Film: Rebel
Rating: 2.5/5
Banner: Balaji Cine Media
Cast: Prabhas, Tamanna, Deeksha Seth, Krishnamraju and others
Music: Lawrence
Cinematographer: P Ram Prasad
Editor: Marthand K Venkatesh
Story, screenplay, direction: Raghava Lawrence
Producers: J Bhagawan, J Pulla Rao
Release date: 28/09/2012
After a long gap, Prabhas is arriving and this time he has teamed up with Lawrence who is noted for his mass entertainers. Whether the duo is successful or not, let us see
Story:
Rishi (Prabhas) is a charming young man who comes to Hyderabad. He is searching for a person by name Stephen Roberts who is a notorious killer and gangster. He discovers that no one has seen Stephen and the only person who can help is Nandini (Tamanna) who lives at Bangkok. Rishi goes to Bangkok along with his assistant Narsaraju (Brahmi) and manages to get Nandini and make her fall in love with him. But why is he searching for Stephen Roberts? What does Nandini got to do with it? Whether Rishi is successful or not forms the rest of the story.
Performances:
Prabhas is the life and soul for this movie. Though his raw power and strong screen presence is not used properly, he did his part very well. But he should have thought twice before okaying the storyline.
Tamanna was not looking beautiful like her previous films. The focus was more on her sex appeal and glamour than her natural beauty. Performance wise, she didn’t have anything to offer.
Deeksha Seth was brief but she looks more at ease in front of the camera with increased confidence. The girl is pretty and has a beautiful smile which can help her cover her drawbacks in expressions. She must use it often.
Krishnamraju could not deliver it again. It is better not to speak further on this out of sheer respect for him.
Mukesh Rishi was not used to his potential. Given his caliber as an antagonist and the ability to deliver strong performances, he deserved more screen time and that would have given good strength to the plot.
Brahmanandam was annoying, he should stop overacting. The more composed he is and delivers his lines, the more impact it creates. Supreeth got a meaty role and barring few shots where he went overboard, he was effective. Kovai Sarala was irritating. Pradeep Rawat was regular. Ali brought few smiles. M S Narayana was moderate. Prabha was graceful. Others didn’t have much to do.
Highlights:
- Prabhas
- Two action sequences
- Production values
Drawbacks:
- Outdated storyline
- Poor Songs
- Absurd dialogues
- Weak direction
- Length
Analysis:
Raghava Lawrence is one man who believes in projecting himself as ‘Sakala Kala Kovidhudu’ and he found the right opportunity in the form of the two innocent producers of this film. Without a second thought, he got into almost every department possible to show his ‘talent’. But here are few facts. Lawrence cannot go beyond few signature style scenes, he cannot get rid of his eccentricities, irrespective of how the audience receives it if he believes this is how a scene should be then that is how he will shape it up. And that is the reason why we see few bizarre situations in the film. Here are a few
- Fight sequence at Kali Matha Pooja
- Prabhas giving 5 minutes time for baddies to bash him up in climax
- ‘Upavasam Puli’ dialogue
- Chopping a dead person with axe and kissing another dead person on lips
- The ‘Pedda Manishi’ of a village dressed in expensive designer suit, his men also in expensive suits and that too with Shotguns. Wish India was so developed.
- Brahmi and Kovai Sarala making a cold blooded murder of Hip Hop
- Three mothers for Deeksha
The list continues. Instead of focusing so much on Tamanna’s navel and having zoom cameras on her hips, Lawrence should have focused on developing the plot and giving it some depth. The emotional intensity looked amateur. Editing department was sleeping. The cinematography was weak in the Bangkok sequences.
The first half had nothing important and the comedy was typically silly. The interval bang was stylish and Lawrence proved his mettle there. Second half got into some emotional melodrama but again the dragged length, that ‘Arva Paithyam’ could not be missed from him.
The one and only reason why audience should feel lucky is due to Prabhas. If this film has to work then it is only due to his presence.
As expected, the openings will be good but this definitely doesn’t have the material to score at the box office. Despite all this, if the film gets a commercial success like ‘Don’ then Lawrence is surely a ‘Sudigadu’.
Bottomline: Better to believe in lucky stars and harmonious planetary positions if this clicks
(Venkat can be reached at [email protected] or https://twitter.com/greatandhranews)
