When you watch Ra Ra Krishnayya it is hard not to draw parallels with Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya . One only hopes that the movie is not as disastrous as the original. And fortunately it isn’t. Director P. Mahesh Babu manages to carry the film to its climax without really making the audience cringe. At the same time though it isn’t one of the finest pieces of Indian cinema one will come across.
Set in Chennai, the opening sequence of the film establishes that Kittu (Sundeep Kishan) is a hard working cabbie trying to save every penny to set up his own garage soon. With blind faith in his boss Manikyam Mudaliar (Tanikella Bharani), Kittu hands over all his savings to him for safe keeping. However, the wily businessman cheats the former of his savings of Rs. 6 lakh. A drunk and despondent Kittu lands up at his former boss’s home to find him arguing with his daughter Nandeshwari or Nandu (Regina Cassandra), who is being forced to marry a rich man by her father. A tussle ensues and Nandu forces Kittu to kidnap her.
At the behest of Nandu, Kittu places a ransom call for Rs. 15 lakh to Mankiyam, with the former explaining that she does not want to go back home. What ensues is a comedy of errors as the couple flee from place to place. As their crazy adventure continues there is a spark of romance, but Kittu holds back each time. His theory is that he does not want to be labelled a kidnapper. When Manikyam finally comes with the ransom and Kittu is all set to return Nandu to her father, there is an unexpected twist.
Turns out Kittu is really Krishnayya, the brother of a notorious kidnapper Jaggu played by Jagapathi Babu, a trade that Kittu is completely against. How the couple navigate the ensuing chaos and finally admit their love for each other forms the rest of the plot.
Sundeep does a good job as the honest but reticent Kittu and has good screen presence, while Regina as the bubbly Nandu is believable. It would not be wrong to say that in portions she reminds one of Genelia D’Souza. Jagapathi Babu as the soft-hearted kidnapper with a flair for humour peps up the second half of the film while Tagubottu Ramesh is in his element in his limited role.
While the film did seem better than its Hindi counterpart, it was a bit too long. Crisper editing could have kept the film from becoming a drag. For instance, the director takes his own sweet time to establish his characters in the first half. The second half however, is much better. Music by Achu Rajamani is decent with the title track stealing all the honours.
