Ustaad Bhagat Singh Review

Pawan Kalyan and Harish Shankar delivered a blockbuster, Gabbar Singh, in 2012. It was the first out-and-out commercial entertainer film from Pawan Kalyan, and the director, Harish Shankar, ensured it was packaged so well. Deservedly so, that film became a memorable film, not just for fans but for regular moviegoers as well. After the resounding success of Gabbar Singh, Pawan Kalyan & Harish Shankar reunited again and announced a film in their combination in 2020, with Mythri Movie Makers, as producers. Due to many external factors, including COVID and Pawan Kalyan’s political commitments, the film was in various stages of production since 2020 and was finally released in theatres today. Did the director, deliver yet another memorable film with Pawan Kalyan? Did Pawan Kalyan, continue his success streak after scoring a blockbuster last year with OG? Did the production house, Mythri Movie Makers, first collaboration with Pawan Kalyan, turn out to be successful? How did Sreeleela & Raashii Khanna, play their roles? Did Devi Sri Prasad score yet another chartbuster album for Pawan Kalyan’s film? Did Thaman score a thumping background score yet again for Pawan Kalyan’s film? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

A noble teacher (K. S. Ravikumar), who works for the welfare of children in the tribal areas of united Andhra Pradesh, encounters a brave and well-read tribal boy (Pawan Kalyan). The teacher names the boy ‘Ustaad Bhagat Singh’ and helps him become an educated youth with a strong social conscience. Ustaad Bhagat Singh, also known as Bhagat, eventually becomes a police officer and fights against evil forces, while his teacher in the meantime turns into the Chief Minister of the state. When everything seems to be going well, a group of people attempt to assassinate the Chief Minister. What challenges did Bhagat face due to his honesty and integrity? Why did the group try to kill the Chief Minister? What is the relationship between Bhagat and Geetha (Sreeleela), a Radio Jockey (RJ)? Who is Shloka (Raashii Khanna) and how is she connected to Bhagat? How did Bhagat fight against Chadala Marri Nalla Nagappa (R. Parthiban), a corrupt politician, and his sons? Forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

First things first, the look and styling of Pawan Kalyan in Ustaad Bhagat Singh is by far his best in recent times. He danced well in a song, he brought back his comedy timing in a few portions, did well in an emotional sequence during the pre-clinax and as usual, played to the galleries in confrontation sequences with the antagonists. Senior director and the actor, R. Parthiban, in the role of a crooked politician, performed well. He looked deadlier and delivered a good performance. Another senior director and actor, K. S. Ravikumar, played a crucial role and he delivered a good performance. Usually, K. S. Ravikumar, plays roles that have ample scope for comedy but in Ustaad Bhagat Singh, he played the role of a teacher turned Chief Minister and delivered a mature performance.

Sreeleela in the role of a Radio Jockey and a hyperactive girl, did a good job with her performance. When she was onboarded to pair opposite Pawan Kalyan in the film, a few people thought the pairing may look odd on screen but Harish Shankar managed to write the sequences between Pawan Kalyan and Sreeleela, maturely and the chemistry between them on-screen did not look odd. Raashii Khanna got a not-so-significant role. She made her presence felt but performance-wise, there’s not much for her to do with the role given to her.

Senior actor, Ramki and Senior Actress, Gautami, did small roles in the film and they made their presence felt. Senior character artist, L.B. Sriram, appeared in a couple of emotional sequences and he did well without going overboard. Rao Ramesh played a crucial role with a twist. His performance during the initial portions of the film appeared over the top and irritated at times. Satyam Rajesh, Prabhas Sreenu, Chammak Chandra and others tried to generate comedy here and most of those sequences were just used as fillers and did not add any value to the film.

Technicalities:

Jalsa, Gabbar Singh, Attarintiki Daredi and Sardaar Gabbar Singh – Devi Sri Prasad scored four chartbuster albums for Pawan Kalyan in the past. Unfortunately, for Ustaad Bhagat Singh, Devi Sri Prasad, scored a mediocre album. Apart from the song, Dekhlenge Saala, other songs in the film are below par to say the least. Thaman S, scored the background score for the film and it is pretty standard. There’s not much to talk about his score and it did not help much in any way to elevate the film to the next level. Maybe due to the lack of time since he was onboarded, just a few days before the release of the film, his score appeared rushed.

Cinematography by Ayananka Bose is good. He was able to capture the lush green locales of the forest and the huge sets laid for the film, quite well with his camera. The colour grading work also looked good throughout the film. Editing by, Karthika Srinivas, should have been better, especially in the first half. Production values by Mythri Movie Makers are good as always. It appeared that the producers arranged everything the director and his team asked for to give the film a rich look. Let’s discuss the screenplay writer, Dasaradh and the director, Harish Shankar’s work in detail in the analysis section.

Positives:

1.⁠ ⁠Pawan Kalyan’s Screen Presence
2.⁠ ⁠Three Good Blocks In The Second Half
3.⁠ ⁠A Few Dialogues

Negatives:

1.⁠ ⁠Template-Driven Screenplay
2.⁠ ⁠Dated Execution
3.⁠ ⁠Songs
4.⁠ ⁠Initial 30 Minutes of The Film

Analysis:

Ustaad Bhagat Singh was announced in 2020 and since then there have been a lot of speculations circulated in the media and within the industry circles saying that it is a remake of the Tamil blockbuster film ‘Theri’. Well, the good news is that it is not a remake of ‘Theri’. But, the story and situations in the film, remind you of multiple blockbuster Telugu movies from the past. Yes, for a commercial entertainer film, the story and situations don’t need to be new or out of the box but it is the job of the screenplay writer and the director to ensure the film has enough engaging moments and gripping narration. The screenplay writer, Dasaradh, and the director, Harish Shankar, came up with three engaging blocks in the second half but their work in the rest of the film, should have been much better.

Gabbar Singh is still being considered as one of the textbook references for any film director who would like to make a commercial film. It is a typical commercial entertainer but what worked in its favour is the protagonist’s characterisation. Gabbar Singh’s character may have a few resemblances to Pawan Kalyan’s real-life personality traits but a majority of its characterisation looked original and fresh. The story and premises of that film were familiar to the audience back then but it worked because of its originality in characterisation and in screenplay. This is where the director failed in Ustaad Bhagat Singh. What we get to see here is the characterisation of the protagonist that is quite similar to real-life Pawan Kalyan, his social conscience and political ideologies. And then, the writer and the director, used multiple references from other movies in the name of ‘bringing back the vintage Pawan Kalyan’. When will our writers and directors understand that people have no time to visit a theatre to watch a film filled with ‘vintage’ references to a star hero?

What worked in favour of the film are three blocks in the second half. The old city episode, an episode at the police station and an episode where Bhagat kills the son of the antagonist. All three episodes were executed well and are sure to be liked by Pawan Kalyan’s fans and the mass audience. Another positive point of the film is the dialogues written by Harish Shankar. ‘Gandhi Garu ante gauravam. Bhagat Singh ante pranam’, ‘Aasthulu andaru pogesukuntarandi…Aasirvadalu matram kondare pogesukuntaru’, ‘Bhagavad Gita yuddham madyalo chepparu…Yuddhanni madyalam aapeyamani cheppaledu’ – There were quite a few good dialogues like the above that were there through out the film and most of them appeared apt to the situations. Also, the way ‘Nee Manase’ song from Tholiprema, used instead of coming up with a new duet song on Pawan Kalyan and Sree Leela, deserves a special mention. The entire montage song was shot without looking odd and out of the place.

The major drawback of the film is the initial hour. The setup, drama and comedy during these portions looked very outdated and unexciting. A better care in writing and executing the initial hour would have done a world of good to the film. Especially, the entire episode around ‘dance’ looked out of the place and it was executed in a very bland manner. Also, there is a sequence which resembles a crucial sequence in Jr. NTR and Puri Jagan’s ‘Temper’. It is surprising to see the makers even decided to go with the same actor who played the role in ‘Temper’.

Overall, Ustaad Bhagat Singh, has a few moments that are sure be liked by the fans of Pawan Kalyan and the mass audience. But, it is nowhere near in comparison to the hero and the director’s previous film, Gabbar Singh. Pawan Kalyan looked good, danced well in a song and did well as usual during the confrontation sequences with the antagonist. So, the fans of him have enough in the film to watch it without many complaints. Other sections of the audience might try watching it in the theatre only if you’re comfortable with viewing template-driven commercial entertainers that heavily rely on their lead actors’ stardom.

Final Verdict – For Fans!

Rating – 2.5/5

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