NOTA Review: This Vijay Deverakonda Starrer Doesn't Seem To Do Justice To Its Title

After the stupendous success of Geetha Govindam, the current heartthrob of Telugu cinema, Vijay Devarakonda is back with another interesting project which is a bi-lingual political drama. The advance bookings and the expectations were sky high in both Telugu states and Tamil Nadu. Let's check out what the movie has in the offering.

The story of NOTA is similar to any other movie on the same lines, which shows the protagonist not inclined towards politics but jumps into the fray due to certain compulsion. Disinterested and half-hearted into the stream, the hero picks up the assigned task and showcases that there could be no other alternative apart from him.

Vinodhan (Nassar), the sitting Chief Minister of the state faces imprisonment in an illegal case. He makes his son Varun (Vijay Devarakonda) the temporary CM on the advice of a swamiji, until he returns back to his forte. Varun is a happy-go-lucky lad who hangs out with friends and parties as if there is no tomorrow. All these responsibilities come as a daunting burden on the young shoulders and try to swallow the bitter pill.

It is then that he is bit by the reality bug by checking out the sorry state of politics and the life of common people. He grows even more concerned when he sees a series of flexes and morphed banners of him, which run on his nerves and give the apprehension of supposed troll material in the social media amongst his friends. What happens to Varun? Will he follow the footsteps of his father and bring in a revolutionary transformation? Will he be targeted by the detractors? All these form to be the rest of the plot.

Vijay Devarakonda, who is enjoying success, has chosen a very serious and intense subject this time. Though he scores well with his performance, he doesn't quite seem to fit the bill of a young CM. Probably, it is because of the characterization or for his age. Mehreen Pirzaada's role is equivalent to that of a guest role and doesn't have any flesh in it.

Nassar has rocked with his acting skills, but his makeover is worth forgetting and not mentioning. Satyaraj steals the show along with Nassar. His character reminds us of the real-life political analyst and commentator, Cho Ramasamy. MS Bhaskar and Priyadarshi have donned important roles and they appear just as adequate in the movie.

Though Anand Shankar's genuine efforts and hard work are visible, these don't seem to be sufficient for a complete commercial package. The movie lacks the strength and depth while the second half seems to be a straight letdown despite the movie offering some good anecdotes of TN politics.

NOTA runs high on Tamil flavour than that of Telugu, which could also be one of the biggest drawbacks. The rest of the technical departments have chipped in with their work, which is neither too praiseworthy nor sinking down.

NOTA doesn't make any justification to its title nor to the expectations of the audience. Probably, you can say a NO to it as your movie choice for the weekend.