ATIDHI

Atidhi is one of the most awaited films of this year. Unfortunately, the film does not live up to the expectations. The film has rich look, superb performance by Mahesh Babu, a good plot and few good sequences in the film. But that is pretty much it. On the other side, script and screenplay fails in the first half, and all the songs are just average. Director Surender Reddy seems to have taken care on extra details and additional effects rather than the main plot and narration. This could have been a good action thriller but due to predictable and not-so-interesting first half, and a decent second half turns this film into an average flick.

Mahesh looked great. Surender Reddy dedicated all his resources in projecting Mahesh - with the character and also with the effects - and he is completely successful. Also, there are a few scenes that brings out new dimension of Mahesh. Especially the scene where he is drunk with Brahmanandam and Sunil. Amrita Rao looked just okay in majority of the film and good in the rest. In songs, she looked good. Murali Sharma plays a very good and key role. Rajeev Kanakala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Kota Srinivasa Rao, and others did their roles well. The film starts off very well with the orphan being adopted by a couple. But soon the film fails generating any interest until almost the end of the first half. A twist revealed as interval bang brings some relief and will make one anticipate at least some thing in the second half. Another bad is that even the songs are not that great in the film. And there is no entertainment either. Second half starts off on a good note. Sunil, Brahmanandam episode is very good and provides good relief. The narration dramatically changes with the style and turns into a good action thriller. Lead character unfolding the mystery in search of his enemy is very well done. But again, songs disappoint in the second half too. That makes the love track a burden on the audience as that track will pave way for a song every time. Surender Reddy's shot takings are seen in a good number of sequences. Detailed attention has been paid to the extra effects in a sequence than the smooth flow of the sequences or a convincing script in the first half. It is the second half that saves the film with some content. In the second half, direcotr's mark is clearly seen. Especially in the action sequences. Even though second half has too many action sequences, the film shapes up into a action flick and Surender Reddy is successful to good extent in this regard. For the kind of twist in the plot he has, better script work could have taken the film to great heights. There is nothing new in the story but the plot is good enough. But it is the script work and screenplay that fails it a bit. Except for one episode, there isnt much comedy or entertainment in the film. Some of the episodes in the film seem to be redundant style of Pokiri and Athadu. There is also lot of violence in the film. Surprisingly, all the songs in the film are either average or just okay. Mani Sharma's beats in couple of numbers are foot tapping but that is pretty much it. His background score is excellent at times. Especially the climax scene where Mahesh runs against a bunch of goons gets an exciting background. Dialogs by Abburi Ravi are just content. Production values of the film is very good as every frame looks rich - be it with sets or outdoors. Visual effects are also very good. Technically, it is the visual effects, cinematographer (Sameer Reddy) and editor (Gautam Raju) who gave their best to the director. Grading, color effects and cutting are done good. First half of the film tries to be more or less another Pokiri. Second half turns into action flick. If it is a total action flick, it would run without any entertaining elements. Here, the film tries to be action thriller with love backdrop but no entertainment. Overall, the film is an average flick with some good action in the second half and good performance by Mahesh Babu.