Sandalwood Powerstar Puneeth Rajkumar’s last film, James has hit the screens today simultaneously in Telugu.Let’s see how it fares.
Story: A private security agent named Santhosh ( Puneeth Rajkumar) joins as a bodyguard to safeguard a rich industrialist Vijay Gaykwad( Srikanth) and his family. Impressed with Santhosh’s defending skills, Vijay Gaykwad decides to make Santhosh as his family member by fixing the marriage allience with his sister( Priya Anand). But as a sudden twist, Santhosh takes on Vijay’s family during the interval block. Why Santhosh goes against Gaykwad? What is his actual identity, forms the crucial crux of the film.
On-screen performances: It is an emotional moment for not only Puneeth fans but also for the moviegoers to watch him on screen for the last one time. As usual, the star hero is super fit and gave his best for the film. He did action stunts amazingly and carried the entire film on his shoulders with his smiling face and outstanding screen presence.
Srikanth and Sarathkumar are baddies are apt in their roles as a rich drug peddling lords. Looks-wise, Priya Anand is adorable but her character has no significance in the film.
A few noted artists such as Mukesh Rishi, Aditya Menon and others who did supporting roles are okay in their respective roles.
Technicalities: Production values for this star-studded movie are rich. Looks like the makers are least bothered about the money and spend it wisely in the making process.
The music by Charan Raj is okay. While all the songs are passable on screen, the background score for a couple of action blocks in impressive. The emotional song which comes in the second half of the film will connect with the audience as it remains us of Puneeth.
The cinematography work by Swamy J Gowda is superb as he showcased the entire film on a grand note. Editing by Deepu S Kumar is apt for the film’s genre.
Analysis: Written and directed by Chethan Kumar, James is more like a send-off ceremony for Puneeth Rajkumar. The director made sure that the film is packed with enough action sequences to satisfy Puneeth Rajkumar fans and action lovers.Story-wise, James has a routine template revenge drama theme that is interlinked with the patriotism. Though the director designed the action part perfectly, the narration part lacks refreshing moments.
To summerize, James is a regular action drama that has amazing screen presence of Puneeth Rajkumar. The star hero kept his cent percent efforts for the film which is clearly visible on screen but the predictable twits and flat narration stand tall as demerits for James.
Verdict: Puneeth Rajkumar’s show!
As James is the last film of Puneeth Rajkumar, we are not giving any rating for the movie.
