Movie: BRO (The Avatar)
Genre: Fantasy - Drama
Cast: Pawan Kalyan, Sai Tej, Kethika Sharma, Priya Prakash Varrier, Vennela Kishore, Rohini and Others
Director: P Samuthirakani
Screenplay and Dialogues: Trivikram
Produced By: T. G. Vishwa Prasad, Vivek Kuchibotla
Music: Thaman S
Cinematography: Sujith Vaassudev
Runtime: 134 minutes (2 hrs 14 mins)
Story
Markandeya, called as Mark (Sai Tej) is the elder son of the family. He looks after his family but doesn't give them time and is always busy. He controls his family and keeps running behind money and success. Even his girlfriend Ramya (Kethika Sharma) is upset with him. One day, he visits to his company's Vizag plant. The next day being his birthday, he takes a cab to return to Hyderabad and celebrate his birthday with his family. He calls his family and lets them know that he is on his way to Hyderabad and also has a surprise for them that he is about to get promoted as General Manager. While he is on call, the cab meets with an accident and Mark dies. In the afterlife scenario, he meets Titan, The God of time (Pawan Kalyan) and requests him to give him some more time to live so that he can fix everything right with his family. What will happen now? How will time enlighten Mark about life? Will Mark understand the meaning of his life? This forms the rest of the story.
Artiste Performances
Pawan Kalyan is the heart of the movie. Pawan Kalyan's style, swag and attitude are an added advantage and is a blast for fans. Everyone will enjoy his vintage energy on screen. He completely shoulders the movie and gives an amazing performance. He is not playing but living in the character with so much ease and is completely immersed.
Sai Tej delivers a great Performance as Mark. He emotes well and his scenes with Pawan Kalyan are feast to watch.
Kethika Sharma does a decent job in her short screen time. Priya Varrier and Yuva Lakshmi are are excellent in their roles.
Rohini excels in her role and brings emotional depth to the proceedings. Vennela Kishore does a fine job. Bramhanandam is at his usual best and it's exciting to see him and share screen with Pawan Kalyan are a long time.
Rest of the cast are OK and have done their part.
Plus Points
Pawan Kalyan's Performance and Nostalgia with his Songs
Pawan and Sai Tej Bromance
Basic concept
The message at the end
Thaman's Background score
Interval
Climax Episode
Few Dialogues
Cinematography
Drawbacks (Which I Felt)
Songs
VFX
Lack of Proper Drama
Pacing
Analysis
Bro is a remake of Vinodhaya Sitham, also directed by Samuthirakani. The basic concept is how the God of time gives a man some more time to live so that he can correct himself, understand the meaning of life and the importance of living in the present rather than thinking about the future and spoiling the present.
Samuthirakani and Trivkram have changed the whole character design for the God of Time from the original and made it enjoyable yet powerful. Pawan Kalyan as Titan, The God of Time is an apt choice and he absolutely kills it in the role.
The movie starts off by establishing Mark, his way of life, his relationship threads and the way he controls his family members. The screenplay is racy and we understand Mark's attitude with minute details.
After the accident, Titan, The God of Time is introduced and it's an absolute Fanfest. Pawan Kalyan's ease, mannerisms and dialogue delivery are a joy to watch. Director added some of Pawan Kalyan's songs which are fan-pleasing and bring back the vintage Powerstar vibe.
There is a sequence where Mark comes out of the morgue and sees Titan. This whole sequence is superbly executed. Pawan Kalyan Mouths a few philosophical dialogues that connect and make an impact.
The scenes between Pawan Kalyan and Sai Tej have come out superbly. Their on-screen Bromance is a major highlight. There are a few subtle moments that Samuthirakani captures to portray the Mama Alludu Bonding between them and its beautifully done.
The first half runs with Entertainment as the driving force. There is a lot of fan service with Pawan Kalyan's superhit songs playing in the perfect situations.
As the movie progresses towards the interval, things start falling apart for Mark. He has a break-up, his mother is admitted to the hospital, his sister leaves home for her love, and his younger brother loses his job and returns to India.
Titan's voice-over telling how time plays an important role in everyone's life makes it a solid interval. The Vishwaroopam of Titan with Thaman's electrifying BGM makes it even more impactful.
Post Interval, The directors completely focuses on emotions and Mark setting things right for the family. He realizes where he is wrong and Time proves it to him that everything happens for a reason and happen when it's time for it to happen. There is particular soda scene which was superbly executed.
Though the second half banks on emotional narration, there are some pacing issues. A few scenes fall flat and might bore the audience for a while. The songs are another let down and disturb the flow of the movie. The songs could have easily been chopped off to maintain pacing. Even the VFX too are not impressive. For a fantasy subject, VFX must be taken care off and this aspect at times pulls you out of the movie.
We might feel that there could have been more Drama to elevate the emotional side However, A Few Dialogues penned by Trivikram bring depth to the proceedings and Pawan Kalyan mouthing them create a strong impact.
The climax portions is the soul of the movie. Every thread opened is given a satisfying end. There is montage showing Mark working hard for his family and this whole sequence will surely move the audience to tears. The conversion between Mark and Titan hold so much emotion and is heart warming to watch. Director brilliantly conveys it visually with the colors that Mark is happy now. Movie ends with Titan, The God of Time giving a simple yet strong message and meaning of life.
Trivikram's Dialogues and Screenplay are an added advantage to the movie. Few lines hit you hard and Disturb you. They either speak out the Bitter truth or tell something strong in a simple way. Pawan Kalyan makes the dialogues even more impactful by mouthing them in his style.
Though songs are not upto mark, Thaman does his magic again with his terrific Background Score. The Way he elevates Titan is just amazing. He starts pumping in the Adrenaline with his BGM right from the Title card and he nails it.
Cinematography is another added asset. Visuals are stunning. Editing is Neat. Production values could have been better. Pawan Kalyan's styling is stunning.
Samuthirakani has mentioned in one of the interviews that he watched all Pawan Kalyan Films before taking up BRO and we can clearly see it Throughout. He knows fans pulse, he knows how to potray Pawan and he does it excellently. He gives an ease and energectic touch to the Titan Character in which Pawan Kalyan sits perfectly. Samuthirakani succeeds in satisfying fans with all the elements they expect and delivering the message he wants to that Its important to live in today and at present rather than worrying about future and doing mistakes for it at present. He Balances it and has done a great job.
(MY) Final Word
Bro is a commercialized version of Vinodhaya Sitham. Samuthirakani and Trivkram focus on giving fans what they want in the first half and steer onto emotional route in the second half and deliver the message they want to in an impactful way in the last act. The Director Blends in Fan elements into a Soulful narrative and makes it work most of the time. Barring a few flat scenes and songs, the movie is an Engaging fare. On a Whole, BRO ends up as an Enjoyable ride with a heart warming message.
Bottom line: "Bro"ller coaster of Emotions, Entertainment and Fan Moments... Powerstar's Show All The Way!
Note: This is my take on the movie. That is why I am not rating the movie. I respect each and every movie. Making people read my review and influencing them to form an impression of a movie before watching the movie is never my intention. I am a Movie lover too. This is just to express my view on the movie. 😊
Review by a Movie Lover