Raja The Great: Good comeback for Ravi Teja

Director Anil Ravipudi and his hero Ravi Teja both must have high stakes in the outcome of the film ‘Raja The Great’. Coming on the back of his 2016 release ‘Supreme’ which became Sai Dharam Tej’s biggest hit of his career, the director would surely want the victory march to continue.

On the other hand, returning to the big screen after a two-year gap, Ravi Teja, the ‘Mass Maharaja’ has to refit into a scenario which has become more competitive since his last release ‘Bengal Tiger’.

Attempting a variation in his clowning around image, Ravi Teja plays a sharp, totally focused, blind man’s role who is accidentally drafted into a ‘top secret’ mission of saving a cop’s daughter from a gang of marauders out to avenge the death of the villain’s younger brother.

Keeping his hero’s visually challenged character largely believable, the director packs in his comic interludes pretty comfortably into the narrative which runs its course of 145-minutes without many hiccups. Teja plays his role with his trademark panache, which has its response pretty consistently among the audience, mostly his fans waiting to see their star light up the silver screen.

No doubt, the festive atmosphere underway must have got suitably heightened as the Maharajah royally straddles the screen space with his trusted lackeys and team players for company. The action scenes are pretty well crafted and the songs come and go without testing the patience of the viewers all that much.

Vivan Bathena, the TV serial hero turned villain, is a typical Telugu film bad guy, made insufferable by the dubbing voice which sounds the same in every other commercial flick. Mehreen Kaur Pirzada, the latest North Indian import who has made a considerable impact among the young viewers plays a restrained role in this film, coming on her own as she is boosted in her efforts by the hero. The age gap between the lead pair is evident during tight close-ups yet Teja steers the film without major distractions.

Radhika, the erstwhile heroine of the ‘80s, returns as the mother of the hero and shines in her limited role. Tackling an usual cop-versus-criminal kind of a film with a mix of comedy, action and family sentiment, Anil Ravipudi pulls off a watchable movie, which can find favour with the audience in this enjoyable environment.

Film Name : Raja The Great

Cast : Ravi Teja, Mehreen Kaur, Radhika Sharatkumar and Prakash Raj
Direction : Anil Ravipudi
Genre : Action drama
Likes : Light-hearted treatment
Dislikes : Obvious twists and turns