Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy
Cast: Chiranjeevi, Amitabh Bachchan, Nayanthara, Tamannah, Anushka, Jagapathi Babu, Kicha Sudeep, Vijay Sethupathi, Ravi Kishan, Brahmaji, Raghu Babu and others
Director: Surender Reddy
This prestigious, high-budget film has a lot going. For starters, megastar Chiru plays his dream role in the film,which is produced by his son Ram Charan. Adding to the pomp is that apart from Telugu, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy has also been released in four other languages. Then there is the ensemble star cast, including Amitabh Bachchan, who’s making his debut in Telugu, Kollywood’s Vijay Sethupathi and other pan Indian actors such as Kiccha Sudeep and Ravi Kishan. The film, directed by Surender Reddy, is projected as the best one after Baahubali.
The plot
Set at a time before India’s First War of Independence, the film revolves around the Renadu region (presently in Rayalaseema), called Datta Mandalam, which is
ruled by 61 Palegallu (Polygar) who dislike each other. Majjari Narasimha Reddy is a Palegar, ruling several villages.
But the British administration in Renadu begins to implement their laws in the land. Despite severe droughts affecting the land, causing much suffering to its
people, the British Government forces the farmers to either pay tax or surrender their land. That’s when Narasimha Reddy revolts against them. He unites all the
other palegallu and their people to fight along with him. How the fight ends and how it inspires later rulers such as Jhansi Lakshmi Bhai to fight against the
British is the crux of the story.
Cast in gold
Director Surender Reddy, who’s known for his entertainers, has quashed all the ambiguities around how he’d handle this period drama with a patriotic backdrop.
Full credit to him for making Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy even more engaging than his earlier films!
The film’s narrative starts with Jhansi Lakshmi Bhai, who’s seen pepping up her by-now demotivated army, inspiring them to fight against the British by telling
them Narasimha Reddy’s story. That’s how the director introduces Narasimha Reddy in the film. Surender has indeed taken cinematic liberties with the characters (showcasing the protagonist in a way more heroic than reality documents, for instance, the scene in which Narasimha Reddy stops a bull stampede). But he’s used all he could find about an insufficiently documented Uyyalavada Narasimha Reddy to articulate his story.
Then again, much of the story has been written keeping Chiranjeevi in mind, so also, characters portrayed by Vijay Sethupathi, Kicha Sudeep, Ravi Kishan,
Jagapathi Babu and Brahmaji haven’t got as much prominence as Chiranjeevi’s. And for his part, the 64-year-old actor Chiru does justice to his screen time.
There’s a lot of energy he carries especially in the action sequences. This is indeed a ‘dream role’ for which he had waited for 12 years. And this a ‘gift’ by his son and the producer of the film, Ram Charan, will surely be one of his well-cherished memories.
Amitabh Bachchan as Gosayi Venkanna, guru to Reddy, is perfectly suited in his role and his presence adds weight to the film. Tamannah, who plays the dancer
Lakshmi, gets more screen bytes than Nayanthara, who plays Reddy’s wife. Kiccha Sudeep is perhaps the best portrayed after Chiru and he rules his screen time. In supporting roles, Jagapathi Babu, Ravi Kishan, Brahmaji and Ranadheer showcase their talents.
Bolstering Telugu cinema
The film’s high technical values definitely lift the Telugu cinema’s standards. Cinematography by Ratnavelu is a boon for the film, especially his capture of
locations as well as the battle-scenes. Burra Sai Madhav’s dialogues are well-timed, some of them enthralling too. The background music is good and elevates
the scenes.
Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy is a good watch. Telugu cinema, which was going places after Baahubali, gets still further with this film.
