Many a time, one wonders how much of the plot can be revealed in a review. Should we put a spoiler alert and discuss key plot points and characterisation anyway, like the way it’s done on several blogs? Winner makes it easy. The title itself is a spoiler. Obviously you don’t expect the antagonist Aadi (Thakur Anoop Singh) to justify that title.
Winner also makes it evident that it intends to win at the box office. In case you doubted it, a song with lyrics that emphasise on A, B and C centres drives home the point. In his introduction scene, Sai Dharam Tej harps on terms like ‘mega’, ‘power’ and even compares himself to Chiranjeevi in his younger days. To factor in Pawan Kalyan’s fan base, he replicates that trademark style with a red stole.
This film comes with a story that has the potential to be thoroughly entertaining. Jagapathi Babu, a scion of a stud farm owner (Mukesh Rishi), opts for a middle class life when he gets married against his father’s wishes. A twist of fate brings the two together again, which strains the bond between Jagapathi Babu and his young son, Siddharth (Sai Dharam Tej).
Siddharth grows up hating horses and races. Year later when faced with a challenge, it’s more than just the sport he has to train. He has to mend a broken relationship. Occasionally, in the scenes between the father and son, you see the scope for something interesting. But disappointingly, nothing makes a lasting impression.
This film too passes off stalking as romance. Siddharth woos Sithara (Rakul Preet) saying things like he’d rather have a woman who gets him a cup of coffee than competing in a race. The fact that she’s an athlete training towards a goal is inconsequential to him.
One misogynistic episode after another unfolds and you laugh aloud when sometime later, Siddharth talks about how women should be encouraged to follow their dreams. The only bright moment is when Sithara, in a desperate moment, thinks smart and puts both Siddharth and Aadi in a tight spot.
Winner is predictable in its placement of songs, stunts, comic episodes and moments with emotional hooks. Bring in Prudhvi (a couple of scenes in the Singam spoof are hilarious, then it becomes a painful bore) in the first half, Ali in the second. Pause now and then to shake a leg in elaborate sets or foreign locales; intersperse emotional moments with stunt sequences.
Both Sai Dharam and Rakul are actors of calibre who meander through the shoddy screenplay. Rakul, in particular, has a badly etched part and grapples between looking cute and playing a woman of substance (athlete with a goal, remember?). Jagapathi Babu has done such roles before and understandably, looks bored.
Winner
Cast : Sai Dharam Tej, Rakul Preet Singh, Jagapathi Babu
Direction : Gopichand Malineni
Music : Thaman
