Film: Kalyan Ram Kathi
Rating: 2.5/5
Banner: NTR Arts
Star: Nandamuri Kalyanram, “Kick” Shyam, Saranya Mohan, Sana Khan, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Ajay, Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam, Venu Madhav, Chandramohan, Brahmanandam, Ahuti Prasad, Raghu Babu, Telangana Shakuntala, Jhansi etc.
Dialogues: M Ratnam
Story: Vakkantham Vamsi
Music: Mani Sarma
Fights: Ram Lakshman
Camera: Sarvesh Murari
Editor: Gautam Raju
Producer: Kalyan Ram
Screenplay and Direction: Mallikarjun
Released on: November 12, 2010
Stories based on brother-sister relationship have always fascinated the Telugu film industry. Right from legendary N T Rama Rao to Jr NTR, every hero has done at least one film based on the sister sentiment theme, as if they felt there would be a void in their career if they do not act in such a film. Even heroes like Pavan Kalyan and Mahesh Babu who prefer to do variety roles also could not escape from this sister-sentiment.
So, Kalyan Ram also has been carried away by this sentiment by deciding to make a film based on the “blood relation” theme under the banner named after his grandfather. Having failed to draw success in the industry despite making relentless efforts, Kalyan Ram made yet another attempt to taste the success with this film. All his earlier films had bombed at the box office and let us find out whether his latest “Kathi” (of course, the title has been hijacked from others) will bring him any luck.
Story:
Ramakrishna (Kalyan Ram) dreams of becoming a big soccer player, thereby making India proud. He belongs to a big joint family and his youngest sister Haritha (Saranya Mohan), a naughty girl, always creates troubles for him with her pranks. Since Ramakrishna has a lot of affection towards his sister, he always protects her from incurring the wrath of family elders.
The twist in the story comes in the form of sudden disappearance of Haritha. A few days later, she is spotted being chased by her husband (Kick Shyam), along with his goondas who were attempting to kill her.
Ramakrishna saves his sister and then, he comes to know that Shyam had trapped her into love affair and married her only to take revenge on her for slapping him in the past. Unable to bear the torture from him and his family members, Haritha runs away from them. Ramakrishna does not want to take his sister back to his home, as his family members always find fault with her. So, he wants to prove that her choice was correct; therefore, decides to bring a change in his brother-in-law.
What he does for that and how he restores the family of his sister forms the rest of the story.
Performances
Kalyan Ram has definitely missed the logic, as the films based on this sister sentiment theme were just average runs. And still, he tried to travel on the beaten track. In a way, he failed as an actor as well as producer.
Kick Shyam is comfortable in his role with his single expression; Saranya Mohan has once again proved that she is suitable only for sister roles; and Sana Khan has nothing to do except being an inevitable heroine in the film. Kota Srinivasa Rao has given an excellent performance.
As regards story, there is no substance in it and dialogues of Ratnam lacked punch. Mani Sarma’s music is once again disappointing. As regards director Mallikarjun, the less said the better.
Analysis:
"Kathi" follows the hackneyed formula of providing entertainment in the first half and emotion in the second half. But the formula has not clicked here: the first half is not so entertaining, if not boring and falls flat with the missing of hero’s sister. The football player, who spends time chatting with girl friend Sana Khan and at times bashing the baddies, finds his “goal” when he decides to set right his sister’s disturbed life. But the goal misses the post as the hero chooses the wrong route.
The director has lost the track as to how to take the story forward and one fine morning, reaches a predictable climax.
There is no stuff in the first half and it looks like a patch work of scenes. Some interest is generated as the film reaches interval with the missing of Saranya. But as the film enters the second half, the audience loses interest as the hero chooses rear entry to deal with the villains. He follows the “Dhee” formula, joins the villain gang and starts praising them. Viewers who expect some “sharp” action from “Kathi” are surprised to see him playing a soft and comedy character. And the way “brother-in-law” gets transformed with a couple of emotional scenes, irritates the audience. Amidst all this sentimental drama enters a hardcore villain called Ajay from nowhere, only to be bashed up by the hero.
The sudden turn of events in the drama with the entry of Kota Srinivasa Rao’s old rivals into the scene make the audience realize that the film is reaching the climax. It does not surprise us as we are eagerly waiting for the film to come to an end.
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