Director: A. Harsha
Cast: Sharan, Shruthi Hariharan, Shubha Punja, Arun Sagar, Madhu Guruswamy, Saurav Lokesh, Sadhu Kokila, Kuri Pratap
Typical grandmother stories usually starts with: Once upon a time there lived a king and queen in a kingdom far away... and they often end with; all lived happily ever after! Whereas, choreographer turned director Harsha's films these days start with dramatic sequence which dates to at least 200-400 years ago, and soon the protagonist from the present age travels to a far away village (barren land) to win over evil with the intervention of lord Hanuman and his mace (gada).
Anyone who has so far seen this director's previous 'commercial' hits 'Bhajarangi' and 'Vajrakaya' can easily predict what 'Jai Maruti 800' is all about. With no creative mind set, and banking heavily upon his narrative style from the previous 'commercially' successful films and off course leaving it to his favourite God - the ingredients remains the same but packed with a new label - comedy.
To give an idea on why the director completely lacks freshness even while attempting a new genre- comedy- 'Jai Maruti 800' starts after a routine introduction which never seems to end and then the protagonist reaching a far away village with a reason, and further it is all about his escapades to unite heads of two villages attached to centuries old rivalry running through their blood! Amidst these complication, the humourous plot is too heavy to handle barring few scenes which is solely due to Sharan's effort coupled with Arun Sagar's acting brilliance.
The dreaded negative characters played by Saurav Lokesh and Madhu Guruswamy, too are repetitive, and on this occasion they are seen as the rival village heads with different names. Whereas the talented 'Lucia' fame actress Shruthi Hariharan is restricted to couple of scenes and songs in which she shines, and is the much needed break for the audience struggling to see some good change. Shubha Punja is just the eye-popping attraction, and rest are just fillers.
A good film can be a commercial success, but not all commercially successful films are good. So, attempts to repeat their former glory, using the same old mould simply implies a lack of creative mind. Even the Pavana-putra, Anjani-suta Hanuman may not be laughing at this 800 model as much he showered his blessing on Bhajrangi and Vajrakaya!
