Govindudu Andarivadele Review

We Indians are an emotional lot. One person who will vouch for this is Ekta Kapoor - after all, she's manipulated our emotions successfully for more than a decade now and has made enough money to allow her to manipulate our emotions for the next couple of decades.

The other person who would agree is Krishna Vamsi. The director made one blockbuster family entertainer, Ninne Pelladutha, which showcased a joint family in an urban setting, and a decent grosser Chandamama, which showcased a joint family in a rural setting. He's been doing various spins on the same formula for the last few years but has not met with much success.

He now returns with what sounded like a gamble to most when the movie was launched. Attempting a family entertainer with Ram Charan, a hero known for his one-note acting abilities and masala entertainers, is no less heroic than taking on Rajinikanth and Chuck Norris together. That he pulls off a watchable entertainer speaks volumes for the difference between a movie with no script at all and a movie that has a coherent script.

Govindudu Andari Vaadele has Ram Charan playing the role of Abhiram. He lives in London with his father Chandrasekhar Rao (Rahman) and sister. One fine day, a professional disappointment leads to his father revealing his past to Abhi.

The past features Balaraju (Prakash Raj), Chandrasekhar's father, who loves his village, and makes Chandrasekhar a doctor and builds a hospital for him in the hope that he will settle in the village and run the hospital. Chandrasekhar however has other ideas, and ends up settling in London against his father's wishes.

Abhi understands that his Dad wants to go back to his village, and immediately sets out to India to mend fences. How he manages to win over his grandfather and reunites the family forms the remaining tale.

The film's plot is quite predictable, but Krishna Vamsi manages to weave a fine screenplay that leaves very little scope for boredom or drag. The emotions in the movie are not thrust upon you either, and will surely leave many in tears. He's also managed to extract superb performances from most of his cast. Notice how we say most.

We say most because Ram Charan still does not manage to impress us. He goes through the movie with his limited repertoire of expressions - maybe a Rajamouli is needed to bring out the best in him again. Again, it might also be because most of his scenes are with Prakash Raj. The veteran does such a fine job that everyone else around him pales in comparison. The others, including Jayasudha, Kota Srinivasa Rao and Rao Ramesh are all adequate, and fit well into the roles.

Yuvan Shankar Raja's songs play out well on screen thanks to Krishna Vamsi's picturisation, but are a disappointment when heard alone. He does a stellar job with the BGM and re-recording, though. Sameer Reddy's frames are an asset to the movie, and the visuals are consistently brilliant, be it London or the countryside. Bandla Ganesh has spent a lot on the movie, and it shows on screen.

Govindudu Andari Vadele has been released at the right time, and is sure to woo the family audiences in the upcoming holidays. If you are the emotional kind that likes being moved to tears while watching a movie, this is for you.