Junction – Review

Paruchuri Ravindranath, son of ParuchuriVenkateswara Rao, wanted to test his hand on the screen. A stage was set for the purpose and Ravi"s father and paternal uncle penned a story for him and gave the opportunity to direct the subject to Anil Krishna. But the uninteresting narration of the story has poured cold water on the prospects of the hero.

Raju (Ravidranath), an orphan is kind at heart. He used to lead a group of beggars, roadside hawkers and other such orphans like him at Krishna Nagar Junction. Ali Bhai (Kota Srinivasa Rao) is a local mafia don, who rules the entire city. He used to collect commission from these roadside hawkers and beggars at various junctions in the city. He allocates each junction to a person and Raju leads the group in Krishna Nagar junction.

With a good administration, Raju used to pay hefty commission to Ali Bhai. Kanya Kumari (Naina) sets up a stall to sell coconuts at Krishna Nagar junction. When questioned by Raju, she says that she is there from Rayalaseema and is ready to kill or get killed. Raju develops a soft corner towards her.

A prominent politician of the ruling party (Dr Siva Prasad) is about lose a huge shopping complex, which is on a benami name, due to the metro rail project announced by the government. He makes many attempts to lure the project officer Partha Sarathy (Bhanuchander), but in vain. With no option left, the MLA meets Ali Bhai and murders Partha Sarathy. With the death of Partha Sarathy, the route map of the metro rail project gets changed to suit the MLA.

As a result, many junctions lose its shape and Krishna Nagar junction is one among them. What does Raju do to save the junction? How does Raju save all his people from getting scattered due to the disfiguring of the junction? Does Raju"s love for Kanyakumari meet with success? How does Raju teach a lesson to Ali Bhai and the MLA? Answers to all these questions form part of the climax.

PERFORMANCE:
Ravindranath, who has made his debut as hero, has failed to get adequate footage and elevation in the film. Because of the poor directorial capabilities of Anil Krishna, he has been made a street goon without a distinct identity. However, Ravindranath has given a good performance whenever he has got an opportunity. The hefty personality perfectly suits the Telangana dialect. Naina, who has also made her debut as heroine, has not much scope to perform. She shakes her legs for a duet with the hero and appears in a couple of sentiment scenes and love scenes. However, she too does not make her presence felt on the screen. However, the comedy track in the film has worked well.

Venumadhav has once again tickled the funny bone of the audiences by playing a beggar, who begs in a stylish manner as a software engineer. It is Pavala Shyamala who makes the audiences remember Nirmalamma, by playing an old woman"s role. Kota Srinivasa Rao has stolen the limelight with his typical dialogue modulation and Babu Mohan plays his sidekick. Though appearing in a couple of scenes, Bhanuchander has given a nice and honourable performance. MS Narayana as usual plays a drunkard and lives in his character.

TECHNICAL:
None of the technical crew can be complimented in this film as most of them have failed in their respective departments. Camera work by Venkat is average and has no specialities on the screen. However, the action choreography in this movie is good and the physique of the hero has helped in making the audiences believe that the thrashing is okay for him. Music by John Solomon is average. None of the tunes are foot-tapping, with an exception of the two item numbers.

The choreography of a song by Mayuri aka Asha Saini is impressive, romantic and sizzling. Story is completely outdated, though the writers have tried to include the current hot topic in Hyderabad, the ring road and metro rail projects. There are no punch dialogues nor a common dialogue which are catchy for the audiences. Finally, it is the director who should be blamed for the poor narration. Moreover, the screenplay penned by him is slipshod and has made the narration boring.

REMARKS:
The director has ignored the basic theme — when making a film, either it should show his prowess or leave his indelible mark in the hearts of audiences, or it should elevate the lead artiste, the hero. The elevation of the hero and the heroine and the love track between the hero and heroine, the sentiment scenes and the action scenes should have been mixed properly. The placement of songs is untimely and the action scenes are okay. Though the film is aimed at attracting the mass audiences, the absence of a gripping story and interesting narration has kept all classes of audiences at bay.

Cast: Paruchuri Ravindranath, Naina, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Mahesh, Brahmanandam, Babu Mohan, Dr Siva Prasad, Bhanuchander, Ali, MS Narayana, Chalapati Rao, Jayaprakash Reddy, Venumadhav, Uttej, MS Choudary, Raghunatha Reddy, Seshukumar, Mayuri (Asha Saini), Pavala Shyamala, Prabhavati, Deepanjali, Allari Subhashini, Banda Jyothi and others

Credits: Story and dialogues – Paruchuri Brothers, Music – John Solomon, Lyrics – Veturi, Chandrabose, Chandu Harshavardhan and Siva, Choreography – Nixon JVN and K. Anilkrishna, Camera – Venkat, Editing – Nandamuri Hari, Art – Venkatesh, Producer – B Ramakrishna, Screenplay and direction – Anil Krishna.

Banner: Leo Entertainments