JAI SIMHA MOVIE REVIEW CLICK TO RATE THE MOVIE

After a spate of movies in which he played the stylish, sophisticated hero, Balakrishna plays the typically brave rugged son of the soil in Jai Simha, directed by commercially proven experienced filmmaker KS Ravikumar.

Director KS Ravikumar has ensured that the movie is not just a showcase of Balayya’s action and heroism, but also a good cocktail of mindless comedy and sentiment in good measure. Though the intent looks good, the execution, however, leaves much to be desired.

Balakrishna (Narasimha) along with his new-born son leave for Kumbakonam a la nomads. He finds a driver job and behaves like an innocent carefree guy. But by now, you obviously know that he has a heroic past and had to sacrifice his livelihood for a reason.

Narasimha gets into a tussle with a police officer who turns out to be the husband of his ex-girlfriend. And there goes your interval block. Why does he have to make a sacrifice? What happened between Narasimha and his girlfriend and what was he in the past, make up for the second half.

There is a small twist before the intermission, which might take you by surprise, but apart from that, Jai Simha travels on a familiar terrain. It is so predictable and hardly excites you at any point of time. The lengthy running time only turns out to be a penalty to an already lacklustre affair.

There is hardly a scene that stands out. A couple of comedies here and there and the pre-interval fight scene are probably the saving grace, but still there isn’t any special scene that will stay in mind.

There are two distinct looks for Balakrishna and the bearded look, in particular, suits him very well for his age. Apart from his heroic gait and flourish, he also impresses in the scenes where he tries to be a loving father. Apart from his free-flowing, effortless dialogue delivery and his fearless attitude, Balakrishna lightens the occasion with some fun dance moves.

Nayanthara looks ravishing in the second half and the song sequences. Other heroines hardly have any scope in the movie. Murali Mohan eases through his role while the villains are the loud ones that we are used to.

Among Chirantan Bhatt’s songs, the Anaganaga track has been used well while the two duet songs seem unwarranted. The re-recording gives the required mush to the heroic flamboyant, over the top action scenes.

On the whole Jai Simha is a tried and tested commercial entertainer, which banks on Balayya’s screen presence but doesn’t entertain you as intended.