Movie review 'Basthi': Old whine

Cast: Shreyaan Kapoor, Pragathi, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Mukesh Rishi and Abhimanyu Singh
Director: Vasu Manthena
Rating: 2 stars

Basthi had seen some hype before its release  because Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had attended its music launch, the first after becoming Chief Minister. Moreover, senior actress Jayasudha's younger son Shreyaan made his debut with the film along with Pragathi, who has acted in many Hindi serials as a child artiste. Young businessman Vasu Manthena also debuted as a director with Basthi.

The story is nothing new. It is about two rival groups. Ammiraju (Mukesh Rishi) is the head for one gang and Bhikshapathi (Kota) is the head of the other. Bhikshapathi's cruel son Bhavani (Abhimanyu Singh) is also involved in the gang war. Ammiraju kidnaps Bhikshapathi's daughter Sravanathi (Pragathi) and locks her up in his house. Meanwhile Vijay (Shreyaan Kapoor), Ammiraju's brother who has returned from the USA, sees the girl and decides to help her escape.

The two predictably fall in love. The movie is based on what happens next regarding the warring factions. Producer and director Vasu Manthena has taken an outdated story as his subject. The director's inexperience is particularly evident in the second half while the first half has a few interesting points. When it comes to the performance, Shreyaan Kapoor looks good and has acted quite naturally. Pragathi, however, looks like a schoolgirl.

Mukesh Rishi got good footage and has done a neat job while for Kota Srinivasa Rao, the role was a cakewalk. Abhimanyu Singh plays the bad guy with confidence while comedian Saptagiri appears in only one scene.

Technically, the music by Pravin Immadi is average and the cinematography of V.K. Gunasekhar is good at parts. To sum up, Basthi is a boring, amateurish movie and portrays the director's inexperience. The story’s narration is also not interesting as it's too predictable. It is not a good debut film for the concerned people at all.