Director: Gopichand Malineni
Dialogues: Sai Madhav Burra
Producer: Naveen Yerneni, Y.Ravi Shankar
Starring: Nandamuri Balakrishna, Shruti Haasan, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Honey Rose, Duniya Vijay
Music: S Thaman
Cinematography: Rishi Punjabi
Editor: Vijay Navin Nooli

iQlik Movies Rating: 2.5/5

Balayya is ready to roar strong for this year's Sankranti with 'Veera Simha Reddy'. Made by Mythri Movie Makers on a heavy budget of around 70 crores, Balayya is re-entering his forte i.e. Faction films in VSR. Touted to be a faction, family drama, Gopichand Malineni promises to give an action feast for the audience. The trailer looked very rich and the action sequences might be on par with Balayya's previous blockbuster Akhanda. Shruti Haasan plays the female lead while Varalaxmi Sarathkumar will be seen as the antagonist. Let's see how this Sankranti biggie has fared.

Story:
Veera Simha Reddy (Balakrishna) is a popular leader from Pulicherla in Rayalaseema. He is revered by the people of his area. His son Jai Simha Reddy (Balakrishna) lives in Istanbul city and loves Eesha (Shruti Haasan). Veera Simha's sister Bhanumathi(Varalakshmi) leads Veera's rival faction group in Pulicherla. Why Veera's own sister is pitting against him? What is the enmity between people of the same family? How will the protagonist and his family face this turmoil? Answers to these questions form the main crux of the story.

Performances:
Balayya as Veera Simha Reddy is a treat to watch. His body language and acting as Veera Simha Reddy is sure to gain whistles and screams in the theatre. The dialogue delivery is on point and fans will love it. But in the son role i.e. Jai Simha Reddy, it could have been.

Shruti Haasan as Eesha and Honey Rose as Veera?s wife play their part well. Varalaxmi performed well too. Although Duniya Vijay did well, he doesn't seem like 'the'villain for Balayya.

Technical Departments:
Dialogues by Sai Madhav Burra are interesting especially the political ones. Director Gopichand Malineni could have come up with a more robust script. Some scenes go very much over the top and seem illogical.

Rishi Punjabi's cinematography is impressive. Action scenes are routine. The production design is great thanks to Mythri Movie Makers. The hero of the show is once again S Thaman who gave great music. The songs are good and the background music is in god mode. It could be called a Thaman Rampage as well.

Analysis:
Director Gopichand doesn't offer much with the story and narration. It?s a routine faction trope. Action sequences either feel repeated or over the top. 1st half is full of action while 2nd half takes the emotional route. The emotions are hard to connect and most scenes are cliches. The music and Balayya's powerful dialogue delivery and acting keep you engaged throughout even if the story is sluggish.

Plus Points:
Balayya's fierce performance
Powerful dialogues
Thaman's music

Minus Points:
Routine story
Sluggish narrative
Lack of emotional connect
Illogical scenes

Final Verdict:
Veera Simha Reddy is the typical Balayya film but falls flat with a routine story. Watch it if you are a Balayya fan.