Finally, the day that Pawan Kalyan fans have been eagerly waiting for has arrived. The most anticipated Telugu film of 2018, Agnyaathavaasi, hits the screens today. After 2 unsuccessful flicks, Pawan Kalyan has teamed up with his close friend Trivikram Srinivas for yet another stylish commercial entertainer.
Pawan Kalyan as Abhijith Bhargav is a rich businessman. He impersonates as a staff in his very own company to save it from falling into the wrong hands. This is all Agnyaathavaasi is about. Though the story is not so great, following a similar template as Attarintiki Daredi, Trivikram’s treatment, and screenplay keep the audience engaged throughout. So you don’t get bored even though the script hardly has anything fresh to offer.
One thing that goes against the film is the predictability factor. It is fairly simple to connect the dots and predict what is going to happen next. Of course, there are a few twists in the tale as it plays along. The second half drags quite a bit as the core plot gets diluted. A few comedy scenes seem unnecessary and not in sync with the intensity of the script. You will also have to forgo the logical loopholes and they are in abundance throughout.
It is a total Pawan Kalyan show. He dazzles in every department - action, comedy, dance and emotion. Overall, Pawan has given a performance that will satisfy all his fans.
There is a huge contingent of supporting cast in the form of Kushboo, Boman Irani, Rao Ramesh, Vennela Kishore, Tanikella Bharani and Ajay who play their roles with the expected sincerity.
You would find a momentarily mass scene whenever you feel the screenplay is tilting towards the slower side. One of the high points of the film would be the pre-interval fight scene. In fact, there are quite a few fight scenes, and all of them are choreographed crisply.
Aadhi as a smart and menacing villain shines with his mannerisms, style and dialogue delivery. His skills in the film are largely limited to planning, but the plans don’t get into action. Keerthy Suresh and Anu Emmanuel look graceful and get a few key scenes and songs. In the overall picture, however, they do not get enough screen time.
Anirudh is more or less like the second hero. Both the songs and re-recording are standout elements of Agnyaathavaasi. One cannot think of a better debut in Tollywood than this for the rockstar. The good thing is, a couple of songs aren't just song sequences but are integrated with interesting scenes. Cinematographer V Manikandan has given a glossy outlook and has enhanced the mass scenes.
On the whole, Agnyaathavaasi has the expected Pawan Kalyan’s charismatic screen presence and some crowd-pleasing mass moments treated in a slightly different way.