Young hero Vaishnav Tej and star heroine Rakul Preet Singh’s tribal drama, Konda Polam has been promoted aggressively by the makers. Directed by Krish, the film has hit the silver screens today. Let’s see how it fares.
Story: The film takes off with Kataru Ravindra’s ( Vaishnav Tej) interview at the UPSC in New Delhi. In his interview process, Ravindra starts explaining his own experiences at the Nallamalla forest region. Hailing from a drought-hit place and from a shepherd community, Ravindra’s father( Sai Chand) and their village people decide to go to the Konda Polam region in Nallamalla forest. Being an educated unemployed youth, Ravindra also goes to the Konda Polam along with the villagers. What kind of life lessons will he learn in Konda Polam? How is his love story with a shepherd girl named Obulamma ( Rakul Preet Singh) interlinked with the core concept of the film? Forms the main crux of the movie.
Performances: Vaishnav Tej did a good job as a struggling unemployed youth. Be it his facial expressions or dialogue diction, Vaishnav Tej gave a mature performance compared to his first film, Uppena.
Heroine Rakul Preet Singh is apt in her role as a village belle and her acting in a few crucial scenes in the first half brings depth to the proceedings.
The chemistry between Vaishnav Tej and Rakul Preet is amazing. They both acted in an impressive manner in the romantic episodes.
Senior actors such as Sai Chand, Kota Srinivas Rao, Ravi Prakash, Hema, Kota Srinivas Rao did a decent job in the given supporting roles.
Technicalities: Cinematography by Gnana Sekhar VS is a major plus point for the film as he showcased the natural forest locations nicely by using his frames. As the film mostly happens in the Nallamalla forest backdrop, Gnana Sekhar presented the film in a beautiful manner with his lens.
Music by MM Keeravaani is apt for the film’s mood. While his songs are good to hear on the screen, the background comes as an added advantage for this tribal drama.
Editing by Sharvan Katikaneni is fine but he would have chopped off a few dragged scenes in the second half for a better cinematic experience.
Analysis: Director Krish, who is good at making films with a social cause has come up with Konda Polam which explores the lifestyle of the shepherd community in the Nallamalla forest region.
The hurdles in the life of the shepherd community have been showcased nicely but interlinking the jobless struggle in the hero life. The father-son thread between Vaishnav Tej and Sai Chand has been dealt nicely without any melodrama.
The love drama between the lead pair is also presented in an adorable manner but the major minus for the film is that it lacks commercial texture in it. Adding to it, slow-paced proceedings in the second half also come as a demerit for the movie.
As most of the film revolves around the lifestyle of the shepherd community and their problems, most of the time the audience feel like watching a single-point stretched drama. Instead, if Krish would have added commercial elements and came up with a racy screenplay, the film would have got universal applause.
Verdict: Presentation Syndrome!
Rating: 2.5/5
