Long long ago, when NTR and ANR enacted in multi starrers it was a feast for the eyes. When that trend bogged down, it was Srikanth Addala who revamped with his cult classic SVSC. Addala's journey so far has been a memorable one in the world of telugu cinema. The subjects he chose; the way he had woven story lines intertwined with emotions was gaily applauded. MB got the much needed kick from his last enterprise Srimanthudu. He wanted more, like the cola ad, so chose Brahmotsavam to woo the family audience again.
MB is prince charming, looks stunning and as usual gives sleepless nights to his female patrons. The concept of Brahmotsavam which springs to birth in the later half of the movie is fresh and appreciative. But the biggest disappointment was Addala's lackluster screenplay and narration. The first 45 min of the movie reminds you of Chitrahaar on Doordarshan. The family saga episodes frustrate and irritate you and it feels like you are watching a never ending telugu soap on a 70mm screen. As I was writing this review, I somehow recollected Sunil's dialogue from Khaleja - "Anni bad le kaadu good lu kuda untayi". So the "good"s - The interval bang is one of the best episodes and MB excels, delivers a stunning performance - What the audience had been craving for till then. Post interval Samantha pumps the energy level. It's like drinking Glucon-D. But the energy lasts only for few moments and onscreen tiredness seeps in. The travel episodes and the urge to find your roots, your seven generations is shown in a novel but a tedious way.
The movie snail paces towards the climax. Did the end credits roll? No wait a min, the climax is still going on, the family's getting united, Rao Ramesh is still confessing, Ppl around him are praising Mahesh, the aunts are still crying, there's already a pool of tears on the floor etc etc. Admist all this hungama, MB's act stands out. If not for him, PVP wouldn't even have recovered 10% of his total expenditure. Dialogues take a little time to understand. You need to be attentive. The screenplay bores you, but the dialogues seek your attention. That's like revenge on the audience.
Coming to the artistes, (yeah there were scores of them), Rao Ramesh bagged yet another classy role. He's filling in his dad's shoes very well. Addala always has a special role for him in his heart and in his movies. Revathi, Jayasudha and Satya raj put in a decent act. The others are just wasted. Naresh, Siyaji Shinde, Tulasi etc hardly have couple of dialogues to mouth. Vennela Kishore manages to evoke few laughs, he is shown to be in total sync with the current audience mindset. All the 3 damsels were cute.Romance between Kajal and MB got monotonous after few episodes. Chemistry between Sam and MB was more bewitching. Pranitha - oh yeah, she was there too, just there. Mickey's music was ok but BGM was much better. Too many songs spoiled the movie's broth
Mukunda, SVSC, Kotta Bangaru Lokam were a true testament of Addala's potential. He had the niche for portraying human emotions beautifully on the silver screen. Even though Mukunda bombed it was a decent watch. But Brahmotsavam ends up as a total bummer. Addala couldn't weave his band and re-create his magic, MB couldn't save the movie from sinking deep into the flop bed of telugu cinema and Audience couldn't help zandu-balming themselves.
If Aagadu was an evil twin brother of Dookudu, Brahmotsavam's an evil twin sister of SVSC !!! So chudanivallu pandaga chesukondi...Do grand festival !!!
