Junior, produced by Vaaraahi Chalana Chitram, headed to theatres today. In this section, we are going to review the latest BO release.
Plot:
Abhi (Kireeti Reddy), a spirited college student who looks for excitement in life, comes from a lower-middle-class family. After he falls in love with Spoorthi (Sreeleela), he follows her to a corporate office where he joins as an intern. On day one, he develops rivalry with the company's CEO-designate, Vijay Soujanya (Genelia Deshmukh), a cold corporate leader who doesn't speak much. A shocking revelation changes the course of Abhi's life, who now embarks on a new mission at the company.
Post-Mortem:
A dream launch, SS Rajamouli for a promotional event, and a more-than-modest theatrical release. No debutant actor could have expected this much in this era of a thinning cinema business. And Junior is not even an event film. If Kireeti Reddy could land these many luxuries, that's because he is the son of a former Minister and a mining baron. Junior might feel like an over-indulgence on the outside. However, a few minutes into the film, you start conceding. Kireeti is not just another debutant. While his voice resembles Bellamkonda Sai Srinivas', his acting range at first seems to rival Nara Rohit's, but by and by, he tries to be original. His dance moves in the song Viral Vayyari are fab. And, for a debutant, he is not bad in the scene where he warns a negative character in a crucial moment in the second half. At times, he comes across as the Nani of the 2000s. If he makes smart moves, he stands a chance.
Junior is your quintessential formula film with too many lazy choices. The writing fails the earnest debut hero so much that you feel sorry for him. The comedy falls flat despite Viva Harsha and Satya trying to salvage dumb lines. The basic humour is junior to the half-baked plot development. Genelia Deshmukh's character is extremely integral to the narrative, yet she barely gets to speak at length. The actress of Bommarillu fame shows so much potential without uttering a single word, though. She could replace Nadhiya in a strange copy of Attarintiki Daredi in a parallel world.
Writer-director Radha Krishna Reddy makes Abhi feel like an inferior version of Ravi Teja's character from Kick. The hero is a cross between the chocolate boy archetype of Telugu cinema and the commercial action hero. The initial scenes could have been so much jolly to watch had the writing been smart. There is a 3-minute stretch where Abhi must duck attacks on him and escape his thuggish college-mates. Despite Kireeti's exceptional efforts, the not-so-inventive staging renders the sequence ineffective. This is disappointing, considering that they had the Baahubali cinematographer KK Senthil Kumar work on the film.
Devi Sri Prasad's music is among the highlights, although the soundscape is underwhelming in many momentous portions. The characters played by Rao Ramesh (as the father of Genelia's character) and V Ravichandran (as the male lead's father) are cardboard-like.
Closing Remarks:
Junior serves as a surprisingly competent launchpad for newcomer Kireeti Reddy, who displays genuine potential despite a generic script that consistently undercuts his efforts. While his charisma and dance moves shine, the film is plagued by lazy writing, flat comedy, and underutilized talent (including Genelia Deshmukh).
