Movie review: Shourya is a bit damp

Cast: Manchu Manoj, Regina Cassandra, Prakash Raj, Nagineedu and Subbaraju
Director: Dasarath

Director Dasarath has come up with Shourya after a three-year gap. The film stars Manchu Manoj and Regina Cassandra and keeping in mind the director’s previous work and the film’s extensive promotions, the project received much buzz ahead of its release.

The story goes like this. Shourya (Manchu Manoj) is back in India from studies at Harvard and settles down in a teaching job. Soon, he attends a wedding and there, he meets Nethra (Regina). The two immediately hit it off.
But much to her, and everyone’s, shock, Shourya escapes with the bride during the wedding.

Nethra, however, soon discovers the real reason behind why Shourya ran away with the bride and that reason is enough for her to fall in love with the guy who just took off with someone else’s fiancé.

Later, on  Sivaratri  both Shourya and Nethra visit the Kotilingala Siva temple and decide to spend the night at the holy site. But late into the night, Nethra is attacked by unknown persons and her throat is slit.

A severely injured Nethra is taken to hospital and the police immediately arrest Shourya as he’s the sole suspect in the case. So what really happened to Nethra that night forms the crux of the story.

Director Dasarath is a sensible director, known for his romantic dramas. This time, he tries his hand in an entirely new genre, a thriller... with a touch of romance.

The movie starts off with an interesting premise — that a story can have three different versions or perspectives. One told from the imagination of people, the other from the perspective of a person who has been involved in the incident and finally, the actual facts behind the incident.    

It all sounds promising but the movie simply fails in its execution. The movie was marketed as a thriller but the narration is slow and even border-line boring. Also, there are too many flashbacks and the screenplay is just painful.

When it comes to performances, Manoj shines with his subtle portrayal of Shourya. But the film doesn’t even explain why the actor had to put on weight for this project. But Manoj’s acting is definitely one of the highlights of the film.

Somehow, however, the chemistry between him and Regina does not come through despite good performances. Regina, no doubt, looks stunning.   

Prakash Raj, once again, remains a hit, which has become something of a habit with him. Brahmanandam’s support with comedy once again misfires and Prabhas Srinu manages to evoke a few laughs — but he too goes overboard at some instances.

From a technical perspective too, the film is not that great, with an equally-average soundtrack.

Overall then, Shourya is a film that promises a good plot but falters due to its execution. Dasarath must be appreciated for diving into something new but he faltered in the other departments of filmmaking — especially the screenplay. There are no thrills in this film until the last half hour.