‘Waltair Veerayya’ Telugu movie review: Nostalgia-evoking moments prop up this Chiranjeevi, Ravi Teja and Shruti Haasan starrer

Chiranjeevi and Shruti Haasan in ‘Waltair Veerayya’

In his new Telugu movie Waltair Veerayya, directed by Okay S Ravindra aka Bobby Kolli, when Chiranjeevi says ‘information lo naa peru undadam kaadu, naa peru meede information untayi’ (it isn’t about my title being within the information, information are written in my title), amid loud cheers in fact, it’s an plain assertion of the sway he has had over mainstream Telugu cinema in his profession of greater than 4 many years. The writers — Bobby, Kona Venkat and Chakravarthy Reddy — dip generously into Chiranjeevi’s blockbusters of the previous to evoke nostalgia. As an added bonus, their story has room for Ravi Teja — one other star who has cemented his place within the masala style. The writers’ fanboy tribute to those stars has just a few enjoyable segments, however the narrative that anchors it’s patchy. 

Chiranjeevi performs Waltair Veerayya, a fisherman in Vizag who smuggles luxurious items and wears vivid, floral shirts. Even earlier than we see him on display, his voice sends a goon right into a panic spin and makes him drop his lungi! The Indian Navy additionally turns to Veerayya to avoid wasting coast guards as a result of when all the things fails, Veerayya aka ‘samundar ka sarkar’ aka ‘Bay of Bengal ka baap’ can assist. 

The movie doesn’t take itself severely and hopes that the viewers won’t both. Fortunately there’s a story, even whether it is sketchy and trite. A wished legal, Solomon Ceaser (Bobby Simha), is quickly sheltered in a village police station and it results in a bloodbath. Sitapathi (Rajendra Prasad), a grieving officer, seeks Veerayya’s assist to avenge the lack of his colleagues.

The primary half of the 160-minute narrative is loaded with dialogues and dance strikes to remind us of classic Chiranjeevi. He reveals that he’s nonetheless received the strikes when he dances to Devi Sri Prasad’s ‘Boss Celebration’. There may be additionally a throwback to Chiranjeevi and Sridevi’s ‘Abbani teeyani debba’ track from Jagadeka Veerudu Atiloka Sundari when Chiranjeevi reimagines the dance with the a lot youthful Shruti Haasan. Later within the movie additionally they dance to ‘Nuvvu Sridevi aithe, nenu Chiranjeevi…’ These nostalgia moments are punctuated by jokes on up to date cinema. A dialogue refers to heroes strolling in late to attend audio capabilities flanked by bouncers.

The narrative retains this flaky and enjoyable flavour when it strikes to Malaysia in order that Veerayya can tackle Solomon Ceaser and his brother, Kaala (Prakash Raj).

In case you are questioning the place Shruti Haasan suits into the story, she will get a barely higher deal than she did in Veera Simha Reddy. As an obligation supervisor in a star resort, she will get to repeatedly maintain Chiranjeevi’s palms within the elevator whereas aiding him to the fifteenth ground since he’s frightened of heights. Keep in mind you aren’t imagined to take something severely on this movie. A bit of later she additionally will get to carry out just a few slick motion strikes, by no means thoughts that it’s minimize brief since she must be in the end saved by Chiranjeevi.

The movie brings in Ravi Teja when it feels the necessity to lend some emotional depth to the story. As police officer Vikram Sagar, Ravi Teja performs the stepbrother to Chiranjeevi and will get sufficient bandwidth to evoke reminiscences of his early movie with Chiranjeevi, titled Annayya. They dance to the foot-tapping ‘Poonakalu loading’ that’s choreographed to showcase their camaraderie and dancing abilities. The face-off between the 2 actors is replete with crowd-pleasing references to their earlier hits.

Prakash Raj tries to roar within the character given to him however we now have seen him in really menacing elements earlier than. The identical goes for Bobby Simha whose villany looks as if a put-on act.

Vennela Kishore makes an impression in just a few scenes however there are many others together with Rajendra Prasad, Catherine Tresa and Sathyaraj who’re saddled with forgettable elements.

Waltair Veerayya is enjoyable for individuals who need to spot the plentiful references to Chiranjeevi’s earlier movies like Khaidi and Gang Chief or experience Ravi Teja and Chiranjeevi referencing one another’s hit dialogues throughout the face off. However in case you are searching for a stable fanboy tribute that pays homage to Chiranjeevi’s stardom with a fascinating story, this isn’t it.

Nostalgia is fascinating when served proper, not when it turns into a instrument to prop up a pale narrative.