Adinayakudu

A political potboiler

Telugu (A)

Cast: Nandamuri Balakrishna, Lakshmi Rai, Saloni Aswani, Jayasudha, Brahmanandam

Director: Paruchuri Murali

You have not one, but three of him — as son, father and grandfather. And needless to say, Balakrishna simply towers tall in the ensemble triple role he essays, as Adinayakudu cruises through its twists and turns for over two-plus hours of tumultuous screen time. 

Balakrishna makes the most of the screenspace thundering his way to tedium ad nauseum as you tiringly watch the highly charged, loud and lengthy political, family melodrama. Written and directed by Paruchuri Murali, mass entertainer has Balakrishna in full flow as Ramkrishna Prasad revered in the village as good Samaritan, Harishchandra Prasad, a respected politician who falls prey to the evil schemes of villains and Bobby, the sniper, packing a solid punch in his performances showcasing three generations. As for story, Bobby, the grandson, is kidnapped by villains, when three years old, who goes on to kill his grandfather, not knowing the true identity.

Set in Rayalaseema, the nerve centre of politics and factionalism, Bobby, a professional killer, goes about killing wrongdoers, including a minister, and goes scot-free. The film shows how Harishchandra Prasad selflessly fights for the welfare of the people, taking digs at the policies of the various political parties, ruffling a few feathers of the State’s political satraps. 

Spiced with adrenaline action, bloody violence, ribtickling comic interludes, besides rousing, racy dialogues, the film sees Balakrisnna zestfully living the roles as the audiences go berserk and break into a delirium at his mimic and mannerisms of the senior NTR. Indeed, Adinayakudu is purely a spectacle for Balakrishna’s avowed fans.

Lakshmi Rao, Saloni Aswani are mere showpieces for audiences to drool over.