Review : Masala – Doesn’t have the right flavour

Release date : 14 November 2013 

Rating : 2.75/5

Director : K. Vijaya Bhaskar

Producer : Daggubati Suresh Babu

Music Director : S. Thaman

Starring : Venkatesh, Ram, Anjali, Shazahn Padamsee

Victory Venkatesh and Ram have teamed up for the ‘Bol Bachchan’ remake, titled ‘Masala’. The film has released today across the world. Vijay Bhaskar has directed this movie and Thaman has composed the music. Suresh Babu and Sravanthi Ravi Kishore have produced this mass entertainer. Let us check out the film now.

Story :

Balaram (Venkatesh) is a good hearted strongman of the village of Bheemarajapuram. He treats everyone with fairness and takes care of their needs. But there is one thing that Balaram cannot tolerate and that is lying. If he catches someone lying, Balaram metes out a severe punishment to the offender.

Into this scenario comes in Rahman (Ram). Along with his sister Sania (Anjali), Rahman comes to the village in search of a job. With a brave deed, he falls into the good books of Balaram but circumstances force him to change his name to Ram. He soon becomes a trusted aide of Balaram and all is well for a while.

However, Balaram catches Rahman while he is offering Namaz and asks him for an explanation. Out of desperation, Rahman reveals that he has a younger brother named Rahman. (He says the brother’s name is Rahman, since Balaram knows the original guy as Ram). This Rahman character is portrayed as a gay and Balaram tasks him with teaching his sister (Shazahn Padamsee) the art of dance.

Rahman struggles to manage the roles of Ram and Rahman and a confusion drama ensues. As can be expected, the truth comes out in the end and Balaram is outraged. Will he forgive Rahman? That forms the story of ‘Masala’

Plus Points :

Venkatesh is quite entertaining as Balaram. Some of his butler english dialogues manage to evoke a strong response from the viewers. Ram looks good and he has managed to portray both the characters of Ram and Rahman quite effortlessly. He manages to make people laugh with his gay comedy.

The movie has some entertaining moments in the first half. A few comedy scenes between Venkatesh and Jayaprakash Reddy have come out well. In the second half, Ram’s gay comedy sequences have come out well.

Minus Points :

Rohit Shetty liberally borrows ideas from Telugu films and ‘Bol Bachchan’ is no exception. To ‘remake’ a film like that in Telugu is a strange idea. Rohit Shetty’s films work due to the good entertainment quotient but they usually do not have strong story lines. ‘Masala’ too suffers from this issue.

The plot is quite stale and outdated. Kovai Sarala’s recording dance scenes look garish. The twists and jokes are quite predictable.

Another big issue is the placement of songs in the film. The songs are quite mediocre and they do not help the film in any way. Shazahn Padamsee needs to brush up her acting skills as she has one single expression for all emotions. Anjali has been wasted in an insignificant role.

The climax block is terrible, with poor graphics and unnecessary hungama.

Technical Aspects :

Cinematography is quite average. Editing is not smooth as there are a number of jump cuts in the film. Thaman’s background score is ok but the songs do not have his trademark energy levels. Anil Ravipudi’s dialogues are good in places.

Vijay Bhaskar’s direction is not very impressive. Entertainment quotient and pace keep dipping at a number of places.

Verdict :

‘Masala’ has a few good moments. Venkatesh and Ram have tried their best to carry the film with their comedy timing. But a stale plot and outdated screenplay hamper their efforts. Any Masala gets a perfect flavour and taste only when the ingredients are blended in the right proportions. Sadly, that is not the case with this ‘Masala’.