Film: Venkatadri Express
Starring: Sundeep Kishan, Rakul Preet Singh
Director: Gandhi M
Producer: Kiran
Banner: Anand Arts Creations
Music: Ramana Gogula
Sundeep (Sundeep Kishan) is a
happy-go-lucky guy, son of a strict retired headmaster Ram Murthy
(Nagineedu) who imposes rules and doesn’t tolerate indiscipline in his
house. Vexed with his son’s behavior who does 99 mistakes, Ram Murthy
says he would be thrown out of house if he does one more mistake. The
family boards Venkatadri Express train for Sundeep’s elder brother
Brahmaji’s wedding. Sundeep misses the train and he tries his best to
catch the train from being banned from his family. How does his journey
happen form the rest.
Performances
Sundeep Kishan does a decent job and is impressive in the first half. He is apt for the role and there are good action scenes for him.
Rakul Preet look cute
and she does her part well with in the limited role she had. Nagineedu
is first-class, Brahmaji is entertaining, Thagubothu Ramesh is
hilarious, Sapthagiri as Dasthagiri excelled, MS Narayana is boring.
Others were adequate.
Technical Analysis
Chota K Naidu’s cinematography is
first-rate while Ramana Gogula’s music is impressive and Mella Mellaga
song is shot well. Direction by debutant Merlapaka Gandhi is
commendable. Screenplay is neat and racy especially in the first-half.
Editing is neat and dialogues are impressive. Production values are
standard.
Analysis
Venkatadri Express has wafer thin
storyline but director’s treatment worked well and it doesn’t go off the
track. Screenplay is racy and the situational comedy works well in the
first half.
Debutant Merlapaka Gandhi proves his
mettle with the debut film. Emotional scenes and father-son plot were
handled quite well. Thagubothu Ramesh and Saptagiri comedy scenes were
at peaks that it’s fun watching them. Twists in the second half were
handled well though it the second hour was a bit lengthy and predictable
at times. First half of the film is quite good that it raises your
expectations but the second half may disappoint due to predictability
and abrupt climax episodes. All in all, Venkatadri Express is a fun
watch despite its flaws, and coming from a debutant director, we call it
a commendable attempt.
Final Verdict