Bhaje Vaayu Vegam Movie Review

After earning a name for himself as a ‘quintessential Ladies Man’ with RX100, Karthikeya seemed to have broken the tag with Bedurulanka 2012, a comedy drama about possible apocalypse. And one year later, now, the actor is back with another film ‘Bhaje Vaayu Vegam’ which he called “racy thriller”. As the film hits the screens worldwide on Friday, let’s dig into the review.

Story

Venkat (Kartikeya Gummakonda) is an aspiring cricketer who comes to Hyderabad to test his fortunes. But his fate mocks at his bad luck when selectors seek bribe to allow Venkat to save his place in domestic cricket rather than picking him up on the basis of merit. Although his father (Tanikella Bharani) sells his agriculture land for Venkat’s cricketing career, Venkat quit cricket for his brother (Rahul Haridas) corporate career. To save his ailing father, Venkat turns a punter. He gets duped by bookie when he places his bet on favourite Chennai Super Kings. Will Venkat get his money back? What’s the connection the bookie has with two bigwigs David (Ravi Shankar) and George (Sharath Lohitashwa) ruling the Hyderabad crime syndicate is the story in short.

Performances

Karthikeya stood as the spine of the film and actor Rahul was equally good in terms of characterisation. What worked for the film is the protagonist’s character Venkat who arrives in the city to become a professional cricketer but ends up fetching petty jobs. Karthikeya’s emotions are relatable and evoke empathy from the audience — cricket aspirant undergoing a significant emotional journey for the sake of his father.

Actor Ravi Shankar is another asset for the story. His screen presence and his variations as a ruthless baddie David is commendable. Actor Sharath as the City Mayor George is brilliant.

Actress Iswarya Menon’s role is restricted to cliched Telugu heroine, but she portrayed well within her scope. Senior artiste Tanikella Bharani does well as ailing father. Chatrapathi Shekar and Krishna Chaitanya were commendable, too.

Technicalities:

Radhan’s music composition for the songs is just okay. But for a story of this kind, the background score from Kapil Kumar should have been more pulsating.

For an actor like Karthikeya, the action blocks should have been realistic. The climax fight between the protagonist and gangsters was poorly composed. To some extent, the production values were good, camerawork and short division should have been more professional.

Analysis:

After a series of absurdly-illogical scripts, Karthikeya has positioned his heart in the right place while choosing some sensible-yet workable scripts. If ‘Bedurulanka 2012’ was one such break that gave him a breathing space in Tollywood last year, now ‘Bhaje Vaayu Vegam’ is something that saved him from losing the ground completely.

The first hour of the film is about Character Venkat and how he lives a morbid life in a basti. Making a life out of petty jobs, Venkat would occasionally find reasonable sums in small betting during IPL season.

But his knowledge in the game of cricket, never tempted him to place big bets as he has satisfactory and achievable goals towards becoming a financially stable individual. But the treatment of the script demanded more attention. In terms of writing, a few poorly designed sequences would put you off in the first hour. But the story picks pace when two brothers David (Ravi Shankar and George (Sharath) enters into the fray.

Before the interval bang, it becomes certain that film would make you on the edge of the seat. Thanks to the racy screenplay and crisp editing, the car-chase episode and the tight scenes involving Karthikeya and Rahul when they escape with the cozy car.

The process of the lead characters overcoming the external challenges from the antagonist Ravi Shankar created much-needed conflict and tension in the story, post the internal break.

Here, debutante Prashanth Reddy was sensible in telling what exactly he wanted the story to be told — avoiding lengthy monologues or hero-villain elevations by and large. Dialogues were mostly sharp and snappy to move the story forward.

Thumbs Up

Characterisation
Racy second half

Thumbs Down

Dull first half
Below par cinematography and music

‘Bhaje Vaayu Vegam’ is a no-nonsense film which has action in plenty, suspense and thrill in reasonably good doses. Starting on a dull note, the story picks pace as characters and events unfold one after the other.

Bottom line – Bumpy Ride

Rating: 2.5/5

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