NARAPPA MOVIE REVIEW CLICK TO RATE THE MOVIE

Narappa is the official Telugu remake of Vetri Maaran's Asuran, directed by Srikanth Addala. The film has Daggubati Venkatesh and Priyamani in the lead roles while Karthik Rathnam, Rao Ramesh, Nasser, Rakhi and others play crucial supporting roles. It is produced by Suresh Babu and Kalaipuli S Thanu under the banners Suresh Productions and V Creations respectively.

For the ones who haven't seen Asuran, the film follows the life of Narappa (played by a fantastic Venkatesh), who is an alcoholic farmer. He and his family face a lot of issues, but Narappa chooses to surrender meekly every time, much to the disappointment of his family members, who expect him to fight back. One of his sons takes the violent route which sets off a series of problems for the whole family. How Narappa manages to protect his family forms the rest of the plot.

Since Asuran was an acclaimed film, both critically and financially, the comparison between both films are inevitable. While Narappa is a frame by frame remake, the basic difference lies in the way the issue is addressed. Asuran spoke about and criticised the caste system in a nuanced way, Narappa shies away from even using the word 'caste'. In most places, it reduces the caste issues into a rich vs poor issue, which in turn reduces the effect the film has on the viewer.

Daggubati Venkatesh shoulders the film throughout and this is one of his career best performances. While a lot of eyebrows were raised when Venkatesh was cast for the role, he has laid all those doubts to rest, proving his mettle. Even supporting actors like Ammu Abhirami and Rao Ramesh deliver solid performances. Priyamani looks good in the emotional portions.

The production design adds a lot of beauty to the screen, and the timelines are established with utmost care. In most places, you don't need a text on the screen to tell you which year it is. The posters on walls, or the dressing sense of the characters narrate stories on their own. On the other hand, not much importance has been given to costumes, which is a replica of Asuran. The stunt sequences by Peter Hein have heavy inspiration from Asuran again, but at a few places they look rushed and stylish, which robs the stunts off it's rootedness.

For a first time viewer, chances are high that the cinematography and music would excite you at various places. GV Prakash's Blood Bath theme for Asuran has been retained here, which actually ends up as a plus for Narappa. The tune of Ellu Vaya Pookalaye has also been used at an important juncture, which makes us sympathise and feel the pain of Narappa and his family. In other places, Mani Sharma's music complements the script well, and there's not much to complain about.

Overall, the film could have been a lot better if the director had added new elements to cater to the Telugu audiences.The dialogues, shots, costumes, locations and stunts could have been modified in order to engage the ones who have seen Asuran before. A more powerful message would have made the film work better for first timers, but nevertheless, the film does justice to the original in some way or the other.