Andhra King Taluka Review

It has been almost five years since Ram Pothineni scored a hit film. All his last three films were with notable, experienced directors, but none of them helped him score a success. At a point in his career when reinventing himself was the need of the hour, he teamed up with a two-film-old (i.e., Ra Ra… Krishnayya and Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty) young director, Mahesh Babu Pachigolla, and came up with Andhra King Taluka. Kannada star hero, Upendra, played a very crucial role in the film and when his name was announced, a few people thought the casting may misfire. The latest emerging actress, Bhagyashri Borse, did the female lead role in the film and the Tamil music directors duo, Vivek–Mervin, scored the music for the film. After being in the news for its chartbuster songs and interesting trailer, the film was finally released in theatres today. Did Ram Pothineni, finally score a success? Did Bhagyashri Borse, score her first success at the box office? Did the director, Mahesh Babu Pachigolla, come up with yet another engaging film, after ‘Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty’? How did, Vivek–Mervin’, score music for their first Telugu film? Did the production house, Mythri Movie Makers, deliver yet another hit film? More importantly, is Upendra the right choice to play a crucial role in the film? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

Sagar(Ram Pothineni), from a remote village, Godapalli Lanka, in Godavari district, is a die-hard fan of, ‘Andhra King’ Surya(Upendra). Sagar falls in love with Mahalakshmi(Bhagyashri Borse) but her father ridicules Sagar by saying he’s no match for Mahalakshmi’s status. Sagar challenges Mahalakshmi’s father and says that he will build a big movie theatre in his remote village in no time and proves that he’s worth enough to marry Mahalakshmi. Just when everything seems to be going in favour of Sagar and Mahalakshmi’s love, Sagar decides to sell the theatre he built and send the money to his favourite hero, Surya. Why did Sagar send money to his favourite hero? Why did Ram want to build a theatre and that too in his remote village where they don’t even have access to electricity? What is the backstory of Sagar? How is Surya’s hundredth film related to Sagar’s love story? Did Sagar meet his favourite hero? Did Surya meet his die-hard fan? Did Sagar and Mahalakshmi get married eventually? Forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

Ram Pothineni is one of the very few heroes who is a star material and also a good actor. There’s no doubt about his acting potential but script choices are questionable more often than not. Especially in the last few years, the roles he played were run-of-the-mill and over the top. The need of the hour is to reinvent himself and he did it so well in Andhra King Taluka. Throughout the film, we only see ‘Sagar’ but not ‘Ram’. There were no over-the-top fights and punch dialogues. He just lived the role of Sagar in a very charming manner.

Kannada star hero, Upendra, is a perfect choice to play the role of Surya. He got very limited screen space but he made his presence felt with a very good performance. His performance in the climax deserves a special mention. Bhagyashri Borse got a very good role and she did justice with her performance. She looked good and also performed well.

Rao Ramesh & Murali Sharma are very good actors and Andhra King Taluka is an example to say why both of them are the best in the business to play crucial character roles in films. Rao Ramesh’s performance in the temple sequence and Murali Sharma’s performance in the pre-interval sequence, are brilliant. Rahul Ramakrishna and Satya also got good roles and they both generated a few laughs and excelled in emotional sequences as well. Rajeev Kanakala, Raghu Babu and Tulasi, made their experience count in limited but crucial roles. Yesteryear actress, Sindhu Tolani, appeared in a brief role and she delivered a good performance.

Technicalities:

Songs composed by the Tamil music directors duo, Vivek–Mervin, are one of the biggest positives of the film. Two melody songs were soul soothing and the two situational songs along with the background score blended perfectly with the theme of the film. Siddhartha Nuni & George C. Williams’ cinematography is neat. Both of them were able to capture the picturesque locales of the Godavari district, very well. Especially, the cyclone episode in the second half was shot very well.

The VFX department should have done a better job though. The visuals in the giant wheel sequence with Ram & Bhagyashri, looked very artificial with poor visual effects. A. Sreekar Prasad’s editing in the second half is very good but it looked like, he did not get a free hand while editing the first half. At least ten to fifteen minutes of editing in the first half would have made the film even better. Production values by Mythri Movie Makers are first-rate. Let’s discuss the work of writer and director, Mahesh Babu Pachigolla, in detail in the analysis section.

Positives:

1.⁠ ⁠Second Half
2.⁠ ⁠Well Written Dialogues
3.⁠ ⁠Songs
4.⁠ ⁠Ram’s Performance
5.⁠ ⁠Rao Ramesh’s ‘Temple’ Sequence
6.⁠ ⁠Pre-Interval Sequence

Negatives:

1.⁠ ⁠Editing & Pace In The First Half

Analysis:

‘Nenu neeku padhella nunchi fan Annayya…Kani vadu neeku padhellake fan’, ‘Nee(Mahalakshmi) kosam gelavali anukunnadu….naa(Surya) kosam odipoyadu…kani vadi kosam matram em chesukoledu’ – These two dialogues perfectly sum up the two hours and forty-six minutes film. How far and to what extent a person can go for the love of a girl and well well-being of his favourite hero, is the core point of the film. Right from the word go, the director takes us into the world of Sagar and narrates the story in a very engaging way in most parts. The good thing about the film is that we don’t see the run-of-the-mill antics that we are used to seeing in RAPO’s films in the recent past. All we get to see is Sagar & his innocent world of a fan. The film has pacing issues in the first half but it never deviates from the core point. The pace of the film picked up during the pre-interval sequence and kept getting better with each passing sequence until the climax.

The basic plot of the film revolves around a star hero and his die-hard fan. But, it is never all about the cinema, fan wars, etc. The director blended the basic plot of the hero and his fan with a beautiful love story and a very good backstory to the character of Sagar. Cinema is a powerful medium and actors may not meet their fans in person or personally know their fans but they are capable enough to inspire people through their movies. The director conveyed this point in a very inspiring manner through a superbly written backstory to the role of Sagar. The writing, the screenplay and the direction from the pre-interval sequences to the climax, worked big time in favour of the film. The temple sequence on Rao Ramesh along with Sagar and the villagers, Surya’s confrontation sequence with Mahalakshmi and her father, Sagar and Surya’s confrontation during the climax, the sequence where Sagar tells Mahalakshmi about why he likes Surya so much, all these sequences were written so well, performed so well and directed so well.

The best part about the film is the dialogues. There are at least ten to fifteen dialogues in the film that were very thought-provoking and inspiring but never felt preachy. Kudos to the writer and director, Mahesh Babu Pachigolla, for coming up with such brilliant writing, feel-good narration and engaging execution in most parts. The director and the hero, Ram Pothineni, deserve a special mention for sticking to the story and narrating it in the most honest way possible without including unnecessary hero elevations, etc. Another good thing about the film is that almost every character in the film has a purpose. Every character we see on screen helps the proceedings move forward.

On the flip side, the pace in the first half hour of the film is very slow. The proceedings during the first hour unfold at a very leisurely pace. Better editing in the first half would have made the film even better. At least ten to fifteen minutes of the film in the first half would have been easily edited. Also, better care should have been taken in the visual effects department.

Overall, Andhra King Taluka, has its heart in the right place. The story of a fan boy is told with utmost honesty and in a feel-good manner. Barring the pace issues in the first half, the writing, the direction, the music and the performances, worked out so well and made the film a good watch. You can definitely watch the film in a theatre along with family and friends if you like well-made story-driven films which are both entertaining and enriching. The wait for a hit film is over for Ram Pothineni. The film has a very good chance of working well among all sections of the audience and becoming a box office success.

Final Verdict – Heartwarming

Rating – 3/5