Sarkar recycled

Ram Gopal Varma’s inspiration and fascination for ‘The Godfather’ seems to continue with ‘Rowdy’. He doesn’t seem to tire even after making ‘Sarkar’ and ‘Sarkar Raj’ in the recent past and ‘Gaayam’ two decades ago. His penchant for violence on screen still continues. Well, his latest, featuring father-son duo of Mohan Babu and Vishnu Manchu, is one can say a mish-mash of all this against the backdrop of Rayalaseema which is known for its factionism and violence. ‘Rowdy’ is shot in RGV’s style within a month and is fairly well crafted, though for all those who have seen ‘Godfather’ and ‘Sarkar’ it may seem déjà vu or to a large extent.

Anna (Mohan Babu) is a big faction leader, but is a good soul even revered by many. Of course he doesn’t think twice if he has to beat someone’s legs (art director Rajiv Nair in a cameo) with an axe to remind him of being good to his wife. He keeps using the word ‘respect’ far too many times much to the chagrin of the viewers. Anna has a loving wife played by Jayasudha who calls the shots at home. While his elder son Bhushan is married and falls prey to vices, the younger one Krishna (Vishnu Manchu), a student, falls in love with Sirisha (Shanvi). Anna opposes a Nandavaram project in the interest of villagers but a group comprising a businessman KR, Tanikella Bharani and Jeeva are all out to oppose it and they plot to wipe out Anna.

The story is pretty ‘Sarkar’ like. RGV just changes the backdrop and has enough violence and gore to show on screen. He brings in Jayasudha as a balancing factor in Anna’s life and she was equal to the task. There are certain characters with weird habits like Tanikella Bharani showing off his teeth and rattling his Vedam and another who is constantly eating cake which is quite irksome. An artiste like Bharani surely is a far better actor than what he was portrayed in. The cinematography is decent. The background score moves between high and low with some chanting of verses and could have been balanced better. A love song seemed rather out of place in the film though. If Amitabh and Abhishek shone in ‘Sarkar’, Mohan Babu and Vishnu stand out in ‘Rowdy’.

Mohan Babu delivers the goods with ease, dignity and restraint. Vishnu Manchu hides his mannerisms and perfectly fits the bill of Krishna. Kishore performs the wastrel’s role effectively. Shanvi is okay. Ram Gopal Varma has not attempted anything out of ordinary in ‘Rowdy’. He is surely capable of better stuff as evident in his earlier films if he comes out of his ‘’Godfather’’ fixation and the mould he has got stuck in.