Ram Pothineni and Boyapati Sreenu are collaborating for Skanda. The film released in theaters today. It is promoted as a full-blown action thriller and let us see what it has to offer.
Story: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister wages war on Telangana CM after the latter’s son kidnaps the former’s daughter who is about to get married. Subsequently, Ram gets involved with this and finds himself in the middle of a power struggle and heated political warfare. In the process, he falls for Sree Leela and they have an interloop with the political exchanges. How does this power struggle affect the lead pair’s love story? Will Ram be able to get what he wants from this complex set-up?
What about on-screen performances?
Ever since Ismart Shankar, Ram had been trying his best with mass films. He trusted in Boyapati Sreenu and conceived Skanda. He has indeed sported a mass look in the film. The mass attire and presentation suits him well and he too puts in efforts to match the vibe. He looks pretty decent in this rugged role.
Sree Leela looks beautiful and she delivers a fine performance. She is particularly good in the dance sequences and expectedly so.
Srikanth bags a meaty role and he is at it again. Tamil actor Raja plays Ram’s father and he too does a decent job with his role.
What about off-screen talents?
Boyapati Sreenu sticks to his mass genre with Skanda. The film starts well with the core establishment. But then comes the saggy part where the scenes are formulaic and the narration is very predictable. The interval bang is loud but it might work for the masses. The latter half has more mass fights and emotional scenes. But the issue is that the action is over the top and emotions are lackluster. The end portion is loaded with lengthy fights which get tiring after a point.
But Boyapati succeeds in getting a few mass moments rights in both halves. The moments of his typical mass high set-ups are spread sparingly in both halves.
Thaman’s soundtrack is underwhelming with mediocre songs and unnecessarily loud BGM. Cinematography is standard but the production values are good. Editing is not up to the mark. There are several scenes that could’ve been cut off to make the final cut a bit crisp.
What’s Hot?
- Ram’s Mass Makeover
- A few mass moments
What’s Not?
- Over the top and lengthy action
- Predictable narration
- Tiring climax
- Mediocre soundtrack
Verdict:
Skanda has its moments of mass high, but as a package, it is an underwhelming watch with the dragged-on over-the-top action sequences largely outnumbering the mass moments. It might be a one-time watch for mass lovers but for the rest, it is a tiring watch.
Telugubulletin.com Rating: 2.25/5
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Skanda (The Attacker) is an action drama film written and directed by Boyapati Sreenu and produced by Srinivasaa Chitturi under Srinivasaa Silver Screen in collaboration with Zee Studios. The film features Ram Pothineni, Sreeleela, Saiee Manjrekar, and Prince Cecil. The music is composed by Thaman S, while the cinematography and editing are handled by Santosh Detake and Tammiraju, respectively.
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8:45 pm: Movie opens with AP CM’s daughter wedding. Telangana CM son elopes with Andhra CM’s daughter..
9:00 pm: Ram’s intro fight scene in sadaru has ample elevation scenes but lengthy..Movie is bit loud as any other Boyapati’s stuff..
9:20 pm: Comedy scenes between lead pair brings some laughter. They both are classmates and Ram aspires to be a CM. Ram’s dance in Chuttu Chuttu songs deserves a mention..
9:45 pm: Movie has some surprise element to it..Second song cult is so-so. BGM is loud and fights are typical Boyapati’s over the top style..
10:00 pm: One more twist in the story that brings the first half to end..
1st half report: First half of Skanda starts with a high emotion story point which takes different turns. Action sequences feels like a drag sometimes and comedy is very limited. BGM is loud, Ram’s dances are good. First half ends with another twist but needs a big second half to make it a hit..
10:15 pm: Srikanth as Rudrakanti Ramakrishna Raju runs a software company Crown technologies..good amount of political sattires in the movie though..
10:35 pm: Backstory of why Rudrakanti Ramakrishna Raju(CEO of IT company) got arrested is being showcased now..family and friendship emotion is good
Final Report:
Skanda is an over the top action movie that didn’t work for the most part. Despite some good twists in the story, lengthy action scenes killed it. BGM is very loud, songs are okay because of lead pair dances. Overall Boyapati delivered an sub par movie