Movie review 'Asura': Nara Rohit steals the show

Cast: Nara Rohit, Priya Banerjee, Satya, Ravi Varma
Director: Krishna Vijay
Rating: 3 stars

Nara Rohit is the one actor who chooses “different” projects and has created a niche for himself in Telugu cinema. This time he is in Asura, an action thriller directed by a debutant Krishna Vijay. Priya Banerjee is the female lead.

The story is about a sincere and honest jailer Dharma (Nara Rohit) of Rajamundry Central Jail. He is strict and doesn’t care about anything when it comes to duty. This makes him arrogant. One day, a criminal named Charlie (Ravi Varma) is shifted to Dharma’s jail. Charlie has been given a death sentence in a criminal case and even the President has rejected his mercy plea. So he is counting his days.

Charlie meets another criminal in the jail and plans to escape. He also makes a deal with a gang from outside to get him out. The gang kidnaps Dharma’s fiancée Harika (Priya Banerjee). How Dharma tackles the situation and what happened in the jail is what the story is about.

It is good to see the debutant director Krishna Vijay come up with a novel subject. He also does a wonderful job and narrates the whole subject in an interesting and gripping manner. The film is more screenplay-based and the direction is impressive. The director cleverly reveals the twist in the second half. The dialogues are really good too. Sai Karthik has shown his talent with the musical score, especially in the background score. The cinematography is good and the jail episodes are captured very well.

When it comes to performance, Nara Rohit steals the show. The way he reveals his emotions and also renders the dialogues are simply superb. Nara Rohit’s powerful performance is the highlight. However, he needs to shed some weight.

Another surprise package is Ravi Varma, who plays the criminal. Though he played small characters in many films, this film will give a big boost to his career. Priya Banerjee’s character is limited in the film and she does her job very well. She looks glamorous. Other characters Vennela Rama Rao, Satya and Anil perform very well.

There are a few drawbacks too. The romance between Rohit and Priya does not come out well and a couple of songs are misplaced. Overall, Asura is an interesting film. Though many of Rohit’s films have received critical acclaim in the past, this film is a success. Watch it.