Cast: Jr NTR, Raashi Khanna, Nivetha Thomas, Sai Kumar, Posani Krishna Murali, Brahmaji and others
Director: K.S. Ravindra (Bobby)
Rating: 3 star
After three consecutive hits, the expectations from Jr NTR’s latest film are high. Jai Lava Kusa is produced by Jr NTR’s brother Nandamuri Kalyan Ram and directed by K.S. Ravindra (Bobby).
The film tells the story of three brothers — Jai, Lava and Kusa, all of whom are portrayed by Jr NTR. The brothers participate in stage shows at Tenali to financially support their uncle (Posani). Jai, who has a stammer, feels left out when he sees his uncle preferentially favouring his brothers Lava and Kusa. On stage, Lava and Kusa enjoy the limelight while Jai gets sidelined due to his speech impairment. To solve what he considers to be a problem, he sets the set on fire while his brothers are on the stage. However, all three brothers manage to escape the fire. The incident causes them to be separated, and the three grow up in different places.
Lava grows up to be a bank manager, while Kusa turns into a thief. The oldest of the brothers, Jai, changes his name to Ravan and becomes the leader of a gang in Odisha. As adults, Kusa meets Lava by chance and helps him solve a problem that he is facing at the bank.
Meanwhile, Jai finds out that his brothers are alive. He kidnaps them and decides to use them for a mission. The role that they play in his mission, and its outcome, make up the climax of the story.
Director Ravindra has chosen an interesting story to depict. While this is not the first movie to be made about brothers who get separated in their childhood and grow up apart, this story is unlike anything you’ve seen before.
While the director has been able to portray rejection that Jai experiences during his childhood exceedingly well, he hasn’t been able to do justice to the romantic scenes between Jr NTR and Raashi Khanna.
Instead of depicting multiple stage shows, perhaps he should have focused on the inclusion of more entertaining scenes.
With regard to the performance of the actors, Jr NTR’s steals the show right through. He successfully plays three characters by bringing out different shades in their personalities. His portrayal of Jai is a standout performance. Jr NTR has proved, time and again, that he is an exceptional actor, and this film will go down in his list of best works.
He is playing three roles for the first time, and he seems to have done it with ease.
In conclusion, Jai Lava Kusa is a good film, conceptually, but the director has only been partially successful in executing his vision. Jr NTR’s powerful performances make this film worth a watch for his fans. The film could rake is good collections owing to the Dasara holidays.
