'Ooru Peru Bhairavakona' has been released in theatres. Produced by Hasya Movies and AK Entertainments, the film is directed by Vi Anand of 'Ekkadiki Pothavu Chinnavada' fame. In this section, let's find out its
Plot
The film begins with Basava (Sundeep Kishan) stealing jewelry of the bride from a wedding in a village. When he is attacked, he stages a fiery escape from the scene. On his way, he escapes with Geetha (Kavya Thapar) and John (Viva Harsha) in a vehicle, only to land in a mysterious village named Bhairavakona where rituals and individuals seem esoteric. While the plan of Basava & Co is to get out of the village by the morning, things are not what they seem in the rare village. There, Basava comes across his love interest Bhoomi (Varsha Bollamma) and things start confounding him and the audience.
Performances
This has to be among Sundeep Kishan's weakest performances. He looks demotivated throughout. Although he looks better in terms of looks compared to his previous films, he needed to be more fluid in playing the character with a mass-hero trait.
Varsha Bollamma, a naive villager, is average. She needs to work on her timing. Kavya Thapar is involved in a couple of comedy scenes. Ravi Shankar's character arc is fine. Vadivukkarasi, Jayaprakash and a few others play serious roles.
Viva Harsha and Vennela Kishore ace a few comedy scenes. Chammak Chandra and Brahmaji don't overstay their welcome.
Technical Departments
Shekar Chandra's music comes to the fore with the song 'Nijame Ne Chebunna', sung by Sid Sriram. Raj Thota's cinematography and Chota K Prasad's editing are no plus.
The VFX department delivers quite an underwhelming output. The VFX involved 47 minutes of running time; a rare opportunity was lost in delivering another 'Virupaksha'-level visual treat.
Post-Mortem
The film is set in a fictional village named Bhairavakona. A character says that its history can be traced to the Krishnadevaraya Era when four pages of the Garuda Puranam were allowed to miss. With the opening sequence of the film, it is established that Peddamma (a matriarch with divine power) in the village can be both violent and benevolent. It is also established that there is no escape from Bhairavakona even if its residents want to.
After the introduction of Sundeep Kishnan's character, the film enters the crime comedy zone. Then there are doses of horror-comedy. Characters run into unexpected scares that don't last a few moments. Brahmaji's English-crazy character could have been tapped better. His subordinate, played by Duvvasi Mohan is sharper and the comedy is derivative of the 'Hello Brother' track involving Kota Srinivas Rao and Mallikarjuna Rao.
Vennela Kishore enters the scene as Dr Narappa, a woman-hating doctor who gets a story-driven song to boot. Some of the ideas involving him and the hero are good. But the execution keeps faltering.
Writer-director Vi Anand fails to design Basava as an immersive character. We don't care for his emotions, tribulations and the eventual triumph because the writing is never deep enough. The poetry in his love for Bhoomi is never explored beyond a point.
Closing Remarks
Ooru Peru Bhairavakona is a lost opportunity. A potentially fascinating storyline and a story with half a dozen interesting ideas has been dragged down by poor execution.
