Super heroism goes for a toss

The need to balance form and content is a continuing challenge for makers of commercial cinema. Especially, when the ambition is to reach out to a global audience with a world-class product wholly manufactured by Telugu film industry.

Director Sujeeth has laid out an ambitious venture – a Hollywoodish style flick, with action, special effects and foreign locales. Hi-tech orientation to the narrative is obviously a given in such conditions.

Over and above all is the new-found market for our cinema in neighbouring states and the biggest of them all, the Hindi belt, which had wholeheartedly welcomed Prabhas in his two versions of 'Baahubali'.

With a collection of baddies and one-time heroes from Mumbai – Jackie Shroff at one end and Chunky Pandey, the principal villain of the film at the other – 'Saaho' starts off stylishly and interestingly.

The veneer to the proceedings has a different feel for sure as the super heroism of the protagonist is smug and assured.

From here on, the film fixes itself in terribly familiar surroundings – under-cover cops, double crossing senior police officials and gangsters and the continuing violence through and through, with hardly any breaks.

If action means gun fire and falling bodies, this film has it in abundance. There is a 'black box' which the gangs want at any cost to continue the mafia rule in distant shores and everyone is in the hunt for it.

Of course, the money involved runs into lakhs of crores, which is too much to let go for the bloodthirsty types.

From the glamour point of view, heroine Shraddha Kapoor has a reasonable screen presence and maintains adequate sizzle during her interactions with the hero, even as she is shown a borderline superwoman.

During the mandatory duet sequences, composed by Ghibran which is appealing to a reasonable level, she manages to pass muster.

Yet, the film which raises the audience interest fairly well till the interval degenerates into an endless sets of action blocks in the second, with the climax, reeking of vintage Telugu cinema.

The drawl and the dialogue delivery of Prabhas impresses in parts but an overtly long dishoom-dishoom routine in the final half an hour tests the patience of the viewers.

In the end, it is all too much sound and fury signifying nothing worthwhile or different.