Cast: Ram Charan, Chiranjeevi (guest appearance) Rakul Preet, Rao Ramesh, Pavitra, Kriti, Sampath, Nadiya and Mukesh Rishi
Director: Sreenu Vaitla
Rating: 3 stars
The Ram Charan starrer Bruce Lee, which released on Friday, is important for quite a few reasons: It is Chiranjeevi’s comeback film; director Sreenu Vaita desperately wants it to succeed after the debacle of Aagadu; and the director has once again teamed up after writers Kona Venkat and Gopi Mohan after their fallout during Aagadu. The story goes like this: Karthi (Ram Charan) is a stunt master in the film industry who dotes on his sister. He has even sacrificed his studies to fulfil her dream of becoming a collector. Their father (Rao Ramesh) meanwhile curses Karthi for not studying.
The sister gets engaged to business tycoon Jayaraj's (Sampath) son. The tycoon is also their father's boss. Meanwhile, Riya (Rakul Preet) mistakes Kar-thi as a cop and falls in love with him. Karthi comes to know that Jayaraj is a criminal and his sister is in trouble. How Karthi solves the problem and saves his family is the crux of the story.Director Srinu Vaitla has departed from his usual comedy-entertainment genre and has used the “sister” sentiment in Bruce Lee. But he loses the plot in the second half. There's some forced comedy and the story loses track. Thus the emotion is missing in the second half. And while it is good to see Chiranjeevi back on the big screen, clearly his cameo has been forcefully introduced. Performance wise, one can see the hard work Ram Charan has put in. His dancing, acting and comic timing, all are improving with every film. In fact one is reminded of Chiranjeevi in some scenes.
Chiranjeevi shows why he is a megastar. The other notable performance is by Rao Ramesh. He has once again proved to be an asset and portrays Ram Charan’s father with élan. Rakul Preet is beautiful and pretty. But her role is limited only to the songs. Kriti as Charan’s sister is perfect. Sampath as usual is the bad man. Jayaprakash Reddy plays a dual role and provides some laughs. Brahmanandam pulls it off with a drunk driving scene. Nadia plays a neat role. Manoj Paramahamsa’s cinematography is good as is S.S. Thaman’s music.
The songs are catchy and the choreography is very nice. Vaitla’s dialogues are punchy. But on the whole, Bruce Lee, which is supposed to be a family entertainer, is a lacklustre action- drama. Srinu Vaitla seems to have lost touch and loses the plot in the middle. Even Chiranjeevi’s cameo can’t save him.
