‘Bimbisara’ review: Intriguing Kalyan Ram’s film that needed a tighter treatment

Bimbisara isn’t an atypical duration film. It turns out as though debutant director Mallidi Vassishta constructed a theme park duration narrative round an concept that is instantly out of his youth fable. What turns out like a duration time-travel film that places at the guise of a masala hero-vehicle, acquires heft with Nandamuri Kalyan Ram’s presence.

The film starts within the yr 500 B.C when Bimbisara (Kalyan Ram) is the emperor of the Trigartala empire. A vile egomaniac, his violent antics don’t have any restrict. However, his ego travel ends when his banished dual brother Devadatta ambushes him and teleports him — thru a magical replicate — to the present-day global. Bimbisara’s arrival favours Subramanya Sastri (Vivan Bhatena) and godman Kethu (Ayyappa P Sharma), who’ve their eyes set on an Ayurveda e-book titled Dhanwanthari which is safely locked in Bimbisara’s treasure vault, which simplest he can open.

The film doesn’t shy clear of coping with magic and isn’t brimming with realism and good judgment. Unfortunately, the putting in place of this global is uninspiring. Scene after scene helps to keep reestablishing Bimbisara’s would possibly and viciousness, to the purpose that you start to fear if the film will have fun this anti-hero. The cheesy set designs and visible results additionally don’t assist. To upload to the distress, we get an merchandise quantity that includes Warina Hussain that as soon as once more sings the reward of Bimbisara’s would possibly. In retrospect, those sequences in fact do no justice to what just right is to observe.

Things do take a flip for the nice as soon as Bimbisara reveals himself within the present-day global. So we’ve got a misplaced medieval king strutting down a busy Hyderabad freeway —harking back to previous Telugu motion pictures that includes Lord Yama on earth — making for a laugh scenarios and eliciting chuckles.

The subtext in those scenes really stands aside. Given how most well liked cinema loves to financial institution at the morbid nature of the truth we are living in, Bimbisara makes a case for all of the just right in our occasions. It places a ruthless, barbaric king in our global and makes him witness this goodness. With Bimbisara, we too remind ourselves of the way a long way the civilised society has moved ahead.

The writing of Bimbisara’s persona is interesting as neatly. It is not any imply feat to make the audiences purchase the redemption of anyone as vile as this persona. He doesn’t even cringe sooner than killing a kid! Yet, Mallidi Vassishta manages to construct the nature development regularly and convincingly. If no longer for a performer like Kalyan Ram, there’s a prime likelihood that a persona with such an arc would have fallen flat, and with it, the film. Kalyan makes use of the massive display to its complete possible and owns all of it. He additionally attracts a delicate difference between Bimbisara and Devadutta in scenes that includes the siblings.

On the turn facet, with the titular persona eating such a lot house, little is left for the feminine leads. Catherine Tresa, who performs a princess held captive via Bimbisara, vanishes for many portions of the film. Samyuktha Menon’s SI Vyjayanthi additionally suffers the similar destiny. With no forewarning, the latter falls in love with Bimbisara however the romantic monitor is going nowhere. Srinivas Reddy as Bimbisara’s lackey Zubeda, Vennela Kishore as constable Prasadam, and Brahmaji as non-public detective Brahmalokam upload the much-needed levity.

Bimbisara is full of intriguing concepts that will have made for a fascinating watch. It’s unquestionably a refreshing tackle an age-old formulation. However, the screenplay struggles to get to its issues all through the film. Even once we see the place an concept is main, we’re requested to look forward to it till the drama finishes unfolding. Add the pointless melodrama and the plotholes that the film does not cope with, it turns into a relatively tedious watch. A tighter narrative would have labored wonders.