Gaddalakonda Ganesh (Valmiki) Movie Review & Rating {3/5}

Mega Hero Varun Tej whose previous outing 'F2: Fun and Frustration' turned out to be a blockbuster at the box office joined hands with director Harish Shankar and is all set to come up with a gangster comedy drama titled as 'Valmiki'. The movie is the Telugu remake of Tamil super hit film, 'Jigarthanda'. Atharvaa Murali is playing a crucial role in the film whereas Pooja Hegde and Mrinalini Ravi are the leading ladies. After increasing the expectations on the film with the promotional material, the makers have finally released the film today on September 20th, 2019. Let's see how far the movie succeeded in impressing the audience...

Story:

Abhi (Atharvaa Murali) is an aspiring filmmaker who wants to become a big director. One day, a producer accepts to do a movie with him and on this note, Abhi wants to take inspiration from a real life gangster Gaddalakonda Ganesh (Varun Tej) to research on thugs. Ganesh is a ruthless gangster in that area. Can Abhi be able to write a story on Gaddalakonda Ganesh? Who helped Abhi to convince Ganesh? What happens in the end? forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

Varun Tej is truly an asset for this film. The actor has delivered his career best performance in the film as Gaddalakonda Ganesh in the movie. Be it his rugged look, dialogue delivery, intense performance and different body language, Varun Tej has made us believe that no one can never pull off the role with such ease and elegance. Atharvaa Murali delivered an honest performance. Though he is the lead actor of the film, we can say that Varun Tej dominated him in terms of performance. Pooja Hegde looked stunningly beautiful in the film. Apart from her regular commercial and glamorous roles, Pooja did a different role and has delivered her best. Mrinalini Ravi is too good for her role. The way she has a essayed the character will leave an impact on the audience. Brahmaji and Prabhas Seenu will evoke good laughs in the theatres. The rest of the actors also made their presence felt.

Technical Aspects:

Director Harish Shankar has made some minor changes to the plot line and made the movie even more interesting. He has succeeded in narrating the story in an interesting way and will make the audience stick to their chairs from the start to the end. His pace of narration is also really impressive. Production values by 14 Reels Plus Banner are luxurious. It is evident that the producers have invested the decent amounts without compromising in terms of quality. Music by Mickey J Meyer is truly an asset for this film. Not only his songs, but also the background score given by Mickey J Meyer helped the movie a lot. Cinematography by Ayananka Bose is really beautiful. He has produced some captivating visuals for the film. Editing by Chota K Prasad is clean and neat.

Verdict:

Though this is a remake film, the director has succeeded in making the necessary changes and made the film really interesting. The movie starts off on an interesting note and the entire first half is filled with the some action sequences and the story of the the gangster. The first half is really crisp and the way the director has established the characters is strong and will make an impact on the audience. However, the second half will become a bit slow when compared to the first half. However, the pace of narration increases during the pre climax and the emotional scenes are also handled really well. Despite having a gangster backdrop, comedy can be considered as the major driving factors behind this movie. Over all, 'Valmiki' is definitely a worth watching film.