Shakti (2011) - Telugu Movie Review

Cast and Crew :

Starring : Jr. NTR, Ileana D'Cruz, Manjari Phadnis, Jackie Shroff, Pooja Bedi, Nassar, S. P. Balasubramaniam, Prabhu Ganesan, Sonu Sood, Ali, Sayaji Shinde, Brahmanandam
Directed by : Meher Ramesh
Produced by : C. Ashwini Dutt
Written by : JK Bharavi, Yandamoori
Singers : Ranjith, Chinmayi, Javed Ali, Suchitra, Karunya, Malavika, Sharath, Hemachandra, Hanumantha Rao, Rita, Saindhavi, Srivardhini
Music by : Mani Sharma
Cinematography : Sameer Reddy
Studio : Vyjayanthi Movies

Story :
Egyptians (Sonu sood, Pooja Bedi) eyes Shakti Peethams in India to get their mummies back to life. However, they come to know that it is not an easy task to get that Shakti Trishoolam as it was guarded by Rudra (NTR Jr.). Sonu Sood dies in his hands when he tries to get that Trishoolam. His wife (Pooja Bedi) avenges her husband’s death and takes an oath to fulfill his desire. After 27 years, when the time arrives, she sends his men to get the Shakti Trishoolam. For that she has to kidnap Aishwarya (Ileana) who is born with the special powers of Shakti Matha. She is safeguarded by Shakti (NTR Jr.) and what happens next is the rest of the story.

Analysis :
Meher Ramesh seems to have a knack of picking the format of previous blockbusters and writing a new story in the same lines. His first film Kantri is a poor copy of Pokiri and it deservedly ended up as a flop. After making a below average film Billa, which is again a remake of Tamil hit, Meher is back in business.

Now, he took a cue from the biggest blockbuster of Tollywood, Magadheera and has written a story based on Shakti Peethams. When Magadheera is still afresh in the minds of Tollywood audience, making a film on the same lines is a bad idea. And when crores of rupees are at stake it is even more disastrous.

Shakti opens on a dull note. The concept of involving Egyptians in to this story didn’t work at all. The film is set up in 1984 and 2011 where the people are civilized and the kingly rule was vanished. But the director deliberately ignored many logics and blindly told whatever he felt like. May be he might have thought that anything is possible in a socio fantasy flick. When he has involved politicians, police and also military into this it is no longer a fantasy film, especially when the director revealed the period of time that the story is running in.

Even after ignoring logical errors, Shakti seems unconvincing and meaningless due to the lackluster script. The narrative too weak that you lose focus on the happenings within no time. First half of the film is sheer time waste. Interval twist is borrowed from Pokiri again.

The flashback part involving Rudra character has to be the lifeline for this film. But sadly that has turned out to be the major disaster. Meher Ramesh directly lifted dialogs and happenings from Magadheera in this part. Even NTR’s getup and outfit resembles to that of Charan’s in it. When the director faltered at the crucial juncture, there is no way that a film could survive. He might have tried to end the film with some sense so that the audience might have given him grace points. But the climax is ridiculously horrible.

Performances :
NTR Jr. is the only saving grace in this film. If not for him, audience might have walked out of the auditorium by the interval point. His performance as Shakti is cool. He looked dashing in those blazers in post interval scenes. However, he should have taken care on Rudra’s getup. It didn’t suit him at all. Even NTR diehard fans would be disappointed with it.

Ileana plays a spineless character which hardly gives her a chance to act. She has sizzled in the songs though. Sonu Sood’s role is limited and he is wasted. Pooja Bedi doesn’t know the basics of acting and watching her on screen is sheer torture. Manjari Fadnis played Rudra’s wife. There are hordes of actors in this film and none of them are given a purposeful role. Everyone looked pale and dull due to poor characterizations and bad dialogues.

Tehnicalities :
Mani Sharma’s music is another weak link in this movie. None of the songs are worth hearing repeatedly. Hari giri Nandini… song was good on ears but the director spoilt it with his picturization. Background score is bad too. Keeravani might have done a better job for this film. Dialogues by Satyanand are weak. None of the jokes worked and also the dialogues in crucial scenes are a big let down.

Sameer Reddy’s cinematography is good. Art department did a very good job. So called visual effects aren’t great. Producer has hyped this movie as the costliest film in Tollywood history but the grandeur is completely missing on screen. Except for shooting in number of locations, Shakti doesn’t possess any visual splendor.

Meher Ramesh yet again proved that his skills are limited. He should stick to commercial flicks rather jumping the genres.

Plus Points : Jr. NTR dialogues, Ileana glamour, Art & VFX, Songs

Minus points : Story, Screenplay, Direction

Final Verdict :
Shakti is a major disappointment for all the hype it generated. Now the economics of this film completely depend upon the fate of other releases and holidays season. Given its budget and the high rates it was sold for, Shakti would find it really tough to get into a safe zone.