Mass Jathara Review

A person (Rajendra Prasad) who is 12 years older than Ravi Teja plays the latter's grandfather. A girl (Sreeleela) who is 33 years younger than Ravi Teja plays his girlfriend. If this mismatch seems too much to you, here's the thing - you won't even notice it, because everything else in the movie is equally preposterous. The only novelty in the film is that Teja rides a Honda CB350 - a rare sight, considering most recent police officers in Tollywood are shown riding Royal Enfields.

Director Bhanu Bogavarapu tweeted, "From whistling for him in theatres to directing him on set... life has come full circle. #MassJathara is a film made by a Mass Maharaja fan, for every Mass Maharaja fan out there. Let's celebrate our HERO." This one is clearly pure hero worship. And little else.

Lakshman Bheri (Teja) is a railway police inspector posted at Adavivanam Railway Station. He discovers that the region is a hotbed of marijuana cultivation and that the station itself serves as a hub for smuggling. The local police are complicit in the illegal trade. Bheri must take on Shivudu (Naveen Chandra), the kingpin behind it all.

Yes, that's it - no story, no spoilers. How do Sreeleela and Rajendra Prasad fit into the narrative? Prasad is there for a few giggles, and Sreeleela for glamour - both forced and peripheral.

When a movie is titled Mass Jathara, you naturally expect plenty of massy moments. But you expect that massiness to be of the Vikramarkudu or Krack variety - unapologetically massy, not shamelessly so. What you get instead is a Mass Maha Jathara - so overstuffed with mass that it becomes chaotic rather than entertaining. Ravi Teja does Ravi Teja so relentlessly that it's exhausting to watch. It's about a lot of mass without any gravity. The only good news might be that this movie may have reached the tipping point of "mass" cinema and likely to be such a disaster that Tollywood might finally steer clear of making massy nonsense - at least for a while.

Filmmakers might also give the humble marijuana a break for a while. At least half a dozen recent films, including Anushka Shetty's Ghaati, have revolved around marijuana - and all have failed. Gritty films about the marijuana trade can be made; it's a fascinating subject. However, the execution must go beyond mere surface scratching.

Performance-wise, Ravi Teja's efforts are commendable. However, his acting remains confined to two tones - either grumpy and angry or funny and slapstick. Naveen Chandra has taken on a hyper-masculine role that clearly doesn't suit him; his struggle to pull it off is evident. Sreeleela is bubbly and adorable, though her character is just a formulaic add-on. Rajendra Prasad too feels like an add-on - and though not related to the movie itself, you can't help but feel for the veteran actor. He looks frail and unwell; something seems off.

Technically, the action choreography is top-notch - but then again, so it is in every action film these days. The song-and-dance numbers follow the usual PET-drill pattern, while the costume and styling departments seem completely overlooked - no police officer in India could hold a job with Teja's hairstyle; there's an actual grooming code for it.

Again, from the movie's title itself, you know what to expect. And you try to prep yourself - forget logic, consistency and story. But even then, Mass Jathara tests your patience and feels like a cinematic narco test. Re-re-releasing (yes, again) Vikramarkudu would have been far more sensible than making this movie.