Movie: Bholaa Shankar
Rating: 1.5/5
Banner: AK Entertainments
Cast: Chiranjeevi, Tamannaah, Keerthy Suresh, Sushanth, Raghu Babu, Murali Sharma, Ravi Shankar, Vennela Kishore, Tulasi, Sri Mukhi, Bithiri Sathi, Satya, Getup Srinu, Rashmi Gautam, Uttej,and others.
Dialogues: Mamidala Thirupathi
Music: Mahati Swara Sagar
DOP: Dudley
Editor: Marthand K Venkatesh
Action: Ram-Laxman
Produced by: Ramabrahmam Sunkara
Directed by: Meher Ramesh
Release Date: Aug 11, 2023
"Bholaa Shankar" has been generating a lot of buzz. Chiranjeevi's promotions and interviews, along with his recent political comments, have made this film a trending topic in the media. The movie is an adaptation of a successful Tamil film.
Let's delve into its strengths and weaknesses.
Story:
Shankar (Chiranjeevi) and his sister Mahalaxmi (Keerthy Suresh) relocate from Hyderabad to Kolkata. Shankar works as a cab driver while his sister attends art school. Shankar meets Lasya (Tamannaah), a lawyer, and her brother (Sushanth) falls in love with Mahalakshmi.
While the wedding preparations of Mahalakshmi are underway, Shankar goes on a murdering spree, which Lasya witnesses.
So, who exactly is Shankar? Why is he murdering these goons? What is his background?
Artistes’ Performances:
Chiranjeevi plays a role with two dimensions: a cab driver named Shankar in Kolkata and a hooligan named Bholaa in Hyderabad. In the second half, Chiranjeevi attempts to emulate his Shankar Dada performance. While he tries hard to bring humour with his performance, the result is mixed. His sequences with Sreemukhi are futile.
Tamannaah plays Chiranjeevi's girlfriend, and she does well in the role. Keerthy Suresh is an apt choice to play Chiranjeevi's sister. She has a small role, but she does justice to it.
Tarun Arora plays a stereotypical villain. Vennela Kishore's performance as Bhamsi is adequate. There are numerous comedians and actors, but none are registered.
Sushanth makes a brief appearance that has little significance.
Technical Excellence:
Mass movies like these require solid songs, but Mahati Swara Sagar fails big time. He has not created a single foot tapping number. Songs are usually the highlight of Chiranjeevi's films, but when they appear in this film, they add to the dullness.
The writing department is the film's other weakest technical team. The writers did a poor job. The production values are excellent.
Highlights:
Some scenes in the second half
Drawback:
Outdated story and screenplay
Meher Ramesh’s direction
Mahati’s Songs
Total First Half
Many cringeworthy moments
Analysis
"Bholaa Shankar," the remake of the Tamil film "Vedalam," made it clear in its trailer that moviegoers and fans should keep their expectations low. The songs were also not chart-toppers. Following the failures of “Shadow” and "Shakti," director Meher Ramesh became a target of trolls. So, no one had high expectations for this film. We, too, entered the theater with zero expectations. Meher Ramesh, the director of "Bholaa Shankar," has proven that he cannot even meet the lowest of expectations.
In general, big star films attract moviegoers in the first half but often deviate from their course in the second half. However, "Bholaa Shankar" lacks redeeming qualities in either the first or second half. It's filled with embarrassing scenes and formulaic sequences from beginning to end.
The first half is so underwhelming that even slightly better moments in the second half come across as tolerable. The film is entirely clichéd and outdated.
In the first half, there's a silly comic track with Vennela Kishore, whom Bengalis refer to as Bumsi instead of Vamsi. Chiranjeevi takes the initiative to provide "comedy" in the second half, imitating the famous scene between his brother Pawan Kalyan and Bhumika from "Kushi." He recreates the situation with Sreemukhi, which is quite cringe-worthy to witness.
During promotional interviews, director Meher Ramesh claimed that he and his writers changed and improved upon the Tamil original "Vedalam" by 70%. However, we don't see any improvement. They've included a comedy track with Chiranjeevi, which doesn't have a significant impact.
Regarding the primary goal of protecting his sister from the mafia (as in the original film), the movie only mildly engages us toward the end.
“Vedalam” itself was an older movie (released in 2015) with outdated scenes. Meher Ramesh treated the remake version with decade-old ideas.
Overall, "Bholaa Shankar" is a complete bore. It neither entertains nor features appealing tunes, as one would expect from a Chiranjeevi film. This one is packed with outdated sequences and cringe-worthy situations. A complete disappointment!
Bottom line: Boring Shankar