Simhadri Review

Moviemakers aren't the imbecile drips anymore. They're now aware of the modish fads, can trap the pulse of the junta and feed their psyche. "Do you see the glass half empty or half full? What's the taste of your Ugaadi pachchadi, sweet or bitter?" Depending on your valuable answer, the moviemakers, or for that matter anyone, will decide whether all your senses are working properly or not. This might also help in dubiously deciding whether you'd love this masala candy called Simhadri or not.

Simhadri (an unchanged NTR, despite the entire hula about his fitness regime) is (but wait, maybe the fitness regime HAS worked - his belt size is still only termed as 'the tropic of cancer') a (in case you got mixed up in these parentheses, the last three words were 'Simhadri is a') caretaker loved enough by his moneyed master (Nazir) to consider adopting him as a son.

Looking at the first few frames, it's hard to shake-off similarities to Sneham Kosam that had the master-servant schtick to eternity. But that one was all class and this is all not - a lion's share materializing in the form of Kasturi (Ankita). She has certainly 'grown' prominently from being that 'I love you Rasna' kid. Now, if only her clothes had also grown...

Simhadri is taking full advantage of this situation and is also taking full care of Indu (Bhoomika) for she is somewhat, let's say, mentally immature. Now there's this issue of mental immaturity that most of the cerebral people fathom to be contradictory. Isn't it every man's dream to get back to his lovely childhood? Where everyday is all play and no work? Being mentally immature then becomes a dream come true. My point here being that if given a chance, I know at least I would try, to divert the topic of discussion when it's just a wet blanket. The topic of discussion being that the story is not only a wet blanket here, but an old one at that.

Touches of Simhadri being a fierce 'Singhamalai' are sprinkled randomly, and voila, this is that genre of movies that accepts Basha as the messiah. When Simhadri lands in Kerala to unite an estranged daughter (Sita) with her father (his master), he's caught in the malignant web of anarchy, dictated by Bhai (Mukesh Rishi). He's left with no choice but to fight for the liberation of the suffering people there. Sometimes even chop, cut, axe and hatchet for them.

Having relieved them thus, he returns to his quiet routine of slaving. But as fate would have it, not to mention the 'inspired' script, his past catches up on him and he's forced once again to become the bloodthirsty 'Singhamalai' for one last time.

As mentioned in the intro para, the entire package is either black or white. The winds blowing from Indu-Simhadri are hot while those from Simhadri-Kasturi are bitter(-ly cold); those from the ferocious Singhamalai are hot while the ones from the soft slave are not; those from the incredible songs and dances are... sweaty, while the ones from the intense butchering are bloody; and those from Ramyakrishna in a guest song are hot and continue to sizzle till the end!

Bhoomika again manages to pounce upon a role in a movie with incredible potential to becoming another Okkadu or another Vasu. She owes one big time to her shrewd agent.

The movie has gory violence, but in this case it's rousing like in Narasimha Naidu, because of a genuine reason attached to the bloodshed and it not being some fancy-factionist-fun. Jr NTR has certainly announced himself on the big league with this one, although he'd still get the status of a rookie. This movie has all the elements needed by the frontbenchers to find themselves in the theater again and again. Let's just see if they do.