Reincarnation and fantasy premise has become the latest fad in Telugu movie industry ever since the mega success of Ram Charan Teja’s Maghadeera. Hoping to interest the audience with mysterious precious stones, swords, Aghoris and age-old feuds, the movie Om Shakthi has been made. The film boasts of a stellar cast and the star power of Jr. NTR, hotness quotient of Ileana and the humongous budget spent for making the film.

Mahadevarayar (Prabhu) is the central home minister and he has an important task in hand (other than the ministry duties). He is to get a sword called ‘Rudhrashoolam’ from Jackie (Jackie Shroff) in order to perform a special pooja on the day of an eclipse. He is not the only one wanting the sword, for an evil Egyptian queen Fakhtoom (Pooja Bedi) is also negotiating with Jackie for the same sword. Aishwarya (Ileana), Mahadevarayar’s daughter is the apple of his eye but she totally hates having several security personnel around her and one fine day escapes along with her friends for a holiday after taking a lot of money from the safe. She is now being followed by Fakhtoom’s men but she meets Shakthi (Jr. NTR) and he somehow ends up protecting her every time she is in danger. During all these happenings, we learn that there is also a precious diamond called ‘Jwalamukhi’ which belongs to Mahadevarayar (passed on by his ancestors) and that it is the protector of all the Shakthi Peedams around the world. Shakthi also connects to this precious diamond and the sword. Rest of the movie is about what Shakthi has to do with this and how the good triumphs over the evil.

Om Shakthi, like every other film in this genre, has a major plus point in its visual grandeur. The big houses, outdoor locales and everything is made to look good. The art direction warrants special mention for creating the grand sets that are pleasing to the eyes. In the performance side, Jr. NTR does the needful but he seems to lack the usual energy and powerful dialogue delivery. Ileana has nothing much to do but provides glamour quotient to the movie. Mukthar played by Sonu Sood, despite having a small role has managed to make his presence felt. Pooja Bedi is extremely artificial and Jackie Shroff ends up looking like a joker due to weak characterization. Prabhu, SP Balasubramanian, Ali, Manjari were all up to the mark but their potential has not been used fully. No Telugu movie is complete without Brahmanandam and he is here again in a character called Altaf protecting the Rudhrashoolam, tickles our funny bones to some extent.

But sadly, the film just turns out to be a complicated web of plots, flashbacks, songs and stunts strung together. It is let down by weak script and an even weaker screenplay. Logic goes for a complete toss and it is hard to understand how it can be overlooked. For example the flashback is said to have happened 27 years ago at a time when technological inventions have already started making their way and so it is peculiar to see Egyptians riding the horse all the way to India and fighting with swords. Apart from this the director never manages to bring conviction to the plot and connect the audience to the story. The movie is stale and emotionless from the word go and that results in pulling down the quality of the movie further.

All doesn’t look rosy in the technical department too. It was bad idea to use library shots for showing the ‘Shakthi Peedams’. Was it done to create authenticity? It looked out of place and cheap in a movie that boasts of grandeur. The producer having spent so much money should not have overlooked this. The picturization of songs could have been better as none appeal to the eyes. Editor should have taken extra care as some scenes seem to jump.

The film has some redeeming factors in the form of songs, BGM and Ileana. She is an absolute eye candy and might be the sole crowd puller. Despite all this the film as a whole, turns out to be mildly engaging. It might appeal only to the patient audience who are willing to suspend their disbelief to a large extent.

Verdict: Half-baked pie