PSV Garuda Vega - Movie Review

Story:
NIA officer Sekhar (Rajasekhar) has trouble at home as his wife contemplates to seek divorce from him due to the nature of his job. As he tries pacifying and convincing her, a biker rams into his car and this accidentally leads him to another mission. The biker turns out to be a hacker (Aadith) who is demanding money from a team that seeks the documents that he possesses. Sekhar and his team nab this guy. What scam is this guy involved in and what does Garuda Vega mean? This forms the rest of the story.

Analysis
Director Praveen Sattaru, who made award-winning movies like ‘Chandamama Kathalu’ as well as adult-oriented crime comedies ‘Guntur Talkies’ has attempted the genre of action drama for the first time. Praveen Sattaru’s ‘PSV Garuda Vega’ gives the feel of Hollywood action thrillers but he has made it in distinctive style with a native story. The story is about corruption in uranium and plutonium technology that involves several Indian departments and politicians.

‘PSV Garuda Vega’ doesn't have run-of-the-mill storyline. It talks about nuclear technology theft, hacking the satellites, and NIA (National Intelligence officers). Director sets the mood right from the very first episode. It doesn't deviate much from the main theme and he has used Hollywood-style of narration. Except for a bit song and an item song, the story doesn't fall into song trap.

Barring the boring track between wife and husband when they go to counselling, the first half of the movie is told in a gripping manner. The bomb-diffusing sequence before the interval is canned in a terrific way. It is surprising to see Praveen Sattaru handling this kind of subject because he hasn't made such genre before. The screenplay drive is also effective.

There is another interesting scene when Aadith tries to explain about Pokhran, India's nuclear technology, Rajasekhar retorts cut the crap, say short. The set-up of NIA is shown here more realistically than recent 'Spyder' and 'Vivegam' movies. However, the villain Kishore's explanation about the scam defies the logic. 

Rajasekhar has finally got a role that suits his image, age and his body language. He used to be known as angry youngman with the movies like ‘Ankusham’, ‘Agraham’, etc. Such intense characters have been eluding him. Luckily this role as NIA officer is spot-on for him. He has given the best act.

Pooja Kumar as his wife is suited well but her characterisation is too formulaic. After Rajasekhar it is Aadith as second lead who impresses. He has got equal role. Nasser, Ravi Varma and Charan Deep as NIA agents are perfect. Named George, Kishore has come up with believable performance. Sunny Leone has appeared as a special attraction in a dance number. Shraddha Das has played the role of a journalist. The characters of Avasarala, Ali and Prudhvi have not worked out well. Shayaji Shinde and Posani as rival politicians are okay.

The striking features of “PSV Garuda Vega” are visuals (cinematography is absolutely top class), production design (terrific work), visual effects and production values. Director Praveen Sattaru has extracted the best output from his technicians and the film reeks of classiness. 

Praveen Sattaru’s work as director is quite impressive despite this being his first attempt in this genre. He has proved his writing skills in his earlier movies but this time he has shown his mark with film making values too. 

Bottom-line: 'PSV Garuda Vega’ is packed with adrenaline pumping action sequences, nail biting suspense with high technical standards and rich production values. The first half of the movie is riveting barring the Rajasekhar-Ali episode. The film turns a bit regular in the second half and it is too lengthy. Overall, it is slick action thriller from director Praveen Sattaru. He has shown grip on this genre. A perfect comeback film for Rajasekhar.