Actor Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Junior’s (NTR Jr) 25th film Nannaku Prematho finally hit screens on Wednesday amidst much fanfare but despite an unprecedented hype and stylish visuals, sections of the audience felt short-changed by the way it turned out. Director Sukumar has attempted a revenge drama laden with plot twists, unlike anything seen in Tollywood before. NTR too has taken a leap from the usual masala entertainers that he is famous for, and has attempted a different, emotional entertainer. However, come release day, the verdict has not gone entirely in favour of Team Nannaku Prematho as fans were disappointed with lack of entertainment and the presence of complicated theories in the movie.
“To be honest, I felt that I was watching a boring lecture on-screen. I had expected a lot from this movie but in the end, I felt that there was something missing from it,” expressed Prashanth Kolachala, a movie buff.
Being a high-profile release, Nannaku Prematho has done well at the box-office, with the film running housefull in more than 350 theatres across the sibling states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Twitter too was abuzz with praise for NTR and Sukumar for bringing a spectacle to the fore. A large part of the movie-watching audience, however, feel that it is a tremendous letdown.
“I felt that the film lacked some much-needed comic relief. It was aimed at the intellectuals and not at the masses. But even if you are an intellectual, the movie falls below expectations. There are too many loopholes and the main plot is distracted by theories of Butterfly Effect and chain reaction,” lashed out a furious Vamsi Mohan, who happens to be a Balakrishna fan.
Another criticism that Sukumar’s new flick faces, is that it doesn’t utilise its most heavily marketed element – emotion. People expecting a hard-hitting emotional entertainer were deprived of a cinematic high at the end of the movie.
“I went to the theatre expecting to watch an emotional entertainer but was instead shown mindgames, formulas and whatnot. The crux of the story – the father-son relationship – somehow gets sidelined in this film,” opined K Vasantha, a city-based homemaker. NTR loyalists, though, are celebrating their star’s new release and are breaking the Internet by showering overwhelming praise on the actor and the film.
“#Tarak, you rock! More than just action and dances, he lived the character! #NTR25 is truly special (sic),” Adler, an NTR fan, posted on Twitter. “Reaching sky high expectations is not so easy but Nannaku Prematho has done it with ease. NTR’s performance will be remembered for a long time and Sukumar’s screenplay is superb,” added Rajeev Ravi, another fan of the Young Tiger.
While the film has registered a strong opening, it remains to be seen whether it will sustain in the face of stiff competition from other big releases, given that fans have given mixed reactions. Considering several Telugu Desam Party and Balakrishna supporters are looking to boycott the film, it remains to be seen the bearing it may have on the box-office.