Director : Krish
Producers : Saibabu Jagarlamudi, Y. Rajeev Reddy, Bibo Srinivas
Music Director : Chirantan Bhatt
Cast : Balakrishna, Shriya Saran, Hema Malini, Tanikella Bharani, SivaKrishna, Vinod etc
Director Krish and hero Balakrishna achieve the seemingly insurmountable task of recreating iconic Telugu warrior-king Gautamiputra Satakarni on the silver screen. The film has whipped up sky high expectations with Balayya fans across the globe going into a frenzy of unimaginable sorts. Let’s see if director Krish’s most prestigious project and Balayya’s 100th offering manage to live up to the expectations.
Storyline
As son of Gauthami Balasri, Satakarni always years for a stable, centralized, powerful mega kingdom that means peace and prosperity to all its dwellers. His yearning makes him go on an all-conquering spree of war and in the process ignore his family. He manages to build an Akhanda Bharat, but the rift with his wife widens with every war. Satakarni prepares for a major war to snuff out foreign challenge to Bharat.
How his mother encourages himself on a prophesy-fulfilling and historic war? How he reconciles his differences with his wife? How he builds an invincible India that spreads from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and how he saves the country from the dangers of a foreign subjugation form the sum and substance of the story.
Performances
Clearly, it is an out and out Balakrishna film. His performance is superlative and the battle scenes, which he did without using a body double, are ultimate. Balakrishna has always done justice to mythological and historic roles and his ability to portray macho, all-conquering supreme hero is also legion. He manages to exude royalty and emotes very well. Shriya as Vashisti Devi is very good. She excels in the emotional encounters with Satakarni in both the first and second half of the film. Another key asset to the film is the exemplary action by Hema Malini, who essays the role of Gauthami Balasri, mother of Satakarni.
Technical
Director Krish does a commendable job in cobbling up key events in the life of the historic personality and portraying them in a delectable manner.Krish's trade mark emotions and dramatic content are clearly seen in the battle scenes. The audience will not shy away to laud Krish for coming with a story on Telugu pride and also executing it on such a mammoth scale. All the war sequences and the way they have been executed are in true Hollywood style and he took Telugu cinema to the next level. Gautamiputra Satakarni is one film which every Telugu person can be extremely proud off. Sai Madhav Burra’s dialogues are superlative and they managed to bring a rare dignity to the movie. Gnana Sekhar’s cinematography helps bring a special shade to the period film. Chirantan Bhatt’s music is awesome and background scores gives goosebumps. Seetarama Sastry imparts a rare literary flavor to the song.
Analysis
Both Krish and Balayya Babu have attempted and succeeded in bringing out the life and greatness of Satakarni. Balayya’s acting, Shriya, Hemamalini’s supporting contribution and Sai Madhav Burra’s dialogues elevate the film. The audience will easily connect themselves to the greatness of this Telugu warrior king. The dialogues are superlative and the way Balayya mouths them is extraordinary. Balayya Babu succeeds in presenting a whole range of emotions such as tiff with wife, love for mother, fierce determination to unite the country and his mental agony of having to pawn his son’s safety to achieve his aim. The pre-interval battle is a standout and one is left wondering as to how much Krish managed to achieve with in just six months of production work.
Verdict
A surefire hit, Balayya, Krish stand out. A must watch for all Telugu lovers.
Filmybuzz.com Rating - 4/5