Vakeel Saab Movie Review

TELUGU360 RATING 3/5

Powerstar Pawan Kalyan is returning back to cinema after three complete years with Vakeel Saab, the remake of Pink. The film’s director Sriram Venu made enough changes to the script considering Pawan Kalyan’s massive reach without missing the back story and the emotional content. The trailer kept the bars of expectations high on the film. Shruti Haasan is the leading lady and Nivetha Thomas, Anjali, Ananya, Prakash Raj played other important roles.

 Story
Vakeel Saab, a remake of the Hindi film ‘Pink’, is the story of three women – Vemula Pallavi (Nivetha Thomas), Zareena (Anjali) and Divya (Ananya Nagalla) – who meet up with Vamshi (Vamsi) and his friends at a resort. Vamshi and his friends try to sexually assault the girls and in order to escape, Pallavi hits him with a bottle. Vamshi who belongs to a political family files a backdated police case and gets Pallavi arrested. Vakeel Saab Konidela Satya Dev (Pawan Kalyan) comes forward to take the case on behalf of Pallavi. rest of the story is how he gets the task done.

Analysis :

Vakeel Saab opens with the song ‘Maguva Maguva …’ which was superbly presented showcasing the three women from different backgrounds who’s career aspirations lead them to Hyderabad. The story line jumps straight to the point, the attempted sexual assault at the resort. Though Vakeel Saab’s introduction scene can appeal to the fans, the flashback episode with Shruthi Hassan is a dud. Something that even a novice write can write better with some effort. Moving on, Vakeel Saab agrees take up the case to defend the three women even as they struggle to find legal help. Interval scene where Vakeel Saab delivers a warning to the MP Mukesh Rushi is designed to excite the fans works well. To summarize, the first half is pretty normal.

The pace picks up in the second half, the audience is well engaged as the court scenes play out. Packed with a plethora of solid dialogues, most of which fit Pawan Kalyan’s real-life political agenda, the audience is treated to stimulating verbal confrontations between Pawan Kalyan and Prakash Raj (the attorney on the other side). The social messages on how the society views men and women differently for the same social cues, and the how NO means NO is well emphasized. While a few fan appeasing elements and politically elevating references are added in, the movie mostly stays on the message.

For those who already watched PINK, this film might not appeal emotionally the same way as the original. For the audience watching the movie directly for the first time in Telugu , this film is decent enough one.

Performances :
Pawan Kalyan excelled at the court scenes, carrying the movie on his shoulders with ease. In the flashback, however, a few shots looked dull with a bad hairstyle. Better focus on his fitness should be considered. Nivetha Thomas delivered a good performance, Anjali is ok as well.

Technical :
Director Sriram Venu’s efforts to include the fan favoring elements did not go waste. However, he should have put in more time and efforts to create a better back story, it just was very badly written. In the second half, he keeps the original storyline for most part.
Music Director Thaman excelled in the montage song and the re-recording. His music accompanying the verbal confrontation scenes takes up a notch or two. Cinematographer P.S. Vinod did a good job with the opening song, the rest is ok.

Positives
Court drama in the second half.
Excellent performance from Pawan Kalyan and Prakash Raj.
Interval episodes for the fans.
Powerful subject line.
Good dialogues.

Negatives :
Poorly written flash back in the first half.
Not as emotionally appealing as the original

Verdict :

‘Vakeel Saab’ film is a powerful, thought provoking subject, something that is already well proven with the original movie in Hindi. What adds more voice in Telugu version is the Power Star Pawan Kalyan’s towering presence and the excellent dialogues throughout the film. Movie starts off well but derails while in flashback episodes in the first half and finally goes on track in the second half. Overall, Vakeel Saab is a watchable fare.

TELUGU360 RATING 3/5