As soon as visuals of Allu Arjun screaming 'Mass...oora Mass' in the first teaser of Sarrainodu were released, the audience knew exactly what to expect from this movie. Since the start, Boyapati Sreenu and his crew have been projecting this film (and rightly so) as a mass masala entertainer. And true to its image, the film is packed with 'mass' elements -- a ruthless baddie, a hero who turns saviour for the oppressed, a vibrant family, a heroine in each half and six songs. While Sarrainodu is a blatantly, unabashedly mass film, in order to appeal to any section of the audience, a film needs a good story to tie it all together.
Unfortunately, Boyapati Sreenu's Sarrainodu is so awfully stale that it feels like watching long stretches of predictably one-sided fight sequences loosely tied together around an inconsequential storyline.
Vairam Dhanush (Aadhi) is a ruthless, powerful man who steals land from the villagers and destroys anybody who comes in his way. He's also the son of a chief minister which makes him practically untouchable. He aids rapists and murderers and continues to terrorise innocent people, who soon realise that there is only one man who can save them. Ghana (Allu Arjun) is a former army man who comes back home to fight against injustice. He works along with his advocate brother (Srikanth) but instead of fighting cases inside a courtroom, Ghana unleashes his bare-fisted fury on criminals and beats all goons to pulp. Ghana is sent to meet Mahalakshmi (Rakul Preet) as a prospective match for marriage but on the way, runs into local MLA Divya (Catherine Tresa) and falls in love with her. What happens when Mahalakshmi comes into his life? Who will he choose between the two, and how will he save the people from the powerful Vairam Dhanush? The answers unfold in the rest of the film.
Sarrainodu's biggest problem is its wafer-thin plot. With either a song or an extended fight sequence every 15 minutes, it seems like the attempt is more at pumping in mass elements than to produce a good story. The humour fails to make any impact at all and seasoned comedians like Brahmanandam and Pridhviraj are wasted in this film. Other attempts at humour, by women in Allu Arjun's family, fall flat.
SS Thaman's music is good in parts, while Rishi Punjabi's cinematography is decent. The editing, though, is shockingly poor and the film could easily have been chopped by about 40 minutes. In fact, when the film seems to be heading towards a predictable climax, it is needlessly stretched by an extra half-an-hour, extending the viewer's ordeal.
Allu Arjun flexes his muscles, fights like there's no tomorrow and dances the way only he can. The actor does everything he's good at but Sarrainodu does not rank among his best performances, mainly because he has limited scope to shine. Other than to beat up goons at regular intervals, there's hardly any depth to Allu Arjun's character. Catherine Tresa does a fine job as the MLA, while Rakul Preet looks good in a small role. Veteran actors Srikanth, Jayakumar, Sai Kumar and Suman -- are all first rate as usual, while Aadi is effective as the antagonist.
Overall, a non-existent storyline, stale humour and predictably long fights and songs -- makes Sarrainodu a disappointing fare. For those who enjoy mass masala films, watching this film will only make you wonder, 'Haven't we seen it all before?'.