Glorifying Laksmhi Parvathy, demeaning CBN

Helmed by controversy-courting Ram Gopal Varma and Agasthya Manju and in the news since it was launched, `Lakshmi's NTR,' is a linear, no-nonsense endeavour which keeps to its task of showcasing the life and times of the icon after Lakshmi Parvathi enters his life.

The movie tells the story from her perspective - the impact she creates, how a collision course occurs with NTR's family as she grows in influence and how she gets marginalised at the end once the leader dies.

If one were to position this flick in a sequence after the two versions of Balayya's tribute to his father, it seems to be a continuation of the era in which the top titan of Telugu cinema rose and fell in the political arena.

If his son's film disappointingly stopped at the point when NTR returned to power in the mid-1980s, RGV takes that phase when he was isolated and shunned by his own family, a few years down the line till his demise as a heart-broken, disillusioned celebrity.

Taking off at a meteoric pace, the movie stays rooted in that interactive milieu created by the devout biographer who is smitten by the filmi personality. There is a lot of sensitivity in the manner in which the proceedings focus on the relationship that evolves between the two, a wide-eyed fan and a lonely man.

RGV does not hold his punches, down to the last, as he has the right mix of look alikes in his repertoire of actors and actresses.

Sri Tej as Chandrababu Naidu is amazing with the intonation perfectly done while P Vijay Kumar, a relatively unknown actor aces the role of NTR, right up to the gestures and body language.

The USP also is how all the big names from politics and films are shown closer to the original personalities right up to mimicking their voices, if necessary.

The uncluttered story line which recreates the years when NTR rose and fell for the final time, forcibly conceding his political mantle to Chandrababu is a topic which had to be handled with care, given that it is still fresh in memory of an earlier generation.

Yet, without beating around the bush, RGV presents the events as they had unfolded back then as the audience enjoys the screen versions of the characters whom they had encountered in real life.

Shorn of political loyalties, this film can be considered a honest attempt at taking a close look at NTR's fascinating life.