Pantham - Movie Review

Thursday, July 5, 2018 - 14:15
Pantham (2018)
Cast & Crew: 

Film: Pantham
Cast: 
Gopichand, Mehreen, Mukesh Rishi, Srinivasa Reddy, Prudhvi, Sathya Krishnan, Ajay, Hamsa Nandini, Jayaprakash Reddy, Sampath Raj, Rallapalli and others
Dialogues: Ramesh Reddy
Screenplay: K. Chakravarthy and Bobby
Music: Gopi Sunder
Cinematography: Prasad Murella
Art: A.S. Prakash
Producer: K.K. Radhamohan
Story, direction: K. Chakravarthy
Release date: July 5, 2018
CBFC Rating: UA

What's it about!

Vikranth (Gopichand) is a sort of Robin Hood. He doesn’t steal money from all the guys but only from politicians. Two politicians are deeply affected by his chori. They are the Health Minister and the Home Minister. After successfully robbing money from them, the Home Minister and his men nab this Robin Hood’s friends. Thus Vikranth’s identity is revealed. Is Vikranth a Gentleman of Shankar - Arjun’s movie? Or does he have another motive? That is narrated in final portions.

Analysis
 
Gopichand who began his career with 'Toli Valupu' as lead actor has released 24 movies and 'Pantham' is his 25th film. Since this is a milestone his career, he informed the media that he wanted to do a "message-oriented commercial movie". 'Pantham' directed by debutant Chakravarthy does have a message: how politicians are siphoning off money meant for victims of mishaps and what are the solutions for effective ways to handover ex gratia. The director highlights the issue and also narrates the solution.

Needless to say, to get to the "message", the audiences have to bear more than two hours of predictable narration. If only the director has focused on better screenplay, the experience would have been a lot better. Clearly, the movie is intended for mass audiences and he has loaded such elements. But the first half is too clichéd even for a regular masala movie.

Like in Shankar's 'Gentleman', the first half focuses on hero’s Robin Hood activities and romantic angle, the director maintains suspense on the true identity of the protagonist. What he lacks here is effective narration and entertainment.

The portions are not effective in the first half. The drama in the second half is lot better compared to the first half and the social message (though it is a bit unrealistic) that the film tells is relatable. Added to this Gopichand's performance in these portions (court scene) is quite effective. But the film treads like in most Robin Hood-kind of commercial entertainers with hardly any novelty.

As far as the performances are concerned, Gopichand is good. Mehreen is completely out of form here. Moreover, the portions shot on the lead pair are unengaging as they lack chemistry between them. Comedians Prudhvi, Srinivasa Reddy and others pitch in some laughs. Sampath Raj does routine job.

As far as technicians' work is concerned, Prasad Murella's camerawork and production values have lent the film richness. It is lavishly shot. Music by Gopi Sunder is a let-down.

As a director, newcomer Chakravarthy has shown his mark in some portions but his plot point is dated.

Bottom-line: Gopichand's 'Pantham' is regular commercial movie. Though later portions are handled better and has a social message in the end, the film mostly runs in predictable manner.

Rating: 
2/5