Aravindha Sametha - Movie Review

What's it about!

Two villages are into faction wars. Narapa Reddy (Naga Babu) and Basi Reddy (Jagapathi Babu) are rivals. Narapa Reddy’s son Veera Raghava (NTR) returns from foreign after finishing higher studies. While they are coming back from Railway station, Basi Reddy attacks Narapa Reddy and he is killed. Veera Raghava Reddy who takes up the violence, kills the rival gang. His grandmother (Supriya Pathak) asks him to renounce violence and this violent legacy should not be passed on to the next generation. He wants to be torchbearer of change in the violence-strife region. But will peace be restored so easily? Will the rival gang give up the violence too?

Analysis

Movies based on Rayalaseema faction feuds were a rage two decades ago. Films like “Anthapuram”, “Samarasimha Reddy”, “Narasimha Naidu”, “Indra” and “Aadhi” were money-spinners. The trend of faction movies has ended long back as “faction feuds” in Rayalaseema slowly dying away. The faction fights in Seema are now sporadic not regular
 
At this largely peaceful juncture, Trivikram weaves a story of faction fights in his latest “Aravindha Sametha”. There is essentially a faction action drama on the surface but it offers more depth as well. It has a touch of philosophy, talks about the women in crossfire. “Inti Ninda Mundamopi vaare,” laments Sithara, NTR’s aunt in one scene. NTR’s grandmother played by Supriya Pathak also says that god has given fewer drops of tears and more deaths. In the very beginning, Trivikram establishes that the movie is not about factionism per se, but the women who suffered due to the men’s mindless killings.

The film begins with Sunil narrating the story of Veera Raghava. Though Trivikram introduces NTR in soft way, he soon introduces a war like action set piece setting the mood, putting the theme across. From the start of the movie to the next 45 minutes, the film runs on excellent manner showing the command of director Trivikram as writer and director. The setting, the writing, the performances, the craftsmanship of technicians are brilliant here. Only after 45 minutes, the title of “Aravindha Sametha” and other credits appear.

Changing the mood, the movie then shifts to lighter portions by introducing heroine Aravindha (Pooja Hegde) and her track with NTR. The Baasha-kind of setup, hero hiding in far off place during “Sandhi” period goes on simple and routine manner. This reviewer was completely put off with the total romantic thread. While the first 45 minutes showcased the brilliance of Trivikram, the romantic thread is example of uninspiring writing. Thankfully, the movie comes back into the mood just before the interval.

Post-interval, it begins with another brilliant sequence. NTR sitting in a chair and threatening the villains over the phone is executed absolutely exceptional manner. This scene ((This scene seems to be inspired by 'Taken') is best example of showing a protagonist’s heroism. There is no fight, there is violence, just dialogues. After this scene, the film loosens up a bit but doesn’t go down at all. It consistently holds the interest. Though there are many uninspiring scenes here as well, the climax is executed exceptionally. The song “Reddamma” and the final dialogues mouthed by NTR are hallmark of Trivikram’s good writing.

“Yuddham aapinode goppodu, vaade goppa” (The one who prevents the war is the real great man) is the point the film that drives. The film has many brilliant scenes and also many predictable sequences. The unevenness is major drawback. Also the faction story lacks relevance today. Films like “Yagnam” and “Mirchi” have also dealt the same point but here Trivikram has given ‘women’ angle. 

NTR, known as the one of the best performers in Tollywood, spits rage, oozes emotions, spellbinds us with his terrific acting. His screen presence and charisma have carried a lot of weight to this story. He completely holds the movie with his spotless performance. NTR is the soul and pillar to the movie. NTR has also got his Rayalaseema dialect perfect.

After NTR, the actor who gets more footage and comes up with stunning performance is Jagapathi Babu. As the main antagonist, he is menacing and startlingly terrific. This is another fantastic act from the actor after ‘Rangasthalam’ this year.

Pooja Hegde looks beautiful in the role of Aravindha but Trivikram has been writing weak characters for female leads and her dubbing (she dubbed her voice in Telugu) is neat. Eesha Rebba as Pooja’s sister has no relevance. Naveen Chandra as Jagapathi Babu’s son is perfect. Bollywood senior actress Supriya Pathak as NTR’s grandmother lends emotional touch with her assured acting. Eeshwari Rao excels in the climax portion. Sunil has returned to comedy/character roles and he has got full-length one with a difference. There is no comedy from Sunil. Nagababu as NTR’s father appears in brief period but leaves his mark. Writer Penchala Das has helped the team in Rayalaseema dialect.

Cinematography by P S Vinod is one of the main highlights of the movie. His color scheme for faction-related sequences and his lighting pattern for interior sequences is should mentioned specifically. His filming of action stunts is also good. The action choreography composed by fight masters Ram-Lakshman is another important work in the film. The film is full of action episodes with a dash of emotional element and they are different. The first fight in the movie and the pre-climax fight is worth mentioning. Thaman has given good background score but his songs are not that special.

However, the gore and excessive bloodshed should have been avoided. Editing by Navin Nooli lacks consistence. The film’s runtime seems lengthy and the uneven narration in the first half should have been taken care of.

Director Trivikram has narrated the movie in a different manner within commercial space, his stress is more on story than the commercial aspects like songs and comedy. He has picked up old story but has given his own spin to it. He shows his mark again in dialogues. But his romantic threads are increasingly turning out to be dull.

Bottom-line: 'Aravindha Sametha' is a faction drama with a difference, a story that preaches peace, highlights the plight of women in the crossfire of fights. The film has brilliant first 45 minutes and good climax. However, it is largely inconsistent. NTR's performance and Trivikram's dialogues make the movie worth watch.