Bheemla Nayak Review

Bheemla Nayak Review: PK+AK= Poonakalu

Rating: 3.25/5

After a gap of 10 months, Pawan Kalyan is back on the screen with Bheemla Nayak. Fashioned as a multistarrer, he has also paired with Rana in the lead role. Releasing today, the movie has generated immense hype. Let’s see how it is

Plot:

Daniel Shekhar (Rana Daggubaati) is caught in the midst of an alcohol case in a no-alcohol zone in Telangana where Bheemla Nayak (Pawan Kalyan) is the sub-inspector. Within seconds, they have an ego clash, one that leads to their lives drastically changing with each one going full guns at each other. What happens next forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

This is a very good Pawan Kalyan who seems to have understood the character and molded it to his own strengths. While he does a very good job of staying subtle and serious in the first half with the occasional aggression without going overboard, the second half is where he truly unleashes his inner beast in a show of pure aggression. Despite some commercialization, PK makes his performance a winner. Rana is another standout from the movie; his screen presence as Daniel Shekhar along with the intensity he brings to the role is a huge positive as he owns the role. Nithya Menon owns the role of Suguna in a confident comeback, while Samyuktha Menon does well in the climactic scenes. Samuthirakani is decent, and Rao Ramesh and Murali Sharma fit the bill. Rest of the characters don’t make an impact, although there is a surprise cameo at the end. 

Writing/Direction:

Despite Saagar K Chandra directing the movie, it has been associated as a Trivikram movie. Trivikram, who has written the screenplay and adapted story for this movie, has made some crucial changes with the core point and story of the movie. As known, Bheemla Nayak is a official remake of the Malayalam original Ayyappanum Koshiyum. While he keeps the core story and sequence of events the same as the Malayalam original, Trivikram has made serious changes to the screenplay which we will talk about later. From a writing perspective, he makes sure that the movie keeps to the core point of Ayyappanum Koshiyum without diluting too much by fleshing out the lead arcs properly, adding enough confrontation scenes between the lead pair to establish a clear conflict, and keeping each of the scenes following on to the next with a level of depth. Through Trivikrams writing, he changes the tone of the movie entirely to a more commercial movie, taking out some of the symbols and allegories in the original; however, this does not invalidate the movie, as in the commercial scope Bheemla Nayak does exceedingly well. The changes he makes to the story are in fact welcome changes that suit the commercial tone of the movie, writing in a more fleshed out romantic track between Pawan Kalyan and Nithya Menon and adding more emotional heft to the movie with a flashback sequence that ties into the story quite well. The only thing that Trivikram adds a bit of that takes away from the movie is exceeding hero worship in the second half, leading to a few cliché scenes, but he never lets it take away from the plot and keeps the movie written crisply and neatly with enough scope.

Trivikram’s screenplay is very good as well, with his screenplay keeping the movie crisp with very minimal lag while developing the movie well within the scope of the movie; amidst this, he makes sure that the movie doesn’t go off track and keeps true to the plot of the original. Trivikrams screenplay keeps the movie as crisp as ever with very few unneeded scenes. As Trivikrams writing decides to take the commercial route with the movie, he has cut out many scenes from the movie that are related to the slow development of each character and characterization, resulting in a fast and pacy experience without any unnecessary lag. The events keep flowing throughout the movie in a very organic manner without removing the rustic nature, helped by dialogues that enhance the feel of the movie rather than keep it down. Mainly, with the sequence of events throughout, Trivikram details each event after the next while writing in strong character arcs for both of the leads, making sure to stick to the story and writing. Particularly, Trivikram’s screenplay does a fine job of balancing both hero worship in the form of Pawan Kalyan while also fleshing out a satisfying commercial experience with a well developed opposition and side characters that each hold their own; with the emotional depth that the screenplay brings as well, it’s these side characters that make the movie a satisfying experience. The only drawback again is that his screenplay keeps a clear emphasis on making a good commercial cinema in contrast to the character study that the original emphasizes; while this is a slightly drawback, the end product is so entertaining and faithful to the plot that the commercialization can be easily overlooked. Direction and narration from young direct Saagar K Chandra are equally impressive. His direction has kept to the slow-simmer and payoff style of the original as much as possible, slowly building up the events and taking the audience through the journey of Bheemla Nayak rather than unevenly taking us through a commercial vehicle. Throughout the movie, he keeps the lag to a minimum and keeps each event rolling after the other, picturized tightly with a sense of structure and support. Chandra’s narration is also decent, as he keeps the movie paced well throughout with a slow start and then an eventual acceleration that leads to a well thought out payoff. 

The first half of the movie is good, with Chandra as the director making sure that the movie doesn’t lose its unwavering focus towards the core of the story and develop each of the two main characters, while Trivikrams screenplay keeps the movie crisp and racy. The movie immediately dives into the core plot with no distractions through a situational song that sets the audience in the mood; from their, after a brief but very in the moment intro of Pawan Kalyan, the movie makes sure to establish both of its main leads through dialogue and scene placement quite well. Despite the movie slowly establishing what happens, the direction and the writing never let the audience lose interest of the scene. The events in this first 30 minutes continue to follow one after another with steady buildup and razor-sharp direction, building one event among the next and establishing the core conflict and focal points quite well. It’s very refreshing to see a subtle Pawan Kalyan here too, as he plays to the story’s demand rather than his natural ferocity. After a very sharp first 30 minutes that sets the foundation for the plot firmly, the movie is admittedly bogged down with some lag to establish the hero’s character through some regulatory commercial scenes that could have been done away with. The title song also comes here and is decent, with PK’s swag taking over. The movie then resumes its slow simmer strategy and builds the events again, going through the motions and making sure that everything is established in a steady manner. The pre-interval and interval sequences here turn the blade for the movie and elevate the first half to another level with some hair raising action sequences and a in-form Thaman. With Pawan Kalyan’s character firmly established, seeing another shade of the leading man in vintage elements is goose-bump inducing and sets up for a very potent second half.

The second half continues this same stream of entertainment and pulsating action sequences, with Trivikram’s changes taking full effect here with a well-set out flashback and a very gratifying ending that is padded with some amazing scenes. As the second half dives into the main conflict and tries to establish itself in the beginning, Trivikram also begins to flesh out the characters around the main two leads well without taking away from the core story too much. The movie builds on each of the scenes well and keeps itself focused on the main ego clash between the two leads before eventually escalating the tone of the movie greatly with the much trending lodge fight, which has got to be one of the best-picturized fights in recent times. With Pawan Kalyan’s ferocity and a scintillating Thaman, the movie hits a peak here back to back with not only the lodge fight but also the flashback, which doesn’t deviate from the story much as it has been alluded to throughout the movie in bits and pieces as an explanation to Bheemla Nayak’s characterization. The flashback sequences, aided by Ravi K Chandran’s cinematography this time, keep the movie on a high and full in form. The editing here is a bit rough with some random cuts, but the movie continues going on before leading to the climax portions which are fantastic for not only the very well pictured village fight, but also for the very good emotional angle which ties up the story well and rounds off the elements Trivikram adds in. Eventually, the movie ends on a funny note with some very good BGM. Overall, Bheemla Nayak is a feast for fans and movie lovers alike, with a very solid direction and writing department bringing forward a good commercial output.

Technicalities:

SS Thaman, how many times will you be The Man with the Plan? He has done it again!! With his songs hitting the right notes and enhancing the movie experience, especially La La Bheemla, his BGM is out of this world and elevates every scene to the next level. At this pace, he’s ready to become the go to man all across India. Ravi K Chandran’s beautiful cinematography usurps the audience into the rustic feel of the movie, with his shots of the forest and villages helping drive home the rural mass. Dialogues are quite good; despite not having Trivikram rhyming, they suit the tone. Editing is slightly rough, in the second half especially, and the production values are top notch.

Final Verdict:

Pawan Kalyan has finally cracked the remake strategy, making progress with Vakeel Saab and eventually hitting it out of the park with Bheemla Nayak. Positives are PK and Rana, second half, well-developed and character-centric writing, crisp and emotionally strong screenplay, changes from the original, music and BGM, cinematography, dialogues, and focused direction. On the flip-side, over-commercialization of the subject, some lag in the first half, and some editing in the second half mildly hinder the movie. Trivikram redeems himself after Agnyaathavasi with a fine commercial movie that will set the box office in a POWER storm!