Pista - Review

Pistha is yet another mass entertainer with Vishal paired up with Shreya. Muralikrishna (Vishal) who lives in the village with his mother (Gita) decides to leave for Vizag, in search of his elder brother Rambabu, who had left the house in his childhood. While searching for his brother in Vizag, Murali comes across Indu (Shreya). Sooner they fall in love with one another. Unexpectedly Murali get entangled in the cobweb of two goons in the city, Ramakrishna (Prakash Raj) and Guru. Murali witnesses a murder perpetrated by Guru and Ramakrishna, Guru's opponent, wants to cash in on that.

Murali learns from an orphanage that a person by name Rambabu (Sriman) had stayed there for some time and is presently working as an RDO. Once Murali accidentally comes across Rambabu, who is being chased and attacked by Guru.

Rambabu escapes, but Murali gets thrashed instead. Murali recognizes Guru as his brother, before losing his consciousness. After that incident, Ramakrishna attacks Guru and nearly kills him. But Murali comes to his rescue and reveals that he is his younger brother. Murali pleads with Guru to return home. Once Guru recovers, he decides to take revenge upon Ramakrishna, but Murali manages that.

Is Guru able to take revenge against Ramakrishna? How does Murali save Guru from Ramakrishna? How does Murali teach Ramakrishna a lesson? Does Guru return home to his mother? What happens to Murali and Indu? Answers to these questions form the climax.

PERFORMANCE:
The role played by Vishal is a routine one and there is no novelty. It is almost like the extension of his earlier films. Vishal has given a good performance all through the film, be it dance and action scenes. He has also maintained good comedy timing at times. Shreya is okay in the glamour slot and she does not have much to perform but to pair up with the hero in the song sequences. However, the director makes use of her role to evoke comedy in a couple of scenes.

Her size zero and sizzling exposure will be a feast for the eyes of the mass audiences. Prakash Raj as usual has excelled in the villain's role. The artiste who has played the role of Guru has also given a nice performance though he appears only in a handful of scenes. Ali, Suman Setty, MS Narayana have done their best to provide comic relief. Once again, Telangana Sakuntala has tried to prove herself in a comedian's role.

TECHNICAL:
Behind the screen, Manisharma is okay in scoring catchy tunes for the film. All the songs are quite energetic and youthful. Re-recording is a drawback for the film as the music has failed to elevate the scenes all through the film. Cinematography by Priyan is good in songs and action scenes and editing by VT Vijayan is average. Had he used his scissors a little more sharp, the first half would have been more interesting.

Director Iyappa has failed to show any novelty either in the story or in its movement with a gripping screenplay. The scenes, where the hero tries to convince the goons to shed violence have not been properly etched. The entire first half appears dragging as none of the scenes are interesting.

The story gains momentum in the second half just because of the action scenes. Production values of GK Film Corporation are okay. Senior artistes like Tanikella Bharani, Rallapalli, MS Narayana have not been properly utilized as they have been restricted to a few scenes to provide comic relief.

ANALYSIS:
Some of the scenes have been re-shot in Telugu by making use of Telugu film artistes like Ali, Suman Setty and others. Keeping in view the body language of Vishal, the directors have chosen to pen stories and screenplay to suit that image and this, in fact, is a drawback for the hero as he is getting fixed in a particular image and is unable to come out of it. Once again the film has come out as an action entertainer. As the film targets mass audiences it will go well with the B, C centres. The audiences will feel monotony and similarities with Vishal's earlier films.

Cast: Vishaal, Shriya, Prakash Raj, Ali, Tanikella Bharani, MS Narayana, Surya, Telangana Sakuntala, Annapurna, Gita, and others are in the cast.

Credits:

Camera: Priyan
Lyrics: Vennelakanti, Sahiti and Anant Sriram
Dialogues: Sashank
Editing: VT Vijayan
Action: Stun Siva
Art: Siva
Story, Producer: Vikram Krishna
Screenplay and direction: Saba Iyappa
Banner: GK Film Corporation
Released on: May 29, 2009