Cast: Nikhil Siddharth, Lavanya Tripathi, Vennela Kishore, Posani, Raja Ravindra, Tarun Arora
Director: T. Santosh
After a long delay, Tamil film director T.N. Santosh brings Arjun Suravaram, a remake of his Kanithan, to the theatres. Santosh deals with the issue of fake certificates in this film starring Nikhil Siddharth and Lavanya Tripathi in the lead roles.
Arjun Lenin Suravaram (Nikhil Siddharth) is a TV reporter specialising in sting operations. During a background check, Arjun is found to have submitted fake educational certificates and he is arrested. When he is released, he finds there is a major fake certificate racket operating in the Telugu states. He along with lawyer friend (Vennela Kishore), cameraman (Satya), police constable (Posani) and girlfriend (Lavanya Tripathi) work to bring the culprit to book. Thura Sarkar (Tarun Arora), the kingpin, joins hands with corrupt police officers and pins down Arjun.
Santosh follows the screenplay and narration of the Tamil Kanithan for the Telugu film, making only minor changes. The film starts with the introduction of the protagonist and his investigative journalism but things pick up pace when Arjun is arrested. Santosh keeps up the tempo as Arjun sets about to find out the villain, but the pace eases once he is identified. The climax is made in a bit of hurry.
The director should be appreciated taking up a topical issue, that of fake certificates. He could have make a thriller of Arjun Suravaram if he had concentrated a little more on the story. Nikhil Siddharth as the investigative reporter puts in a sincere performance and he is convincing. Vennela Kishore justifies his meaty role as a lawyer. Lavanya Tripathi plays the love interest of Nikhil and she does well. Satya and Vidyu provide a few laughs. Posani as a constable, Nagineedu as Nikhil’s father and Tarun Arora as villain support the lead cast. Raja Ravindra plays a bad cop.
Cinematography by Surya is good but the background score is not effective. The action scenes are choreographed nicely.
Arjun Suravaram is a film with a contemporary subject and director T.N. Santosh has done a honest remake of his Tamil offering. Though there are some cinematic liberties and a few loopholes in the story, film is interesting as a one-time watch.
