Skanda Review: Boyapati Sreenu Movie A Mindless Gory Action Saga
Cast: Ram Pothineni, Sreeleela, Sai Manjrekar, Srikanth, Raja, Gautami and Ajay Purkar
Director: Boyapati Sreenu
Plot: The film starts with business tycoon Jagapati Babu (Ramakrishna Raju) confessing his crimes in court and sentenced to jail. But his lawyer keeps appealing in higher courts. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Rayudu (Ajay Purkar) arranges the marriage of his daughter. But the son of Telangana CM Ranjith Reddy (Sharath Lohithaswa) elopes with the bride and causes a rift between the two CMs. Meanwhile, Ram a political science student is teasing his classmate Sreeleela, who happens to be the daughter of Telangana CM. When Telangana CM gets rid of killers who tried to shoot him down, he gets a shock of life when Ram enters his house and takes the daughters of both CMs. Who is Ram and what caused his behaviour forms the rest of the story.
Tollywood actor Ram Pothineni showcases his dancing prowess in two songs and fiery side in gore-ridden action sequences, but cannot salvage a contrived tale of two chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana States conspiring to defame and dethrone an IT honcho (Srikanth) since he declines to transfer their ill-gotten black money to white.
Director Boyapati Sreenu's formula is becoming stale and predictable these days. Instead of unearthing a new plot, he is just relying on gory action episodes and glamourous songs besides a few emotional scenes to sustain the audience, but it is not enough.
Boyapati showed Balakrishna in two roles from ‘Simha to ‘Akhanda’, where one is truly ferocious while the other is a softer and applies the same formula on Ram Pothineni in ‘Skanda’. But it turns out to be a risky proposition.
At times, Balakrishna can pull off a logic-less film with his larger-than-life image, but it is difficult for actors like Ram. Rising star Sreeleela showcases her dancing skills and matches steps with Ram, but has nothing much to do in this mindless action saga otherwise. The less said the better about Saiee Manjrekar's role which stands out like a sore thumb. The women characters in Skanda are mere props, that shed tears when required. Otherwise, they have no role to play in this chauvinist film.
Ram Pothineni, known for his lover boy roles in films like ‘Ready’, turned an action hero with ‘iSmart Shankar’. Probably, he wanted to extend his anger-driven image by joining hands with Boyapati. But he would be disappointed with the response since the plot is illogical. Taking on two CMs to save an industrialist, is a bit hard to digest. An ethical hacker from Stanford University turning a vigilante and chopping off thugs just goes over the top. There is another role of Ram, but it looks forced as he fights the two CMs to save his lady love (Saiee Manjrekar). But it hardly blends with the story. Raja Daggubati, and Srikanth do their job, while baddies Sharath and Ajay Purkar try to salvage poorly-etched roles.
Director Boyapati Sreenu may score a few brownie points by showcasing the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister who hails from Cuddapah as a villain and also talks about ‘freebies culture’. But he should have chosen a better plot. Luckily, he also depicts Telangana CM as a villain to avoid any backlash, but makes a mockery of their high security by allowing the hero to trespass into their house and take away girls, which is nothing but crap and insane.
