Cast: Siddhu, Rashmi Gautham, Shraddha Das, Naresh, Mahesh Manjrekar, Raja Ravindra, Fish Venkat.
Banner: RK Studios
Music: Sri Charan
Editor: Dharmendra Kakarala
Producer: Raaj Kumar M
Story- Screenplay-Director: Praveen Sattaru
Tagline: A Gritty Onetime Watch Talkies – Strictly for 'A' [Adults boss]
Plot:
Hari (Siddhu) and Giri (Naresh) who work in a medical shop are petty thieves. In one such trifling robbery one night, Hari and Giri rob about Rs 5 lakhs each and on top of it a Calcium Sandoz box without mutual knowledge. Both Hari and Giri flee off and their shop keeper (Sudarshan), Inspector Venkat (Raja Ravindra) & CI (Raghu Babu) chase these crooks. Besides them, Hari has Revolver Rani (Shraddha Das) and his muse Suvarna’s (Rashmi) parents chasing him and local don Jackie scouting for the Calcium Sandoz box. How did Hari and Giri survive the fatal hunt for them and what happened to their theft forms the rest of the plot.
Performances:
Naresh: This versatile actor steals the show with his exceptionally gritty and hilarious act as ‘Giri’. He is one of the key reasons why you might watch the film throughout.
Siddhu: Watch out! Yet another promising young talent has arrived. For all those who might conveniently keep aside this fledgling actor, with Guntur Talkies he announced that he is here to stay.
Rashmi Gautam: This seductress has successfully pulled the crowds to the theatres but has been just used as a tease and nothing more. Better not to expect much.
Mahesh Manjrekar: This exceptional actor’s dubbing adds the quintessential comedy touch to his character.
Shraddha Das: She is hot and her character was hatke too. When she says “Daa” you must go – entertaining! Unfortunately she got nothing to do beyond that.
Raghu Babu, Raja Ravindra, Potti Sudarshan, Jogi Nayudu, Fish Venkat, Pavala Syamala, Karate Kalyani & others give their best to this crime comedy but none of them were used to their fullest potentials.
Analysis:
National Award winning director Praveen Sattaru (of Chandamama Kathalu fame) seriously surprises us with his whacky content in Guntur Talkies. Though Rashmi's sensuous song brings you to the theatres, Praveen's gritty, realistic characters drag you into this crime comedy. You start enjoying the humour and spice in the story but the narrative lacked the quintessential momentum especially in the first half. The director who has put so much into the characterization, scenes and screenplay couldn't pump enough kinetic energy in this segment. The Hari-Giri drama slowly crawls towards the intermission without substantial twists and highs. Naresh, Siddhu & Rashmi are the people you can watch out for in this segment.
Excuse me..are you looking for Rashmi's song? Well the director has smartly placed it in the second half (Oops.. That was a spoiler!) Now you need to forget Rashmi and move on with other characters. The crime comedy actually gets better and funnier in the second half. Praveen's screenplay accelerates and he smartly plays around with some confusion drama and comedy of errors apart from his quirky and chirpy dialogues. However the climax looks like a convenient wrap up again without a high (forget about heroism). Mahesh Manjrekar, Naresh, Siddhu, Raghu Babu, Fish Venkat are the people to watch out for (Arrey.. Forget about Rashmi babuji).
Well the dialogues, performances, hard-hitting content and some dark humour are the key assets of this amusing crime comedy. Had it been more dynamic, it would've been great!
Music:
Besides the enticing Nee Kosam song, no conventional song numbers are to be expected in this film. However, Sri Charan does a decent job with the back ground score.
Others:
By the way, you’ve a surprising cameo by none other than Lakshmi Manchu in the film. Check it out for yourselves.
Verdict:
Guntur Talkies is just a one-time watch crime comedy – strictly for adults. If you don’t mind the run time of the film, you might be amused with the content and enjoy the dialogues in the film.