Starring: Prakash Raj, Allu Arjun, Sheila, Subbaraju
Director: Bhaskar
Music: Mani Sarma
Some
parts of the movie really lived up to its title.. Run! ’Bomarrillu’
Bhaskar has proved yet again, that a debutante, who has produced a
masterpiece his first time, fails, really badly in re-creating his
magic the second time. A concept less- ventured into, could have been a
worthwhile watch, with a little more honing of screenplay and
narration. And of course, a different leading-lady.
Neelakantha
(Prakash Raj) is a respected village elder, whose daughter (Subbalakshmi, Poonam Bajwa) elopes, on
the night of her wedding, with a fellow villager. Neelakantha’s men
round up the boy’s friends, assuming they couldn’t have gotten away
without their help. One of the friends is Krishna (Arjun), who is
indignant about being pushed into a matter he is not involved in. Once,
when they nearly escape, Krishna sees a (supposedly) beautiful girl in
the morning mist. He stands rooted to the ground, and so, all of them are caught
again. All these friends are given a regular dose of beating, and
thrown into an old shed. Not knowing that she is the daughter of
Neelakantha himself, Krishna dreams away about his lover-girl, and
resolves to comb the village and find her at any cost. Now, Subbalakshmi’s sister, the very same girl, comes to request Krishna, to cough up what he knows of the issue. They communicate
through a window, but do not see each other’s faces. And he gets her
into a pact, to help him out in his quest. Ok. Through a series of
events, Krishna is found to be the one helping the runaway couple, and
also, he finds his Ladye-Love. In the second half, on his information,
they travel to Hyderabad in search of Subbalakshmi (Poonam Bajwa, the
1st daughter) and her husband. Krishna also tries every way to change
Meena’s (Sheila) mind about falling in love and eloping with him, while
she does not want her father to experience the same trauma again. How
Arjun changes his mind, how prakash raj reacts on learning that they
are in love, is what the rest of the movie is about.
Prakash Raj
is the real hero and the life-support system of the movie. As the
agonised father, he pulses blood through his character, portraying the
pain, and frustration of a father, and the other side of eloping, what
the families of the kids have to go through. The scene where he is
drunk, and opens up to Allu Arjun is the crux of the movie, and is sure
to touch hearts. Allu Arjun is likeable upto his introductory song, a
cute boy-on-skates, but is just average after that. He looks fresh, has
good comic timing, and is pretty watchable. The major setback in the
cast is the heroine - Sheila - who sports a lost-in-the-woods
expression throughout the length of the movie, which makes u dearly
want to smack her on the nose. Subbaraju is as usual his good self, and
Jayasudha reminds u a lot about her role in Amma, Nanna O Tamilammayi.
And a special mention about the geek, Yogendra Sarma, one of the
friends. Overall, performances were upto the mark.
The major
flaw in the film is the pace with which it runs. The 1st half, though
said to be the better part of the film, is only worth its comedy
scenes. The narration is slow, and screenplay is weak. It’s all about
Arjun hunting for his mystery girl, and his interactions with the
heroine. The second half, though talked of as slow and boring, is
substantially better in quality, showing traces of Bhaskar’s trademark.
The conversation between Prakash Raj and Arjun, when he expresses what
he is going through, is the highlight of the film. The climax too, is
pretty slow, and makes you hope that whatever happens, happens fast.
Though Bhaskar maintains a realism and practicality throughout the
movie, towards the end, he plunges into the all-too-familiar formula of
tollywood. The comedy is perfect in timing, and all the comedians did
their job well. The Ali comedy sequence is also good.
The music
is average, ’ Chal Chal’ and ’Yelagelaga’ are the best of the lot. The
title song is ok, but the picturisation would remind you of Titla in
Vikramarkudu. And the heroine’s jiggly mid-riff didn’t help too much. Mani Sarma, definitely, not at his best.
Overall,
the movie is worth a watch, if only to realize that eloping is not what
we think it is; the agony and frustration involved, the swirl of
emotions, the pride of the father and the insecurities of the daughter.
Director Bhaskar is capable of much more than this, we know.
Rating: **1/2