Race Gurram makes no pretensions to be a hatke film. It is an out and out Allu Arjun film and it makes no bones of that. Directed by Surender Reddy, Race Gurram is a family entertainer with its fair share of action and comedy and a generous dose of Allu Arjun’s dancing skills.
The film is about Ram and Lakshman (yes it is as predictable as that) two brothers who never get along. Right from childhood there is animosity between the two as Ram (Shaam) is the goody-two-shoes who plays by the rule book and Lakshman or Lucky (Allu Arjun) is the secretly good-at-heart brat who stirs up a hornet’s nest everywhere he goes. The bad blood between the two continues even as Ram grows up to be an honest cop and Lucky is a good-for-nothing Samaritan.
The constant bickering between the two brothers provides some entertaining moments during the first half. The two are constantly trying to upstage each other till things take a serious turn when Lucky unknowingly intercepts a bid on his brother’s life and beats the daylights of Siva Reddy (Ravi Kishan) a rowdy-sheeter turned aspiring politician who is out to get Ram. While Lucky goes back to being the joker of the family and life continues as usual for the brothers (with a couple of romantic tracks thrown in) all hell breaks loose when Siva Reddy is made a minister and he uses his power to begin targeting Lucky’s family. How Lucky turns things around and begins to extract his revenge forms the rest of the plot. While the plot is not an out of the box one, the film has its share of good laughs. The first half is all right and shows promise but by the second half the plot sort of unravels and seems to bank upon the comic relief provided by Allu Arjun and Brahmanandam. Some of the situations are quite ridiculous but are saved by good performances.
Allu Arjun as the good-for-nothing Lucky is very good. He carries off both comic and action sequences with élan. Shaam as the arrogant elder brother Ram delivers a good performance while Brahmanandam steals the show as frustrated police officer Killbill Pandey in the second half.
Shruti Haasan as Spandana, Lucky’s love interest, has really nothing much to do other than bat her lashes and smile prettily. Saloni Aswani as Shweta is paired opposite Shaam in a blink-and-you-miss role. Prakash Raj as Shruti Haasan’s father has nothing much to do in the film and it seems like a waste of such a talented actor in the role. However, good camera work and some slick editing save the film despite some hiccups. Music by Thaman is peppy and gives the audience a good glimpse of Allu Arjun’s dancing prowess.
Cast: Allu Arjun, Shruti Haasan, Prakash Raj, Brahmanandam, Shaam, Ravi Kishan, Mukesh Rishi, M.S. Narayana
Director: Surender Reddy
Plot: Two brothers are always at loggerheads. What happens when one crosses the line
Genre: Family drama, comedy
Bottomline: It’s good for a few good laughs and for die-hard Allu Arjun fans
