Gautamiputra Satakarni

Do not miss this movie, it is a great experience indeed.I went with pretty low expectations, but to my amazement the movie is nothing like the regular balayya movies. In fact it is much better than Bahubali. The visuals were amazing and the story just breezes through. There was not a single moment of boredom. For a change the critics are right about this one. The war scenes were breath taking. They reminded me of many recent Hollywood movies.I am still surprised how the directory was able to pull this through in such a short time span. One would expect poor VFX etc. But man this was just not like that. Go for it without any hesitations.

The story of the film is based on Gautamiputra Satakarni(Balakrishna), one of the most powerful kings who belonged to the Satavahana dynasty in India. Even though there are many stories about how he ruled India, Krish showcases how he went on to win two crucial kingdoms ruled by Indian kings and also defeated the mighty Greeks who invaded India during the good old ancient days.

There is no doubt in saying that no one other than Nandamuri Balakrishna would have suited Satakarni's role as the star hero did. Right from Balayya's screen presence to his poise as the striking emperor, everything looks top notch. He looks regal as Satakarni and works extremely hard in all the war scenes. Balayya's dialogue delivery is in top form during war scenes and will surely bring goosebumps to fans all over. Shreya is the surprise package of the film as she gives her career best performance as Vasistha Devi. Shreya looks gorgeous as the princess and emotes supremely well throughout the film. The interval bang and the war scenes that come during the last part of the first half are very good. Hema Malini plays her supporting role to the T and brings a dignity to the film.

Credit should go to Krish for bringing life into the story of an unsung king and narrating it in a hard hitting way. Production values are top notch as Krish amazes everyone by opting for less CG and keeping things real. His story is very powerful and he as a director does not vary much in his narration.

I genuinely enjoyed every scene of this wonderful film

This film riding high on the "Telugu self respect" wave has hardly anything about the Telugu culture. Supposedly a magnum opus by Krish, known for his hard hitting films, this film wanes when it comes to the trademark of Krish. I was totally disappointed when stellar actors like 'Subhalekha' Sudhakar and Tanikella Bharani reduced to seconds and minutes respectively. Actresses Shriya and Hema Malini too don't have much scope to display their acting prowess. But the biggest positive is how well Balayya acts departing from his much stereotyped roles. He delivers the well written dialogues with elan. Balayya is the sole reason this film causes the viewer to sit. 'Sirivennela' Sitarama Sastry's lyrics are poetic and thought provoking. But Chirantan Bhatt's music is too loud and the lyrical beauty is lost in 2-3 songs. The background music is loud and unending. The fight scenes are laughably choreographed. The director included four battles resulting in shallow character sketches.

Why should you watch this film ? - Balayya's acting prowess - The beauty of Telugu which is seemingly waning in this age - This film is a breather in an industry ridden with routine themes and genres

Disappointments: - Not much of Telugu culture - Deplorable background music - Shallow character sketches - Hastily made film ending in poor graphics - Laughable stunts and fights

Verdict: One can't constrict books of history into a 2hr 30 min film. A tight schedule and budget with a story of this sort renders the product ugly. Endpoint: I spent my money on this and got its value rather than the routine and boring crap churned out day by day.

One of the great historical films ever made in Indian cinema. The story plot makes the audience complete engaged throughout the run time of the film. Performances from Balakrishna sir and Shriya mam is completely fantastic.