Movie: Bimbisara
Rating: 2.5/5
Banner: NTR Arts
Cast: Kalyan Ram, Catherine Tresa, Samyuktha Menon, Warina Hussain, Vennela Kishore, Brahmaji, Srinivasa Reddy, and others
Dialogues: Vasudev Muneppagari
Music: MM Keeravani
DOP: Chota K Naidu
Editor: Tammi Raju
Art: Kiran Kumar Manne
Stunts: Venkat & Ram Krishan
Producer: Hari Krishna K
Written and Directed by: Vassishta
Release Date: August 5, 2022
Films mounted on a big scale and loaded with visual effects are being liked by the audiences these days. Following the trend, Kalyan Ram came up with “Bimbisara” with a similar setup. The film’s trailer wowed everyone and set the expectations soaring high.
Let’s find out whether “Bimbisara” reaches the expectations.
Story:
There lived a king named Bimbisara (Kalyan Ram) many centuries ago. He is power-thirsty and evil. He hides all his wealth (money and jewelry) in a secret room.
He doesn’t spare anyone who talks or goes against him. He even kills an innocent girl. One day, an artist presents him with a magical mirror that transports him to the future (to 2022).
In the modern era, a doctor is in search of a book stashed in the locked room belonging to Bimbisara. Meanwhile, Bimbisara gets saved by a young girl from an accident. The girl looks exactly like the one he killed in his kingdom.
Will this incident transform him into a good man?
Artistes’ Performances:
Kalyan Ram has a role that has him showing three shades. He plays the role of Bimbisara and his twin brother Deva Datta. As an evil king of Bimbisara, he does justice but he shines better in the modern version. The film entirely revolves around him.
Except for Kalyan Ram’s role, all the characters are cardboard. Catherine Tresa in the role of princess Ira is there for a song.
Samyuktha Menon’s role is silly. The heroine’s roles are forgettable.
Srinivasa Reddy’s comedy is typical. Vivan Bhatena in the role of the villain makes no impact.
Technical Excellence:
Lavishly made and shot, the visual effects are top-class. Touted to be the costliest movie in Kalyan Ram’s career, the movie boasts a grand production design.
The 5th-century setting is a right mix of artwork and VFX. The cinematography is rich. Music is a mixed bag. “Eeswarude” song stands out, while Keeravani’s BGM is effective.
Highlights:
Time travel concept
Kalyan Ram
Grand visuals
Drawback:
Heroines
Villain’s characterization
Weak second half
Analysis
Time travel is the concept of “Bimbisara”. We have seen a couple of films in this genre but the new director has brought some novelty to this theme: an evil king gets transported to the future to realize how evil he was and how bad king he was. The idea is exciting.
New director Vashisht doesn’t beat around the bush to come to the point. King Bimbisara’s evil acts and his story are presented without wasting time. After negatively painting Kalyan Ram, the film introduces the second character – his twin brother, again played by Kalyan Ram.
The first hour is entirely set in the fifth century and the drama. The time travel angle comes just before the interval and the story cuts to the current era. Unlike the previous movies, the past and the present go parallel here.
The toughest job for any director to handle time-travel concepts is with the present-day sequences. We have seen films where Yama or angels come to earth and are confused about the lifestyle of modern humans and gadgets. Director Vashist briefly treads the same path as those movies but he thankfully keeps it short. The comedy portions involving Vennela Kishore and Chammk Chandra are one such example.
The problem with “Bimbisara” is it doesn’t have a proper conflict. The villain’s character is so weak. There is no emotional connection. Even the thread of Bimbisara going all out to save the child, who he killed in the past, is clumsy. The resolution (the final part) is the biggest problem with this story.
While Bimbisara is evil, we also get the second character Deva Dutta to balance the good. So, it is like a regular mass film, when a hero plays a bad character, the other character has to be a good guy.
And Samyuktha Menen plays a cop. Do cops behave like that? New director Vashisht has a grip on production design and visuals but his writing needed sharpness.
Despite not so rousing the second half, “Bimbisara” makes a decent watch for its grander setting and time-travel element. And the film is a better-made film among Kalyan Ram’s recent films.
Bottom line: Mixed bag