‘Veera Simha Reddy’ movie review: Balakrishna misspent on a mind-numbing template
If only they thought of how to break the formula and write engaging scenes with logic, Nandamuri Balakrishna’s ‘Veera Simha Reddy’ would have had more than just flying henchmen, computer-generated blood, and a template stuck on a pattern
(Originally published in The Hindu on January 12, 2023)
When a filmmaker like Gopichand Malineni joins hands with a superstar like Nandamuri Balakrishna, it isn’t outrageous to expect a masala film with a half-decent story, some loud, trailblazing action sequences, and fanfare moments that cater to Balayya’s stardom. And in Veera Simha Reddy, Gopichand brings everything you associate with the star and tries to push the limits — a glance or a flick of his finger sends a burst of wind, a glass of water inside the building ripples when Balayya steps out of his car, and goons attacking him wait for his punch dialogues to land and even obey him at times… you get the idea. But for any of these to even carry an ounce of seriousness, you need an engaging package, and Veera Simha Reddy is anything but that.
It has a tepid storyline that works against such ‘Balayya moments’ and the writing is all over the place. Take for instance this sequence at the very beginning of this film. Jai (Balayya), who is living with his mother Meenakshi (Honey Rose) in Istanbul, meets Esha (Shruti Haasan) in a chance encounter at his car showroom. For the story to progress, Esha has to fall in love with Jai and a dance number is required. This is how Gopichand goes about it — Jai finds drugs in a car, the police are called, Esha snorts the drug by accident, breaks into a dance at that very spot, the dance goes viral, and Esha finds a soft spot for Jai. If you think this is messy, there are worse shocks in store.
The bigger story has little or no relevance to this scene — it’s as if Shruti’s only purpose in this film is to be a sidekick in the dance numbers. The story is set in a ….