Baava Review - Pora!

Loyalty is the essence of any fan. But certain things you can't be partial to. With the constant updates direct from Siddharth on twitter, Rajendra Prasad on screen after a long time and the pics of Siddharth in a village bum role, the expectations shot high. But this is one film that doesn't make it to those standards. So without dragging it out, lets begin.

Meet Veerababu[Siddharth]. He and his gang are the town mischief makers. From dressing as a girl with his gang to tease the local girls to stopping an engagement for his friend, there is no stopping him and his gang. As the town folk try to get rid of Veera, his father Sitaram[Rajendra Prasad] steps in and stops them. Apple of his father's eye and living life aimlessly, Veera has a chance encounter of Varalakshmi [Pranitha]. After the usual song and dance to get her, Varam finally falls for him when he pulls out his trump card of their past together as Veera and her went to school together but where he was academically declining, she excelled. But love stories always have a villain and this one has 2. First is Varam's family. Although Varam is also daddy[Ahuthi Prasad]'s little angel and gets whatever she wants, her family has arranged for her marriage to be with Ramana[Samrat] her Baava. Pressure mounts on the lovers as the engagement is fixed. In a moment of haste, Veera ties the nuptial knot on Varam's neck with belief he has dad to back him. But his father is more than upset with him. Why his father, who supported him in all aspects, would go to the extent of slapping him for what he's done and what relevance does their love story have to Sitaram's past forms the rest of the story and introduces villain number 2.

Let me clarify on the outset this film is not new age cinema. Its not even classic masala ishtyle cinema. Blood, sweat and tears were put into making the film so it is bad to discourage people from seeing it but the fact remains this film could have been so much more but falls flat. The potential of the lead actors Siddharth, Pranitha and  Rajendra Prasad has been been seen before so naturally curiosity rises with their combination. Siddharth dons a village character after Aata but his look and accent differs in this complete village bum role. For someone that is supposedly the new generation urban lover boy, this is a nice change and he does well. Pranitha caught the attention of most in her debut Em Pillo Em Pillado. As Varam, she is cute and easy on the eyes but this is somewhat an extension of her previous 'bubbly first, weepy later' character so she doesn't leap very high in this. Do I need to give introduction to Rajendra Prasad? I think not. The supporting cast which includes Tanikella Bharani, Ahuthi Prasad and Sindhu Tholani, who appears in the second part, are just about ok. 

Chakri hasn't always been one of my favourite music directors since he has some great music but ruins his reputation with blatant lifts from other songs. However, Mila Mila and Pannidella are definitely noteworthy while Nagara is for front benchers. Camera work by Arvind Krishna is a major highlight for the film but how one wishes K.V.Krishna Reddy had used his scissors liberally in the second half. Although, one has to be open to the fact first time director Rambabu has a long way to go. Where the director scores in the initial comedy, he does terribly in the emotional scenes and entire second half. Giggles and tears are present but the emotional attachment is completely missing. Whats worse the logic factor that already has little importance in most films goes for a toss in the climax. The entire temple track really doesn't hold its ground in the film and makes one question its relevance. So while its nice watching Sid in a role he worked hard for, bad writing and lack of emotional attachement to the characters plays a major spoilsport.

Rating: 1.5/5 - half for the camera, half for Rajendra Prasad and half for the comedy.