Movie: Aravindha Sametha
Rating: 3/5
Banner: Haarika & Haasine Creations
Cast: NTR, Pooja Hegde, Eesha Rebba, Jagapathi Babu, Naga Babu, Naveen Chandra, Sunil, Eeshwari Rao, Srinivasa Reddy, and others
Music: S S Thaman
Cinematography: P S Vinod
Editor: Nawin Nooli
Art: A S Prakash
Stunts: Ram Lakshman
Producer: S Radha Krishna
Written and direction: Trivikram
Release date: October 11, 2018
'Aravindha Sametha', the first combination of Young Tiger NTR and Trivikram Srinivas, is one of the most-anticipated Telugu big movies this year. The hype around the film has been huge.
Let’s find out whether it has lived to all the expectations.
Story:
Veera Raghava Reddy’s (NTR Jr) father is killed in a faction war. The rival is Basireddy (Jagapathi Babu). Raghava Reddy takes up the sickle and kills the rival gang. His grandmother tells him to drop the violent wars, put an end to these never-ending faction killings.
He moves to Hyderabad and meets an anthropologist student Aravindha (Pooja Hegde). As he is leading peaceful life, the faction rivals are hunting for him. He comes to know that Basireddy has survived in the earlier attack.
What would Raghava Reddy do now to lead peace in the region?
Artistes' Performances:
NTR has given one of his career best performances. His performance here is not showy; his rage has emotion. His mass stunts too have a certain classiness. His acting in high-voltage emotional scenes has to be seen to be believed. This is the best acting from him in the long time.
Jagapathi Babu as the main villain has given terrific performances, it will go down as one of his all-time best performances. NTR and Jagapathi Babu are the best among the actors.
Pooja Hegde as the main female lead has provided glamour but her characterization is quite irritating. She has also dubbed her voice on her own which is okay.
Eesha Rebba has played second heroine’s role that has no meaning to the story at all.
Naga Babu as NTR’s father has played crucial role but his is a minor part. Supriya Pathak as grandmother is excellent.
Naveen Chandra has done a very important role. Sunil has played full-length supportive role but there is no comedy from him. There are host of other actors but they are just okay.
Technical Excellence:
Best cinematography, top class visuals and great artwork are hallmark of Trivikram’s movies. P S Vinod’s camera work is outstanding. The action and faction sequences are shot in absolutely terrific manner. The artwork is also superb.
Music of Thaman has worked out okay on the screen though they are not that great on audio. The “Peniviti” song is a huge disappointment.
Ram Lakshman’s Action stunts are good but there is excessive gore and blood that puts off at times.
Highlights:
NTR’s performance
Pre-climax
Dialogues
Drawback:
Predictable story
Uneven first half
Lack of entertainment
Analysis
“Aravindha Sametha” begins on a stunning note. NTR is introduced in simple manner but the next scene stuns. A huge faction killings happen. His father Naga Babu is killed by Jagapathi Babu.
This sequence is established in the very first 15 minutes and the entire episode is narrated brilliantly by director Trivikram setting high expectations from the movie.
For the first 40 minutes we are on a roller-coaster ride. Here itself director Trivikram establishes that the film is all about a protagonist trying to find peace to the faction. So far so good.
And suddenly, the drama moves to Hyderabad and heroine is introduced. Graph falls like Sensex. From there the movie moves on uneven manner till the interval leaving us in mixed feelings.
Post-interval the movie comes back in the groove with a stunning sequence of Pooja Hegde’s kidnap sequence where NTR’s heroism is shown over a phone call. This is the best scene in the entire movie. It also showcases Trivikram’s master writing skills.
Although the film again slacks a bit, it gains the momentum at pre-climax episode and ends in different way. The second half is mostly gripping.
Though the story is as old as hills, it is Trivikram’s dialogues and NTR’s excellent performance and screen presence that glues us to the screens.
The final sequences are enough to give pass marks to this routine faction story. Trivikram has shown his best output in the final portions.
However, the film has many issues. The first and foremost is there is nothing new in the story or screenplay and moreover the factionism is not as prevalent as it was some 30 years ago.
The Rayalaseema faction wars are a thing of the past. And the much-hyped “Peniviti” song is a damp squib on screen. There are many brilliant dialogues by Trivikram but they seem forcible rather than organic. Also the film doesn’t provide any entertainment.
All in all, “Aravindha Sametha” is an old faction story that relies more on performances of NTR Jr and Jagapathi Babu and other actors. This is intense story with uneven screenplay. But it is worth a watch for NTR and the final sequences.
Bottom-line: Trivikram's Mark Faction