Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha (2016)

For any film, script is very important. A good scripting can make an ordinary story receive applause from audiences. “Hanu Raghavapudi” who made an ordinary story “Andala Rakshasi” receive an applause from huge number of audiences, narrated “Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha” which starred Nani and Mehreen in the lead roles. “14 Reels Entertainment” owned by Anil Sunkara, Ram Achanta and Gopinath produced this film.

Plot :

There lies a secret pair Krishna (Nani) and Mahalaxmi (Mehreen) in the town of Hindupur. The factionism of Hindupur region becomes a hurdle for timid Krishna’s love story. The rest story is all about he crossed those hurdles and won his love.

Narration :

This is not a new plot. Internally, it has a resemblance with “Preminchukundam Ra!”. The narration also runs at a slower pace. Yet Hanu’s scrip work of narrating this kind of story with a poetic screenplay like how he did for his “Andala Rakshasi” made all the difference. It can also be said that, this film depends on scripting rather than directing. So, let’s talk about the narration in Syd Field’s “Act” theory.

Act 1 – Set-up :

Though the lead characters Krishna and Mahalaxmi got introduced in a normal way, the scenes among them were very poetic as well as natural. There are some examples like, lead pair meeting in the outskirts of the town, pretending themselves as they hate each other besides loving very deeply. Nani’s performance assisted these things in making the narration funny at places. The song “Nuvvante Naa Nuvvu” wasn’t too good to listen but the director’s presentation on the screen made the difference. I liked the way he projected the Krishna and Mahalaxmi ruminate their childhood memories in this song. Yuvaraj’s camera work elevated director’s thoughts and made the song reach the audience’s hearts.

Though Hanu opted the faction backdrop of Hindupur, he didn’t come out of his poetic narration in narrating about the faction riots. The scene where Mahalaxmi’s brother Rama Raju (Shatru) takes Krishna to the outskirts has a lot of philosophy in it. It says if ignorance rules humans’ mind then even a small bird cannot lead its life peacefully amidst those humans. It was well supported by the background song which says fear lets you live rather than bravery at some places.

Hanu also introduced all the characters he needs for this film in the first Act itself.

Act 2 – Confrontation :

Director Hanu succeeded in linking up all the confused characters to the plot’s confrontation by the intermission time. He concentrated on the second Act for most of the time in the second half. That is where this film turned out to be an ordinary one and Hanu lost his style. The confusion sequences in the marriage venue reminded of Srinu Vaitla’s narration. Besides this Jamadagni (Prithvi Raj), David Ibrahim (Murali Sharma) did their part well in entertaining the audience. It felt new watching Prithvi in a casual entertaining role rather than in monotonous spoofs.

It felt Hanu wasted time without entering the third Act, by shooting the songs like “Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha” and “Ulikipadaku”. It also increased the film’s runtime.

Act 3 – Resolution :

Hanu resolved the plot’s conflict in a predictable way including the additional twists and emotions in the pre-climax yet he made justice to the film’s title.

So, that’s how Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha transformed into a regular film from a good poem. But the film didn’t appear boring most of the time hence it can be watched once without any hesitation.

Performances :

Nani’s performance as Krishna was natural as usual. Mehreen got a natural role in her debut film and she did justice to it with the looks of a girl next door. Shatru and Sampath got serious roles and they justified them. Senior actress Annapurna got a natural role as a village grandmother. Though Brahmaji got his usual role, he acted well as usual. His entertained very much in the pre-intermission scene. Prithvi Raj, Prabhas Srinu and Murali Sharma provided ample entertainment in the second half. ‘Satyam’ Rajesh was good while Harish Uthaman, Fish Venkat and Ravi Kale were not recognizable. Child artists Nayana, Sree Pratham and Moksha performed well.

More Eminences :

1. Yuvaraj’s Cinematography. If Hanu came up with a poetic script, Yuvaraj painted it on the screen. All the visuals are rich. I liked the lighting he employed in the song “Nuvvante Naa Nuvvu”.
2. Vishal Chandrasekhar’s Music. Though songs were average, Vishal’s background score was apt for the plot the places where narration happens.
3. Production Values. 14 Reels Entertainment didn’t compromise in making the film appear rich with their production values.

Lowlands :

1. Slow Narration. Some unnecessary songs and scenes extended this film to a runtime of 148 minutes. This was the eminent lowland I found in this film.

– Yashwanth Aluru

Click here for Telugu version of this Review…