Badrinath Review

The news of a new film from V.V.Vinayak regardless of who is in it, is enough to get hype started. After the successful Adhurs, Vinayak's Badrinath sees him join hands with Allu Arjun and M.M. Keeravani after Bunny and has Tamannaah in the female lead. Adding to this, the news of 22 sets being formed for the film,a first for TFI, and Arjun travelling to Vietnam for special martial arts training and the hype just kept building up. But with Geetha Arts and their rigorous publicity taking everyone by storm, is it a case of too much hype killing the film? Will Badrinath be able to withstand comparisons a host of other films and still make a successful mark? Yes and maybe. Read on to find out what its about.

The location is Uttarkhand. For centuries, the Hindu temples have had many devotees flock to see the deities and seek blessings. But devotees are not the only ones that come for "darshan" so as a safety from evil doers, each temple instates a protector and a keeper for all of temples as well. Bheeshma Narayan [Prakashraj] who runs a school that trains in martial arts for the protectors, is the keeper looking for a successor. To him, his star pupil is Badri [Allu Arjun], fearless and powerful, is the perfect choice. But complications arise in the form of Alakananda [Tammanaah], an atheist due to her past, she comes to the temple with her grandfather as he seeks hope against a danger threatening Alakananda's life. Initially annoyed, she soon develops a soft spot for Badri. But just as she is about to tell Badri of her feelings, she finds out Bheeshma's intention. Knowing she can’t withstand up against faith and devotion, Alakananda has just about given up when unknowingly, Badri shows her a way through prayer that he promises to help her with. But nothing comes easy and for her prayer to become a reality, she must return in time for the special pooja in 6 months time. Will Badri be able to save her from her danger and bring her back? Will he become the keeper like Bheeshma Narayan wants him to be? Confronted by his beloved guru, Badri's loyalty to the temple and his guru will be tested as he fights between his responsibility and his promise. 

Let me just say that the concept of a story with a temple back-drop is not something new so originality is not questioned this time. For “Stylish Star” Allu Arjun, Badrinath is a step back into the action genre that we saw him previously do in Desamuduru. And there is lots of it. Known to go to great pains for a role, Arjun’s effort is amazingly apparent in Badrinath, whether it’s his strong point dancing or the action sequence. Tamannaah is gradually stepping away from girly cuteness to full blown glamour but thankfully she has a bit of acting to do, although you will need to wait for the climax for it. Prakashraj needs no introduction and the actor cakewalks through his role as guru Bheeshma Narayan. Rao Ramesh is okay while Kelly Dorji, Ashwini Khalsekar and the actor who plays their son Nani are nowhere near as powerfully evil as you’d like them to be. Tanikella Bharani, Kovai Sarala and Pragathi are limited in their scenes and pitch in their two cents. Comedy kings Brahmanandam, M S Narayana, Krishna Bhagwan and Raghubabu try their best to bring out the giggles but most of it falls flat.

On the technical side, Ravi Varman’s cinematography depicts the Himalayan backdrop in exquisite form and is a sight for sore eyes. Anand Sai needs a special mention for elaborate sets with each one amazing in detail. M.M.Keeravani’s music is also in no need of introduction with the whole album being contagiously catchy but Vasudhara and Nath Nath are sure to remain on iTunes playlist for a while longer. Editing is okay but how one wishes the action, although well choreographed by Peter Hein, was cut back for crisper sequencing.

However, for all the hype and publicity, Badrinath is not without its shortfalls. And the main culprit is the writing by Chinni Prakash. For all the elaborate settings and amazing cinematography, the emotion in the film is lost on more than one occasion especially in the love angle of the film. Lack of depth in the characters makes the characters seem melodramatic or just plain loud. On the other side, Tamannaah and Allu Arjun look good yet there is little to no chemistry between them and barring the climax, there is not enough chance for it either. All it takes is for a loving/longing look from Tamannaah and a song begins. Yes the songs are entertaining but they are inappropriately placed and simply act like speedbreakers. As do the action sequences which are long and gory. But perhaps the biggest setback is the lack of logic. Yes, there have been many films that don’t give any importance to logic but for the effort put in, the dodging bullets with a sword and jumping mountains scenes stick out like a sore thumb. I wonder if V.V.Vinayak doesn’t like law enforcement since not a single one turns up when the mass violence occurs.

Yet can I say I didn’t enjoy the film at all? To be honest, no since I was singing Nath Nath as I walked out of the theatres and not thoroughly disgusted at the waste money. But my fan girl status to Allu Arjun was not enough to save me from disappointment. Especially when I’m not a fan of massive bloodfest and I’d like some respect to the laws of physics.

Rating: 2.5/5