With the season's first biggie Sardaar Gabbar Singh turning out to be an epic disappointment, fans and trade are heavily banking upon Sarrainodu to come to the rescue. Boyapati Srinu's decent track record and ever reliable Allu Arjun combining with Allu Aravind, one of the top producers of Telugu film industry, one would expect a minimum guarantee film. However, Sarainodu suffered a lot due to bad story and screenplay. Allu Arjun did his best to save this film from being a debacle, but even a star cannot help a lackluster script to be a blockbuster.

What is it about?

Gana (Allu Arjun) the son of Chief Secretary falls in love with local MLA (Catherine). When he decides to give up his rebellious attitude to marry her, in comes Maha (Rakul) with a big problem. Now Gana has to lock horns with blood thirsty, powerful criminal Dhanush (Aadi) to save Maha from the trouble. Who is this Maha and how is she linked to Dhanush? Why does she comes running to Gana for help?

Performances:

Allu Arjun: Allu Arjun has never attempted a full blooded massy entertainer in his career so far. Boyapati Srinu is particularly known for making mass masala films with heavy dose of violence and bloodshed. Allu Arjun effortlessly slips into the character. His bulked up body makes us believe that he has the raw power to kick and kill that many bad guys. Allu Arjun added his dose of comedy to the film with his antics and dialog delivery. Allu Arjun fans won't be disappointed with the film as the actor delivers a commendable performance all the way.

Aadi Pinishetty and Others: Boyapati is known for creating some of the powerful villains Telugu film audience have ever seen. We expect a lot when an actor of Aadi caliber is given the antagonist role. Aadi looks suave and stylish. However he is not as menacing as he should be. His character is not etched properly as it loses steam after a while.

Rakul Preeth is just okay. All she has to do is look admiringly at Allu Arjun whenever he is bashing the bad guys. Catherine is a miscast as the MLA. Brahmanandam's comedy is stale, so is Vidyullekha's. There are a lot of noted actors in the film but none makes an impression including Srikanth.

Technicalities:

Boyapati Srinu banks upon his strengths yet again. He didn't take Allu Arjun's image into consideration. He focused only upon presenting Allu Arjun in a mass avatar. He spent a lot of time on hero elevation shots and scenes. He didn't take much care about the script that goes haywire most of the times. Allu Arjun had to put things back on track whenever Boyapati goes off the mark.

Thaman's background score is powerful. Songs are good and are shot lavishly. Dialogues could have been better. Cinematography is top class. Editing is bad as the film drags on and on. Production values are one of the biggest assets to this film.

Thumbs Up:

Allu Arjun

Hero Elevations

Thumbs Down:

Uninteresting Script

Overdose Of Violence

Predictable Climax

Analysis:
A lot of buildup is given to the villain right from the first scene. We settle in expecting a tug of war between the villain and the hero. However hero is too powerful that any number of rowdies can't even pull out a button from his shirt. At least the director should have given the villain an upper hand for some time.

But nothing can stop the hero from whatever he does and wherever he wants to go. Even the villain looks like a mere puppet after a while. There is little depth in Boyapati's story that it struggles hard to keep going. Boyapati Srinu has included many fight scenes to keep the audiences interested.

All the stunts are choreographed in the same way. There is no variety and it gets hideous after some time. We expect a powerful climax because of the powerful villain, but all we are served is a run of the mill stuff that ends horribly predictable. There are few bright points about the film, but we cannot let this one pass off as a passable fare as there are so many more dark moments. Allu Arjun's spotless performance is the main highlight of this Boyapati's bland and boring mass masala offering.

Verdict: Not 'Saraina' Attempt!

Police is the Telugu dubbed version of Tamil Superstar Vijay's Theri. Directed by Atlee, this film is marketed by Dil Raju in Telugu states.

What is it about?
DCP Vijay Kumar (Vijay) kills the son of a politician as he commits a brutal crime. The politician comes back for revenge and kills Vijay's wife (Samantha) and his mother (Radhika). On his wife's last wish Vijay leaves his job and go to Kerala to take care of his daughter. However he couldn't hide for long. The politician comes to know about Vijay's whereabouts and comes back to have his revenge. Vijay has to put an end to this to live a peaceful life.

Performances:
Vijay is very impressive as the cop who does his duty on his own terms. There are quite a few emotional moments in the film where Vijay had to shed tears. He did well. Samantha is good and Amy is alright in a limited role. Radhika is natural. Prabhu is decent. Rajendran is funny at times. Mahendran's expressions are menacing.

Technicalities:
Atlee banked upon an age old script which turned out to be biggest drawback for this film. There are few moments where we get to see the flashes of brilliance from Atlee but the film falls flat on a whole.

Songs are not good. Background score is good in emotional scenes and over the top in action sequences. Cinematography is good. Editing could have been a lot better.

Thumbs Up:
Interval scene

Baby Nainika

Thumbs Down:
Routine Story

Uninteresting screenplay

Predictable

Poor Climax

Lengthy

Analysis:
Police is a formulaic film with revenge template. You can almost guess everything beforehand. There is no novelty in terms of any element in the film. Even the daughter and father relation reminds us of Ajith Kumar, Gautham Menon's Yenthavadu Gani. Everything about the film is cliched and beaten to death.

Interval block is pretty impressive. The movie totally goes off track after the death of Samantha character. Climax portions are outright silly. The run time of the film will put your patience to test. You will literally pray for the titles to rollover or simply walk out of it. Police is a boring revenge drama that has high doses of emotion.

Director wasted a lot of time on buildup shots and hero elevations that he had to fast forward the plot during the final scenes. This film may appeal to Vijay fans as the director has penned few scenes exclusively for them. There is nothing special about the film except for adorable baby Nainika's performance.

Verdict: This Police lacks Fizz.

Eedo Rakam Aado Rakam is a remake of super hit Punjabi comedy. It is about the confusion that two friends create in order to impress their lovers. ERAR has a plot that is similar to many confusion comedies that we have seen in the past. However the comedy works and keeps us entertained throughout the film.

What is it about?

Arjun (Vishnu) falls in love with Neelaveni (Sonarika), who wants to marry an orphan. Arjun lies that he is an orphan and marries her. Neelavani rents an upper portion in a lawyer's (Rajendra Prasad) house. He is none other than Arjun's father. Arjun tries to save his marriage by introducing his friend Ashwin (Raj Tarun) to his father as Neelaveni's husband. Meanwhile Ashwin had to lie to his girlfriend Supriya (Hebah) and her brother about his background. The confusion plot thickens after that.

Performances:

Vishnu Manchu has always excelled in comedy entertainers. Comedy is his forte and he proves it yet again with ERAR. Vishnu is certainly at home in this film. Raj Tarun is as natural as always. In his first multi-starrer, Raj has complemented Vishnu and the chemistry between these two actors is one of the biggest plus points. Sonarika and Hebah's oozing oomph will please the masses. Rajendra Prasad is superb in the father role. Ravibabu is alright. Satya Krishna is good. Supreeth and Abhimayu Singh are their usual self. Sunil did a special appearance in the introduction song.

Technicalities:

G. Nageswara Reddy is one of the directors who can assure you of a decent product if he has a good enough script on hands. Eedo Rakam Aado Rakam is a paisa vasool entertainer that will offer some genuine laughs. Nageswara Reddy made complete use of the competent star cast. There are some unavoidable cliches but nonetheless ERAR is entertaining on a whole.

Dialogues are witty. Songs will appeal to the masses. Sai Karthik's background score is fine too. Cinematography is neat. Editor did well to keep it simple and crisp. Production values are impressive.

Thumbs Up:

Vishnu-Raj Tarun's Chemistry

Rib-tickling Comedy

Witty Dialogues

Sonarika, Hebah's Glam Show

Thumbs Down:

Routine Story

Cliched moments

Analysis:

Confusion dramas like these are not new to our audience. The story of ERAR might not be out-of-the-box one but it's the treatment that changed the course and made the film complete entertainer. Right from the word go, the movie tries to tickle the funnybones of viewers. There are several laugh-out-loud moments that will definitely strike a chord with the mass audience. The comedy gets better as the story moves forward. Interval block is hilarious to the core.

Second half follows the formula and offers passable entertainment all the way. You may easily watch this film once for its fun moments and the performances from the main characters. Some comedy parts lacked the punch, but the film gets back on track with a hilarious scene whenever it goes off the mark for a while.

Barring few cliched moments and double entendres,  ERAR is a paisa vasool comedy with hilarious moments and genuinely funny dialogues. This might work well with B and C centres. Audiences who love to watch comedies will surely like this fun-tastic confusion drama.

Verdict: Navvinche Rakam

Nagarjuna who has been in tremendous form lately is once again bang on the money with Oopiri. The veteran superstar should be lauded for picking such an unusual character of a paraplegic. Tamil hero Karthi gets into the skin of the character and director Vamshi Paidipally comes up with a supremely sensible film that has many soulful and breathtaking moments in it.

What is it about?

Vikramaditya (Nag) is a filthy rich entrepreneur who has thousands of crores, but he is a paraplegic. He needs to find a caretaker to take care of everything about him. Sreenu (Karthi) is a spoiled brat and thief who come out of jail on parole. He has to prove to the judges that he could be well behaved to get out from trouble. He takes up the caretaker job of Vikramaditya and how they influence each other's lives is what this film is about.

Performances:

Nagarjuna: No words to describe Nagarjuna's courage to take up such a character. He is superb as the paraplegic billionaire. Despite being in the wheel chair all the time, the charm of Nagarjuna is present all the time.

Karthi: Karthi is a very good choice for this character. He gets into the skin of the character and lives every moment of it. The result is the finest performance ever in his career so far.

Tamanna and Others: Tamanna is elegant and suave in her role. She is very good with her expressions too. Prakash Raj and Jayasudha add value to the proceedings. All the actors are aptly cast and delivered their best.

Technicalities:

Direction: Vamshi Paidipally surprises us with his sensible handling of the French remake 'The Intouchables'. He has done a fabulous job in getting the emotions right. There are many moments that prove his capabilities and sensibilities as a director.

Music and Others: Songs are part of the storytelling and Gopi Sunder did a decent job with the tunes. His background score is one of the assets of the film. Cinematography is superb with vibrant visuals. Dialogues are very good. Editing could have been better. The film drags unnecessarily at times. Producers should be appreciated for believing in the story and investing so much into it. They deserve more than a pat on the back for their commitment.

Thumbs Up:

Nagarjuna

Karthi

Emotions

Entertainment

Thumbs Down:

Drags at times

Length        

Analysis:

Oopiri is one of the best movies of our times. It is not a film but an experience. We cannot describe the pleasure of watching it in words. It has to be felt as an audience. It is a terrific adaptation of the French classic The Intouchables by Vamshi Paidipally and his team. They were successful in recreating the magic of original and also in connecting with the sentiments of our audience.

Oopiri is another milestone in Nagarjuna's career who has many memorable movies in his kitty already. Karthi will sure become a household name in Telugu states after his portrayal of Sreenu in this film. This film belongs to Nag and Karthi. They were extremely believable in the lead roles and made the director's job easy.

Oopiri is all about moments and emotions. It cannot be seen as a simple film based on two people. There is so much depth into it and there is life in it. This is one of those films that cannot be missed at any cost. It is an experience that needs to be cherished by every film lover. Leave everything and just book your ticket now. Highly recommended.

Run is a remake of Tamil-Malayalam bilingual Neram which was appreciated by niche audience and critics. Run is a faithful remake of the original that is almost a frame to frame presentation of the original. Run has few positives such as its short run time and interesting second half. But the film also has its share of negatives like leisure passing and too many uninteresting passages in between the thrilling ride.

What is it about?

Sanju (Sundeep) life goes topsy-turvy as he loses his job. He takes loan from a dreaded loan shark named Vaddi Raju (Bobby Simha). He is very notorious and has his own style of getting back his money. Finally the day arrives where Sanju has to return the money he took from Raju. While Sanju's friend helps him to get the amount, a thief nabs the money from Sanju and run away. Sanju has to find a way to repay the loan by 5 PM. Meanwhile his girlfriend (Anisha) is kidnapped by Raju for another reason.

Performances:

Sundeep Kishan is good as the common man who is caught in a situation. His subtle body language and dialog delivery suited the character. Anisha is pretty. Bobby Simha is a revelation. He is too good as the villain. Brahmaji as a comedy cop is decent. Praveen, Madhu and Posani were fine in their supporting characters. Mahat is alright as a careless guy.

Technicalities:

Sai Karthik's musical score is mediocre. Dialogues are good. Cinematography is fairly decent and editing is crisp. Director Ani Kanneganti is religiously faithful to the original. He didn't even make an attempt to alter anything from Neram. He did an okay job in holding the film well. Production values are neat.

Thumbs Up:

Run time

Climax

Bobby Simha

Thumbs Down:

First Half

Slow pace

Analysis:

Run has a very short run time of 109 minutes, but it surprisingly runs at a leisure pace. Films having such little run time are supposed to gripping and moving at a breakneck pace. However Run takes its own sweet time to unfold and there are many passages in the film that are totally uninteresting and out of place.
    
Movie gets interesting when two thieves rob the hero and heroine in two different places. It loses steam due to the uneven characterization of the villain. The attempts at comedy were misfired due to bad casting. Run only gets back on track when a surprising twist comes just before the climax.

Run is a film that will appeal to audience who look for freshness, but it has its shortcomings. It could have been a good film if there were better comedic moments and thrilling elements thrown into the narrative. The attempt can be lauded but not the end product. You may watch it if you are game for something different from the usual.

Verdict: Runs at a Snail's pace.

Nara Rohith's latest offering Tuntari is an official remake of Tamil film Maan Karate produced by A.R. Murugadoss. The star director also provided story for the film besides producing it. Tuntari is a sports fantasy that has its fun moments but let down by lackluster direction and lazy performances.

What is it about?

Five software engineers meet a sadhu in the forest who gives them a newspaper from the future. They come to know that they are behind the success of a champion boxer called Raju (Nara Rohith). They are shocked to see Raju as he is an aimless guy who doesn't even know that boxing is a sport. Now they should train him up and get him ready for the championship. Raju has to face a fierce and ruthless boxer killer raju (Kabir) to become the champion. Can he win the match against all the odds?

Performances:

Nara Rohith has tried his hand at comedy. He is fine with his histrionics but doesn't look convincing in many scenes. Latha Hegde is just okay as the female lead. Vennela Kishore gets a meaty role. Shankar tried his best to make us laugh. Kabir suits the part. There is nothing much to write about the remaining star cast.

Technicalities:

The premise is interesting but Kumar couldn't get the positives of the original right leave alone correcting the negatives in it. Maan Karate was technically sound but Tuntari falls short by miles. Music by Sai Karthik is mediocre. There is nothing great about the cinematography. The story screams for better production values.

Thumbs Up:
Concept

Climax

Thumbs Down:

Screenplay

Music

Heroine

Analysis:

Like most of Nara Rohith's films, Tuntari too has an interesting plot, but fails to impress due to weak execution. Rohith tried something different from his usual tough guy kind of roles. This is surely a different film for him. He should have put in sincere efforts to make it a special one.

Maan Karate wasn't a perfect film but it worked because of certain positives, which are absolutely missing in Tuntari. The chemistry between the lead pair is bad. Songs come as speed breakers and seem totally unnecessary at times. Bad music didn't help to lift the spirits of the film. On a whole Tuntari is a average entertainer that could have been much better with proper handling.

Verdict: Lacks the punch.

Kshanam, which caught the attention of movie lovers with intriguing trailers has lived up to the promise. Ravikanth did a fine job as the director and Sesh Adivi did well as the writer.

What is it about?
Rishi (Sesh) who is in US gets a call from his ex lover Swetha (Adah Sharma) from India. He comes to meet and her and she tells that her three year old daughter has been kidnapped. With no hope around, Swetha calls upon Rishi to help her. Rishi tries to find about the kidnap but couldn't trace any details about it. When Rishi doubts that Swetha is hallucinating that she has a daughter, she commits suicide. Rishi is now determined to find what happened to the kid and who is behind the kidnap.

Performances:
Sesh keeps it simple and that is the reason why his performance clicks. He is extremely impressive as the main lead. Adah is good as a suffering mother. She is cute and lovable in the flashback scenes. Anasuya got an interesting character and she shines in it. Vennela Kishore and Satyam Rajesh were good in supporting roles. Satya and Ravikanth are apt in their respective roles.

Technicalities:
Director Ravikanth Perepu took his time at the start. The film moves at a slow pace at the beginning but never loses grip. Second half is very impressive in spite of few unconvincing elements. He made a quality product within a shoestring budget and is definitely a talent to watch out for.

Background music is superb. DOP did an excellent job in giving quality output within the budget. Sesh's story is good. Screenplay written by Sesh and the director keep you on the edge of the seat. Producers must be lauded for backing a good script.

Thumbs Up:
Screenplay

Twists

Music

Cinematography

Thumbs Down:
Drags at the start

Unconvincing points in the climax

Analysis:

Kshanam is easily one of the finest Telugu films made in recent times. The team was successful on the writing table itself. The movie has an interesting plot and the writers have done a fabulous job with the screenplay. However the film has some issues with its pacing. The first half of the film is uneven with racy moments and dragging scenes.

Second half is gripping and keeps the viewers on the edge of their seats. Screenplay keeps you guessing until the penultimate scenes. The intentions behind the crime are not convincing though, but they had the necessary shock factor to excuse the flaws. The quality of the film amazes you as it never look like a low budget film.

Kshanam is a must watch for the fans of thriller genre and for those who love to watch different films. The technical team has put their heart and soul into it and this small gem springs in a surprise with solid content. Go for it.

Verdict: Keeps you hooked until the last 'Kshanam'.