Review : Jabardasth – One time watch

		Release date: 22 Feb 2013
		Director : Nandini Reddy
		123telugu.com Rating : 3./5
		Producer : bellamkonda ganesh babu
		Music Director :S. Thaman
		Starring: Siddharth, Samantha, Nithya Menen

Siddharth and Samantha’s ‘Jabardasth’ has released today across the world. The movie has been directed by Nandini Reddy and Bellamkonda Suresh is the producer. Thaman has composed the music. The film has been getting a decent buzz due to the presence of Samantha and due to Nandini Reddy’s previous film ‘Ala Modalaindi’.

Story :

The story of this film has been heavily inspired by the Bollywood hit ‘Band Bajaa Baraat’. Bairraju (Siddharth) is a perpetually bankrupt fellow who wants to get rich fast by trying his hand at various businesses. To escape from his creditors, he runs away to Bihar but his fortunes don’t change there either. He runs into trouble with the local strongman (Shayaji Shinde), who wants Bairraju to marry his sister. To escape from that scenario, Bairraju comes back to Hyderabad after a gap of 5 years.

He comes across Shreya (Samantha) at a wedding and secretly listens to her business plans. Shreya wants to set up a wedding planning agency and comes up with a scheme to learn the tools of the trade under top wedding planner Pinki Sharma. Armed with this information, Bairraju also approaches Pinki Sharma and reluctantly teams up with Shreya.

As time goes by, the duo decide to set up their own wedding planning company and they name it Shreyas Media. Business booms for a while but Bairraju’s extremely commercial nature creates differences between him and Shreya. A miffed Shreya kicks Bairraju out and he decides to start his own venture named ‘Bairraju Bampar Manazement’ (yes, that really is the spelling).

As competition between the two firms heats up, Saraswati ( Nithya Menon) comes in like a breath of fresh air into Bairraju’s life. Life looks rosy for Bairraju until fate throws in a cruel twist. What is that twist? Whom does Bairraju end up with? That forms the story of ‘Jabardasth’.

Plus Points :

Siddharth has tried his hand at mass comedy for the first time and he has tried his best. His dialogues in ‘butler english’ are funny. Samantha looks gorgeous as always and she has done a very good job in this film. Samantha has the power to steal hearts with her smile and she uses that to great effect in this movie.

The star of the film however is Nithya Menen. She is just brilliant as Saraswati and has commanding screen presence. In the song ‘Meghamala’, she looks just like veteran actress Savithri garu in Mayabazaar. The movie has good pace as long as Nithya is present and her character is what keeps the film alive.

Srihari, Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam, Thagubothu Ramesh, Telangana Sakunthala, Shayaji Shinde and Vennela Kishore entertain to a certain extent.

All the songs in the film have been shot very colourfully. Picturization is particularly good for ‘Meghamaala’ and ‘Ninnilage’ songs.

Minus Points :

If you have seen ‘Band Bajaa Barat’, you will find ‘Jabardasth’ to be extremely predictable.

The interval block and the subsequent twists in the romantic track between Siddharth and Samantha could have been handled more effectively. There is no emotional depth in this love track and that is why it fizzles out towards the end.

The climax block is a bit slow, melodramatic and cliched. Some of the comedy scenes are not very effective.

Srihari manages to bring a few laughs as Don Javed Bhai, but this episode just does not gel with the rest of the story. The concept of bringing two Hyderabadi wedding planners all the way to Malaysia, to organize the wedding of the Don’s sister, seems a bit far fetched.

Technical Aspects :

Cinematography of the movie is good. Editing could have been better in the second half, especially in the closing stages of the movie. Dialogues are humorous. Production values are ok.

Nandini Reddy has only partially succeeded as a director this time. She has conceived a superb character for Nithya Menen but the brilliance seen in ‘Ala Modalaindi’ is missing. Screenplay could have been better.

Verdict :

Siddharth’s fresh characterization, Samantha’s glamour and Nithya Menen’s sterling performance make ‘Jabardasth’ a one time watch. The film’s predictable story line and lack of emotional depth prevent it from rising above the ordinary.

123telugu.com Rating – 3/5