Rating : 2.5/5
Cast : Naresh, Sneha Ullal, Ahuthi Prasad, Dharmavarapu Subramanyam, Jayaprakash ReddyDirector: Seetaramaraju
Producer: KK Radha Mohan Music Director: Vasant
Allari Naresh is a very respected figure in the industry circles as he is known as a minimum guarantee hero. His films are made on low and medium budgets, and with a lot of comedy present, they generally rake in a decent amount of money. For this Dussehra, Allari Naresh entered the Box Office race with ‘Madatha Kaja’ and he has the gorgeous Sneha Ullal for company. Directed by debut director Seetha Rama Raju, the movie was touted as a complete comedy entertainer. Let us see how the movie fares.
What its about: Kalyan(Allari Naresh) is a police informer who operates in Vizag. He works for ‘dynamic’ officer Sai Kumar(Dharmavarapu). In the course of duty, he comes across Swapna(Sneha Ullal) and sparks fly. It is love at first sight for the hero. With the help of Sai Kumar and Kishore (Vennela Kishore), he hatches a series of plots and succeeds in earning her love.
Meanwhile, international don Nanda(Ashish Vidyardhi) entrusts his Hyderabad operations to his two associates JP(Jayaprakash Reddy) and KP(Ahuti Prasad). KP and JP try to spoil each other’s areas of operation out of rivalry and end up causing massive losses to Nanda. So Nanda plans to arrange a marriage alliance between JP’s son Ajay(Subba Raju) and Swapna, who happens to be KP’s daughter.
Kalyan is tasked with collecting intelligence on KP and JP by the Hyderabad Police and so he soon comes to know about Nanda’s plot .A series of kidnaps and double crosses later, he enters into KP’s house and all hell breaks loose. What happens to Swapna? Will Kalyan succeed in marrying her? And will Nanda be apprehended? This forms the rest of the story.
What is good: Allari Naresh is a master at essaying these kind of roles and Madatha Kaja is a cakewalk for him. He succeeds in bringing a few laughs and his energy lends a positive feel to the film.Sneha Ullal brings in a lot of oomph into the movie and she looks gorgeous on-screen.
Jaya Prakash Reddy is the star of the film. His dialogues and histrionics are a treat to watch. Ahuti Prasad is good with his Telangana slang.Dharmavarapu, Ali, Raghu Babu and others manage to do justice to their roles and they keep the comedy alive. The second half of the film proceeds at a lively pace and is easy to watch.
The song ‘Excuse me’ is a nice watch.
What is bad: The story is a heavily recycled Tollywood product and there is next to zero logic in many of the scenes. While that can normally be forgiven in an Allari Naresh film, it really is a bit too much here.The twists are highly predictable and Allari Naresh is better off doing spoofs than uttering punch dialogues.
The biggest disappointment is Sneha Ullal.If only her acting is half as good as her looks, she would be a much better actress. Her expressions are woody and her comic timing is way off balance. The first half tests the patience of the viewer sometimes.
While a few comedy scenes are good, many of the scenes appear forced and cliched. Subba Raju is wasted.
Technical Departments: The dialogues are stale and routine and that is a major drawback.A sharper dialogue and more wit would have done wonders for this film.Director Seeta Rama Raju makes his debut with this film and it shows. There is immaturity in the way the subject is handled. Screenplay goes for a toss in the first half and only marginally picks up in the second half.
Srivasanth’s music and background score are ok. Cinematography is good and editing is good enough for movies of this budget.
Verdict: Allari Naresh is known in the industry as a minimum guarantee hero but it might not work out this time as he has to deal with the blockbuster Dookudu on one hand and the impending release of Oosaravelli on the other hand. Between them, Oosaravelli and Dookudu will take up the lion’s share of viewers and theaters. An entertaining film filled with good humour and sharp wit might have survived this dual onslaught but not this stale offering. There is not much for the B and C center folks either. Madatha Kaja has a few decent laughs but there is a lot going against the movie than in favour of it.Finally: Madatha Kaja is neither sweet nor sour. Watch it if you have nothing better to do.