Not a perfect heist

It took Raj Pippala four years after ‘Boni’ to helm his next, ‘Bangaaru Kodipetta’. This latest venture of Raj is basically a heist film. It revolves around how different characters’ (who lead their lives) lives get entwined during the three-day Sankranti festival. The plot is a simple one, though there are different characters and their lives which kind of coalesce in the climax. The climax – particularly the last half an hour makes for an enjoyable watch.

Bhanumathi Pinisetty (Swati) works in an energy drinks company and needs to make some quick bucks for the house that she intends to purchase. Working in the same mall is Vamsi (Navadeep), an electrician-cum-technician. Bhanumathi’s boss (Harshavardhan) denies her a promotion, leaving her fuming. Accidentally, she stumbles across a paper giving out some details about gold which the company truck would be carrying. So she plots a heist along with Vamsi, the one who has his own share of problems. But there are other lives which are entangled in – two brothers (played by the action masters Ram-Laxman) and a pizza delivery boy who aspires to be a film hero.

Although the film moves back and forth, it moves at a snail pace as the proceedings begin. Well, post interval it picks up steam and speed. The director sticks to the regular path and doesn’t seem to infuse any novel elements although he kind of makes up for his shortcomings in the climax. A tight screenplay could have done the trick. The film scores heavily on the technical front, be it the music or the cinematography.

Swati and Navadeep carry the film on their shoulders. With experience, Swati’s acting skills have honed and she is definitely a force to reckon with. Navadeep fits aptly into the scheme of things and his chemistry with Swathi strikes right chords. Harshavardhan’s outing is praiseworthy. On the whole, ‘Bangaaru Kodipeta’ is not the golden hen (here film) one was looking for. One expected far more out of Raj Pippala.