Waltair Veerayya Review: Vintage Chiranjeevi breathes fire into this otherwise routine action drama

3/5

Story

The film kicks off in Vizag when a few RAW agents nab a dreaded criminal by the name of Solomon Ceaser(Bobby Simha). In order to get more force, they lock Solomon up in a small jail. But Solomon lets loose and kills them all and flees to Malaysia. Left with no choice, the cops take the help of local messiah Waltair Veerayya(Chiranjeevi) to bring Solomon back. But little do they know that Waltair Veerayya has a personal mission behind nabbing Solomon. What is that mission? and how did he achieve it? That forms the story of Waltair Veerayya.

Review

Megastar Chiranjeevi gets back to the mass genre after doing a serious film Godfather. Director Bobby, who has time and again told us that he has directed Waltair Veerayya as a fan more than a director, gives mega fans what they expect from Chiranjeevi. The megastar in the role of Waltair Veerayya is funny, evokes mass energy, and dances superbly. Right from the first frame, Bobby showcases the vintage Chiranjeevi which we all have been missing. Even at the age of sixty-five plus, Chiranjeevi mouths dialogues with command and also dances gracefully.

Waltair Veerayya's script is straight away from the early 90s when the hero is after the villain due to his personal tragedy which gets revealed in the flashback. The same happens here and barring the interval bang, there are not many twists that keep you engaged. But when it comes to the entertainment part, the director has cleverly packaged the songs and fights in a way masses will love it. The songs sound cool and come at a proper time to give relief to the audience.

Mass Maharaja Ravi Teja also plays a key role in the film and he is brought into the narrative during the second half. This is the time, the character of Waltair Veerayya goes silent. The star heroes play step-brothers in the film and their banter is fun to watch on screen. Ravi Teja is also cool in the role of a cop and has been nicely showcased by Bobby. As there is not much Hungama by Chiranjeevi in the second half, Ravi Teja dominates the screen. One song featuring the two of them will be loved by the masses for sure.

But when it comes to the last half an hour, the track between Chiranjeevi and Ravi Teja has no emotional connection. There should have been more melodrama between the two of them but the director chooses more style over sensibility as the brotherhood looks forced. Shruthi Haasan looks cool and has a decent role. She dances well alongside Chiranjeevi and their pair looks good on screen. Subbaraju and Rajendra Prasad play their roles well but Vennela Kishore evokes decent comedy in the first half.

Waltair Veerayya has a peppy album and the music by DSP is cool. All the songs are also shot well. Keeping Chiranjeevi's age in mind, the choreography is graceful. The visuals are crisp but the editing is not. Waltair Veerayya could have been trimmed by at least 12 minutes to make things better. But things go on and a romantic song breaks out in a crunch moment.

Waltair Veerayya has a fair share of issues and first among them is the lack of a strong villain. Bobby Simha is good in the first half but Prakash Raj looks pale as the main villain. We have seen him doing the same negative role that we have lost count of it. The hero-villain conflict is not proper in Waltair Veerayya and this is where things look routine. The film has been packaged as a leave your brains back home kind of film from day one and lives up to the promise in a way.

Verdict

On the whole, Waltair Veeraya is made just to bring back the vintage Chiranjeevi which the fans and general audience were missing for a long time. The scale is grand and there is enough star power for the fans to enjoy as the songs and fights are packaged cleverly. If you are the one who loves glossy multi-starrers, Waltair Veerayya is for you but for others, there is nothing new that is being showcased here.