Gandeevadari Arjuna misses his target, global warming story goes kaput

Cast: Varun Tej, Sakshi Vaidya, Nasser, Vinay Rai, Vimala Raman and Abhinav Gomatam
Director: Praveen Sattaru
Rating: 2 stars

After tasting success with lover boy roles in his films like ‘Tholi Prema’ and ‘Fidaa’, actor Varun Tej takes up guns and snipers in his latest action film ‘Gandeevadari Arjuna’ but it has turned out to be a disappointment due to an insipid plot.

Varun has bulked up and fits into the role of Chief Security Officer who is on a mission to save the life of an Indian minister. His love story with Sakshi Vaidya lacks depth. His realisation that his mother’s severe illness is due to toxins generated from garbage looks more like an afterthought and fails to draw the necessary meat.   

Director Praveen Sattaru wanted to make a film on Western countries dumping garbage in relatively poorer countries like India and those in Africa, polluting air and water which in turn cause several illnesses. But the director overlaps it with the personal story of the Indian minister (Nasser) on how he was reunited with his estranged daughter, killing the audience's interest in the movie. Varun’s interactions with his ailing mother could have a better emotional connection to viewers.

The director confines his powerful message that rich countries like the US and UK are dumping medical, plastic waste in underdeveloped countries to the last few minutes. In fact, he should have allowed this message to play out well since it is a relevant topic now.

It appears that the director had added a UN summit in London to shoot the movie in picturesque locales in the United Kingdom. However, this story of a rogue corporate honcho trying to eliminate a Central Minister could have struck a chord with the masses if it had happened in India.

In present form, Varun is thrashing and slicing fair-skinned goons in this routine action drama and his heroic act goes kaput. The less said the better about the main villain (Vinay Rai) who wants to kill his own kid to save his company.

The film begins with an attack on an Indian minister (Nasser) but he escapes thanks to his security officer, who is severely injured in the process of saving him.  With threat perception still intact, Varun Tej is brought in as the new Chief Security Officer. He has some issues with Sakshi Vaidya, the personal secretary to Nasser, and it is later revealed that they were lovers and are now separated as she suspects his fidelity.

Nasser, meanwhile, reunites with his daughter and granddaughter while Vinay Rai arrives in the UK to retrieve a hard disk that has sensitive information about garbage issues.

Will Varun Tej be able to stop the ruthless villain and safeguard the interests of India? Watch in theatres to know more.

Surely, it is an attempt by Varun Tej to join the elite list of mega heroes like Pawan Kalyan, Ram Charan, and Allu Arjun, but picked the wrong story. He conveys a gamut of emotions. While Sakshi's ill-defined role restricts her acting scope, Nasser obviously did a good job. The songs of Mickey J. Meyer goes unnoticed, while camera work by Mukesh stands out in some places.

The director should give up his fascination for the Hollywood-kind of movies and try out relatable and convincing stories to win back the audience's confidence after duds like 'The Ghost'.