kaparthisuresh If a leading star has had two box office turkeys, one would expect his next film to have all that's considered necessary for a blockbuster. While trying to get this recipe for success right, often, a director plays around with an apology of a plot.The trailer of Srimanthudu had the glimpse of a promising story line, of a well-heeled youngster adopting a village. But the promotional campaign laid stress on the entertainment factor; the team didn't want to make the huge fan base believe they are in for a 'message-oriented' drama. Does the promise of a strong core get drowned in the masala? Pleasantly, it doesn't. Director Koratala Siva gives the fan base enough to cheer and at the same time, has a firm grip over the plot.Harsha (Mahesh) is the scion of his father's (Jagapati Babu) business empire. He isn't keen on taking over the reigns of the empire. Rather, he takes up a course on rural development after he meets Charusheela (Shruti Haasan), who wants to use technology to the benefit of her village.Harsha doles out wads of notes to an elderly woman begging at the traffic signal, donates lakhs of rupees to an employee for his daughter's wedding and generally, remains aloof from the ostentatious setting that surrounds him. Like the father and son in K. Balachander's excellent Rudraveena, here too, the father and son differ in their ideological outlook. The father-son clashes here are more subtle. There is a certain respect with which Harsha puts forth his points of view and bides time to, like he says, earn his respect.Giving away money is the first step, but will Harsha risk his life when he is up against a local hoodlum, Sashi (Sampath) and a minister (Mukesh Rishi)? A liquor network, a water bottling unit eating into the drinking water source of the village, and agriculture land at the brink of being taken over for political gains, all find a place in Harsha's journey.As the hurdles get tougher, the film glorifies Harsha as the hamlet's saviour. But that's expected of a commercial entertainer.There are nice little touches in the narrative, like the small-time vendor keeping a count of the families remaining in the village as many leave to the city for better prospects. Then, there's the portion where Rajendra Prasad (the do-gooder witnessing the slow decay of his village over the years and is yet optimistic of future) is unable to say anything when his own brother's family wants to leave.The stylishly mounted dance numbers punctuate the proceedings, along with laughter in the form of Vennela Kishore. Srimanthudu has a huge supporting cast, with most of them not having anything substantial to do. Sukanya as the doting mother, the spiritually-inclined Subbaraju, Rahul Ravindran as the cousin, Thulasi as the woman frustrated with the village, and Tejaswi Madiwada in a guest appearance... the list is long.A couple of songs stand out in Devi Sri Prasad's music. The cinematography and technical finesse are an asset.Shruti Haasan seems to be getting better with each film and does her part with grace and earnestness, managing to hold her own in a film that worships the hero. Mahesh carries the film on his shoulders, working his charm throughout. And yeah, as with some of his previous films, there are enough references made to his good looks. Beyond looking stylish, the actor comes up with an understated, mature performance.This isn't Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades, where Shah Rukh Khan finds his true calling in a much more realistic manner. The social consciousness comes coated with commercially viable ingredients and still, makes for an engaging watch.SrimanthuduCast: Mahesh, Shruti Haasan, Jagapati BabuDirection: Koratala SivaMusic: Devi Sri PrasadStory line: A rich guy wants to give back to society but has to face stumbling blocks.Bottom line: A star-driven film with a strong plot that's worth a watch.

sravyametpally Imagine having a good meal. You are happy and your taste buds are tingling in anticipation of the dessert. You see a beautifully decorated cheesecake come your way. The slight dusting of cocoa ups your anticipation and the delicate tangy smell of lemon wafts to you making your mouth water. And then you try to cut into it and find it hard. You still think it'll taste okay. You bite into it and you realize it is stale. There goes the entire experience of your meal.Srimanthudu is somewhat like that. It starts off well enough. We are introduced to an heir apparent Harsha (Mahesh Babu) who's not really interested in his billions, and his dad Ravikanth (Jagapathi Babu) who does not really understand his son's world. In comes Charuseela (Sruthi Hassan), a girl pursuing a rural development course in NIRD, Hyderabad. Harsha meets Charu and tells her that he loves the course she's doing, and joins her college.The two get close but when Charu finds out who Harsha is, she distances him telling him that he does not even know his roots and she's a rooted girl and that their worlds will not collide. This statement leads Harsha to discover his roots in a village called Devarakota. How Harsha adopts the village of Devarakota and rids it of the ills plaguing it forms the plot of Srimanthudu.So the appetizer, the first half, is nice. The first song, Harsha's and Charu's medicates, and Mahesh's acting - all of these make for a good takeoff. There are nicely composed fights and the thrills flow organically. The main course, most of the second half, works well. There are no punch dialogues or fights for the sake of fights. The comedy and Sruthi Hassan spice things up well enough, and you begin to relax thinking your meal is well set. A mass song comes in like slightly sour curd, and you still don't mind. And then the pure- climax / climax sets in, and goes about ruining everything that worked well so far. Sigh.Director Koratala Siva does a good job with most of the film. He makes sure the script is adhered to, pulls off good Marsala moments without heavy dialogues or counters, and paces the narrative well - while the film does proceed in a leisurely fashion, at no point does Srimanthudu have you feeling bored. Mahesh supports his director ably and puts in a splendid performance. He also pulls off the rich guy look effortlessly with elegant and understated costumes and styling. The sighing of the women in the theater was audible every time he made an appearance.Sruthi Hassan does her usual thing, and the rest of the supporting cast do a decent job, too. Sampath and Mukesh Rishi are way too typecast - it is getting boring watching them do these "I'm so bad ass" villain characters that get beaten to pulp in the climax.Technically, Srimanthudu is impressive. The songs are so much better on screen, and the background score elevates several core moments. The art director could've really gone easy on the bling, though - rich does not necessarily mean gaudy. The dialogues are sharp and not punchlines, which is a relief.Srimanthudu is a good ride all the way until the final cricket match that Mahesh plays with a rod and the heads of a dozen goons. It is good to see Mahesh give first place to the story, and try and make a strong comeback after the tripe that was Aagadu. Go watch this one - it's been a while since the script was the hero in a big-budget film.

tahersheikh If a leading star has had two box office turkeys, one would expect his next film to have all that's considered necessary for a blockbuster. While trying to get this recipe for success right, often, a director plays around with an apology of a plot.The trailer of Srimanthudu had the glimpse of a promising story line, of a well-heeled youngster adopting a village. But the promotional campaign laid stress on the entertainment factor; the team didn't want to make the huge fan base believe they are in for a 'message- oriented' drama. Does the promise of a strong core get drowned in the Masala? Pleasantly, it doesn't. Director Koratala Siva gives the fan base enough to cheer and at the same time, has a firm grip over the plot.Harsha (Mahesh) is the scion of his father's (Jagapati Babu) business empire. He isn't keen on taking over the reigns of the empire. Rather, he takes up a course on rural development after he meets Charusheela (Shruti Haasan), who wants to use technology to the benefit of her village.Harsha doles out wads of notes to an elderly woman begging at the traffic signal, donates lack's of rupees to an employee for his daughter's wedding and generally, remains aloof from the ostentatious setting that surrounds him. Like the father and son in K. Balachander's excellent Rudraveena, here too, the father and son differ in their ideological outlook. The father-son clashes here are more subtle. There is a certain respect with which Harsha puts forth his points of view and bides time to, like he says, earn his respect.Giving away money is the first step, but will Harsha risk his life when he is up against a local hoodlum, Sashi (Sampath) and a minister (Mukesh Rishi)? A liquor network, a water bottling unit eating into the drinking water source of the village, and agriculture land at the brink of being taken over for political gains, all find a place in Harsha's journey.As the hurdles get tougher, the film glorifies Harsha as the hamlet's savior. But that's expected of a commercial entertainer.

sandhyaanthony Harsha (Mahesh Babu) is the heir of a multimillionaire Ravi (Jagapathi Babu) but is not at all interested in inheriting his father's assets. He instead wants to earn name and respect for himself by serving the people. He happens to meet Charuseela (Shruti Hassan) and falls for her instantly. Even though she likes him, Charu keeps him at bay due to his family back ground. The journey Harsha takes to win her is the rest of the story.First things first, Mahesh Babu should appreciated trusting the subject which is low on comedy and is focused on content. Such subject needs extreme skill and integrity from the director, but Mahesh kept his faith on Koratala and at times even allowed the content to take the driver's seat. As an actor, he also showcased a very different performance. His body language is totally different to that of earlier films and the dialogue modulation is also very impressive.No great words for Shruti Hassan's performance but she is an absolute eye candy in the songs. Rajendra Prasad and Jagapathi Babu did what is expected of them. Mukesh Rishi and Sampath are good as baddies. Vennela Kishore is okay while Ali and Subba Raju are under utilized. Sukanya gets a very limited role while Rahul Ravindran is good in the limited role he is offered.Koratala Siva came up with a rural backdrop story once again like Mirchi but there is a clearly distinction between the both. For the most part of the film, the content is in the driver's seat with out heroism or other commercial elements dominating it. The dialogs, family drama and fights worked out big time. Only let off is the lengthy climax which spoiled the thrill at the end.Devi Sri Prasad has come up with a good album. Three songs particularly Jago re Jago are very impressive thanks to their placement and factorization. The back ground score is also decent. Madhie's camera work is rich and colorful. Editor should have been more careful with the climax.Finally, Srimanthudu is fresh deviation from the mindless formulaic films coming in Telugu in the recent times. We rarely see content being respected in a star film and that too with out losing the commercial value. Koratala and Mahesh does the trick with Srimanthudu. Go enjoy it!