Starring: Varun Tej, Saiee M Manjrekar, Jagapathi Babu, Upendra, Sunil Shetty, Naveen Chandra and others
Directed by : Kiran Korrapati
Produced by: Sidhu Mudda - Allu Bobby
Music: Thaman
Cinematography: George C Williams ISC
Editing: Marthand K Venkatesh

iQlikMovies Rating: 2.5/5

After a long gap, Mega Prince Varun Tej is back with a new film. His latest outing Ghani has hit the screens today, Touted to be a sports drama, this film is directed by debutant Kiran Korrapati. Here is the review of it.

Story:
Ghani (Varun Tej) lives with his mother. His father was a boxer but gets banned for drug and substance usage. Since then, Ghani's mother keeps him away from boxing. However, Ghani has a heavy inclination toward the game. How he pursued the sport without his mother's knowledge and how did he manage to convince her of his love for boxing form the core point of the movie.

Performances:
Varun Tej has undergone a massive physical transformation for this movie. His hard work can be seen on the screen. The title song shows us a glimpse of the hardcore training he went through. Coming to the acting front, he was decent but not spectacular.

Bollywood beauty Saiee Manjrekar made her Telugu debut with this movie. She didn't get a meaty role and was offered a typical Telugu commercial heroine character. Nadiya and Jagapathi Babu were okay but we have seen them playing similar roles many times in the past. Upendra was decent and so it Suniel Shetty. Naveen Chandra gave his best but his character was not designed well.

Technical Departments:
As a writer and director, it was a challenge for Kiran to make a sports drama his first film. Because most underdog sports films follow the same template. It all depends on how freshly the director showcases his scenes in this cliched format. Kiran completely fails in that aspect. The writing is very routine and flat.

Thaman's songs are not up to the mark and his background score is too loud. George C Williams has impressed with his cinematography. Production values are great though.

Analysis:
Ghani is a commercial sports drama that comes up with an age-old story and screenplay. You get reminded of many sports films while watching this movie. There is no freshness at all. The first half is too routine with a boring love track.

The interval bang is decent. The second half is a bit better compared to the first half. But it is cliched as well. The climax scenes were shot well and will impress us fairly. On the whole, Ghani is an outdated film that is made with great production values.

Plus Points:
Title Song
Climax Portions

Minus Points:
Routine Story and Screenplay
Wastage of heroine
Loud background score
Lack of connecting factor with the lead hero

One Line Verdict: Disappointing 'Ghani'