Bangarubabu - Review

Dasari Narayana Rao, a senior director of the Telugu film industry who has given several hits has tried to cash in on the family segment through Bangarubabu. He has given a nice story which has good family sentiments, but the subject has proved to be too old in narration by mixing commercial elements like love and action. The film is slow but with a hero like Jagapatibabu, it would attract the family audiences.

Madhusudhana Rao (Muralimohan), a big industrialist has a wife and three children (two sons and a daughter). He gets attracted towards another woman and has two children (a boy and a girl) from that illicit relationship. Madhusudhana Rao refuses to marry her and the woman decides to desert him.

Her son Hari (Sashank) develops a grudge against his father as she did not reveal his name or identity. Though he is intelligent, he gets addicted to drugs. Once, he slaps a lecturer in the college, and the director of the college Ravindra (Jagapatibabu) finds fault with the lecturer and makes a challenge that he would bring a change in Hari's life. He takes the pain and brings a change in Hari and helps him become a topper in the university. Later, Ravindra arranges an alliance with a rich boy for Hari's sister (Pinky @ Sudeepa).

Meanwhile, Ravindra falls in love with a girl called Meera (Meera Jasmine) and incidentally, she is the daughter of Sudha (Sudha), a childhood friend of Ravindra's mother (Jayasudha). As both the families know each other, they fix the engagement. However, at the time of engagement, Ravindra goes to Hari and takes part in a poor feeding. As a result, the engagement gets cancelled. After Ravindra's return, everyone questions his affection for Hari. In a fit of anger, Ravindra reveals the flashback and tells his mother, brother Rajendra (Sonu Sood) and sister (Hema) that Hari is none other than his stepbrother. Though Ravindra's mother is convinced, Rajendra cannot accept Hari as his brother. At this juncture, Govinda (Sayaji Shinde), a real-estate business man, who bears a grudge on Ravindra's family, incites Hari by telling him the secret that Ravindra is his brother. So Hari challenges Ravindra that he would see the end of their family, putting aside all the help Ravindra did to him. However, in the climax, Hari realises that he was at fault and the film ends on a happy note with the union of every one into one family.

PLUS:
The film has several plus points that highlight the family relations - how one can reform a person addicted to vices, how one can correct his mistake with the help of a kind-hearted son, how one can safeguard family's prestige etc. The director has also chosen to use melodious songs instead of going for fast beat for a family subject like Bangarubabu. The action scenes are also adequate, though they are a little cinematic. Meera Jasmine has once again given her best in the film. There is not much exposure and has routine and old fashioned dances. Jayasudha, Sayaji Shinde, MS Narayana and others have done justice to their roles, while Jayaprakash Reddy has been wasted. Sonu Sood whose character appears to be negative in the beginning turns positive in the climax.

MINUS:
The old fashioned subject and a commercial formula film kind of screenplay have resulted in boredom to the audiences. Had the film released in the 80s and 90s, it would have become a big hit. But the audiences, especially the youth and mass audiences, who throng the theatres for sizzling dances and fast numbers, would face disappointment. The heroine's character has been portrayed in a traditional manner and has no fast beat songs. Even the action scenes have been
choreographed in an old commercial formula. The absence of a strong comedy track can also be counted as a minus point.

Especially, the director has failed to make use of senior artistes like Jayaprakash Reddy, MS Narayana, Hema and Jhansi, who could have given good comedy.

REMARKS:
The scenes coupled with sentiment may attract family audiences, who go to the theatre to enjoy. An entire family can sit together and watch the film without any embarrassment. But for this section the film may not attract the youth and mass audiences. One has to wait and watch how far the family audiences would entertain the film and make it a hit or an above average movie.

Cast: Jagapatibabu, Meera Jasmine, Jayasudha, Sashank, Gowri Munjal, Sonu Sood, Sayaji Shinde, Muralimohan, Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam, Narayana Rao, Vizag Prasad, Vinay Prasad, LB Sriram, MS Narayana, Jayaprakash Reddy, Kondavalasa Lakshmana Rao, Uttej, Lakshmipati, Jayasudha, Jhansi, Sudha, Hema, Ramaprabha, and others.

Credits:
Dialogues: Marudhuri Raja
Lyrics: Chandrabose and Chinni Charan
Music: MM Srilekha
Camera: Ramanaraju
Editing: B. Krishnamraju
Art: Vivek
Story and screenplay: Dasari Narayana Rao
Presents: Dasari Padma
Producer: K Ramakrishna Prasad
Direction: Jonnalagadda Srinivasa Rao.
Banner: Sowbhagya Media Ltd