Veera Simha Reddy review– Nandamuri Balakrishna supports the movies with his one-man show!

After much anticipation, Nandamuri Balakrishna and Shruti Haasan starrer movie Veera Simha Reddy was released today January 12. The movie is directed by Gopichand Malineni and stars Nandamuri Balakrishna, Shruti Haasan, Duniya Vijay, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Honey Rose, Naveen Chandra, Lal, Ajay Ghosh, and Mirali Sharma in key roles.

Plot

The movie centers around Jaya Simha Reddy (Balakrishna) who lives with his mother, Meenakshi (Honey Rose), in Istanbul. He falls in love with a girl named Eesha (Shruti Haasan) and decides to marry her. However, Meenakshi reveals a big secret surrounding Jaya Simha Reddy’s father to turn the situation more serious. According to Meenakshi, Jaya Simha Reddy’s father Veera Simha Reddy (Balakrishna) lives in Rayalaseema and rules Pulicharla. The life of his father is in danger as Bhanumathi (Varalaxmi) and Pratap Reddy (Duniya Vijay) are trying to kill him for the past 30 years. The rest of the story is related to who is Bhanumathi and why they want to kill Veera Simha Reddy.

What works?

Veera Simha Reddy

The one thing that works great in the movie is Nandamuri Balakrishna’s presence. He is a one-man show and he lifts the whole story on his shoulders. He brings a certain charisma and style to the movie which is very suitable for his character Veera Simha Reddy. He aced the masses scene and also give a powerful performance in emotional scenes.

Other than him, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar’s performance as Bhanumathi comes as a great surprise to the audience. Her face-off scenes with Balayya are great and she gives a powerful performance in the second half of the movie. Aside from these key members, Duniya Vijay who plays the role of Pratap Reddy is great. Though this is his Telugu debut movie, he isn’t overshadowed by other big stars.

As for the technical aspects, the screenplay is good its keep the audience on the edge of their seat. The songs of the movie are great and the background score from Thaman also brings intensity to the scenes. Lastly, the stunts designed by Ram and Lakshman work wonders for the movie.

What does not work?

Like many other movies, Veera Simha Reddy is a venture which solely relies on the charisma of the lead star. The story of the movie is average and it doesn’t challenge the lead actor in any way. Balayya’s presence and the screenplay do keep the audience hooked but the weakness of the story is apparent with the lengthy and draggy second half.

Other than that, the makeup artists have done a sloppy job with Varalaxmi’s makeup. She looks pale in many scenes and not much impressive in her old look. Shruti Haasan also does not get an important role and only gets screen time during the songs.

Overall

Overall, Veera Simha Reddy gives decent entertainment and it appeals mostly to Balayya’s fans. The movie is a good choice for action lovers though its story has its flaws. However,  if you are a Balayya fan, you will not be disappointed by Veera Simha Reddy.