Simhadri (2003)

Release Date: 09th Jul 2003
Rating: ★★★★✰Director: S.S.Rajamouli
Producer: V.Vijay Kumar Varma
Music Director: M.M.Keeravani
Starring: NTR, Bhumika Chawla, Ankita, Mukesh Rishi
Genre: Action

Simhadri (2003) Full Movie Review:

Story:

Simhadri movie is an innocuous and good-hearted lad by Simhadri(Jr.NTR) is handpicked by Ram Bhupal Varma(Nazar). The bond Ram Bhupal Varma and Simhadri share are like that of a father and son. Kasturi (Ankita) is the grand daughter (daughter’s daughter) of Ram Bhupal Varma. Kasturi likes Simhadri a lot. Once in a week, Simhadri visits a mentally retorted girl called Indu (Bhumika). He entertains her and passes on the money to her caretakers (Rallapally and Ragini). After coming to know about Ankita’s liking towards Simhadri, Ram Bhupal Varma decides to get them married. At this point of time, it is revealed that Simhadri is very close to a mentally retorted girl Indu. The alliance breaks off. Mean while a bunch of gangsters is in search of Simhadri. They found him on the banks of Godavari River along with Indu. In that confrontation between gangsters and Simhadri, Indu gets injured. When she comes back to her senses, she becomes a normal girl. The first thing she does then was to stab Simhadri.

Simhadri is hospitalized. Then we see hoards of buses coming from Kerala to see Simhadri, whom they call as Singamalai. In the flashback, it is revealed that Ram Bhupal Varma’s elder daughter Seeta (Seeta) elopes with a guy (Bhanu Chandra). They settle in Kerala. Simhadri takes up the job of uniting family and visits Trivandrum. There he finds Indu as the grand daughter of Ram Bhupal Varma. He convinces the separated family and when the reunion is about to happen, Seeta is stabbed by a local goon Nair (Rahul Dev). A rowdy named Bhai Saab (Mukesh Rushi) controls the mafia of Kerala. Nair and Bhai Saab belong to the same mafia. Simhadri takes the law into his hands and eradicates goons in Kerala. The local Kerala people start calling him ‘Singamalai’. When Simhadri along with Indu and her father is about to return to Vizag, an unexpected thing happens.

Performance:

Young Tiger NTR has displayed the entire gamut of emotions in this film from innocence to dare devilry guile. This character offered him the chance to use all his histrionic capability to impress the crowds and he utilized every frame of it to make a deep impact on the hearts of the viewers. His effortless dancing capabilities saw newer heights in this film. He is terrific in action sequences and his body language and facial expressions make us believe the unbelievable action sequences. He effortlessly modulates his voice from dialogue to dialogue as per the requirement. Bhumika Chawla is the perfect fit for the role of Indu. She impresses us with her innocent looks for the character of the mad girl. However, she could not help becoming a Malayala Kutti (in that typical Malayali dress) in the second half of the film. You can see a brand new mass Bhumika in the ‘Whistle’ song of the film. Ankita could be crowned as the latest glam doll, who does not hesitate to shed her clothes at the drop of a hat. She wore bare minimal clothes for the voyeuristic pleasure of peeping toms. She did well in dances department too. However, she is almost missing in the entire second half except for a song and a couple of scenes.

Technical Aspects:

The story of the film is pretty strong. However, the story in the second half should have been knitted with more care. There are a couple of unconvincing points in this film. The screenplay of the film in the first half is tight. The screenplay in the second half looks more like being knitted impromptu on the sets than sticking to a perfect bounded script. It’s hard to believe that SS Raja Mouli -who is very much soft natured in real life – directed such a mass masala film with good conviction. Raja Mouli should be commended for incorporating all sections (comedy, fights, sentiment, masala, powerful dialogues etc) in an appropriate way without losing grip on narration. He would become a very good mass director in the future.

Music:

Songs by Keeravani capture the mood of the targeted audience, though few numbers remind us of songs from Keeravani’s earlier albums. Background music is also good. Some of the dance bits by NTR for first and last songs (Cheema & Soda Buddy) are extraordinary. 2 melodious songs are very sensibly pictured on Bhumika and NTR. Guest song on NTR and Ramya Krishna is also excellent.

ANALYSIS:

First Half of the film is very much entertaining and would be liked by all sections of the audiences. The second half is little haphazard. The second half is stuffed by 1 hour of Kerala flashback episode. By the time flashback is over, people would be in a frame of mind that the climax is over. The last song and the following climax episode should have been picturized in an effective way. The second half does appeal to the masses a lot. Overall, it's a good film that would give value for money you spent on ticket (only if you can excuse some skin showing scenes, double entendres and excessive bloodshed)

Review Credits: idelbrain