Cast: Nara Rohit, Sri Vishnu, Tanya Hope, Prabhas Srinu, Ravi Varma and others.
Editing: Kotagiri Venkateshwara Rao
Cinematography: Naveen
Music: Sai Kartheek
Producer: Prashanthi, Krishna Vijay
Direction: Saagar K Chandra
Nara Rohit has come up with the sixth release of this year which is Appatlo Okadundevadu. Incidentally, it is also the last Telugu film to release in this year. Set up in the backdrop of early 1990s, this film has Sri Vishnu in another lead role. Earlier, both Sri Vishnu and Rohit were seen in the political thriller Prathinidhi. Here’s the review of the film:
Synopsis:
Railway Raju (Sri Vishnu) is a happy go lucky guy who aims to become a cricketer. He works hard to get selected for the national cricket team. His world is his friends, girlfriend and cricket. On the other side, Imtiaz Ali (Nara Rohit) is a sincere police officer. His parents get killed by Naxalites during his childhood. Since then, he vows to kill all the Naxalites.
Railway Raju’s sister Ahalya is a Naxalite. Hence, Imtiaz targets Railway Raju to track down his sister. But Raju doesn’t co-operate with the police officers. Hence, Imitiaz arrests Raju in a fake case. What happened next? What did Raju do after that? Did he become the cricketer? To know these answers, you have to watch the film.
Performances:
The whole film revolves around both Sri Vishnu and Nara Rohit. Rohit impresses yet again in the role of a sincere cop. He must be appreciated for choosing different kinds of scripts irrespective of the results. Sri Vishnu has also given a commendable performance and it will remain as one of the best films in his career. He was good as an aspiring cricketer in the first half and he transforms efficiently as a rowdy in the second half. Heroine Tanya Hope was wasted. Rest all were okay.
Technical and overall analysis:
Director Saagar Chandra chooses some key incidents from the 90s to weave this story. He wanted to narrate the story in a different style. At some instances, he reminds you of Ram Gopal Varma in terms of taking. He was quite successful in making the film easily understandable. He did a lot of research to portray the living conditions of those times. Music by Sai Kartheek was not up to the mark. Neither songs nor the background score impresses the audience. Editing could’ve been crispier. Even the cinematography was not good and so were the production values.
The first half of the film goes on a rapid pace while the second half goes at a snail pace. The lady Naxalite character reminds you of Naxalite Lalithakka. The stamps scam scene which comes in the second half remains as the highlight of the film. Few scenes were very thought provoking. Overall, Appatlo Okadundevadu is a good attempt which was successful partially in the execution.
One-line verdict:
One Time Watch
Rating: 2.5/5
