Waltair Veerayya review: Yet another average film by Bobby Kolli

K. Ramya Sree

Cast: Mega Star Chiranjeevi, Ravi Teja, Shruti Haasan, Prakash Raj, Bobby Simha, Catherine Tresa and others

Director: Bobby Kolli

Producers: Naveen Yerneni and Y Ravi Shankar

Banner: Mythri Movie Makers

Music: Devi Sri Prasad

Cinematography: Arthur A Wilson

Editor: Niranjan Devaramane

Plot:
Veerayya (played by Chiranjeevi) is a fisherman living in the Waltair area in Vizag. Due to Kaala (played by Prakash Raj), a co-fisherman from the same village, Veerayya is wrongly accused in the deaths of a few school children, who were exposed to narcotics. Ravi Teja is posted in Waltair area to eradicate drug peddling, smuggling and other atrocities in the area. How Veerayya takes his avenge and tries to fulfill his brother’s wish is the rest of the story.

Performances:
Chiranjeevi made up for all his recent films. He was quirky, witty and was in his element. It is a treat to fans and audience in general to watch Chiranjeevi pull off his kind of comedy. Also, his performance in a few emotional scenes in the film are note-worthy.

Ravi Teja as Sagar, a tough cop, was good in his role. He caught all the attention in his nearly 1 minute appearance in Poonakaalu Loading song. However, Ravi Teja speaking Telangana dialect was not very relatable. While the dialogues were good, him saying them in the dialect looked forceful. But, we must say he made his presence felt in the movie.

Prakash Raj and Bobby Simha as villains were good in their parts. Especially the intro scene of Prakash Raj was thumping. Shruti Haasan, Rajendra Prasad, Catherine Tressa were just fillers. There is a set of comedians cast in the film, however, they left no impact.

Technicalities:
Director Bobby’s narration was sluggish. While the first half goes off in a flow, the second half felt stretched. The director could’ve worked on the screenplay and narration. It needed refinement. He could capture the emotions right between Ravi Teja and Chiranjeevi.

The cinematography was good, however, the intro scene of Chirajeevi could’ve been better. VFX was not upto the mark. Audience usually pin many hopes on the entry scene of Chiranjeevi. However, because of bad VFX in the boat scene where he fights the goons in rain in the middle of the ocean on a boar, the whole entry frame of Megastar was not satisfying.

Devi Sri Prasad was good with songs, but the BGM was a big disappointment. But Poonakaalu Loading is a feast to fans.

Pros:
Vintage Chiru mark entertainment
Two songs — Boss Party and Poonakaalu Loading
Emotional scenes between Chiru and Ravi Teja
Ravi Teja’s action scenes
Interval twist

Cons:
Lengthy second half
Lagged narration
Routine revenge story
Poor VFX

Analysis:
The first half of the film just goes off in a flow. It’s more of Chiranjeevi showing off vintage comic timings, some action scenes filled with commercial elements. The second had many emotions, including Veerayya’s past. Ravi Teja is the one who saved the second half from being extremely bored. The interval twist and Ravi Teja’s fight scenes are bang on. It was a treat to watch Chiranjeevi and Megastar groove to Poonakalu Loading. Boss Party too appeals fans.

The narration was very laggy in the second half. Editing could’ve been better. There is scope for a lot of comedy, but the director did a mediocre job at utilising Chiru’s comedy timing skills. The comedy appeared to be forceful in a few scenes.The good boy/bad boy drama is predictable. The film has a mediocre script. However, it has a few commercial elements to make its presence felt at the box office this holiday weekend.

Verdict: Overall, Chiranjeevi drives this whole film. It’s him and Ravi Teja who make the whole film worth watching. This is just another average film by Bobby Kolli. In short, this is strictly for Maga and mass fans.

Rating 2.25/5