Vaibhav and Swetha Basu Prasad’s new film ‘Kasko’ is a quintessential example of what can go wrong with a high voltage action entertainer. This is Vaibhav’s second film in Telugu after his debut in ‘Godava’. Directed by G.Nageswara Reddy, the film has been produced by A Bharati under the banner of ‘K Films’. Kodandarami Reddy presented the film. The basic concept of ‘Kasko’ was touted as an inspiration from Ramayana. ‘Kasko’ narrates the story of Vamshi who comes to Hyderabad with a mission.

What is it about : Vaibhav stars as Vamshi, a hot blooded young guy from Vizag who goes to Hyderabad on a mission. He meets Mahesh Babu (Brahmanandam) and Deepika (Gowri Pandit) in this journey. Vamshi introduces himself as Pawan Kalyan to Mahesh and the two decide to wipe out goondaism in Hyderabad. Deepika always end up embarrassing herself while fighting with Vamshi on several occasions but it doesn’t take too long for her to realize that she’s in love with Vamshi. On the other hand, Vamshi starts teach all the goondas a lesson and when the situation goes out of hand, Salim and Aladdin (Salim Panda) enter the scene. They are shocked to find Vamshi in Hyderabad and as they try to kill Vamshi they realize that he’s searching for Krishnaveni (Swetha Basu). Who is Krishnaveni? What happened to her? What made Vamshi land in Hyderabad? This forms the rest of the story.

What is Good: ‘Kasko’ is an important film for Vaibhav to cement his place in Telugu film industry. His first film established him as the next generation hero who’s good in fights and dances. In ‘Kasko’ he goes one step further as far as action sequences are concerned. There are more action sequences than the actual story in ‘Kasko’. All the action sequences are brilliantly choreographed although some of them are a bit too long and violent. Vaibhav proves his mettle in the intense action sequences and dances. Brahmanandam makes his presence felt once again and his flashback is hilarious. Jayprakash Reddy’s role as one of the goondas is adequate.

What is bad: G.Nageswara Reddy also wrote the story and screenplay of the film apart from directing it. ‘Kasko’ is a typical revenge drama which an extremely predictable storyline. In fact the actual story is so less that it comes as filler between extended action sequences, especially in the first half. Gowri Pandit’s role is poorly written. Except for a song and couple of scenes, she hardly contributes to the film. Shweta Basu Prasad is extremely loud with her dialogues and is nothing more than a glam doll in the film. There are way too many villains in the film which gives scope to more fights and action sequences. Pradeep Rawat’s role towards the end of the film is ridiculous. Apart from extending the film by an extra 20 minutes, his characterization completely fails to arouse interest.

Technical Departments: Premji’s music is average except for a couple of songs. Cinematography by Agilan is impressive especially in action sequences and songs. Editing by Praveen is adequate. Action choreography throughout the film is good. G.Nageshwara Reddy’s could have worked on the screenplay and story of the film. The direction is good in parts, although it could have been much better.

Bottom Line: There’s a dialogue in the film where Vaibhav asks Brahmanandam, ‘Oka Mostaru Kottamantara..Bheebatsanga kottamantara’. If only, Nageshwara Reddy had applied the same concept while writing the story, ‘Kasko’ would have been an interesting film. In another hilarious scene, Vaibhav calls Shweta Basu as ‘Banda Jyothi’ and it is left to our imagination to decide whether it was intentional or not. ‘Kasko’ starts with a bang and ends up as a ‘Bheebathsamaina’ head ache which is cliched, predictable and probably pointless drama too. Thumbs down for ‘Kasko', the only saving grace of the film is Brahmanandam’s comedy and the title of the film itself which is short and simple.