Movie: Autonagar Surya
Cast: Naga Chaitanya, Samantha, Ajay, Jayaprakash Reddy and Sai Kumar
Director: Deva Katta
Rating: ***
Hyderabad: After a delay of almost a year and a half, Samantha and Naga Chaitanya starrer Autonagar Surya, directed by Deva Katta, released on Friday. Autonagar is a popular place in Vijayawada and might have been at the back of the director’s mind when the film was made.
During his childhood, Surya (Naga Chaitanya) loses his parents in a train. He lands in Vijayawada and grows up to become a car mechanic in Autonagar which is under the control of the goons of the local mafia leader Indra (Jayaprakash Reddy) and the city mayor (Madhu). In Autonagar, nothing can move without the mafia’s permission. Surya, an intelligent mechanic, builds a vehicle which runs on battery. He tries to tie-up with a big company to take his idea further. But the mafia creates problems and Surya starts his fight against the mafia.
Director Deva Katta’s earlier film Prasthanam has shown him to be a good director. In this film, his thoughts and ideas come across as good, however, execution has fallen short of expectations. One can’t understand what he wants to convey. This film cannot be classified either as a regular commercial film or a classic.
The film has a few shades of Nagarjuna’s classic Shiva. It is a simple story, a common man fighting against corruption and mafia, but the director has stretched the story and dragged it. The only interesting thing about the film is Naga Chaitanya’s performance. Director Deva Katta’s dialogues are good and the film will be a plus point for Chaitanya as a performer. He is a perfect fit for the character but that is just not sufficient for a film’s success. Samantha looks beautiful in the film but as the film was made two years back, she looks quite different now.
Jayaprakash Reddy performs well as one of the mafia leaders, showing the right degree of cruelty in his facial expressions. Another young actor Nandu, who plays Chaitanya’s friend, has also done a good job. Sai Kumar, a good artiste, has been wasted in this film as a supporting character.
Brahmaji appears in the second half and Ajay plays another villain role. Anoop Rubens’ music has not hit the mark and the songs are average. Brahmanandam’s episodes are a big waste and the song picturised on him is boring. The film is too long and one feels it will never end! Art director Ravinder has done a good job of designing the sets of Autonagar.
The setting for the story looks very natural. The cinematography is good and of Chaitanya and Samantha’s scenes have come out very well. On the whole, a predictable and long story, Autonagar Surya may not go down well with many. Deva Katta fails this time and falls short of the expectations.
