Movie: Shamanthakamani
Rating: 2.75/5
Banner: Bhavya Creations
Cast: Sudheer Babu, Nara Rohith, Sundeep Kishan, Aadhi Saikumar, Suman, Rajendra Prasad, Indraja, Raghu Karumanchi and others
Music: Mani Sharma
Cinematography: Sameer Reddy
Art: Vivek
Editing: Prawin Pudi
Producers: Ananda Prasad
Story, screenplay, dialogue & Direction: Sriram Adithya T
Release date: July 14, 2017
Rarely we get to see many young stars coming together in a Telugu film these days. So, when the movie in the combination of Sudheer Babu, Nara Rohith, Sundeep Kishan and Aadhi Saikumar as lead heroes was announced, the film raised expectations.
The trailer was also interesting. The director's first movie was a hit. So, "Shamanthakamani" had everything to go for it.
So how has the movie shaped up? Let's find out.
Story:
A rich businessman Jagannadh's (Suman) son takes his father's favourite possession, a vintage Rolls Royce Car called Shamanthakamani to his birthday party.
The son Krishna (Sudheer Babu) heads to a popular pub in Hyderabad to party. Next day, he goes to the police station to report that his car has been stolen.
Inspector Ranjith Kumar (Nara Rohith) begins the enquiry and rounds up suspects Shiva (Sundeep Kishan), Karthik (Aadhi) and Uma Maheshwara Rao (Rajendra Prasad).
Rest of the movie is about finding the guy who stole the car.
Artistes’ Performances:
Shamanthakamani largely works due to the honest performances from the ensemble cast. Nara Rohith once again comes up with best act as a corrupt police inspector.
Raghu Karumanchi as his constable provides lot of comedy with his dialogues. Sudheer Babu as rich kid is very good.
Sundeep Kishan as innocent villager pulls off the role with ease. Aadhi has given sincere performance.
Rajendra Prasad and Indraja's track has some fun moments too. Suman has done justice to his bit.
Technical Excellence:
Sameer Reddy's cinematography provides the right texture to the movie as it has been primarily shot in few locations.
Mani Sharma's background score is effective. Artwork and editing is neat. But there are some unnecessary scenes that could have taken the cut. This would have made the film crispier.
Highlights:
Performances of lead actors
Some fun dialogues
Climax episode
Drawback:
Paper-thin story
Dull first half
Many unnecessary scenes
Analysis:
Director Sriram Aditya made his debut with "Bhale Manchi Roju" which was praised for racy screenplay. The story had many twists and turns, yet he pulled off the movie quite effectively. His first movie was all about a girl getting kidnapped and the hero and the rest of the cast caught in that tangle.
In his second venture, the director has selected car theft as the focal point and brought in various characters into the drama. If you replace 'kidnap' with 'car stealing', the rest of the drama feels pretty similar. But unlike the first movie, this one has uneven narration -- while the first half is boringly dull, second half is engaging.
If we compare this with his first movie, "Shamanthakamani" falls flat, but as a stand-alone movie it makes for time-pass watch due to some meaty scenes in post-interval sequences.
The car is stolen and the suspects are out there. Who stole it? And Why? This simple line is fleshed out with flashback episodes - each suspect telling his version of what he did at the party.
The comedy is generated with constable Raghu's character when they narrate their stories. But the director has taken entire first half to establish the five characters and then puts an intermission bang. However, the real matter only happens in later portion but the director keeps interest till the end. The twist in the tale is also good towards the end.
Comedian Raghu steals the show literally. Though Rajendra Prasad goes overboard in many instances, his track with Indraja is good. The emotional angle to Sudheer Babu's story is also nice.
On the downside, there is not much story to tell. But we also get the feeling that the director hasn't used enough comedy as the script provides lots of scope for it. Another deterrent is the tacky first half.
All in all, this thriller comedy works due to its fun elements in the second half and the performances of the lead actors. In short, a time-pass movie that doesn't have nothing much to rave about or criticize.
Bottom-line: Fun Ride Half Way
