Temper Review

Temper is NTR Jr's big comeback - or so said the director and the producer. The director talked about how you would forget NTR Jr from his previous movies and will see a new NTR. RGV went ballistic a couple of nights ago and tweeted something on the lines of how Sr NTR could learn a few things about acting from Jr NTR. If it were not for this hype, the movie would've probably gone down better.

Temper, like many other cop movies in Tollywood, shows a super-corrupt cop - Daya (NTR Jr). Daya is transferred from Hyderabad to Vizag at the behest of Valther Vasu (Prakash Raj), a don who requests a minister to send a cop to the city who is, well, super-corrupt. Daya enters the city and continues his usual deplorable ways, and helps Vasu in any which way he can.

He also meets Saanvi (Kajal), an animal lover, and falls in love with her. One fine day, Saanvi is picked up by Vasu's gang due to a misunderstanding. This triggers a chain of events that ends with Daya changing his ways and becoming an honest police officer. The path the film takes, though, is slightly unconventional, and this is what saves Temper.

The basic story of Temper - an incident of extraordinary cruelty pricking at his conscience and reforming a corrupt officer - is not new. The treatment is also trite through the first half and a good bit of the second. But Puri Jagannath ensures that the story takes off midway through the second half, and manages to have you rooting for it thereon almost till the end. The pre-climax in the court and the stunning turn the story takes post that that makes the audiences jump out of their seats is a masterstroke that nearly makes up for the insipid first half. Nearly.

Performances-wise, the film belongs to NTR and Posani. From being the corrupt cop in the beginning to becoming the sincere cop who does not even care for his life, NTR acts wonderfully. His dances look slightly fresh, but it might be time for new choreographers. His diction remains an asset, and he carries off the new modulation pretty well. Posani gets a lengthy role, and his antics suit the character he's been given. Kajal has clearly realized that she's falling behind in the game - she's reduced on the weight front and upped the glamour quotient.

Anup Rubens gives some average tunes but the fact that there are only five songs which are quite short helps. The film could've been tighter without a few scenes in the first half. The production values are all good.

Temper is standard Tollywood police fare with one good twist that takes it a couple of notches up. Watch it for that twist and for Jr. NTR - keep your kids away, though.