Baanam - Movie Review

Just came back from PVR. The plan was to watch Magadheera but when i was saw this movie playing in PVR, i couldn't resist booking tickets for this one. Subba, Manoz, Venky, Jayanth and Puppy came along. This probably is one of the rare times where we reached PVR 30 minutes before show time. With time to kill, we walked into Kalmane coffee shop. The filter coffee that it serves is far better than the best of what Coffee Day offers.


After all the good talk this movie has gathered and the reviews in it's favor, i walked in with huge expectations. It's the story of a naxalite's son (Nara Rohith) who wishes to become an IPS officer. The role of naxalite is played by Shayaji Shinde. After being away for years, he returns to his son by surrendering to the police. His is just a supporting role. Vedika plays a Brahmin girl deserted by in laws the day after her marriage. In her first scene, she is seen waiting alone in a railway station and it is from this point the movie becomes engrossing. The arise of conflict with the villain is slowly established in the first half and it's interestingly built up from the thread between the lead pair. The second half is all about the conflict between hero and the villain.

Nara Rohith's main strength lies in his voice and he looks handsome. Playing a role, that aspires to become an IAS officer, he would looked even better if he worked out to reduce the flab around his waist that shows up when he runs on the screen. His walking is rigid. Otherwise he looks good in all other shots. He has very few expressions to show on screen but he looks great when he smiles. With him walking or running on the screen for most of the time, i wondered how he would look if he shakes his leg which he never does in this film. If it was his conscious decision to choose this story, he must be very much appreciated and i hope he does more such films. Vedika suits very well to the role of a Brahmin girl. She perfects her role. In a scene where she says the chatni is hot while eating her dosa, Manoz(sitting besides me) instantly reached out for the water bottle!! That was the funniest moment. Every other character performs well. No one disappoints.

The movie is set in 1989 but the period wasn't captured well on screen. When the vegetables cost 5 bucks and the tea costs 75 paise, i was shocked until i got reminded of the movie's setting. That doesn't anyway harm the movie a lot. The story and direction by Chaitanya Dantuluri are main assets for the film. Music by ManiSharma, especially the background score is perfect. Dailogues by Gandham Nagaraju are good.

The interval bang leaves the audience with a happy feeling and also builds up expectations for the second half. The second half does not totally reach these expectations and the approach the hero takes to end villain isn't very convincing. Overall, a different and a good movie for the audience.

My Rating - 8/10