Sri Sri – Movie Review

Story:

‘Sri Sri’, directed by Muppalaneni Shiva, is the story of a Professor who turns into a vigilante when courts fail him. In his journey, the intellectual-turned-self-appointed punisher receives succour from his wife Sumathi.  

Prof. Sripada Srinivasa Rao (Superstar Krishna) is a widely-respected professor. As the film begins to tell his story, Sri Sri is shown to be a good husband to wife Sumanth (played by Vijaya Nirmala). Relations with their son (played by Dr. Ravi) are not good because the son questioned his revered father’s fight for justice with respect to the brutal murder of his daughter Shweta (played by Angana Roy).  

The murderers – three youths – were recently acquitted of all charges after a sham trial in the court of law. Shweta, a journalist with Spy TV, was murdered because she was about to unearth a scandal involving JK Bharadwaj (played by Murali Sharma), a ruthless industrialist who has been endangering the health and lives of the residents of Pothureddygudem through a factory and fraudulent clinical trials.

The rest of the film is about how Sri Sri sets aside rules and takes on the villains, constantly energized by the ‘nari shakthi’ at home.

Analysis:  

An adaptation of a Marathi movie, the story and screenplay might manage to impress you if you are someone who stopped watching movies before Mahesh Babu’s debut. Mahesh’s voice-over (comprising of some 6 sentences perhaps) is the only element that can convince you that the film was made in 2016 and not in 1996.  
There comes a point when one wonders whether Superstar Krishna, otherwise the film’s best performer (besides Sai Kumar, of course), was unintentionally overshadowed by Angana Roy’s character. Long after the audience have come to know the crux of the flashback, a long, long flashback is thrust upon us in the second half. Instead of wasting screen time in telling a flashback that lacks exciting elements, the writer should have written an imaginative screenplay where Krishna Sai Kumar (as a Pothureddygudem activist frustrated with a dysfunctional system) and Naresh (in the role of an ACP), besides Murali Sharma and Posani Krishna Murali (in the role of a fake doctor playing with the lives of innocent people) are involved.

A flashback that overstays its welcome, a screenplay that is full of cliched elements, villains who behave as though they have no defences against an old man – all these elements water down the proceedings.

In this Golden Jubilee year (1965-2016), Krishna has managed to pull off an intense act. Although he looks frail, one roots for him because he looks every bit earnest. Vijaya Nirmala looks very weak on screen. Perhaps, some imaginative writing would have helped this physical weakness seem like an asset for the script.  

Sai Kumar is at his sincere best. His dialogue delivery and looks of an honest but helpless activist are good. Angana Roy’s role should have been cut short.  Although she comes across as an actress with some capability here and there, she has no charm to pull off such a role. Naresh gets to play a lengthy role here. His scenes with Sai Kumar, Krishna and others are not interesting at all. Murali Sharma is at his usual best. Posani is OK.  

Technically the film is just okay. The BGM is old-fashioned. Cinematography is less than average.

Bottomline: An old storyline with a flawed narration. Superstar Krishna delivers goods as an intense, anguished vigilante. Sai Kumar is good.