It is not absurd to expect a masala movie with a half-decent script, some loud, ground-breaking action sequences, and fanfare moments that cater to Nandamuri Balakrishna’s popularity when a director like Gopichand Malineni teams up with him. And in Veera Simha Reddy, Gopichand brings everything you associate with the star and pushes the envelope: a glance or a flick of the finger sends a burst of wind, a glass of water inside a building ripples when Balayya steps out of his car, goons attacking him wait for his punch dialogues to land and occasionally even comply with him—you get the idea. However, in order for any of these to be taken seriously, you need to package them in an interesting way.
The prose is disjointed, and the storyline militates against such “Balayya moments.” Consider this scene from the movie’s very first moments. Jai (Balayya), who resides in Istanbul with his mother Meenakshi (Honey Rose), meets Esha (Shruti Haasan) by chance at his auto dealership. Esha must fall in love with Jai for the plot to continue, and a dance number is necessary.
The dangers of having a star like Balakrishna cannot be solely blamed for these problems. In actuality, he simply continues to act as usual. His earlier picture with Boyapati Srinu, Akhanda, had some lulls but had frequent pay-off moments that kept you watching. Violent scenes that bank on shock value, powerful antagonists, and an intriguing larger narrative worked well to complement the slow-motion chest-thumping moments. In Veera Simha Reddy, we have a loosely knit and archaic narrative told through a template screenplay.
