PremiumBhagavanth Kesari: Balakrishna impresses but the story and presentation are routine
Bhagavanth Kesari stars Nandamuri Balakrishna in a new avatar. Read this review to find out if the film lived up to the hype created or not
Nandamuri Balakrishna in and as 'Bhagavanth Kesari'
Last Updated: 03.23 PM, Oct 19, 2023
Story
The film starts in Adilabad, Telangana. Bhagavanth Kesari (Balakrishna) is a senior citizen with idealistic choices. He is the guardian of a young girl named Vijji (Sreeleela) and keeps training her to join the army. On the other hand, Rahul Sanghvi (Arjun Rampal) is a rich and corrupt businessman who wants to be the numero uno in his field. One fine day, Vijji gets connected to his crime world, and hell breaks loose. Who is Vijji? What is her past? Why did she engage with Rahul Sanghvi? And is Bhagavanth Kesari behind all this? To know the answers, you need to watch the film on the big screen.
Review
Bhagavanth Kesari is a film that presents Balakrishna in a new avatar. After a long gap, he plays his age, which suits his current image perfectly. Director Anil Ravipudi has showcased Balakrishna in such a way that the star hero plays a character and yet pleases his fans with his powerful avatar in the flashback episodes.
If you look at the story, there is nothing new that has been showcased here. A rich villain going after an innocent girl and her guardian having a past with him has been showcased in many films earlier. The only difference here is the presentation, which showcases Balakrishna and Sreeleela in completely contrasting roles from what they generally do.
The entire first half is used as a training ground for Sreeleela and shows why Balayya is so adamant that Sreeleela joins the army. To make things light, Kajal is brought in as a psychologist, and this brings a bit of relief. Though the comedy is not of Anil Ravipudi's mark, the combo scenes between Kajal and Balayya are just about okay.
Things get interesting only in the pre-interval once Balakrishna gets into his mass avatar. From there, Bhagavanth Kesari moves at a fast pace, and the fight between Balakrishna and Arjun Rampal makes some sense. The best aspect of Bhagavanth Kesari is that Balakrishna does not go overboard with his fights, dialogue delivery, and body language.
As the makers kept saying, the star hero is indeed seen in a new avatar. He showcases two variations in his roles, and all the scenes with Sreeleela are executed on a decent note. Arjun Rampal makes a solid Tollywood entry and suits his role of Rahul Sanghvi perfectly. His look and dialogue delivery are amazing, but his character arc is not that great in the second half of the film.
Kajal was decent for her role, and Sreeleela is the life and soul of the film. She dances, emotes, and also does action in a superb way. In this film, Sreeleela also showcases that she can also act in serious performance-oriented roles. The supporting cast of the film was also decent in their roles. Thaman has composed the music, and the songs are just about okay. But the BGM creates an impact and elevates the scenes.
The production values are amazing, and the visuals look rich. The dialogues are decent, and the ones written related to a scene where Balakrishna teaches school kids about bad touch were superb. Right from the beginning, the makers have been saying that Bhagavanth Kesari will showcase Balakrishna like never before, which it does, but the story, backdrop, and narration are routine and old-school.
Verdict
On the whole, Bhagavanth Kesari showcases Balakrishna like never before. The star hero plays his age and explodes when it is needed. But the story and backdrop are routine and do not showcase anything new. But director Anil Ravipudi has made sure that the emotions are conveyed properly, making this film a passable watch for the fans.
