Munna Review

Thursday, May 03, 2007
Prabhas-Dil Raju combo also proved a hit
Prabhas, who made his debut into films to continue the legacy of Rebel Star Krishnamraju, proved himself as a good artiste and hero. However, he had a typical history of giving two flops and a hit. In this backdrop, his latest film Munna which came after two unsuccessful films like Yogi and Paurnami was expected to be a big hit. Moreover, the film is produced by a successful producer who had successive hits to his credit. As expected the film had received good openings and earned a positive talk right from the morning show as was announced by its producer Dil Raju.

Mahesh alias Munna (Prabhas) is an orphan. He joins a bridge school run by the government and after preliminary education, joins the college along with four of his friends. Somehow, he bears grudge on Khakha (Prakash Raj) and his firms. Munna was in the habit of correcting others when they were either doing wrong or whenever they are taking wrong steps. In this process, Munna falls in love with a girl called Nidhi (Ileana). Munna studies in the college during daytime and works as a bartender in the nights. Khakha is a don in the city and nobody dares to talk against him. Khakha had a pharmaceutical factory which emits hazardous chemicals that causes death and illness to thousands of people. A political leader Srinivasa Rao, unable to get the licence to the factory cancelled resigns to the party post. Once Khakha's son Rahul teases a girl and her boyfriend fears to attack Rahul. However, Prabhas encourages him and made him to revolt. Khakha decides to teach a lesson to Munna but the latter gives a befitting reply to Khakha's men and straight reaches Khakha's house to reveal that he is none other than his son Mahesh. In the flashback, Munna reveals how cruel and scoundrel Khakha was and how he became responsible for the death of his sister and mother.

At this juncture Atma (Rahul Dev), who declares himself as the opponent of Khakha, meets Munna and offers his help but Munna refuses. Munna continues his attack on Khakha and pulls him down by closing his factory, and stopping his political clout. At the same time, Munna's stepmother (Sukanya) meets him with her daughter and pleads with him to unite her daughter with her lover. Irked over the attacks, Khakha kidnaps Nidhi and threatens Munna that he would get her married to his son. But Munna foils his attempt and unite Khakha's daughter with her lover and takes away Nidhi. In the climax, Munna lures Atma to turn the next Khakha. Lured by the offer, Atma tries to attack Khakha, but gets killed in his hands. Munna after teaching a lesson to Khakha tells him he could not do anything and offers him a bullet with which Khakha commits suicide. The film ends on a happy note with the union of Munna and Nidhi.

Plus: The major plus point is the tremendous performance of Prabhas. He flexed his muscles well in action scenes and shook his legs with ease along with Ileana. Though the director failed to show Ileana in a glamorous way, she had got an opportunity to perform to certain extent besides filling the glamour slot in duets with the hero. Prakash Raj as usual did his best. Debutant director Vamsi Paidipally's perfect script an screenplay helped the film move with a good tempo, right from the beginning. Dialogues by Koratala Siva and BVS Ravi is another major highlight of the film. Especially the one-liners received good applause from the audiences.

Minus: The director though gave a gripping screenplay all through the film, the second half looked a bit dragged. Another major draw back is the comedy. Though Venumadhav tried his best to give comic relief to certain extent, the etching of his character looked stereotyped and the audiences failed to get adequate entertainment from his comedy. Kota Srinivasa Rao's character was also not established properly. Likewise, Rahul Dev's character was also not properly elevated.

Though the film had a divided talk before its release, the film was opened with a good talk. Dil Raju's expectations did not prove wrong. Debutant director Vamsi Paidipally also looked promising. He could dish out good films if he was given enough time to prepare his script. Music by Harris Jayaraj is just okay. Cinematographer Ramprasad needs appreciation for his fantastic picturisation of songs.

Cast: Prabhas, Ileana, Prakash Raj, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Rahul Dev, Tanikella Bharani, Brahmaji, Raghubabu, Posani Krishnamurali, Venumadhav, Sridhara Rao, Sukanya and Kalyani
Producer: Dil Raju
Director: Vamsi Paidipalli
Music: Harris Jayaraj
Banner: Sri Venkateswara Creations

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