Movie: Jaya Janaki Nayaka
Rating: 3/5
Banner: Dwaraka Creations
Cast: Bellamkonda Srinivas, Rakul Preet Singh, Sharat Kumar, Nandu, Jagapathi Babu, Chalapathi Rao, Vani Vishwanath and others
Dialogues: M Rathnam
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Director of Photography: Rishi Punjabi
Editor: Kotagiri Venkateshwara Rao
Art: Sahi Suresh
Fights: Ram Lakshman
Producer: Miryala Ravindeer Reddy
Story, Screenplay, and direction: Boyapati Srinu
Release date: August 11, 2017
Boyapati has joined the list of top directors in Tollywood after series of hits and his movies generally strike a chord with the mass audiences.
After smashing hit "Sarrainodu", Boyapati teaming up with an upcoming star like Bellamkonda Srinivas for "Jaya Janaki Nayaka" has raised curiosity. Boyapati also claimed that he has made love story after a long time.
Let's find out its merits and demerits.
Story:
Gagan (Bellamkonda Srinivas) is son of an industrialist called Chakravarthy (Sharath Kumar). Gagan, his father and his brother (Nandu) behave as if they are thick friends and hangout with drinks.
One day, Gagan rescues a girl from rowdy gang in the college and the college student Sweety (Rakul) starts liking him.
She comes to know his family and she changes the habits of his family – drinking alcohol and getting in fights. Soon Gagan also starts liking her.
On the other hand, a businessman Varma (Jagapathi Babu) bids for a highway project but a liquor don wants this project to come to him at any cost.
When the Chief of National Highways Authority (JP) hands over the project to Varma, the liquor don is on mission to kill all of them. The officer happens to be Sweety’s father and he marries her off to Varma’s son much against her wishes.
In the marriage mandapam, the groom is killed by liquor don and Sweety turns widow. In a turn of incidents, Gagan comes into the picture and saves the family of Varma.
How Gagan takes on liquor don and weds widowed Sweety is the story.
Artistes’ Performances:
Bellamkonda Srinivas as Gagan has built up muscles and body. He has looked more like macho man than a student. He impresses in action stunts and final sequences.
Rakul Preet Singh looks beautiful in the beginning but she turns weepy post interval.
Jagapathi Babu gets another interesting role as an industrialist who does anything for ‘pride’ (paruvu).
Sharat Kumar and Nandu as father and brother of Bellamkonda are neat.
Pragya appears as Vizag girl in few scenes and songs. There are plenty of actors but all of them act in loud manner. Vani Vishwanath appears as Jagapathi Babu’s sister.
Technical Excellence:
The one thing that is striking in the movie is cinematography by Rishi Punjabi. He has made every frame look rich. It is for his camera work that the movie looks bright despite routine scenes.
Editing is okay. Action stunts are terrific, the Hamsala Deevi episode is done in a terrific way. Dialogues by Ratnam might appeal to mass audiences.
Highlights:
Boyapati mark of mass elements
Love scenes
Pre-climax scenes
Hamsala Deevi Action Episode
Drawback:
Predictable story
Routine screenplay
Analysis:
Director Boyapati Srinu's heroes and villains are predictable. His villains behave as if there is no law or no law enforcement officers in the country. His heroes fight with villains as if they are trained in all kind of fight sequences despite they coming from rich families and posh backgrounds.
In “Simha”, the hero is a rich doctor. In “Sarrainodu”, the protagonist is the son of chief secretary of a state. Here in “Jaya Janaki Nayaka”, the hero is a student and son of a rich businessman. But that doesn’t stop Boyapati’s heroes taking up swords, doing stunts.
If you forget these aspects, you will enjoy Boyapati’s movies. His core strength is evoking emotions in action stunts.
In “Jaya Janaki Nayaka” too, he gets them right. The film begins with the love story between Rakul and Bellamonda, but it soon turns into an action-revenge drama.
The only difference here is that the heroine gets married to another guy and becomes a widow and then the hero decides to risk everything for her. But it gets into serious mode and also turns a bit emotional after the interval.
The entire episode from Vani Vishwanath asking Jagapathi Babu to do homam in Hamsala Deevi to the “Nee Valle Nee Valle” song is quite riveting. The “Hamsala Deevi” action episode is one of the best shot sequences in Telugu.
The movie slackens a bit but it holds interest again in the final sequences. The highlights of the movie are its action stunts and hero going to any length to win back the love of his lover who is now a widow.
Although the movie holds interest in the second half, it has predictability factor throughout. This is director Boyapati’s mark film but it also has ample mass moments that will appeal to his targeted audiences.
On the whole, “Jaya Janaki Nayaka” is typical Boyapati’s mass-action drama that has some good fights and interesting scenes here and there. It may work in B and C centers but it is unlikely to appeal to class audiences and overseas audiences.
Bottom-line: Typical Boyapati Movie