Power Review

You hear frequently about software or corporate professionals complaining that their jobs are boring and that they do the same thing again and again every day. Looking at some of the actors in our movies, we wonder what they think about the same. We'll come to the lead actors in a bit, but first let's consider some of our character actors.

Take Ajay or Subbaraju for example. They turn up dutifully movie after movie to utter some threats while gnashing their teeth, get bashed up by the hero in myriad different ways, and either get arrested or killed at the end of the movie. Then take Pragati or Venniradai Nirmala or some of the other actresses. They turn up movie after movie, play the supporting mother doting on their child, cry a few buckets, and then either get kidnapped or wrangle their way into a climax shot featuring the entire crew. Don't these guys get bored?

Power is one of those movies that takes several of these actors and casts them in perfect stereotypes. When one of the actors shows up on screen and the shot ends showing a big smile on their face, you can guess from a mile away that the character will die in the next scene. When the heroine is walking towards the hero in slow motion and you see the hero get jittery about some impending attack, you know for sure that she will be sacrificed in the next shot. When one of the villains shouts at the hero twice or thrice, you know that he is next on the hero's hit list.

Coming to the lead actors, when the lead actor plays a cop who is said to have created a record in corruption across the state, you know that the film is inevitably hurtling towards a flashback in the second half. Ravi Teja turns up in two roles - one where he is a fun-loving ruffian whose only aim in life is to become a police officer, and another where he is a corrupt police officer (cue - sincere officer with a flashback which turned him corrupt). When the fun-loving ruffian takes the place of the corrupt cop, you know that he will goof up, hand the advantage over to the villain, and then come back to set things right.

The plot of Power is exactly the four lines written above. There are two heroines - Hansika Motwani and Regina Cassandra - who pad up the proceedings with some inane comedy and routine songs. The director plays an extremely safe game inserting some comedy, some action, some double-meaning dialogues and a whole lot of mass elements that are a staple in Ravi Teja films. There are absolutely no surprises, and the ones that the director thinks he's inserted cleverly into the screenplay make you cringe.

Ravi Teja looks old in the first half and young in the second. He has taken some care to ensure that his portrayal does not remind you of his role in Vikramarkudu. Motwani has lost oodles of weight, while Cassandra seems to be fast filling the vacuum created by the migration of Ileana to Bollywood. The rest of the supporting cast including Brahmaji, Brahmanandam, Sampath, Mukesh Rishi etc. do a fair job.

Thaman really needs to take a break. Listening to earsplitting beats of the dappu in every song is seriously not our idea of good music. The cinematography is inconsistent, and moves from very good to just there.

Power does not pack enough power for it to have a long run in the theatres. If you have nothing to do and are okay with watching a banal movie with half-decent comedy, this is your ticket to some A/C.