In our youth, it’s useless being slow like you, one has to have speed like me,’ Bellamkonda Sreenivas tells Rao Ramesh at the start of Bhimaneni Srinivas Rao’s latest masala entertainer Speedunnodu. The opening sequence pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the film and just as you expect, the next two-and-a-half hours bring you unabashed youthfulness, multiple fight sequences and songs at regular intervals – much like every other commercial Tollywood flick. Speedunnodu tells the story of friendship, lies, deceit, betrayal and justice – set in the factionist Rayalaseema region. Unfortunately, despite a few bright moments, the film lacks inspiration and is awfully predictable.
The son of a wealthy, yet respected man (Prakash Raj) in Rayalaseema, Shobhan (Bellamkonda Srinivas) is a typical rebellious youngster who spends most of his time with his friends – drinking alcohol, sipping tea and flirting with girls. Only a single bus connects two villages in the Rayalaseema region and the bus becomes a hot spot for young love. In a town where faction is prominent, the villagers kill anybody who falls in love with their daughters. Shobhan decides to help out his close friend Giri, who had fallen in love with Vasanthi (Sonarika Bhadoria), only to realise that she was the same girl he had fallen for, years ago. Needless to say, Shobhan’s larger-than-life, heroic behaviour impresses Vasanthi, who falls in love with him. How the two of them convince Vasanthi’s family to accept them and battle against every other obstacle that comes in the way of their love (read: dozen fight sequences), makes for the rest of the story.
Right from the start, the film tries to strike a chord with the youth, to be in sync with the digital generation. The credits roll out as a friend list on Facebook, and the narration begins with a reference to Twitter and Facebook. There is also a ‘selfie fight sequence’, where Srinivas bashes up a few random goons and takes a selfie with them while they’re in the air. Despite the new-age references, Speedunnodu is just a re-hashed, cliched commercial potboiler with five songs, plenty of fight sequences and constant references to other stars like Pawan Kalyan, Mahesh Babu and even star-director SS Rajamouli. While the first half is relatively more interesting, the film considerably slows down in the second portion and turns into a terrible bore. On the plus side, Sri Vasanth does a good job with the music and the comedy does provide a few laughs.
Considering it’s only his second film, Bellamkonda Srinivas has done a good job as the brazen youngster, who goes all out for his friends. The youngster, though, struggles during emotional sequences and will only get better with time.
Sonarika Bhadoria plays the part as his love interest, but does come across as expressionless at times. Prakash Raj and Rao Ramesh are both terrific. Tamannaah sizzles in a special song, while Prudhivraj provides some much-needed comic relief. Overall, for a film that promises to be a fast-paced entertainer, as the title Speedunnodu suggests, there are too many speed-breakers during the course of this journey. With a redundant plot and an unimaginative screenplay, Speedunnodu is a mediocre fare at best.