Plot:
Shourya (Manoj) is a Harvard graduate with loads of ambitions. In the opening scene, he plays a suave wannabe entrepreneur explaining his business plan. Then he meets his lover Netra (Regina) and they plan to leave India and work in the UK. However, Netra has a wish to visit Kotilingala temple during Sivaratri, and following this Shourya chances upon a series of unforeseen events. The movie rides on a ‘Who done it?’ template with intermittent twists and multiple sub-plots. We can’t reveal more of it here!

Performances:

Manchu Manoj: He underplays his usual self and gives a subdued performance in this film. Whatever you expect from Manoj – the uncanny comedy, fights, etc. are not seen here. Good to see him venture out of the massy mold he created for himself over the years.

Regina Cassandra: She plays the regular girl next door. A kind of the same role (with over-makeup) that’s she has been doing since eons. Though there were sparks of brilliance in her role, she couldn’t pull it off with poise.

Prakash Raj: He sleepwalks the typical intelligent cop role and plays the one with Athadu hangover. His introduction is interesting but there should have been more meat on his character than just the one who’s connecting the dots.

Prabhas Sreenu: He owns the first half with his quirky comedy and makes the bland proceedings interesting.

Shakalaka Shankar: He presses the comic button in his introduction scene but his presence is shot-living.

Brahmanandam: He has become boring these days with every director forcefully planting him to buy some runtime. His character in this film also falls flat, and there’s just one spooky comic track to count on.

Nagineedu: Heplays the routine father with different intentions.

Subbaraj: He is shown with negative shades and carries those traces all through the film.

Nandu, Shayaji Shinde and others make blink-and-miss appearances.   

Analysis:
With Shourya, director Dasarath comes out of his comfort zone of family dramas. He pens a decent story but the problem lies in the way in which it is narrated with many sub-plots. At a point of time the viewer gets confused in piecing them together. Every story has three points of view – audience, narrator, fact. Shourya is based on this key element. That being said, when the twist pops up out of nowhere, the movie seems to be interesting but we are forced to watch the mundane stuff of boy-meets-girl and the hero wearing a heavy tinge of a Good Samaritan. This drenches out all the intrigue that’s generated from the happenings.

Merits: Manoj and his nuanced performance and effortlessly handling the drifts in his character. The climax, though a rip-off from many other flicks, is partly satiating.

Demerits:
Routine scenes
Baseless comedy tracks and hurdling songs.

Music:
Veda K shines with his music in bits and pieces but fails to create an impact for this force-fit thriller.

Others:
The dialogues are good at places and the technical values are apt.

Verdict:
Shourya is touted as a challenging project from Manoj and Dasarath, as both of them tried to scale up the expectations by moving out of the ordinary. But there’s more of routine drama unfolding all through the film. The thrills are few and far between that may not sum up for the thrill factor generated by the premise. All in all, the film ends up being a half-baked thriller with few surprising moments and many dull ones.