Srimanthudu (2015) User Reviews

A Simple Yet Inspiring Film...

[vindmass · 8/10 · 11 August 2015]

In the context of brain drain and rather dismal state of India's villages, it is no wonder that this film, although a commercial one is a hidden appeal to people, especially the wealthy, to "Return to Roots".

Overall, watching the film is a good experience. The director's job was fairly good. The music was enjoyable. And yet again, Mahesh Babu steals the show with his trademark performance peppered by witty remarks and silent demeanor. Shruti Hassan is only getting better with every film. She pulled off terrific and the chemistry between the lead pair is good. However, the veterans Jagapathi Babu as a caring yet indifferent father and Dr.Rajendra Prasad as the benevolent village head have added more grace to the film.

On the positive side, it is a treat for Mahesh's fans. The emotional connect the film offers is also great! But, the story does seem to drag a bit.

Duty and Good conduct are dynamic no hard and fast rule

[gowrigoli · 7/10 · 28 August 2015]

I am happy to see such a movie. I always tell friends and family, there are choices even in doing our duty. Greatest example of all time is Ramayana. When time comes to honor the promise of King Dasharadha, What Rama did is not exactly followed by all brothers and their spouses. Laxmana followed Rama, But his wife did not follow Sita. Same way Bharata and Shatrughna did not do what Laxmana did. However all of them are right based on their own way of what is right.

I am very happy to see such scenes in this movie. Villager brother wanted to leave the village Hero stops and gives a reasoning as to why he should not leave the 'Family'. However when it comes to hero, he leaves the family. He explains his reasons why he wants to leave the family. For those who try to compare they feel hero did wrong. We need a maturity understand why both actions are right.

Mahesh Babu is back with a summer blockbuster that will please the classes and masses!

[jmoneyjohal · 7/10 · 8 August 2015]

Srimanthudu works because of three reasons them being Mahesh Babu being used to his maxim potential, the role of Harsha fits him like a glove. The director made sure he used all of Mahesh's characteristics which have made him famous till now they are smartly placed into his character too look genuine.The other two reasons are the sensible story which connects with everyone from the family audiences to the masses and finally it was made sure the masses where fully pleased with some good action sequences, with some a whistle worth song or two too.

Therefore a film like Srimanthudu is set for blockbuster status. But for me even though i read about the immense positive reviews about the film,I still found the story a little common and predictable. But what won me over was the hero's character and his characterization which I could relate too. And the films final message of how money is not the most important thing in life, how helping others grow with you is more important, it gives a real reason to live, and makes society move forward positively . We in the rustle, bustle of life forget about our roots.How people are struggling back home, it is our duty/debt to go back and make a change in any small way so we can see the growth of rural areas into a place where people want to live. In short after becoming successful in life don't forget the were you came from, and the people responsible for your success. A strong message like that is what makes Srimanthudu a winner.

Story wise Srimanthudu tells the story of a man named Harsha, who is a son of a billionaire. His dad wants him to take over the business, but Harsha does not want too. Harsha is lost in his own world, he does not know what he really wants to do but he knows that he doesn't care about making loads of money, and that he loves helping people who are less privileged. He then eventually finds out he is interested in rural studies and pursues those studies, and doing so also falls in love with a fellow student. Through all this,conflicts keep on arising, and he finds himself heading to his native village. What is reason for him to go back to his native village, and is he successful in his reason is what makes up the the rest of the plot.To know more rush to the theatres.

Acting wise its a Mahesh Babu show all the way, he rules the roost. He has been given an amazing character, and with it gives one of his career best performances. The superstar shines Shruti Hassan excels in a substantial role, she has has matured as an actor, and she looks the most beautiful she has ever on screen with this film.Jagapathi Babu and Rajendra Parsad impress. Villains Sampath Raj and Mukesh Rishi are the usual clichéd villains. Vennela Kishore and Ali provide ample laughs.

The only minuses in the film are the excessive length of almost 3 hours plus and the slow pace, at times the film story doesn't move.

Overall Srimanthudu all withstanding is a blockbuster all the way. The way the film has class and mass sensibilities mixed together, with a sensible story, the audiences will come in hordes.The film has Mahesh Babu like never before, and after the disappointing failures of Aagdu and 1 this provide a comeback of sorts.

3.5/5* or 7/10

It will take us to our roots, a complete package.

[apkshop · 9/10 · 6 August 2015]

Its is not an easy thing after an epic and super successful movie Bahubali also last two of Mahesh Babu movies were an average and labeled as flop moves (though I do not agree that 1 Nenokkadine was a bad move). Therefore, the the odds were not that great. But here is what, Srimanthudu surpassed my expectations, richness is everywhere, cinematography, story, screen play, direction, music (could have been even better), and my favorite one, the fight scenes. Director Koritalla Siva is known for best from his previous move Mirchi, took almost three years to make his second movie and done an excellent job.

Recently it is quite common that the hero is a born rich and parents wanted to continue the family saga, however, director took in a different direction, after all rich people also starve to do something better to the society, this is exactly what this movie is about. A simple message to adopt a village.

Mahesh looked awesome (as usual), he has done an excellent job, and lived in his character, one noticeable thing that director was very careful is in Mahesh dances, did not put lot of effort in there (dances are not Mahesh department). A great deal of credit goes to hero characterization, we can feel that, this role only Mahesh can do. We all know that we may hit two or three people but definitely not 10s and 20s, however, framing of fight scenes are exceptionally good and Mahesh done excellent job in that. Not much to say about Shruti Hassan, she got a decent role and done reasonably well, she looks very skinny, I think she should seriously think about put on some weight.

My second favorite role in this movie is Jagapati Babu, he is well suited in his father's role, did not miss Prakash Raju at all, Jagapti Babu has a great future in his second inning as a character role.

Before I conclude, many of us came from village background, I am sure this will take us to our childhood and will remind us our village days, definitely creates some thoughts on visiting our birth place.

Music department is average, just couple of songs were good, rest can be taken out and more over this movie does not require any song (may be two if someone is desperate). No usual comedy track which is a big relief.

Overall, it is well a made movie, keeps you interesting till end and best treat for Mahesh Babu fans.

Srimanthudu .. Speechless !

[ImJoelJayakar · 10/10 · 7 August 2015]

Director Koratala Siva comes out with an unique subject and presents truly more than what he wrote. His screenplay makes you sit for around 3 hours without complaining about a single scene. As they said in the interviews every scene is connected to another and you never feel that a particular scene is wasted. Mahesh Babu is outstanding as usual and nobody can do well than him if this kind of script comes to them. Mahesh is stylish as usual and looking more glamorous too. Definitely he is going to surprise the fans and others with his stunning performance, which is his best so far. Shruti Hassan does a key role in the film, not only as a lead lady, but also forms the limb for the power packed screenplay. Jagapathi Babu and Rajendra Prasad along with other huge star cast plays every character perfectly and one cannot imagine someone else playing those characters on screen. Not even a single character got wasted and not even a single frame went useless. DeviSriPrasad comes out with a energetic performance again as said by many. Background score and songs are as usual rocking and Madhie is the man to talk about. He is the one who presented the vision of director Siva in an extraordinary way. Editing, Choreography and all other departments are flawless.

Simply - Mahesh did another film which nobody can do and Srimanthudu turns another blockbuster in his career and Srimanthudu is truly a classic in Telugu film industry. You cannot compare this kind of films with any other films and you cannot imagine these kind of films in the future. Lets hope for the best.

Mixed feelings about this film

[svrao-131-445888 · 6/10 · 15 August 2015]

I am not a regular viewer of Telegu films and do not understand the language. However, thanks to reviews and recommendations from friends, I decided to watch it on big screen (with sub titles of course).

I went in expecting a film like Swades but instead got this oddly mixed movie. The concept for the movie is really good & I liked idea of the hero adopting a village & focusing on their rural development. The plight of the villagers was brought out really well through the various characters lead ably by the one who played Narayana Rao. The hero's desire to help them felt genuine & the scenes with his father were very good. In fact the father's dialog towards the end of the movie was very touching.

What ruined the experience for me, was a lot of unnecessary dance/song sequences, dishum-dishum fights that were repeated every 15 mins or so, a weak heroine and a hero (Mahesh) who used 1-2 expressions throughout the movie, and "acted" by strutting towards the camera while beating up the goons single-handedly. The ending where he blows up the liquor factory did not work for me.

If they had stuck to the basic story, had the hero show a little more use of intelligence or business smarts (vs. fights) to beat the "bad people" and given the heroine more to do, it would have been a far better movie.

Content meets Commerce

[akshaykatakam · 10/10 · 1 February 2016]

Harsha Vardhan (Mahesh Babu) is the son of a billionaire Ravi (Jagapathi Babu). Harsha Vardhan values people and relationships. He doesn't care about his rich status and the business of his father. He comes to know about a village called Devarakota where people suffer due to atrocities committed by Seshu (Sampath Raj). Rest of the story is all about what he does after adopting village and about his personal connection to it!

Koratala Siva has studied the personality and body language of Mahesh Babu well and presented him extremely well. Mahesh has given an outstanding performance in pr-climax emotional episode. It's not just his acting and expressions, his trembling dialogue delivery adds up to the emotion in that scene. He shows his class in marriage fight scene and is extremely young in romantic episodes.

Story of the film is about knowing your roots and giving back to the society. It's a daring attempt to make a film with this kind of righteous and noble story line. Director Koratala Siva has carefully balanced the noble storyline and commercial image of Mahesh Babu give a rightly blended and engaging movie. Mahesh Babu has certain class associated with him and the director has used Mahesh Babu's class to write a beautiful character. I had a basic doubt about how a guy who doesn't earn anything on his own gives it back to the society. But, the director has given nice justification to it in the movie. The way Siva established Mahesh as a simple guy with simple thinking amidst the rich family is excellent. He has made sure that the nobility of the character is intact throughout the movie. The screenplay of the film is well written and interest in the film is sustained throughout. The way hero meets three baddies (related to each other) at different points of time shows how cleverly screenplay is written. Though the film has class orientation, director has made sure that there are exciting fights (especially marriage class flight, interval fight and mango farm fight). With Srimanthudu, Siva Koratala squashes the second film jinx and proves that he is here to stay with a bright future ahead.

Over Rated Movie - Could have been Realistic

[aji4u4ever · 6/10 · 4 July 2016]

Synopsis.

Harshvardhan, son of a millionaire comes to know that his father belonged to a remote village somewhere in AP. Knowing the fact that the village does not have the facilities, he adopts the village with his abundant money. While resurrecting the village, he comes across the villains. The rest forms the story

Directed by Koratala Siva who has directed couple of good movies in his past teams up with the Superstar and the positive reviews made me to watch this movie with high expectations. Director did a good job with the story and treatment but the Execution went really bad because he gave the hero as a super macho man. He hits the plentiful gundas, beats down with ease was a poor show (though the action was okay but was not even logical and cant even digest the fact that people bouncing back from a muddy base.. WoW lots of funny elements).

Koratala Siva used Mahesh Babu's charm in a good way. The comedy was okay. songs, camera was okay. But was a speed-breaker in some areas. Shruthi hassan was okay (this is the very first time, she being okay with a role that too in some scenes.. personal opinion). Mahesh Babu did a decent job and Jagapathi Babu was lovely with his role.

Sukanya and lot of other characters were just a show off since they don't have anything to do in the whole movie.

All in whole, a much hyped over rated movie but i am praising the real thread and the message (kind of) but could have been realistic then even my rating could have been more than the anticipated..

My rating is 5.8 on 10

ExtraOrdinary Movie

[maheshgottipati · 10/10 · 6 August 2015]

superb movie............... Harsha, a multi-millionaire guy who has everything but there is something else he's looking for and in the process he adopts a complete village trying to bring change in the people.

Srimanthudu Review Rating: Srimanthudu (English – Billionaire) is a 2015 upcoming Indian Telugu & Tamil drama film directed by Koratala Siva and produced jointly by Y. Naveen, Y. Ravi Shankar and C. V. Mohan for Mythri Movie Makers. Besides co-producing the film, Mahesh Babu played the film's protagonist with Shruti Haasan playing the female lead. Jagapati Babu, Rajendra Prasad, Sampath Raj, Brahmanandam, Sukanya and Harish Uthaman appear in supporting roles.

Message with style

[sarithadevurapally · 10/10 · 2 February 2016]

Harsha (Mahesh Babu), who is the feather bedded son of multi- millionaire Ravikanth (Jagapathi Babu), is a business minded person. He's such a good Samaritan that he always wanna help the needy, over the complications caused by others. Meanwhile, he falls in love with Charuseela (Shruti Haasan) and the complications start when Charu tells a secret about his father. Harsha leaves to Devarakota to solve the issues, instead he adopts the village and starts developing it. That's when he comes across Shashi (Sampath Raj) a local goon and starts mounting upon a small problem. The path the movie takes as the director attempts to find common ground between the two types of personalities is what makes the movie that much more interesting in the end.. Star Performance

It's a one man show Mahesh Babu steals the show with his performance. In full contrast to his image, Mahesh seen as an out and out classy with some Massey shades. It is very evident that Harshavardhan character is very close to Mahesh's heart and gets into the skin of the character. And his cool dance moves deserves a special mention. Shruti Haasan is also effective in her role and sizzled with her moves in the Dhimmathirigae songs. Rajendra Prasad and Jagapathi Babu are promising in their short roles. So is the others in the shorter roles includes Sukanya, Sivaji Raja and Tejaswi Madivada who are not here in archetype characters who just talks the standard lines. Ali's presence guarantees some fun, if not too much. Vennela Kishore and Rahul Ravindran cameos that has a bearing on the story. Poorna is pretty in her traditional attire. Techinical Team

The climax is also shot without any clarity and remains another engaging episode of the movie that comes to sudden stop. Questions en ti sir.. etc are good deserves some applause.

Srimanthudu takes some time to settle and once the backdrop is set the movie moves on in a reasonably decent narrative structure. The not so watertight screenplay by Koratala Siva make it an uneven ride, but there are some very remarkably written elevation sequences. Even here few scenes remind us that this is rather a meek gallimaufry of situations from quite a few films in the past like Bageeradha, Brindavanam, Dookudu, Janani Janmabhoomi, Dil, Athadu.etc. The other major highlight of the movie is Madhie's camera that gives an fresh prospective to every shot. The way Madhie handled the long shots post the fight sequences shows his Midas touch. The tunes of the 6 songs composed by Devi Sri Prasad are fine while "Charuseela" and "Jagore Jagore" are expected to be the chart toppers. The background score provides all pep needed for this film. The movie is a little lengthier at two hours forty three minutes and towards the end loses the plot forthright. The final appears hurried and looks out of sync with the flow of the narrative. Editor Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao could have easily cut short the film by 20 odd minutes. Production Values of Mythri Movie Makers" are grand.

Director Koratala Siva's Srimanthudu has every ingredient that you ask for from a commercial entertainer. From action, romance, humour, melodrama, songs, dance moves to emotional sentiments, there is a bit of it all to make things sufficiently spicy. But only if you go for the film without much expectation, Srimanthudu may turn out to be a watchable fare at best. The film's real trump card, is Mahesh Babu who has given a tremendous performance in the lead role. But the directorial lag is evident in many scenes even though Koratala Siva just manages to make them engrossing. On the whole, Srimanthudu will surely be a treat for the actor's fans despite being tagged as a social themed film, the movie has some good emotional sequences which will touch fans hearts.

Utter b******t

[abeyjohn2007 · 1/10 · 26 June 2016]

How in the world did this movie get 7.9 rating in IMDb? Makes one really wonder about the credibility of these ratings.Predictable from beginning till the end.Clichés after clichés following a pathetic story line.Basically the same old story of every other commercial Telugu movie, different plot and cast nothing else.Nothing new,Nothing to entertain nothing other than the same old, same old.The hero kills like 20 people and walks away in spite of one of the dead being an ex minister. Really tests the amount of bullshit one can handle.I guess the people who gave this movie a rating higher than 3 have a really high tolerance for bullshit or you get the drift. Speaking of acting the hero barely has any comprehensible emotion on his face,same bland macho expression all the time.And to think shruti hassan was nominated for best "actress" for this film,Actors by definition should act not only look good on screen.But i guess whoever nominated her for the award doesn't even understand.No wonder shitty movies like this gets 7.9 rating....

much needed movie

[prudviraj · 8/10 · 7 August 2015]

Tollywood was suffering from routine formula story's.Writers were too afraid and directors were not willing to take any risk with new formulas.As a result we get to eat same stuff cooked in new bowl every Friday.But this Friday is different with srimanthudu.This movie deals with strong content which we don't usually get.That strong content is expressed with strong emotions with extraordinary actors.

No forced comedy,No forced punch dialouges,No forced fights.Srimanthudu is very neat and i mean it in every different way.Koratala siva has mastered the village nativity and we should really thank him for what he was trying to do with srimanthudu.What words were left to describe mahesh babu.He is defeating himself in acting with every movie.Shruthi hassan was beautiful and she did her job very well.

Music was soul of the movie.Srimanthudu song was played as background song in some scenes and every time this song is played,it was right on time.Jaago song was highlight of the movie.it changes the momentum of the movie and mahesh babu's attitude in this song was like never seen before.Every body did beat in their job and result was srimanthudu.Plz don't miss this,because this type of movies,presented in every perfect way are rare in tollywood.

Socialistic ideas

[ha-08209 · 10/10 · 26 May 2019]

Movie which gives a nice message with powerpacked story and performances by artists

Excellent Movie of Mahesh Babu

[Movie-Marketing · 8/10 · 22 August 2015]

I like it very much, especially emotions of lead characters. Maheshbabu Awesome. Jagapathi Babu as usual rocks Nice Movie. Decent action, not over action like Dookudu Mahesh Babu is suited very much for this character Sruthi Hasan and Mahesh Chemistry worked out Rajendraprasad Characterization gives beautiful inner feelings. Lead villain, blasted the show. Cycling craze increased due to this movie Adopting villages is great theme. Mahesh took two villages for adoption. Great Real Hero. Direction wise Mr Koratala got 100 marks. Srimanthudu is apt title for this movie and credit goes to Hero and Director. Songs are not bad.Fights are unique and impressive.

A sensible film full of heart and humanity.

[sunilgandhavarupu · 10/10 · 1 February 2016]

Harsha Vardhan (Mahesh Babu) is the son of a billionaire Ravi (Jagapathi Babu). Harsha Vardhan values people and relationships. He doesn't care about his rich status and the business of his father. He comes to know about a village called Devarakota where people suffer due to atrocities committed by Seshu (Sampath Raj). Rest of the story is all about what he does after adopting village and about his personal connection to it.

Koratala Siva has studied the personality and body language of Mahesh Babu well and presented him extremely well. Mahesh has given an outstanding performance in pr-climax emotional episode. It's not just his acting and expressions, his trembling dialogue delivery adds up to the emotion in that scene. He shows his class in marriage fight scene and is extremely young in romantic episodes.

Jagapati Babu is very natural as a billionaire and as a father who longs for the love of his son. Shruti Haasan is excellent as a woman of substance. Watch out for smoothness and expressions in her dances in this movie. Poorna has given a small cameo in Rama Rama song. Harish Uttaman is impressive as villain. Sampath Raj is good as the baddie. Rajendra Prasad excels as a good village Samaritan. Vennela Kishore is entertaining. Rahul Ravindran has done a key role with limited footage.

Story of the film is about knowing your roots and giving back to the society. It's a daring attempt to make a film with this kind of righteous and noble story line. Director Koratala Siva has carefully balanced the noble storyline and commercial image of Mahesh Babu give a rightly blended and engaging movie. Mahesh Babu has certain class associated with him and the director has used Mahesh Babu's class to write a beautiful character. I had a basic doubt about how a guy who doesn't earn anything on his own gives it back to the society. But, the director has given nice justification to it in the movie. The way Siva established Mahesh as a simple guy with simple thinking amidst the rich family is excellent. He has made sure that the nobility of the character is intact throughout the movie. The screenplay of the film is well written and interest in the film is sustained throughout. The way hero meets three baddies (related to each other) at different points of time shows how cleverly screenplay is written. Though the film has class orientation, director has made sure that there are exciting fights (especially marriage class flight, interval fight and mango farm fight). With Srimanthudu, Siva Koratala squashes the second film jinx and proves that he is here to stay with a bright future ahead.

Music scored by Devi Sri Prasad is superb. All songs are good and background music is impressive. The director has used message oriented songs like Jaagore and Pora Srimanthuda to progress the story and elevate emotion. I have also loved Rama Rama, Jatha Kalise and Dimma Tirige songs. Cinematography by Madhie is a big highlight and complements the narration. Dialogues written by Koratala Siva are excellent and adds impact to the scenes. Lyrics by Rama Jogaiah Sastry deserves an applause except for Dimma Thirige song. Action choreography by Anal Arasu is outstanding. Marriage class flight, interval fight and mango farm fight offer a lot of freshness among fights we see in big star commercial films. However, pr-climax fight appear stretched. Art direction by AS Prakash is of fine quality. Editing of the film is good. New set of producers (Naveen Yerneni, Ravi Shankar Yalamanchili and Mohan Cherukuri) should be appreciated for taking such a gutsy decision to make a story-driven film with a superstar like Mahesh Babu

Back to the roots and finding yourself

[sandhyapatil · 9/10 · 10 October 2015]

Imagine having a good meal. You are happy and your taste buds are tingling in anticipation of the dessert. You see a beautifully decorated cheesecake come your way. The slight dusting of cocoa ups your anticipation and the delicate tangy smell of lemon wafts to you making your mouth water. And then you try to cut into it and find it hard. You still think it'll taste okay. You bite into it and you realize it is stale. There goes the entire experience of your meal.

Srimanthudu is somewhat like that. It starts off well enough. We are introduced to an heir apparent Harsha (Mahesh Babu) who's not really interested in his billions, and his dad Ravikanth (Jagapathi Babu) who does not really understand his son's world. In comes Charuseela (Sruthi Hassan), a girl pursuing a rural development course in NIRD, Hyderabad. Harsha meets Charu and tells her that he loves the course she's doing, and joins her college.

The two get close but when Charu finds out who Harsha is, she distances him telling him that he does not even know his roots and she's a rooted girl and that their worlds will not collide. This statement leads Harsha to discover his roots in a village called Devarakota. How Harsha adopts the village of Devarakota and rids it of the ills plaguing it forms the plot of Srimanthudu.

So the appetizer, the first half, is nice. The first song, Harsha's and Charu's meet-cutes, and Mahesh's acting - all of these make for a good takeoff. There are nicely composed fights and the thrills flow organically. The main course, most of the second half, works well. There are no punch dialog's or fights for the sake of fights. The comedy and Sruthi Hassan spice things up well enough, and you begin to relax thinking your meal is well set. A mass song comes in like slightly sour curd, and you still don't mind. And then the pr- climax / climax sets in, and goes about ruining everything that worked well so far. Sigh.

Director Koratala Siva does a good job with most of the film. He makes sure the script is adhered to, pulls off good mas-ala moments without heavy dialog's or counters, and paces the narrative well - while the film does proceed in a leisurely fashion, at no point does Srimanthudu have you feeling bored. Mahesh supports his director ably and puts in a splendid performance. He also pulls off the rich guy look effortlessly with elegant and understated costumes and styling. The sighing of the women in the theater was audible every time he made an appearance.

Sruthi Hassan does her usual thing, and the rest of the supporting cast do a decent job, too. Sampath and Mukesh Rishi are way too typecast - it is getting boring watching them do these "I'm so bad-ass" villain characters that get beaten to pulp in the climax.

Technically, Srimathudu is impressive. The songs are so much better on screen, and the background score elevates several core moments. The art director could've really gone easy on the baling, though - rich does not necessarily mean gaudy. The dialog's are sharp and not punchlines, which is a relief.

Srimanthudu is a good ride all the way until the final cricket match that Mahesh plays with a rod and the heads of a dozen goons. It is good to see Mahesh give first place to the story, and try and make a strong comeback after the tripe that was Aagadu. Go watch this one - it's been a while since the script was the hero in a big-budget film.

Just an Avg Flick again disappointed

[ramakrishanam3 · 4/10 · 7 August 2015]

Harsharn (Mahesh Babu) is the legal heir of Rs 25,000 crore fortune owned by hisrn Father Ravikanth (Jagapathi Babu). Instead of inheriting the family rnowned wealth, He goes in search of earning some respect for himself fromrn the society by doing his bit to the needy people. In the process, He rnmeets few people and how it brought fulfillment to his life forms the rnrest of the story. 1 half is good with few highlight seen . routine action routine story No usual comedy track which is a big minus music also routine

background score is bad is bad Remembering other Telugu movies but few emotional sens was good. 2 Half is boring with slow weak climax. But Movie is better than previous movie

Mahesh strikes back.

[swethanarigani · 10/10 · 1 February 2016]

Harsha(Mahesh Babu) is the son of a multi-millionaire named Ravikanth(Jagapathi Babu). He is quite simple in life and shares different ideologies to his father. One fine day, he meets Charusheela (Shruthi Haasan) and gradually falls in love with her. Twist in the tale arises when Charusheela rejects Harsha's proposal and reveals him a shocking truth about his native place and its problems. An upset Harsha, now sets on a personal mission to his village and encounters Sasi(Sampath) and his gang who are troubling the villagers big time. Rest of the story is as to how Harsha's personal mission becomes a revolution and helps the villagers grow and prosper in the future.

Let's start by talking about Srimanthudu's emotional content. The film is quite heavy on moral values and giving back to the society. Credit should go to Koratla Shiva for sticking to the content and sending out a strong message through hero's character. Mahesh is majestic in his role and gives his career best performance. His role is tailor made and Mahesh carries the entire film on his shoulders. He looks dashing as a college student and the way he brings out varied emotions during the second half is a class apart. Shruthi Haasan gets a meaty role and is quite decent in the film. Her pairing with Mahesh looks fresh and brings novelty to the film. Jagapathi Babu is a royal in his role and gives the added edge to the film. The way his character is etched out and all his confrontation scenes with Mahesh are superb. First half of the film is quite vibrant and has some very classy moments. Second half has emotional undercurrent and Koratala Shiva manages to bring out superb performances from all his artists. Rajendra Prasad is quite pleasing in his character. Production values of the film are quite good and showcase the film in a rich light.

Neat family film

[madhurinarigani · 10/10 · 15 January 2016]

You could say this movie is Mahesh Babu's Swades (the 2004 SRK film) albeit a little dumbed down. Or a Mirchi (the Prabhas film) rehashed. Yet there can be no denying that Srimanthudu achieves more than any big ticket Tollywood potboiler has in more in that last decade, for the simple reason that it is a drama made like one. In terms of sheer integrity of storytelling, it's reason enough to cheer to not have a Brahmanandam getting slapped for comic relief. Well Brahmanandam isn't part of the movie, but there is Ali and he doesn't have even one cheesy innuendo laden line. No cheesy punch dialogs either.

And the first half of the movie actually is part of the movie isn't a prelude to the interval bang but a gradual progression of the narrative flow. The protagonist Harsha is introduced with a song Mara Mara... which sounds like Rama Rama, which establishes his character sketch. True to his name which means happiness, Harsha, chooses to attend the Sriramanavami celebrations organized by the staff working at his billionaire father's factory, giving a family do a miss. When he retorts, "Manakosam pant cheese val Judah manna family NE," to his angry father, it's obvious, this guy doesn't feel at home in his home.

Harsha isn't sure of what he wants to do or be but he isn't interested in taking over the reins of his father's Rs 25,000 core business empire. let me earn some respect," (let me do what I feel like) Harsha expounds to his dad. His purpose finds him through the love of his life, Charusheela, a student of MBA in rural development. In the process of wooing her, he stumbles upon his roots and finds himself.

So Harsha sets of on a journey of self-discovery to his native village, Devarakota, with his cycle in tow. Moved by the plight of its people who are exploited by the vicious henchman Sasi, our man decides to adopt the village and in the process discovers that his father too was like him. His journey from a rich man's son disinterested in his father's fortune to a village dweller unfolds a little too simplistically but its Mahesh's nuanced portrayal is what makes it engaging and perhaps will resonate with the sections of the audience who share a similar predicament.

The movie isn't without its flaws. Mahesh keeps seamlessly shifting gears to become this veritable hulk who can beat up 20 goons without breaking a sweat, for all her well-intentioned purposefulness, Shruti transforms into this object of desire in the dream song sequences, and you could argue about the solution the film offers as being too blah. But let's just say, there is more to like about the film than there is to dis.

Last but not the least, the music is easy on the ear and compliments of the mood of the film. Definitely worth a watch.

Content with style

[manasapujari · 10/10 · 2 February 2016]

Harsha Vardhan (Mahesh Babu) is the son of a billionaire Ravi (Jagapathi Babu). Harsha Vardhan values people and relationships. He doesn't care about his rich status and the business of his father. He comes to know about a village called Devarakota where people suffer due to atrocities committed by Seshu (Sampath Raj). Rest of the story is all about what he does after adopting village and about his personal connection to it!|

Koratala Siva has studied the personality and body language of Mahesh Babu well and presented him extremely well. Mahesh has given an outstanding performance in Pr-climax emotional episode. It's not just his acting and expressions, his trembling dialogue delivery adds up to the emotion in that scene. He shows his class in marriage fight scene and is extremely young in romantic episodes.

Jagapati Babu is very natural as a billionaire and as a father who longs for the love of his son. Shruti Haasan is excellent as a woman of substance. Watch out for smoothness and expressions in her dances in this movie. Poorna has given a small cameo in Rama Rama song. Harish Uttaman is impressive as villain. Sampath Raj is good as the baddie. Rajendra Prasad excels as a good village Samaritan. Vennela Kishore is entertaining. Rahul Ravindran has done a key role with limited footage.

Technical departments

Story of the film is about knowing your roots and giving back to the society. It's a daring attempt to make a film with this kind of righteous and noble story line. Director Koratala Siva has carefully balanced the noble storyline and commercial image of Mahesh Babu give a rightly blended and engaging movie. Mahesh Babu has certain class associated with him and the director has used Mahesh Babu's class to write a beautiful character. I had a basic doubt about how a guy who doesn't earn anything on his own gives it back to the society. But, the director has given nice justification to it in the movie. The way Siva established Mahesh as a simple guy with simple thinking amidst the rich family is excellent. He has made sure that the nobility of the character is intact throughout the movie. The screenplay of the film is well written and interest in the film is sustained throughout. The way hero meets three baddies (related to each other) at different points of time shows how cleverly screenplay is written. Though the film has class orientation, director has made sure that there are exciting fights (especially marriage class flight, interval fight and mango farm fight). With Srimanthudu, Siva Koratala squashes the second film jinx and proves that he is here to stay with a bright future ahead.

Harsha(Mahesh Babu) changes the Village

[swathipatil-75448 · 10/10 · 10 October 2015]

Harsha (Mahesh Babu) is the only son of top businessman Ravi Kanth (Jagapathi Babu). Unlike father, Harsha is a man of principles with no objective to descend the business empire while his father and mother (Sukanya) dreams to see him lead their company. On the parallel side, we are introduced to Devara Kota village shivering in the clutches of local MP Venkata Ratnam (Mukesh Roshi), his brutal brothers Sasi (Sampat Rai) and Radha (Harsha).

Meanwhile, Harsha falls in love with Charuseela (Shruti Hasan), a student of National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD). Delighted by curriculum of developing villages through modern technology as part of the NIRD course, Harsha too joins the same Institute and gradually they are bonded by love. Surprise comes in the form of a business magazine's special edition revealing Charuseela that Harsha as son of business tycoon. Here Charuseela explains Harsha about his native village Devara Kota and she too hails from same village, daughter of local benevolent person Narayana Rao (Rajendra Prasad).

Well, here begins Harsha's mission of adopting Devara Kota to give a better life for local people. What kinds of challenges are posed by Venkata Ratnam and his brothers before Harsha? What is the actual flashback of Ravi Kanth with Devara Kota?

From very first directorial hit venture 'Mirchi,' a peculiar sense of commercially is vouched in director Koratala Siva. Being a passionate writer, the noble idea of village adoption did not find any stumbling blocks in deviating from commercial values. There is a strong likelihood of such storyline becoming preachy and purely message oriented. Koratala Siva scripted it carefully based on Mahesh Babu's charisma and his immaculate stature to deliver some good thoughts for audience without misplacing the regular heroism.

For achieving this balance, Siva depended more on writing skills. There are plenty of fine lines to encourage instant claps and cheers from Fans and common viewers. Such was the depth in content and strength in protagonist characterization provoking immediate reaction. Siva demonstrated tremendous maturity in direction also. Though take-off was decent followed by Mahesh-Shruti romantic thread half appeasing, Siva unleashed his best of skills from PR-interval till PR-climax. Whatsoever, the lag with dragged episodes and slow narration in first half served major drawback. There was a soul and feel missing in total romantic track.

Madhie's camera-work gave a polished look and more than all Harsha has the best ever looks from Mahesh Babu. Editing by Kotagiri needed some immediate trimming in first half where there is clear lack of content. Devi Sri Prasad scored decent musical score. 'Rama Rama' and 'Jaago' songs are best picks while all the songs are shot well. Production values of Mythri Movie Makers and MB are top notch.

Mahesh Babu's characterization is the real driving force. He is handsome in college scenes and made best use of dialogue modulation to strike strongly in second half. His chemistry and pairing with Shruti Hasan is refreshingly cute. Dances and action, Mahesh over performed. Emotionally Mahesh elevated the drama and sentiment in village episodes. All in all, he is life and soul of 'Srimanthudu.' Luckily, Shruti Hasan got a meaty role. She has more to excel in second half while first half romance is half baked and unenlightening. Jagapathi Babu is impressive in a short and purposeful role. His body language and dressing sense needs to be highlighted. Sukanya has nothing much to do. Then Rajendra Prasad got value driven role which serves a booster for uplifting hero's ambition. Sampat Raj, Mukesh Rishi and Harsha's barbaric villainy isn't established to the needed standards. Fun wise, the film falls short in comic quotient with Ali, Vennela Kishore tried soberly. Among the rest, Rahul Ravindran, Surekh Vani, Tulasi, Edida Sriram etc struck to their portions.

Message Oriented Entertainer

[sravyametpally · 9/10 · 24 August 2016]

Imagine having a good meal. You are happy and your taste buds are tingling in anticipation of the dessert. You see a beautifully decorated cheesecake come your way. The slight dusting of cocoa ups your anticipation and the delicate tangy smell of lemon wafts to you making your mouth water. And then you try to cut into it and find it hard. You still think it'll taste okay. You bite into it and you realize it is stale. There goes the entire experience of your meal.

Srimanthudu is somewhat like that. It starts off well enough. We are introduced to an heir apparent Harsha (Mahesh Babu) who's not really interested in his billions, and his dad Ravikanth (Jagapathi Babu) who does not really understand his son's world. In comes Charuseela (Sruthi Hassan), a girl pursuing a rural development course in NIRD, Hyderabad. Harsha meets Charu and tells her that he loves the course she's doing, and joins her college.

The two get close but when Charu finds out who Harsha is, she distances him telling him that he does not even know his roots and she's a rooted girl and that their worlds will not collide. This statement leads Harsha to discover his roots in a village called Devarakota. How Harsha adopts the village of Devarakota and rids it of the ills plaguing it forms the plot of Srimanthudu.

So the appetizer, the first half, is nice. The first song, Harsha's and Charu's medicates, and Mahesh's acting - all of these make for a good takeoff. There are nicely composed fights and the thrills flow organically. The main course, most of the second half, works well. There are no punch dialogues or fights for the sake of fights. The comedy and Sruthi Hassan spice things up well enough, and you begin to relax thinking your meal is well set. A mass song comes in like slightly sour curd, and you still don't mind. And then the pure- climax / climax sets in, and goes about ruining everything that worked well so far. Sigh.

Director Koratala Siva does a good job with most of the film. He makes sure the script is adhered to, pulls off good Marsala moments without heavy dialogues or counters, and paces the narrative well - while the film does proceed in a leisurely fashion, at no point does Srimanthudu have you feeling bored. Mahesh supports his director ably and puts in a splendid performance. He also pulls off the rich guy look effortlessly with elegant and understated costumes and styling. The sighing of the women in the theater was audible every time he made an appearance.

Sruthi Hassan does her usual thing, and the rest of the supporting cast do a decent job, too. Sampath and Mukesh Rishi are way too typecast - it is getting boring watching them do these "I'm so bad ass" villain characters that get beaten to pulp in the climax.

Technically, Srimanthudu is impressive. The songs are so much better on screen, and the background score elevates several core moments. The art director could've really gone easy on the bling, though - rich does not necessarily mean gaudy. The dialogues are sharp and not punchlines, which is a relief.

Srimanthudu is a good ride all the way until the final cricket match that Mahesh plays with a rod and the heads of a dozen goons. It is good to see Mahesh give first place to the story, and try and make a strong comeback after the tripe that was Aagadu. Go watch this one - it's been a while since the script was the hero in a big-budget film.

Worst in Mahesh's Career

[ananddev-09769 · 3/10 · 8 October 2015]

I don't know why this movie is getting a very good response but Films such as 1-Nennokkadine doesn't get a good response. 1 is an extraordinary film which has a great story and that film is reviewed as a flop by the "Telugu Audience". But for the movie Srimanthudu, I don't know how the people are able to give positive response. The film was a Headache. It was a bit copied for the Director's Previous Movie - Mirchi. The only concept that is good in this film is Adopting a village and making it better, that's it. Nothing else is good. The songs, dance, comedy everything is Bad... 1st Half is worst. 2nd Half is a bit okay... But Truly, Mahesh Babu was AWESOME at his looks, dialouges and the Main - SMILE! All of this, the movie is watchable only for once (that to with headache).

A Young man adopts a Village

[munneersheikh · 9/10 · 24 August 2016]

Harsha (Mahesh) the only son of billionaire Ravikanth (Jagapathi) gives up his inheritance to adopt his native village, Devarakota to help its impoverished citizens. But Sasi (Sampath), brother of a union minister, will not let it happen.

Harsha sets of on a journey of self-discovery to his native village, Devarakota, with his cycle in tow. Moved by the plight of its people who are exploited by the vicious henchman Sasi, our man decides to adopt the village and in the process discovers that his father too was like him. His journey from a rich man's son disinterested in his father's fortune to a village dweller unfolds a little too simplistically but its Mahesh's nuanced portrayal is what makes it engaging and perhaps will resonate with the sections of the audience who share a similar predicament.

The movie isn't without its flaws. Mahesh keeps seamlessly shifting gears to become this veritable hulk who can beat up 20 goons without breaking a sweat, for all her well-intention ed purposefulness, Shruti transforms into this object of desire in the dream song sequences, and you could argue about the solution the film offers as being too blah. But let's just say, there is more to like about the film than there is to Dis.

Last but not the least, the music is easy on the ear and compliments of the mood of the film. Definitely worth a watch.

A social drama

[baashanaik · 10/10 · 24 August 2016]

Mahesh Babu, one of the biggest superstars in South India, has come up with his latest movie, Srimanthudu. Despite his recent movies not performing well at the ticket counter, this movie carries huge expectations as the trailers and songs have become popular. Does it live up to expectations? Let's find out.

Story: RK (Jagapathi Babu) owns a business empire. He wants his son Harsha (Mahesh Babu) to take over the operations but Harsha has other plans – serving people.

Harsha likes Charusheela (Shruti), a post graduate student studying Rural Development, and joins her college to study the course. Both fall in love. But when Charusheela comes to know that Harsha is son of RK, she stops seeing him.

Harsha asks her for the reason, she tells him about her Devarakota, a small village in Uttarandhra. The village's tank is grabbed by local rowdy Sasi (Sampath) who is the right hand man of central minister Venkata Ratnam (Mukeshi Rishi).

The villagers start migrating to the cities but Charusheela's father tries to stop them in the hope that good-days would come soon.

What has this plight of the village got to do with Harsha's father and what does Harsha do when Charusheela tells him this? Watch it on the silver screen.

Artistes' Performances: The film is undoubtedly one of Mahesh Babu's best performance in his entire career. As well-educated, good- nature rich man, Mahesh Babu oozes charm as well as gives his best in the emotionally charged scenes. Even in the action episodes, he exhibits class. Mahesh Babu is the pillar of this movie.

Shruti Haasan looks beautiful, shares great chemistry with Mahesh and has solid role too. Jagapathi Babu is evolving as a reliable character artiste for dignified father roles. He is perfect to the T as a rich businessman. Rajendra Prasad is good as well.

Sampath and Mukesh Rishi have done what is required for the roles. Sukanya, Ali, Rahul Ravindran, Subbaraju, Vennela Kishore, Sitara and a host of actors are present in the movie but they don't get highlighted.

Technical Excellence: Rich frames are the striking feature of the movie. Appreciation should go to the cinematographer Madhie. He has distinct style in filming hero elevating scenes.

Songs by Devi Sri Prasad are catchy. 'Rama Rama', 'Charusheela' and 'Jaago Re' songs are effective on screen.

The pace of the movie is not only slow but some unnecessary scenes are also there, good editing would have done wonders. Fights by ANL Arasu are neat.

Highlights:

Mahesh Babu's performance Shruti Haasan's charm Elevation of heroism Dialogues Direction Jaago Re song sequence Cinematography Drawback:

Slow first half Editing Analysis: Director Siva Koratala has proved that he could present regular mass movies in style with 'Mirchi'. In Srimanthudu, he has used the same style but has strong content and has narrated the movie in focused manner, not deviating from the story.

While watching the movie, you will also spot the similarities with Mirchi like father's love for son (Jagapathi Babu/Sathyaraj), hero entering into a village on a certain mission.

Also, Koratala selected a topic that rings well with the current mood in the nation – adopting the villages. One can also find influence of Ashutosh Gowariker's 'Swades'.

No special intro is given to Mahesh Babu. He comes into the story with a song and then the story is told in leisurely.

In the first one hour, it goes on sluggish pace but picks up later. Even in the first hour some scenes like Mahesh Babu confronting Mukesh Rishi at his residence in Delhi, fight sequence in wedding get highlighted. Second half the movie takes a gripping turn.

"You have earned respect through sheer hard work, let me also earn it," tells Mahesh Babu to his father Jagapathi Babu in one scene. Such class scenes laced with dialogues and liberal dose of English are welcome change.

Then there is also one gripping sequence in the second half when Mukeshi Rishi invites the hero to his mango farm. The movie is dotted with many scenes that elevate heroism to the peak.

Dialogues written by the director will also make the fans happy. When Mahesh beats a rowdy, another one comes forward to beat him, then Mahesh tells to this guy another hilarious moment in the film.

Mahesh Babu's class performance, Shruti's charm, good message, right mix of mass and class elements make the movie a good commercial entertainer.

All in all, Srimanthudu is the movie where content and commercial elements have blended well.

Bottomline: Srimanthudu With Rich Message