By anjali
Trivikram Srinivas’ third film with Mahesh Babu after Athadu and Khaleja has to be his weakest. Guntur Kaaram, which also stars Sreeleela in the lead with Prakash Raj, Ramya Krishnan, Jayaram, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Murli Sharma, Vennela Kishore and others in key roles struggles to hold your attention for its 2 hours and 39 minutes long duration. Which is a shame because it had a solid story to back it up.
Guntur Kaaram Story
Throughout most of his life, Mahesh, also known as Ramana, has distanced himself from his mother Vyra Vasundhara (Ramya). The once affectionate son is now referred to as Guntur Kaaram or Rowdy Ramana, depending on who you ask. It’s not that he lacks love, as he receives plenty of it from his father, Royal Satyam (Jayaram), uncle (Raghubabu), aunt (Eswari Rao), and cousin (Meenakshi). However, he yearns for the love of the one person he is estranged from – his mother. His grandfather, Venkataswamy (Prakash), is a well-known politician, with his mother and stepbrother (Rahul Ravindran) taking over the reins. But what happens when Ramana is constantly provoked by his estranged family for political gain?
Review
A new era has emerged in Indian cinema, with filmmakers showing a growing interest in exploring love stories between friends (RRR, Salaar) and now even parents (Animal, Hi Nanna, Guntur Kaaram). While each of these films has its own unique approach and storyline, it feels like there is an overwhelming focus on family and friendship dynamics. Surely, there are other ways for our male leads to express their emotions? The creators of Guntur Kaaram kept the film’s details under wraps until its release, and it defied expectations of being a typical commercial film. However, it’s fair to say that Trivikram didn’t put in enough effort to make it a truly emotional experience.
Mahesh effortlessly embodies the character of Ramana with a cool and confident attitude that is rare to find. He effortlessly smokes beedis, lighting them up with style, and delivers his dialogues with a hint of sarcasm, often eliciting chuckles with his boldness. He is self-aware and fearlessly points out the flaws of his family members throughout the film. Mahesh is the sole factor that makes this otherwise bland movie somewhat engaging.
The actor is seen putting in a lot of effort and pushing against the odds to make the film successful, but is it sufficient? A humorous scene featuring Ramana shows him in a drunken state, trying his best to comprehend his situation, uncover a plot against him, and figure out the direction of the story – that’s how the audience feels at a certain point in the film. The cinematography by Manoj Paramahamsa also attempts to bring energy to the movie, but focusing on style rather than substance only goes so far.
Guntur Kaaram can be described as a film filled with scenes that linger too long, others that lack emotional depth and end abruptly, or even worse, serve as unnecessary additions. Just as you start to connect with Ramana’s troubles or understand why his mother would abandon him, Trivikram undermines it with something nonsensical. There are very few moments in the film where Mahesh’s character can truly breathe, absorb everything, and express his emotions.
Outdated humor and clichéd fight sequences are not beneficial, and Thaman’s background score can sometimes overshadow the dialogue. The movie may remind you of Trivikram’s earlier works such as Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo or Attarintiki Daredi, but it could have been more successful if he had concentrated more. The power struggles are nothing groundbreaking and the caste aspect seems insincere. Instead of that, the audience is presented with numerous antagonists for Ramana to battle, even though his own grandfather is formidable enough.
The ladies from Guntur Kaaram
Amukta Malyada, also known as Ammu (Sreeleela), is the love interest of Ramana. She is often seen making Reels or dancing with him, without much else to do. While Sreeleela dances beautifully, her character could have had more impact on the story. Meenakshi doesn’t have much to do other than follow her cousin around, but she is good at what she does. Isn’t it time to give these women better roles?
Since the story revolves around her abandoning her son for 25 years, Ramya’s character Vyra should have been developed more. It’s frustrating that it wasn’t. The film could have had more emotion and conflict, especially because Ramya is a talented actress. Easwari has a scene or two where she can really shine, but she is shortchanged in the scenes that matter. However, her character does get a fairly decent resolution in the end.
