Boyapati Sreenu and Ram Pothineni have come together for mass actioner Skanda which released in theaters today. The film is projected as a full-on action thriller. Here's our review of the film.
Story:
The chief ministers of the twin Telugu states are at war after Telangana CM's son kidnaps AP CM's daughter from marriage hall. This sets in motion a huge political tussle. Ram now gets involved with this and he has something to do with TS CM's daughter, played by Sree Leela. How does the rest of the action involving CMs and Ram unfold?
How did the actors perform?
Ever since Ismart Shankar, Ram has been trying really hard to get a mass image for himself. His efforts are to gain a mass hero image and Skanda falls under the same category. He goes into an ultra mass mode for this film with the rugged makeover. He looks massy in the action blocks. Sree Leela is a good match for him on the dance floor and she looks gorgeous as well.
The rest of the cast, Srikanth, Saiee Manjrekar, Prince, and others deliver justice to their roles with their fine performances.
What about technical finesse?
Boyapati Sreenu picks a strange premise as he sets it amongst two chief ministers of the Telugu states, which is unrealistic. But he loads the film with his trademark mass moments which again go overboard more often.
Thaman delivers a disappointing sound track with his below par songs and weak BGM. The rest of the technical aspects are of decent quality.
Analysis:
Skanda gets off to a good start with the establishment of the main point, which is unrealistic in general, but in cinema sense, it creates intrigue. Ram's introduction fight is good.
But the problem sets in as the first half progresses with the outdated drama and family scenes taking the center stage. Boyapati carries his same old strategy of filling the screen with many actors but having very little story to back it up.
The interval bang is loud but it doesn't have the X factor. The audience can see it coming. Better BGM could have worked more in favor of the film.
The post-internal sequences are based on family drama. But the drama factor isn't for all sections. It is melodramatic. And also, there is a lot of action quotient in the second half. The climax fight will leave the audience gasping for breath as it is so excruciatingly long. Over the top action is the culprit here.
The tracks about the chief ministers ends on a strange note, but that is expected of a commercial film. In the midst of this, there are a handful of mass action blocks that work the trick. They have the right impetus and induce cinematic high.
Verdict: Skanda is a Boyapati mark mass film with Ram in the center of it. It might cater to the masses as a one time watch but for the rest it can be termed as a disappointing watch.
Rating: 2.25/5
