Starring Nani and Sudheer Babu in the lead roles, V is the first mid-tier Telugu film to release directly on OTT. The producer of the film, Dil Raju patiently waited for 5 months since the imposition of lockdown for theaters to re-open but that did not happen. Consequently, V’s direct to digital rights were sold to Amazon Prime Video for an fancy price. The film had its world premiere today and let us see if it keeps the viewers engaged or not.
Story:
Aditya (Sudheer Babu) is the most successful officer in the task force department and has an impeccable record as an investigative police officer. But he faces a huge challenge while tracking down V(Nani) who is responsible for the death of an police inspector in Hyderabad. V challenges Aditya to stop him from committing four more murders. Can Aditya stop the shrewd and criminal minded V? What is V’s motive behind all this? The answers to these questions form the remaining plot of the film.
How about on-screen performances?
Nani shoulders the film with his attitude and menacing screen presence. He excelled as a notorious criminal and stands as the backbone of the film. He fits the bill perfectly. Sudheer Babu as sincere police officer is decent. Aditi Rao Hydari, and Nivetha Thomas play brief roles and they do what is expected of them. Vennela Kishore tickles the funny bone on a few occasions.
How about off-screen talents?
Coming to the technical side of the film, the cinematographer PG Vinda has done an outstanding job. It could be said that he has shown a few first-of-a-kind visuals to Telugu audience. Sound designing is top notch and can be enjoyed to the fullest if watched with a proper sound system. Thaman’s background score is very ordinary and draws similarities with recent suspense thrillers. Amit Trivedi’s songs are very good and they have been presented well on the screen. Ravinder Reddy’s production design is very impressive.
Ravi Varma’s action choreography is below par, not even a single fight sequence is praise-worthy. The editor, Marthand K Venkatesh should have chopped off a few scenes to up the tempo of the proceedings. Mohankrishna Indraganti said he prepared the story in 2006 and that shows. The story is a routine revenge drama which does not have the desired level of emotional connect. There is no drive in the story and further adding to the woes, the screenplay is snail-paced. The film does not stand up to the tag ‘Suspense thriller’ as not even a single scene oozes thrill. It is safe to say that this is not Mohankrishna’s best of works.
What’s Hot?
Nani’s performance
Vinda’s mind-blowing visuals
Last 10 minutes
What’s Not?
Routine story
Dragged screenplay
Boring narration
No thrills
Weak direction
Lack of emotional connect
Verdict:
V was projected as an emotional action thriller but it does not deliver on this front. It lacks emotional connect, fails to evoke suspense, let alone leaving the viewers thrilled. It is a poorly executed routine revenge drama. Nani’s acting is one of the very few positive aspects of the film. Mohankrishna Indraganti has not lived up to his usual standards with this film.
Watch or not? : If you have too much time to spare and are a huge fan of Nani, you might give it a watch. Or else, give it a skip.
TeluguBulletin.com Rating: 2/5