Tagline: A good worth watch film [couldn’t give a simpler and apt tagline than this]

Avg. User Rating: 3.5/5

Plot:

Harshavardhan (Mahesh Babu) is the son of a well off business tycoon Ravikanth (Jagapathi Babu). Going against his father’s wish to take over the business, Harsha wants to follow his heart, try something and earn some respect. As a part of it, Harsha learns about rural development course along with Charusheela (Shruti Hassan) and eventually falls in love with her. But coming to know about Harsha and his background, Charu tries to avoid him that later leads Harsha to his roots in a village named Devarakota where he realizes life and the ultimate goal of his life. What are the hillocks Harsha encountered in the course of his mission and how did he overcome form the crux of the story.

Performances:

Mahesh Babu: Unlike his earlier mass masala entertainers, the Superstar was simple, stylish, elegant and impactful in his performances. No loud dialogues, punch lines and overboard acts! Mahesh mesmerized with his one-liners and tugged the hearts with his dialogues, especially in all the key emotional scenes. His track with Shruti Hassan and scenes with Jagapathi Babu are absolutely adorable. For all the masses, the action sequences in the second half and the songs should have quenched your thirst. Looked like Mahesh targeted families with the ‘Simple is Beautiful’ mantra this time and he was undoubtedly successful!

Shruti Haasan: She is gorgeous and has struck a sparkling chemistry with Mahesh. Good to see her in a role with something to perform.

Jagapathi Babu: He is the key asset of the film and he delivers a stellar in the film. It was delight watching Jagapathi Babu & Mahesh in some heart-warming emotional scenes.

Rajendra Prasad: He will be seen in yet another different role in the film and the Nata Kireeti makes it so effortless.

It was in fact a cake walk for able actors like Sampath Raj & Mukesh Rishi to be the lead baddies in the film.

Rahul Ravindran: He is seen in a brief yet significant role and Rahul caters to his director’s need so well.

Direction:

Koratala Siva once again proved that he is a distinguished director. Keeping everything aside, Srimanthudu looked like an honest attempt to tell a good message and he truly deserves a tap on the back for convincing a star like Mahesh Babu. Srimanthudu indeed proves that our stars are keen to do good scripts provided there is a convincing story and a story teller like Koratala Siva. He blends commercial elements into a routine story without deviating much and maintaining the emotional quotient throughout the film – no noise only content.

The best part of Srimanthudu story and Mahesh’s characterization is its simplicity and a strong message of being rich at heart. And in the wake of serious allegations and heated discussions about heroine’s characterization in Telugu films, Srimanthudu has a heroine with a character and something to perform as well with a respectful and admirable love track between the hero and the heroine – too much to ask for these days…isn’t it?

Srimanthudu is an age old story with the same old characterizations but Koratala believes in his strength of dialogues and storytelling. We understand this isn’t a documentary about sustainable rural development to address comprehensively but in fact mainstream cinema about an affluent man wanting to contribute for the development of his village. In this regard, despite the touch and go treatment, Koratala Siva's story has the heart in the right place and emotional highs at the right notes.

In spite of its merits, the first half might look lethargic and dull but with the pre-interval fight, the narration catches momentum (and Mahesh symbolically says “Right…Right”). The second half sails off magically tugging your hearts and the due credit goes to the crucial sentimental scenes with heart-warming dialogues and performances by the lead cast. However, a routine and predictable climax looks inevitable but will not leave you disappointed.

Merits:
- Impressive narration with less nonsense.
- Subtle yet impactful performances of Mahesh, Jagapathi Babu, Shruti Haasan & Sampath Raj.
- Dialogues and powerful one-liners that strike the chord instantly.
- Few emotional scenes with equally adorable performances.
- Elegant cinematography, editing and background score.
- Content that families feel comfortable watching may be, repeatedly also.

De-merits:
- Age old story and characterization with a much predictable plot.
- Actors like Sukanya, Subbaraj and Rajendra Prasad were under-utilized.
- Lack of loud action, comedy tracks, drama and other obligatory commercial ingredients might disappoint a section of audience.

Music:

DSP’s music was enjoyable even on the screen. They are colorful and delightful with endearing visuals and right momentum, especially Chaarusheela, Jagore Jagore & Dhimma Thirige song.

Others:

Cinematography, Editing and Action choreography are top-notch.

Verdict:

Srimanthudu is a good, worth watch film with a good concept told in the most simple and elegant yet commercial way. In other words, it is not a mass masala film but a class family entertainer with maximum traits to make you feel good and vindicated.


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