Amid huge expectations, Powerstar Pawan Kalyan’s comeback film, Vakeel Saab has hit the screens worldwide today. Let’s see how the film fares.
Story: To fight in a molestation case against an influencing political leader’s son, three young working women ( roles portrayed by Nivetha Thomas, Anjali and Ananya Nagalla) in a helpless situation approach a human rights lawyer Satyadev ( Pawan Kalyan) to bail out them. After Pawan Kalyan taking up the case, how will the sensitive case gains momentum? Will Pawan be able to rescue the three women from the bigwigs involved case forms the rest of the story.
Performances: Though Pawan Kalyan is three years away from the film, there is no change in his electrifying screen presence. He is terrific in the purposeful and responsible role of a lawyer.
Prakash Raj as the opponent lawyer challenges Pawan in every scene with his commandable dialogue delivery which indeed brings out a better actor from Pawan Kalyan in the key scenes. All the courtroom confrontation scenes between Pawan and Prakash Raj have been executed in a gripping manner and brings a lot of depth to the proceedings.
All three women Nivetha Thomas, Anjali and Ananya Nagalla are apt in their middle-class working women roles and gave a decent performance. Shruti Haasan as Pawan Kalyan’s better half in the flashback episodes is captivating on the screen but her role has no significance.
Technicalities: Despite, the film’s main USB addresses an issue related to women empowerment, director Venu Sriram cleverly included commercial elements and elevation scenes in the narration part to satisfy Pawan fans. In the process of bringing commerciality in the plotline, the flow and core concept diverts in the first half but somehow it was balanced to an extent in the latter half.
Background score composed by Thaman is the biggest asset for the film and it is his work that brings a lot of depth to the proceedings in the crucial second half. Coming to songs, as all of them are situationally designed, they largely go by the flow without creating any hassle to the narration.
Editing work by Prawin Pudi is adequate so is the case with the cinematography by PS Vinod.
Production values for this Dil Raju’s production house are decent.
Analysis: It is well-known fact that the film is an official remake of Bollywood hit, Pink and director Venu Sriram’s idea of inserting commercial aspects to please Pawan fans in the plotline is appreciatable but his screenplay during the first half has a few cliches in it. After showcasing the core concept of the film in the first fifteen minutes, the film shifts to Pawan’s elevation followed by not so effectively presented flashback episode which would have been handled properly.
A built-up shot on Pawan Kalyan during the interval block was picturized well and the proceedings further in the second half mostly run in the courtroom and explores the main theme of the film neatly with some good dialogues by the lead actor with his trademark mannerisms.
In one word, Vakeel Saab is a treat for Pawan fans as they are watching him after three years gap but the unnecessary deviations and forced action blocks in both the halves may not get a universal appeal. If you ignore the above-mentioned demerits in the plotline, the film ends up as a happy one time watch during this weekend.
Verdict: Message-oriented entertainer
Rating: 3/5
