Veera Review

There are some actors that you expect to not stray far from their style of movie making. Of these, there are only a select few that you can tolerate. Ravi Teja is one such actor that has a distinct style. But not to say he doesn't try different things. Films like Neninthe Shambo Shiva Shambo and Shock may not have done well for the the "Mass Maharaja" but they were just a few reasons for the hardcore fans believing he was an actor not just a star. However his latest offering of Veera directed by Ramesh Varma starring Kajal Aggarwal and Taapsee Pannu is one that will test the boundaries of admiration. Read on to find out how.

Veera begins with ACP Shyam [Shyam] standing up against crime and criminals. He bows to none and makes it clear justice will be served. On one such serving, Dhanraj [Rahul Dev]'s son is killed in a misfired shot meant for Shyam. As revenge, Dhanraj kidnaps and kills his son. Although an honest cop, Shyam is human and he starts to question his purpose since he as in the police department is there to protect the innocent when something happens. But when he himself is targeted, what happens? Enter Deva [Ravi Teja]. A stern security set to protect him and his family, he quickly mingles with the family barring Shyam's wife, Satya [Sridevi]. Agitated and irritated by Deva's presence, her disliking is most apparent while the friendly neighbour Aiykee [Taapsee Pannu] forms a liking towards him. Deva develops a rapport with Shyam's young daughter Anjali, and aids Shyam in hiding the truth about his son from his family, Satya holds her tongue from verbalising her annoyance and asking him to leave. But Shyam isn't the only one that is hiding the truth as there is more than meets the eye with Deva. With the threat hanging over his family's head, will Shyam be able to find out the details of this stranger before its too late. Who is he? Where is he from? And whats his connection to Dhanraj? Watch to find out.

Ravi Teja is one actor that I know has the talent to be amazing on screen. Yet his mass form of acting and dialogue delivery is one that does entertain as well. In Veera, the actor delivers his normal antics in a different light as usual. He may have succeeded had it not been for bad writing and a logic lacking screenplay. Taapsee Pannu is one cute actress that I have faith in but her role of Aiykee is limited to say the least. Strutting in designers didn't make her role any more enjoyable but what worse is that your expectations are completely shot and your left asking for more. Result, the actress leaves little to no impact at all. Kajal Aggarwal has more depth in her role but in all honesty, she too has very little to do and has done the bubbly character before, although not in such mass action flick. It would be great if she selected roles that were not only different but she looked the part as well. She puts in her two cents worth but seems completely out of place in some areas. Brahmanandam and Ali try their best to lift up the proceedings with their comedy and succeed to a degree. Sridevi returns after a few years of marital bliss but hams severely. Roja is forgettable while Shyam doesn't get much of a chance this time around to make a mark. However, he is ok when he is on. Supri, Pradeep Rawat and Rahul Dev simply do a repeat show of their former roles. The rest are strictly ok.

Chota K Naidu takes hold of the camera and makes it work in his favour where possible with some amazing visuals of Europe and nice handy work on onshore shots. However the good points pretty much stop there. Music by Thaman S is strictly ok and have a serious sense of deja vu. Background score does perk it up a bit as compensation but not high enough to count. Editing by Gautham Raju could have been much better but in his defence, the real culprit is the main man, Ramesh Varma. His lack of direction, in more ways than one, really brought down this film. Yes it is an action based film so it wont be accepted by everyone and some hardcore fans will love the bloody screens and graphic violence that is present in abundance. But even the good points of the film struggle to bring the film over the border. For Veera, logic has not just gone for a stroll in the cinematic liberties park,  it is non-existant. Major loopholes in logic not only drag out the film but lose the audience entirely on occasion because of disbelief. On top of this, the dialogue simply did not evoke enough emotion to engage the audience. Due to this lack of emotion, at times, it would seem the casting was completely wrong for the melodramatic screenplay and OTT dialogue.

So what does it leave us the audience with? A half-baked film that only entertains in bits.

Rating: 2/5