Movie Review: Mahesh Babu's '1-Nenokkadine'

Cast: Mahesh Babu, Kriti Sanon, Pradeep Rawat, Nasser, Kelly Dorze, Gautam and Posani
Director: B Sukumar
Rating: 2.5

'1 Nenokkadine', which hit the theatres on Friday, holds the record for the Telugu film with the highest budget. After delivering three consecutive hits, Mahesh Babu has joined hands with director Sukumar for '1 Nenokkadine'. The film introduces Kriti Sanon.

The story goes like this. Gautham (Mahesh) is a popular rock star. He has been suffering from a psychological disorder and is frequently haunted by bad dreams. As a child, he had witnessed the gruesome murder of his parents. Since then, a few strange incidents convince him that killers are on his trail. Unfortunately for him, people around him do not notice any of these strange happenings and they tell him that he is living in his dream world.

Journalist Sameera (Kriti) is a welcome entity in Gautham’s life. Whether her investigative journalism helps Gautham trace his parents’ killers or not, Gautham holds great fascination for her. Together they set off on the mystery solving mission. Mahesh’s revenge forms the crux of the story.

'1 Nenokkadine' is director Sukumar’s first film with Mahesh Babu. Expectations from Sukumar are very high. In fact, writing is Sukumar’s forte. Somehow he fails to deliver in this film. The story is run of the mill.

The film has been shot mostly in the UK, Bangkok and Goa; the locales are captivating. But for a murder-revenge story, the elements of excitement, chills and thrills are missing. The first 10 minutes of the film are good. From then onwards, the director seems to be focusing more on the psychological aspect and it appears that he has forgotten the story line.

There are not many characters involved since the story revolves around Mahesh. Also, the film is too long and the entertainment aspect is absent. There are times when the audience’s patience is tested.

The saving grace in the movie is Ratnavelu’s cinematography which is excellent. A couple of action scenes have been canned well. There is not much dialogue in the movie and the music is mediocre. Mahesh looks superb, and one can clearly see that he has worked out a lot for this film. His good performance has been in vain since the storyline is rather weak.

Kriti Sanon is the next best thing in the film. This debutante has acted like a veteran. For baddies Kelly Dorge, Nasser and Pradeep Rawat, this is just one more film. Another debutante in the film is Mahesh Babu’s son, child artiste Gautham. He has executed his part very well. Sophie Choudhary sizzles in the item song.

To say it in a line, the film falls short of expectations and disappoints film goers, especially the fans of Mahesh Babu.