Srinivasa Mangapuram Review

Superstar Mahesh Babu’s Brother, Late Ramesh Babu’s son, Ghattamaneni Jai Krishna is making his debut with Srinivasa Mangapuram. The movie also marks the debut of Raveena Tandon’s daughter, Rasha Thadani. Directed by Managalavaram fame Ajay Bhupathi, Srinivasa Mangapuram releases alongside Spider-Man: A New Day.

What is the Movie About?

Manga (Rasha) is the daughter of an influential man in Tirupati and Srinivas is the grandson of Venkatapayya Naidu (Mohan Babu), a strong man in Bellari. Vasu is after Manga in the name of love but she does not reciprocate. There is a strong reason and flashback for Vasu going after Manga. What is that? And What happen in their love story forms the remaining story.

Performances:

Jai Krishna Ghattamaneni makes his debut with Srinivasa Mangapuram. He makes a sincere effort to pull off the character. There is a visible effort especially in dances and action. But then, he has a long way to go in emoting and commanding the screen.

Rasha Thadani is pretty on screen but then, she is so amateurish. She even struggled to give lip sync in many scenes. Mohan Babu plays a central character. The getup, screen presence, and the dialogue delivery are there but there is no single scene which can make an impact.

Pedda Naresh is seen in a different getup but his character is a cringe comedy. Kick Shyam is alright in a Template father character. Vasuki is good in a key role. Brahmaji, Ajay, and others are alright in whatever they got.

Technicalities:

RX100 and Mangalavaram fame Ajay Bhupathi writes and directs Srinivasa Mangapuram. As a writer, he came up with a beaten to death formulaic script for the newcomer. GV Prakash’s songs are disappointing and they barely register. Background Score is barely passable in parts.

The camera work is fine. The locales of Bellary are nice. The editing is uneven. And Production Values are decent.

Positives:

Some locations

Negatives:

Beaten to Death Script
Barely any impactful blocks.
Completely Predictable and Uninteresting

Analysis:

Srinivasa Mangapuram is a template with songs, fights, buildup shots, and dances which used to sell many years ago. If you see the debut films of many of the stars today, those films are structured on the same template.

But those days are gone. The best way to give a proper debut to a newcomer is to make a sincere film with novel story and by never allowing the ‘commercial elements’ take over. Director Ajay Bhupathi missed the trick completely.

The first half of the film is all about hero going after the heroine, trying to impress her and get attention at any cost. The songs come and go, the action sequences come and go. The scenes that come do not have any freshness and are utterly predictable.

The second half of the film delves into a flashback of Srinivas and Manga which we have seen in many films in the past. Once that is revealed, the movie does not carry any meaning. The ending is forced again with predictable and patience-testing drama. The second half also carries songs and fights that are not backed by proper situation and emotion.

All in all, Srinivasa Mangapuram is a forgettable debut for Jaikrishna. He has put in a sincere effort but he has to work even harder next time. And the script selection should be much better if the audience have to give him a chance.

Bottomline: Outdated & Formulaic!

Rating: 2/5