Naa Peru Surya Naa Illu India movie review: Allu Arjun at his best in this weak plot!
Cast: Allu Arjun, Anu Emanuel, Arjun, Sarath Kumar, Bomman Irani, Rao Ramesh, Vikram and others
Director: Vakkantham Vamsi
Allu Arjun, one of the most-sought-after actors in South India, has joined hands with debutant director and veteran writer Vakkantham Vamsi for Naa Peru Surya Naa Illu India. Since the actor delivers hit films constantly, this one is set to become a big craze. Anu Emanuel is the female lead. Surya (Allu Arjun) is a soldier in the Indian Army, but his angry temperament lands him in trouble frequently. He beats up a minister’s son at a pub, and shoots a terrorist in a jail cell because he feels feeding and keeping him was a waste of money! His Colonel (Bomman Irani) suspends him from the Army and Surya’s dream of fighting against the enemies at the Indian border goes down the spout.
He has a godfather (Rao Ramesh), an ex-army officer, who persuades the Colonel to take him back. This is done on one condition: a top psychology professor, Rama Krishna Raju (Arjun Sarja), who lives in Vizag must certify that Surya’s temper is under control. Rama Krishna turns out to be none other than Surya’s father! Moreover, it turns out that Surya left home at the age of ten because of the same problem. Now, the anger management sessions start with the father putting a 21-day deadline. In the meantime, a local goon Challa (Sarath Kumar) wants to grab land from an ex-serviceman Mustafa (Sai Kumar).
Surya dealings with the don form the crux of the story. Vakkantham Vamsi is a successful screenwriter — Kick, Yevadu, Race Gurram, Temper are among his oeuvre — and now he has turned to directing. The point that due to some corrupt people, some Indian youth are attracted to terrorism, and the Indian Army is fighting with the same young people is valid, but Vakkantham’s lack of experience shows in the narration of the film. The second half of the film is slow paced and sometimes tests your patience. The climax is very interesting and emotional with a good patriotic message.
For Vakkantham Vamsi, as a debutant director, this is a very big film to handle, and his inexperience shows. The emotional connect is missing and also the romantic thread is a bit boring. When it comes to performance, it is Allu Arjun all the way. Definitely this film is his best performance and he perfectly fits into the role. Also, the hard work and his sincere efforts are visible on the screen. He is excellent especially in the military scenes in the beginning of the story. There are many good supporting actors like Sai Kumar, Sarath Kumar, Arjun Sarja and Charu Haasan, but there is no intensity in their characters. Anu Emanuel looks beautiful and glamorous, but her role is reduced to songs and a couple of scenes.
Lagadapati Vikram, son of producer Sridhar, has got a meaty role and he is very impressive. Bomman Irani plays a cameo as does Rao Ramesh. Vennela Kishore provides a few laughs. Nadia plays Arjun’s mother in a few scenes. Music by Vishal Shekar is average; a couple of songs are good. The cinematography is excellent, and especially the military backdrop is a visual treat. The dialogues are well-written and some of them are thoughtful too. A good subject but an inexperienced director means that some of the scenes here and there are excellent, but when you look at the overall film, it won’t appeal much.
