Movie: Bhagavanth Kesari (I Don't Care)
Genre: Action Drama
Cast: Balakrishna, Sree Leela, Arjun Rampal, Kajal Aggarwal and Others
Director: Anil Ravipudi
Produced By: Sahu Garapati and Harish Peddi
Music: Thaman S
Cinematography: C Ramprasad
Runtime: 164 Minutes (2hrs 44mins)
Story
Nelakonda Bhagavanth Kesari (Balakrishna) is a prisoner. Srikanth (Sarathkumar) is appointed as a Jailer to that jail. Srikanth's Daughter Vijaya Laxmi a.k.a Vijji (Sree Leela) and Kesari become close friends. Knowing the true story and good nature of Bhagavanth, Srikanth adds his name to the list of Prisoners to be released on Independence Day and gets Kesari out of Jail. Srikanth dies in an unfortunate road accident leaving Bhagavanth to look after Vijji. Bhagavanth Takes up her father's dream to see Vijji as a Strong woman and an Army Officer. How will Bhagavanth bring her father's dream come true? Is Vijji ready to become an Army Officer? How will things take a turn now? This forms the rest of the story.
Artiste Performances
Balakrishna is terrific as Bhagavanth Kesari. Anil Ravipudi shows a different side of Balakrishna and he nails it with his performance. We get to see a vintage Balakrishna where he is subdued and gives an emotional performance.
Sreeleela is a major asset to the movie. Her performance is very impressive. Her scenes with Balakrishna are well-executed and add emotional weight to the movie.
Kajal as the leading lady is decent. Her track with Balakrishna evokes a few laughs.
Arjun Rampal as the baddie is great. Though his character doesn't get the required depth, he holds it up with his performance and gives a tough fight to Bhagavanth.
Raghu Babu, VTV Ganesh, Rathika and Muralidhar are good too and keep the entertainment track going. The rest of the cast are OK.
Plus Points
Balakrishna's grounded yet strong and powerful performance
Sreeleela's performance
Bhagavanth - Vijji's Track
Warning Scene
Interval Episode
Confrontation scenes
School Speech scene
Tunnel Episode
Climax Fight
Thaman's Music
Visuals
Drawbacks (Which I Felt)
Missing Ravipudi mark comedy
Dull moments in the first half
Could have been better choreographed Action sequences
Analysis
Anil Ravipudi is known for his commercial entertainers. Everyone was excited to see how he would present Balakrishna. The teaser and Trailer have given a clear picture that Ravipudi has done something different from his previous flicks and presented Balakrishna in a completely new shade.
The Movie begins with introducing Bhagavath Kesari's character in jail. The dialogues and elevations land superbly and are whistle-worthy with an action sequence and some dose of comedy. After the introduction, the main story begins and the relationship between Bhagavanth and Vijji is established with the Uyyalo Uyyala song which is beautiful to watch on screen.
Scenes between Sreeleela and Balakrishna are one of the major highlights of the movie. They are cute at the beginning but turn emotional and powerful as the movie progresses. There is a scene where a conflict arises between Bhagavanth and Vijji in which both Balakrishna and Sreeleela nail it with their performances. We get to see a different and to an extent a vintage Balayya in a few scenes like this.
The love track too is well done by Anil Ravipudi. The track is driven by Anil ravipudi mark comedy which generates good laughs. Anil Ravipudi had made a perfect choice to not include songs that disturb the flow. As there is not much entertainment quotient, a few moments in the first half feel a bit boring.
But there is a warning scene which is electrifying and massy. Balakrishna's dialogue delivery, Anil Ravipudi's narration and Thaman's Background score make this whole sequence an amazing one.
As the whole movie runs on a serious note, Anil Ravipudi concentrates on telling a story with a message honestly and doesn't focus much on comedy episodes like he always does. This might disappoint a few audience who expect good comedy scenes from Anil Ravipudi but if we look from the story perspective, that's a wise choice made by Ravipudi to not include much comedy so that the impact he wants to create the narration of the story and message doesn't get diluted.
Bhagavanth learns there is a life threat to Vijji and from here, The movie gets pacy where Bhagavanth and Rahal Sanghavi's paths cross.
As always, Anil Ravipudi doesn't miss his mark mass Interval sequence. He stages it superbly, narrates it, shoots it and hits the bullseye. Every dialogue and elevation lands perfectly. The whole Interval fight is fan-pleasing and whistle-worthy making it a Goosebumps Interval bang.
The second half has some amazing moments and good pacing compared to the first half. It starts off with a flashback episode establishing the conflict between Bhagavanth and Sanghavi. Though the line is predictable, Ravipudi makes the proceedings interesting with his narrative choices.
There is a bus fight followed by an electrifying Confrontation scene. Both the scenes are fabulous and narrated. The fight scene is superbly narrated with Anil Ravipudi mark comedy sprinkled over it. The Confrontation scene is terrific with Balakrishna mark dialogues and Anil Ravipudi's mass touch.
There is a training center scene followed by a school speech which is beautifully done. Ravipudi made an excellent choice to address a social issue and a senior star like Balakrishna addressing it has made a huge impact. This whole sequence will move the audience into tears and is clap-worthy.
Another scene where Vijji refuses to go with her boyfriend and talks about Bhagavanth is heartwarming and one of the key emotional sequences in the movie that superbly connects.
The climax of the movie is another highlight. Seeing Balakrishna and Sreeleela fight together is an eye feast. After a good action sequence, Anil Ravipudi doesn't leave it there and he ends the movie on a high note with a bunch of fan service moments at the end title cards. This whole sequence is a well-planned one from Ravipudi that surely will receive applause.
The cinematography is great. Production values are decent. Editing is neat. Dialogues are mass-appealing and emotionally touching.
The fight scenes lack the intensity they did in the previous Balakrishna flick. A little more care in fight choreography too could have made the action episodes more impactful.
Thaman's Background score is marvellous. The Roar of Kesari keeps resounding throughout which elevates every scene to the next Level. Thaman does a fabulous job in the emotional scenes too.
Director Anil Ravipudi has done an impressive job with Bhagavanth Kesari. He presents Balakrishna in a completely different way which will remind us of his vintage performances. Unlike his previous flicks, Ravipudi makes a different choice to narrate a serious story with not much scope for comedy which works. He makes sure he doesn't Divert from the story and delivers the message in a properly packed movie in an enjoyable and impactful way.
Final Word
Anil Ravipudi once again proves that he is one of the best directors for commercial entertainers in the current League. He knows the audience's pulse and superbly portrays Balakrishna. He does justice to the story and also fan service. Leaving a few dull moments aside, This movie succeeds in showcasing different shades of Balakrishna, capturing every emotion and elevation perfectly. On the whole, Bhagavanth Kesari ends up as an enjoyable entertainer with a strong message.
Bottom-line: Bhagavanth Kesari - Absolutely KCPD!
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