Maghadheera is a movie that you walk in to watch with loads of expectations given the mega-budget, a hi-profile star-son, a super-hit director, a hit production house and a huge publicity blitz. Thankfully, all these elements come together to deliver the promised visual treat thanks to an interesting storyline and stylized execution!

What is it about : The story starts off in the present with an aspiring biker Ram Charan landing up in Hyderabad and bumping into Kajal with whom he feels an intense mysterious connection alongwith the love-at-first-sight syndrome. At the same time, Kajal’s murdering cousin Pratap, who suffers from a lust-at-first-sight syndrome on seeing her, takes her away to the distant Udaygarh while making her believe that Charan has killed her father. A flashback to the 16th century shows Charan as Kala Bhairava who is the brave warrior in the kingdom of Udaygarh. His love-story with the princess (Kajol again) ends tragically for both while saving Udaygarh from the traitorous Pratap. Cut back to the present where Charan not only has to prove his innocence and win back his love, but also finish off the 400 year old battle from the past with Pratap.

What is Good: The best elements of the movie are the Script, Direction, Visual Effects and importantly Charan. Although the re-incarnation story has been told many times before, Rajamouli should be credited for keeping the interest alive. He lets the story unfold at an even pace and makes it believable while making sure the special effects don’t dominate the characters. The visual effects are awesome and probably the best ever in Tollywood till date. The city of Udaygarh and the Kala Bhairava hill are well done. The action scenes are well choreographed esp. in the horse-riding and battle scenes. Charan has put in a lot of effort and it shows in his strong performance as Kala Bhairava. He dances extremely well with the highlight being the Bangaru Kodipeta song. The songs are melodious and come in at the right points. The choreography by Bhaskar for the Panchadhaara song was well conceptualized and shot.

What is bad: The first half, which is predominantly set in the present, could have edited out some scenes to help reduce the movie length which is more than 2.5 hrs. Charan needs to improve on his dialogue delivery which at times seems forced in the intense scenes. Kajal was adequate as the city girl but could make too much of an impression as the fiery Princess. The comic track with Sunil and Brahmanadam seemed redundant at times.

Me Thinks: Maghadheera is a total family entertainer and it does entertain you in style. It can definitely be watched for the story and the stylized execution. Definitely value for money!

Tailpiece: Chiranjeevi does make an appearance in the Bangaru Kodipeta song which had audience applauding wildly. Though he did not match steps with Charan as anticipated, he still seems have his megastar charisma intact!!!

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Click here for Review by Pramod