Cast: Manchu Vishnu, Preity Mukundhan, Mohanlal, Mohan Babu, Sarath Kumar, Kajal Aggarwal, Akshay Kumar and Prabhas
Crew:
Based on tale of Bhakt Kannappa - Srikalahasti SthalaPuranam
Written by Manchu Vishnu,
Cinematography by Sheldon Chau
Music by Stephen Devassy
Edited by Antony Gonsalves
Directed by Mukesh Kumar Singh
Produced by Mohan Babu, Manchu Vishnu
Manchu Vishnu from past 5 years has dedicated his time and energy to realise his dream of making Kannappa Movie. Playing the titular role, he brought in cameos of Mohanlal, Prabhas while Akshay Kumar and Kajal Aggarwal played as Lord Shiva and Parvati Devi. The movie released today and let's discuss about the film in detail.
Plot:
In 2nd century AD, Tinnadu (Manchu Vishnu) hailing from tribal village near Sri Kalahasti, grows to become an atheist. He disapproves anyone who devote their life to God. He falls in love with Nemali (Preity Mukundhan), who is a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva. She tries to reason with him but he doesn't care. On the other hand, even his father (Sarath Kumar) participates in rituals like human sacrifice for the goodness of his village.
Tinnadu opposes him and when Kalamukha attacks their tribal settlements for Vayulingam in Kalahasti, he becomes the leader of all 5 groups. But his father banishes him, due to his atheism and anger. What happens next? Can he save his settlement? Will Mahadeva Sastry (Mohan Babu) allow Tinnadu to see Vayulingam? Who is Rudra (Prabhas) and how he is connected to this Kannappa journey? Watch the movie to know more.
Analysis :
Manchu Vishnu dedicated his time and energy for the film and it is visible on screen. You can see him being consumed by the role and his performance showcases his commitment, especially, in the pre-climax and climax portions as Kannappa, he did his career best performance.
Prabhas with his screen presence is able to command huge respect and brought aura to Rudhra role. In fact, he brought so much divinity to his character that Akshay Kumar also looked underwhelming before him. But his performance as Lord Shiva is appreciable. Kajal Aggarwal and Preity Mukundhan did their best in the roles offered.
Mohanlal as Kirata did look good. Mohan Babu doesn't need to be specially praised as a performer. His scenes and screen presence did add value to the powerful role. Sarath Kumar and others did well, too.
While the writing in the second half is good, the first half is draggy and a little bit too slow. Even the impact of a devotional movie does get diluted in the first hour but the second hour, mainly, after Prabhas entry, the movie picked up. As it is very well known story, the presentation is important and director Mukesh Kumar Singh, got it right.
He is able to reimagine and present the film in grand visual scale. He made sure that no one would undermine his effort as a serial director. Music needs to be specially praised as the composer even though doesn't know the South Indian style, is able to give thrilling BGM, second half songs stand out.
Overall, movie does have draggy and underwhelming portions but the majorly important climax and pre-climax portions leave such an impact that the movie feels worth of all the efforts put in by the team.
TeluguOne Perspective :
Kannappa delivers a decent devotional experience in theatres.
