Macherla Niyojakavargam review: Nithiin’s actioner is an unbearable mess

1/5

Story:

Siddhu is a youngster based out of Vizag, who has cleared UPSC exams and is waiting to commence his stint as a government officer. His ‘good friend’ Nidhi is keen to marry him but Siddhu sees her more as a friend. He soon falls for a girl Swati, whom he meets at a beach and later turns out to be a neighbour. When Swati suddenly disappears from home, Siddhu realises she’s in danger while dealing with a notorious politician Rajappa. What connects Siddhu and Swati to Rajappa and his hometown Macherla?

Review:

Macherla Niyojakavargam’s core idea has the potential to make for a compelling commercial fare. The film is set amidst Macherla, an area where elections haven’t been held for decades and a politician forces its residents to choose him unanimously. It takes a courageous government officer to put him in check and convince the people to come together for an election and vote for a candidate of their choice. Ideally, the film should have focused on the many challenges in the officer’s journey.

The execution of Macherla Niyojakavargam is however the worst possible version one can make out of its premise. The writer, director MS Rajashekhar Reddy has absolutely no clarity in his script and is clueless about extracting performances, drafting an engaging screenplay. Whenever he falls short of ideas, he either resorts to a comedy track or a beachside song to fill up his frames bereft of any meaning or purpose.

The film takes off from Rajappa’s perspective showcasing how and why he had become so animalistic while lusting for power. The sudden shift to Siddhu’s story and the slapstick humour later drown the momentum of the initial stretch. It’s startling how the filmmaker portrays a youngster who’s cleared a prestigious exam and is waiting for his job posting. Siddhu, as a character, is reduced to a man of zero intellect, who speaks mindlessly, doesn’t pay heed to the law and stalks women.

When Indu tells Siddhu ‘Sense lekunda matladtunnav enti..’, you echo her sentiments. Siddhu is the same man who ‘rises’ up to the occasion when a gang of goons try to woo his romantic interest. There’s very little that separates Siddhu from a local goon. He’s just more privileged and educated. If this doesn’t rile you up enough, Vennela Kishore’s Guru, an egoistic husband, is on a different trip altogether. It’s one of the most ridiculous and regressive characters that Telugu cinema has seen in a while.

There isn’t even a single sequence in Macherla.. where the director tries to put forward a thought convincingly. Most of the characters are either perverted, have verbal diarrhoea and speak similarly. It’s hard to believe that this is a work of an editor-turned-filmmaker, the weakest point of the film is the absence of precision. The sequences prolong without any need and most of them have no connection with the story at all. The entire first half could’ve come down to a 15-minute introduction stretch.

The second hour is exactly the point where you expect the film to take off and fly high and it’s baffling that the director has no control over the proceedings. He doesn’t take audiences or their intelligence seriously. Bringing up names of SS Rajamouli, Trivikram or Boyapati in an action sequence or rehashing the Jayam song ‘Ranu Ranu’ in an item number can’t salvage the film. The twist about Samuthirakani’s character is rather pointless and the actor too is a complete misfit for the part.

This is the 20th year in the industry for Nithiin and he hasn’t made any honest effort to diversify or conquer newer frontiers. The same lazy dialogue delivery, dance moves with his bent knees, unimpactful body language never convince us to invest in his story. Catherine Tresa is only brought on board for skin show and asked to either wear short jeans or bathroom robes. Krithi Shetty is helplessly trapped in a meaningless film that reduces her to ‘comic relief’ on most occasions.

Rajendra Prasad, Murli Sharma and Indraja have uninspiring characters that don’t make a mark at all. Surprisingly, Subhalekha Sudhakar grabs a meaty part driving the story forward. Except for Ra Ra Reddy, Mahati Swara Sagar’s music is yawn-inducing. The action choreography minus any emotion feels extremely mechanical. There’s no enthusiasm or energy in the storytelling at all, the characters come and leave at their will.

Verdict:

Macherla Niyojakavargam is among the worst action entertainers in recent times. The absence of effort from the team to entertain or try/tell anything new is shocking, to say the least. Nithiin’s performance is devoid of any impact but writer and director MS Rajashekhar Reddy needs to take the lion’s share of the blame. It’s unpardonable to expect audiences to come to theatres when the creators don’t even respect them.