Rabhasa Movie Review

Synopsis: Karthik(NTR) returns to his native village after completing his studies in USA. To fulfill his mother’s wish, he sets out to Hyderabad to woo his cunning uncle’s daughter Indu (Samantha). In the process he gets entangled in a raging family feud between Gangi Reddy (Nagineedu) and Peddi Reddy (Jaya Prakash Reddy).

Movie Review: In what seems like a first for an NTR Jr film, there isn’t a reference to his legendary grandfather, NT Rama Rao, in the entire 162 minute runtime. Not a punch dialogue evoking the late matinee idol, no tokenistic veiled claim to his onscreen legacy or the Nandamuri family…not even an old hit song from a yesteryear classic remixed. The absence of the mandatory NTR reference is perhaps the most original part of this otherwise unremarkable film that dishes out every known cliché in lexicon of big ticket Tollywood entertainers.
The larger than life aspects are all there. NTR makes a typically ass kicking entry smashing through a fortified wall, air borne on a Bullet 350, letting go of the bike mid air - which is when the camera pans in on his face - before landing on his feet in slow motion atop a SUV, cracking its window glasses into smithereens while the background score goes well over the human audible levels. In the next 10 minutes or so he cracks a few cheesy one liners, beats the crap out of a gang of over dozen and a half goons and frees a man and his family from their clutches.
The elaborate rescue act is strategically aimed at prevent Dhanunjaya(Sayaji Shinde) from becoming the mayor of Hyderabad. Motivation for Karthik’s heroics lies in his mother (Jayasudha) wanting to have Indu as her daughter-in-law. Well, Indu is the daughter of Dhanunjaya who happens to be the estranged brother-in-law of Karthik’s father. Jayasudha promises her dying sister-in-law (Sana) to get Karthik married to Indu. Dhanunjaya though has an axe to grind with his brother-in-law and wouldn’t let that happen. So our man’s mission is simple – do whatever it takes to marry Indu to keep his mother’s promise. There are a couple more flashback episodes that drag Karthik into a raging factionist feud between Gangi Reddy and Peddi Reddy. Why do these films have to be so predictable? Just as a scene begins we know what’s going to happen in the next and the one after that as well. The shades of similar hit action-dramas like Brindavanam, Mirchi, and Attarintiki Daredi are hard to miss.
NTR is in his element doing everything he does – action, comedy, dancing – with aplomb. But we’ve seen him do this way too many times and it’s not so much fun anymore. Perhaps it’s time for the actor to think beyond appeasing his core fan base. He’s just getting a little too repetitive. Samantha has a lot of screen time and plays the girl who’s in love with a stranger who helps her friends elope as convincingly as it can be played. Indu calls a random number just as the villains are about to get to her friend just before her phone runs out of battery! No points for guessing who it is.
There is a comedy track centered on Brahmanadam, but we’re afraid it is the only bright spot in the movie. The music is passable despite being déjà vu inducing as is the case with most of Thaman’s compositions. At the end comes a message – intlo unna aadavallani ardham chesukunevade nijamaina magadu ra (The real man is the one who understands the women in the household). If you aren’t a NTR fan you might just regret leaving home to watch this one.