincing reminds you the Bommarilu sequence. Chota K. Naidu has also excelled in outdoor photography.

Editing is not crisp. Editor could have easily cut short scenes pre interval like ATM machine scene – Car sequence and MS Narayana Scenes. All these dialogues are pretty natural and are in lighter vein. Songs by Ramana Gogula are good in the film. Picturization of Melamellaga is very pleasant. All other songs also serve entertainment purpose. Rerecording of the film is good. Visual effects by CGtrix is neat. Production Values are promising.

Analysis:

Most of the directors fumble in handling a road film. Director Gandhi clearly knew what he was dealing and made sure that the film doesn't go off track. Whenever the proceedings seemed monotonous he has cleverly banked upon comedy and this tactic has worked in favor of Venkatadri Express.

At a point even comedy didn't help much as the director tried to drag the movie unnecessarily. He should have kept it simple rather going for an elaborate two and a half hours film. Had this been a two hour film, Venkatadri Express might have been thoroughly entertaining without any hassles.

            

Climax is good but that is dragged too. Director's over dependence on comedy handicapped the movie to some extent. Barring these negatives, this movie is an entertaining ride. Train journeys are often boring and those unwanted stops due to 'crossings' wouldn't be exciting. Watching Venkatadri Express too has some of those boring moments, but on a whole it will entertain and keep you engaged most of the time.

Disclaimer: This review is an opinion of review writer. Please do not judge the movie based on this review and watch movie in theatre and let us know your feedback in comments below.