Radhika Rajamani feels there is nothing in Telugu film Bezawada that'll attract moviegoers.Bezawada has nothing to offer the viewer except the same old stuff one has seen in Ram Gopal Varma's umpteen films. And it has nothing to do with the actual incidents which happened in the town (Vijayawada) as rumours suggested a while ago.
The title Bezawada (Vijayawada) is a misnomer and there is hardly a storyline in the film. Debutante Vivek Krishna's maiden attempt is a poor, ill-crafted film which got unnecessary and unwarranted hype when announced.
The story is essentially about two families -- Kaali (Prabhu ) and Vijay Krishna (Mukul Dev). Kali, a don in Vijayawada blindly trusts Vijay who helps him out in murders and other things. Kaali's younger brother Shankar (Abhimanyu Singh) doesn't like him. So he plots to finish him off and puts the blame on Vijay. One by one, Vijay's brothers -- Jaikrishna (Ajay) and Siva Krishna (Naga Chaitanya) are drawn into this revenge drama.
The plot is very thin. On top of it, there's too much bloodshed and violence. Dragging the antagonist Shankar with the chain is horrifying and terrible to watch.
In this vendetta plot, there is a love story too between Siva and Geetanjali (Amala Paul), the daughter of a cop. And like all other films, comedy is stuffed in there too between Brahmanandam and M.S. Narayana which seems quite out
of place even though the writer has desperately made attempts to connect it to the main plot. There are songs too, including an item number!
Vivek Krishna seems to have been influenced by many films of this genre, and therefore Bezawada looks too familiar. Vivek, doesn't seem to have the skill to write it deftly or present it stylishly. So the result is a mish-mash which is below par.
The performances, to some extent stand out, but sadly the actors are not backed by a good script. Prabhu occupies little screen space but makes his presence felt in his trademark way.
Naga Chaitanya does well in the action role but the script lets him down. He does show patches of brilliance. Amala Paul has hardly an author backed role and therefore nothing much to showcase except the glam factor in the songs.
Abhimanyu Singh was somewhat menacing though not as much as Rakta Charitra. Mukul Dev played a sober Vijay Krishna. Ajay, Kota Srinivasa Rao (as the politician who tries to bring Shankar into politics), Subhalekha Sudhakar, Ahuti Prasad, Brahmanandam and M.S. Narayana played their parts well.
Technically, the film doesn't measure up to today's standards. Bhupati's cinematography and Gowtham Raju's editing are satisfactory. Since there were five music directors, there is a mosaic of tunes.
Bezawada ends up as a cliched fare.
Rediff Rating:
