Hari Hara Veera Mallu Movie Review
Hari Hara Veera Mallu Movie Review
Telugu360 Rating: 2/5
Tollywood has been abuzz with Hari Hara Veera Mallu fever for the past few days – and rightly so. This is Pawan Kalyan’s first movie since he became Deputy CM. It’s his first straight film in years, not a remake. With its historical backdrop and Sanatana Dharma motifs incorporated into the plot, this film gained momentum despite being stuck in production for years, and despite director Krish being replaced by Jyothi Krishna. Pawan Kalyan’s unmatched craze is the motivating force. Does Veera Mallu deliver on its promise, then? What does it offer to die-hard fans and the masses? And where does it go wrong?
The era is placed in the Mughal period. Aurangzeb (played by Bobby Deol) has assumed power and is ruling with a broomstick, attempting to eliminate Hinduism and spread his own faith. He murders local leaders who oppose him ruthlessly. On the other hand, we have thief Veera Mallu (Pawan Kalyan) who is skilled at stealing precious gems. So impressed is the Golconda Nawab with his talent that he commissions him with a mission: steal back the Kohinoor gemstone from Aurangzeb. Did Veera Mallu accept the challenge? How did a thief have the audacity to challenge a great ruler like Aurangzeb? What is Panchami (Nidhhi Agerwal) up to? How did Veera Mallu rescue the endangered Sanatana Dharma? The rest of the film explores these questions.
Krish wrote this story by combining history with a fictional character a Robin Hood- like thief on a quest to steal a very valuable diamond back from an oppressive emperor. The concept of weaving Sanatana Dharma into this story is intriguing. Pawan Kalyan himself has been a flag-bearer of the slogan to save Sanatana Dharma, thus making the idea even more connectable.
But for a movie like this, the execution is all. Many scenes on paper seem promising enough but bringing them onto the screen takes finesse. Aurangzeb is established as a fanatical king in the beginning, and one sets up for a hero who will challenge him — not always a king, but even a regular man can accomplish that. This results in Pawan’s arrival in the form of a clever thief who steals diamonds a scene guaranteed to delight his fans. The rice sack fight and some good dialogues are sufficient to raise hopes about the film being something good. Even the arrival of Panchami has been done well. The fight in front of Charminar that has good elevation points before an unfortunate twist of events. The build-up of the Nawab assigning Veera Mallu a task, and the vision of Pawan looking into the eyes of a tiger, is well done.
The second half proceeds thereafter to trace Veera Mallu’s journey to find Aurangzeb. The narrative is padded with songs, fights, and progressions in between – but pace lags. Veera Mallu is shown to have a team – Raghu Babu, Subbaraju, Sunil, and Nazar – who are established initially as smart sidekicks. But in no time, it turns out that it’s all staged with no real payoff. Anyone would wonder how such a team would be able to face someone as strong as Aurangzeb. Their smartness does not work to help the story progress.
Panchami’s character had a promising start, but the twist given to her lacks clarity. Aside from a song in the second half, she doesn’t contribute much. Veera Mallu keeps getting into fights at every turn, each set up for elevation – but the drama never truly lands. Elevation only works when the emotional core is strong, and that’s missing here. The hero is still subjected to injustice, yet there is no build-up or urgency to his arrival. Without this setup, the drama fails, and even Sanatana Dharma appears imposed and not incorporated organically.
Why does the hero need to have a flashback or personal agenda to battle Aurangzeb? Why such meticulous planning simply to become a thief? All these remain unanswered. There’s a fight at a check post, which would have been a great place to close Part 1. They resolve the film with a storm battle poorly thought out. The final scene Pawan and Bobby Deol joining hands – brings back memories of RRR. The end feels anticlimactic.
Special mention to VFX – not in a good way. Passable effects are provided in a few, but otherwise, most of the scenes are plagued by very poor CGI. It doesn’t take money to spend on VFX – vision, patience, and planning are required. This team doesn’t have all these three. Big CGI-controlled scenes don’t impress, even simple ones like tiger scenes or horse rides look budget. Creating a storm for the ending was a good idea, but with poor VFX, it completely fails.
Pawan Kalyan filmed this in installments, and it shows – his screen presence varies from scene to scene. There are some romantic parts with Nidhhi Agerwal, which are a reminder of old Pawan. He made serious attempts to weave Sanatana Dharma into the storyline. Nidhhi is patchy, though, and her makeup is overdone in patches. This patchiness is there in all the characters. Gravitas is provided to Aurangzeb by Bobby Deol, though the actor isn’t utilized. This was Kota Srinivasa Rao’s last movie too. Though his presence is nostalgic, the person who dubbed for him is different, which doesn’t feel right – but the team had no better choice, probably.
The music of Keeravani is the high point of the movie. His background score lends weight and depth. The songs are okay too. Though the VFX is poor, the set design is good, and the team attempted to be realistic. The film was directed by Krish and Jyothi Krishna, and it is not known who did what but a few scenes that looked good on paper didn’t work on screen. The dialogues are quite forgettable, except for one line: “A ruler must have not only legs, but also a head.” There should have been more of those lines. AM Ratnam did not lavish the production, holding that back himself. It shows in the extravagance.
The story begins on the quest for the Kohinoor – but ends short of it being found, likely continuing later in Part 2. The sequel is titled “Yuddha Bhoomi” (Battlefield), but if that fight is to reach us later emotionally, the team will need to shift gears exponentially.
Verdict: A decent first half followed by an abruptly concluded and poor second half makes this a one-time watch for fans. The climax is easily the film’s weakest point. For viewers beyond the core fan base, the abysmal VFX and relentless stream of unimpressive action sequences in the entire second half can be exhausting. In the end, HHVM misses the mark. The only highlights are Pawan Kalyan’s superstardom and a couple of well-executed episodes in the first half.
Telugu360 Rating: 2/5
