Student Lives’ Rating: ***
Yet another remake of Siddque’s Malayalam Bodyguard has hit the screens. This one stars Victory Venkatesh and Trisha and is a remake that is true to the original. The story by now must be quite known to people, thanks to Salman Khan’s version of it. There are tiny changes though; really tiny changes. Some of them do work well and give the story a better look. But on the whole, this is a decent family entertainer that you could catch on a weekend. A small word of caution though, the movie seems a bit stretched out, so if you are okay with it, go ahead, it’s decent.
Plot: Venkatadri (Venkatesh) is a person who likes to fight evil in his own way. As a child he and his mother were rescued by Varadarajulu Naidu (Prakash Raj) when their car met with an accident. As a result he owes his life to Vardarajulu Naidu and respects him the most. Situations crop up and Venkatadri is sent to protect Vardarajulu’s daughter Keerthi (Trisha Krishnan). The story is about how Keerthi tries to get rid of her bodyguard and eventually she falls in love with him.
StudentLive’s Analysis: This movie is almost a very true remake of the original. Most of the scenes are just remade in Telugu and the story has not been tampered with. The story is not new to people now and I personally felt it was a risk to remake it again with Venkatesh. It has turned out decent enough I must say, as the movie sticks to its plot and moves on with fair bit of comedy, romance and drama.
Venkatesh is his usual self and is in full swing with the action sequences, it is a role that he pulls of effortlessly and though at times he tends to overdo it a bit, it’s more than watchable. Trisha is lovely and does justice to her role. Rest of the characters, especially Saloni, Prakash Raj and Subbaraju do well. Ali’s comedy too is watchable. On the whole the entire performance stays true to the script.
It has all the ingredients of a blockbuster but the story would kind of bore you if you have already seen it. Even if you are new to Bodyguard, the screenplay would make you think of why some scenes exist. The editing could have been better, and the Music also is not up to the mark (remember the music was a huge draw to the Salman Khan’s version of Bodyguard).
On the whole, the movie will look good for first timers and people watching it again in Telugu could probably complain of the need of another version. It’s a Sankranti release and it’s expected to draw crowds. It’s competing with Businessman but I am sure the market for the film is different, this aims at family crowd. Venkatesh’s fans would like this one for sure, and people who can’t digest typical Tollywood stuff, should stay away from this.
The director (Gopichand Malineni) has done a decent job, but he could have done much better with sleeker editing. The dialogues are good enough to induce a few whistles. The cinematography is decent and the Action scenes by Ram-Laxman are typical Tollywood. On the whole it’s a harmless weekend watch.
StudentLive’s Review: If you like family entertainers that are a tad slower and lengthier than normal movies, you could watch this one. It is not a guaranteed paisa-vasool movie but I am sure you can get your money’s worth in this one. At the end of the day, it’s a remake and you can watch if you have the stomach for such typical Tollywood stuff. I would go with 3 out of 5 for Gopichand Malineni’s Bodyguard.