Our audience never tires of watching routine, formula cinema. Our demand for fresh, intelligent stories is only cursory and half hearted; we lap up such stuff from other languages but when it comes to Telugu we love our staple diet – songs, fights and comedy scenes. Yevadu is one such movie, it comes as a festive release but thrills only to a certain extent. Heavily inspired by Face Off , the director brings in a breezy intro and a first half. Allu Arjun shows what an actor can do even in a short role, in the few minutes he packs his experience, internalises the character and makes an impressive exit even as he loses his identity. It is about how Satya (Arjun) is badly disfigured and slips into coma while putting up a fight for his girlfriend Deepti (Kajal). The baddies are lusting for her and Satya shields her and in the process gets stabbed and half his face burnt.
Jayasudha who plays a plastic surgeon gives him life, a new visage but with a purpose. The new face is of Ram Charan’s, he (Satya) now takes revenge on those who killed Deepti, enjoying the advantage of being a stranger. If you are wondering what the director has to offer when the hero finishes wreaking vengeance even before the interval, he comes up with an interesting point that makes you want to see the second half of the story, but unfortunately, the auteur falters, there appears to be an umbilical chord but it is a different story altogether which gives us the feeling that we are watching a second movie. How one wishes this part of the story was as thrilling as the first and had the same amount of entertainment seamlessly woven into the script, like that of Brahmanandam’s. Sadly, the overdose of violence continues and the audience craves for comic relief.
Ram Charan has his two minutes to show his skill as a dancer but when it comes to acting, he gives zilch. True, he needs to appear glum, but the soul is absent throughout; that is why the manipulation drama or the revenge seeking looked so disoriented and disconnected. Kajal is always good at giving a troubled expression and she does a neat job. Amy and Sruthi serve no purpose other than flaunting their figures. Sai Kumar holds the plot in the next half, Jayasudha and Kota make their presence felt after a long time on screen.
Just like the cosmetic changes to the character, the director adds frills to the second half in attempt to make the project safe. Two stars in the film but the director shows his insecurity and includes a clipping from Gabbar Singh for the whistles. The film could do well at the box office provided you ignore the non-stop, prolonged revenge sequences. Devisri Prasad’s background score and editing are assets, cinematography is equally good. With no big films in sight the coming week, this one, tailored for the mass, should set the cash registers ringing.
YEVADU
Cast : Ram Charan, Allu Arjun, Sruthi Hassan
Director : Vamsi Paidipalli
Music : Devisri Prasad
Plot : A concoction of ‘Face Off’ and ‘Vikramarkudu’
Bottomline : Does the voice also change with plastic surgery?
