The most awaited Telugu movie of the year so far Maharshi is out in theaters now. A lot of expectations were riding on this landmark film of Superstar Mahesh Babu. Did it live up to expectations? Let’s analyze.

What is it about?

Rishi (Mahesh) is an ambitious guy who want to be super successful in his life. He becomes CEO of an international company. But he later knows that there is his friend Ravi’s (Naresh) sacrifice behind his success. He comes to make his friend happy and learns that his happiness is in saving his village. How Rishi fights against the corrupt system and corporate companies to fulfill his friend’s wish forms rest of the story.

Performances:

Mahesh Babu is superb as Rishi in all aspects. It is a tailor made character for him. His looks and energy as the college student is a treat to watch. His performance in emotional scenes is the biggest highlight of the movie. Pooja Hegde has a very little role to play. Allari Naresh is good as a loyal friend. We cannot imagine anyone else in his character. Jagapathi Babu appears as a corporate bad guy and he is alright. Prakash Raj and Jayasudha are good as Rishi’s parents.

Technicalities:

Vamshi Paidipalli has a solid script on hands. But he tried to make it a commercially viable one which has diluted it to an extent. The runtime has extended beyond bearable limits which in turn into the biggest weaknesses of the film. He has done well in handling emotional aspects in the second hour, but the screenplay is not coherent. There are far too many ups and downs in the screenplay that it fails to sustain the interest levels through the long runtime.

Devi Sri Prasad’s songs are very ordinary except for a couple of songs that are situational. Background score is fine. Dialogues are well written. Cinematography is impressive, but the editing goes haywire. There is a lot of trimming to be done. Production values are very good. The film is made on a very high budget and it can be seen in every frame.

Thumbs Up:

Mahesh Babu

Emotional episodes

Dialogues

Thumbs Down:

Slow pace

Runtime

Uneven screenplay

Analysis:

Maharshi has a strong script with a very good social message. But the director failed to make it a commercial film that caters to all sections in spite of putting in a lot of aspects like action, romance and family emotions into the screenplay. The film doesn’t look coherent as all these additional aspects added into the film appear as purposefully added ‘attractions’. The film scores well in the college episodes and the pre-climax scenes involving farmers. Mahesh’s infectious energy as the college student is an absolute treat to watch. But that is limited only to the first half.

In the second half, we get to see a totally different Mahesh who is serious, emotional sans sense of humor. This shade of Mahesh is almost the same as that we had seen in movies like Srimanthudu and Bharat Ane Nenu. This sure has a good story and a well etched characterization, but doesn’t seem fresh as the above mentioned movies are still afresh in our memories. Director and the team of writers have done a neat job in padding the story with nice sub plots.

However, the main plot isn’t done well. The friendship and bonding between Rishi and Ravi isn’t established well. The chemistry between the friends is absolutely lacking. Also the thread of father-son should have given enough time to have that pay offs later. Another weakest link is the hero-heroine thread that seems very silly and out of sync with the main plot. Lack of conflict and a strong villain also makes it a tedious journey to sit through.

All in all, Maharshi has its moments here and there, but fails to maintain the momentum for a longer stretches. It is good in parts, but falls short of expectations on a whole. Mahesh doing better films with similar themes also turns out to be a hindrance for it. Maharshi’s box office journey will largely depend upon Mahesh Babu’s pull and fan power.

Verdict: Rishi’s Journey is Tedious!