A stifling experience

Sai Dharam Tej makes a mark in this otherwise predictable film

Actors Sai Dharam Tej and Raashi Khanna in a still from the movie.— Photo: By Arrangement

Director Anil Ravipudi impressed moviegoers with Pataas . His racy screenplay and humorous one-liners helped him get noticed and Kalyan Ram had heaved a sigh of relief then. Good that the film was released before Puri Jagan’s Temper , else his cop story would not have been talked about. But is he able to break the second movie jinx with Supreme ?

In Telugu cinema, the title need not be connected to the story. As long as it sounds positive and pompous, it should work because the hero has to reign supreme at the end. Sai Dharam Tej is young, there is an ease in him and his body language is confident, but that isn’t enough.

Supreme doesn’t take him to a next level. It just establishes that the director is capable of handling a ‘masala’ film for a big hero. We saw Tej playing a cab driver mechanically beating the pulp out of dozens of big-bodied men who trap him and chase him from all sides. When he isn’t fighting physically, his car ejects a weird structure that destroys a vehicle that follows his car.

There are umpteen areas that are touched upon – love, child sentiment, father-son relationship, violence and two set of comedians to kill boredom – but they heighten the idiocy levels. If you are a Chiranjeevi fan, you wait with patience just to see if the song, choreography of

Andam Hindolam has not been tampered with. Srinivas Reddy and Posani Krishna Murali have no sensible role, and on the other hand, Prabhas Seenu and his partner irritate viewers by saying “amazing... zing zing”. A child play involving the villain being slapped on his back for a good time shows the bankruptcy of ideas.

Raashi Khanna is a delight to watch though she hardly has anything to do. Story wise, it is a template stuff. Thousands of acres owned by a Trust is encroached by villain Kabir Duhan Singh. The court issues it in his favour, but gives the petitioner Sai Kumar a month’s time to come with documents belonging to the heir.

The heir is a kid who comes to live with Tej and the latter takes it on himself to save the kidnapped child and the documents. Technically it is rich, but the predictability that comes in the first half itself kills interest.

Supreme is stifling, watch if you have nothing else to do.

– Y. Sunita Chowdhary

Supreme

Cast: Sai Dharam Tej, Raashi Khanna

Direction: Anil Ravipudi

Music: Sai Kartheek

Plot: A young hero faces all odds to save a kidnapped child

Bottomline: Leave Chiranjeevi’s songs alone; don’t remix