Movie: Aadikeshava
Rating: 2/5
Banner: Sithara Entertainments, Fortune Four Cinemas
Cast: Panja Vaisshnav Tej, Sreeleela, Joju George, Suman, Aparna Das, Radhika Sarath Kumar, JP, Sudarshan, Tanikella Bharani, and others
Music: GV Prakash Kumar
DOP: Dudley
Additional Cinematography: Prasad Murella, Arthur A. Wilson
Editor: Navin Nooli
Art: AS Prakash
Fights: Ram-Lakshman
Producers: Naga Vamsi S & Sai Soujanya
Written and Direction: N Srikanth Reddy
Release Date: Nov 24, 2023
While it marks the first collaboration between Panjaa Vaisshnav Tej and Sreeleela, "Aadikeshava" has struggled to generate hype. After experiencing several delays, the film has finally premiered in theaters today.
Let's see if the movie holds any surprises in store for the viewers.
Story:
When Balu (Panja Vaisshnav Tej) applied for the sales executive position at her company, the attractive and entrepreneurial Chitra (Sreeleela) was impressed. Although his idea may not seem extraordinary, she finds it fantastic and ends up falling in love with him.
One day, he receives the news that his father, Maha Kaleswara Reddy (Suman), met with a fatal accident in their Rayalaseema village. Balu discovers that his mother passed away long ago and that the parents who raised him were not his biological ones. His sister (Aparna Das) is now in danger due to Chenga Reddy (Joju George), who controls the entire region.
How will Balu save his sister?
Artistes’ Performances:
The sincerity and natural expressions that Vaisshnav Tej displayed in his debut film "Uppena" are absent. In the second half of the film, he engages in action stunts that don't suit him.
Sreeleela seems to have slimmed down and looks gorgeous. Despite her silly role, she makes an effort to inject some energy into the proceedings, especially in the songs.
Regrettably, talented Malayalam actor Joju George is given such a clichéd role that there isn't a single good scene for him.
Aparna Das, making her Telugu debut, plays a routine character as well. Sudarshan delivers dated comedy. Tanikella, Radhika, and JP all perform their roles adequately.
Technical Excellence:
The songs composed by GV Prakash have appeared more visually appealing on screen than they have sounded. Thanks to Sreeleela's screen presence, "Bujji Bangaram" and "Sitthara Sitravathi" come to life with vibrant colors.
The cinematography is sufficient, and the production values are also satisfactory.
Highlights:
Sreeleela
Short runtime
Drawback:
Cliched story
Silly scenes
Over the top action stunts
Spoof-like flashback episode
Analysis
The first half of "Aadikeshava" is only an hour long. Within this hour, we witness 10 minutes of the hero's family scenes, 5 minutes of the villain's introduction in a mining area, Sreeleela's introduction episode consisting of her dance moments to various hit songs like "Nenu Vijileste Andhra Sodabuddi" and "Ramulo Ramula," five minutes of interaction between the hero and heroine followed by a dream song, five minutes of a silly comedy track, another song between the hero and heroine, and the interval bang. The interval bang is nothing more than the most tired 'Seema' movie twist: the hero has a past and must go to Rayalaseema. Aw!
Srikanth Reddy, the new director, has crammed as many clichéd sequences as he can into one hour. At times, it's unclear whether the sequences in "Aadikeshava" are real or spoof comedy. When Tanikella Bharani reveals the flashback episode, the film "Dookudu" comes to mind.
In one episode, a villager claims that their village has no school, so the children work in the mining area. Is it possible to find a village without even a primary school in today's times in Andhra Pradesh? The director's ideas, scene writing, and action sequences are as illogical as some of Boyapati's films.
What exactly is the point of Aparna Das' character in the film? How can a businesswoman act so foolishly? We are introduced to Sreeleela as a super-rich businesswoman, but when asked to come to the village by the hero's friend, she travels by RTC bus.
During promotional interviews, Vaisshnav Tej stated that the action stunts in the film are not over the top. However, the fights are not only outrageous but also gory. The final fight has many brutal killing methods that are difficult to watch.
The film’s final episodes seem like an effort to give Vaisshnav Tej the mass hero image. In the climax, there is also a reference to the hero's 'mena mama' (uncle Pawan Kalyan).
In the entire second half, there is only one interesting episode that occurs just before the penultimate climax.
In a nutshell, "Aadikeshava" is a mash-up of early-2000s faction films. Despite the fact that this generation has not seen many action films, this is the weakest 'faction' film. Sreeleela's dances are captivating, but the film as a whole has a lot of dated moments.
Bottom line: Totally Clichéd
