Waltair Veerayya movie review: Finally a Chiranjeevi film the audience will love despite its predictable story

Ever since his return to acting in 2017 after a hiatus, Chiranjeevi has been struggling to find the right project that has really worked for him. Despite experimenting with films like Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy and Godfather, audiences haven’t been able to see vintage Chiranjeevi in full form. Filmmaker Bobby Kolli gives audiences just what they’ve been expecting from Chiranjeevi for the longest time – a project that can entertain on all fronts and extract the best out of him. Waltair Veerayya is Bobby’s fan service to Chiranjeevi’s stardom and it has the star in his element, doing pretty much everything he’s expected to. Also read: Shruti Haasan slams report claiming she skipped Waltair Veerayya event due to ‘mental problems’

The film opens with the introduction of the infamous drug peddler Solomon Caesar (Bobby Simha) escaping from the clutches of RAW agents in a village in Andhra Pradesh. After wreaking havoc on the RAW agents and local policemen, Solomon flees to Malaysia. Rajendra Prasad, who plays a police inspector, is desperate to capture Solomon and bring him back to India to make him pay for his crimes. Unfortunately, Prasad has no support from anyone so he seeks the help of Waltair Veerayya (Chiranjeevi), a local fisherman who’s into smuggling, to help him bring Solomon back to India. In Malaysia, the tables are turned for Prasad, when Veerayya and Solomon join forces. What follows forms the rest of the story.

It is after a long time we see that Chiranjeevi truly had a blast playing a character. This is an uninhibited performance and he brings out all the old-school charm that made Chiranjeevi what he is today. The plot is as old as the mountain but what makes Waltair Veerayya somewhat refreshing is that the film doesn’t try to glorify Chiranjeevi’s character. Instead, it allows him to get under the skin of his character and have so much fun. The film really portrays Chiranjeevi in the most crowd-pleasing fashion in a really long time. There are some films you watch for the story and there are some you just watch hoping to see your favourite star shine amidst all other things. Waltair Veerayya is the kind of film that falls in the second category and it’s perfectly fine being that way as it lives up to the expectations.

The inclusion of Ravi Teja in a crucial role gives the film a lot of weightage. Scenes between Chiranjeevi and Ravi Teja make for some of the best moments of the film. Bobby’s intention of delivering an out-and-out enjoyable commercial film with Waltair Veerayya works to a large extent, even when the predictability factor creeps in when you’re least expecting. The action sequences really serve as the film’s high moments and they deliver the thrills in a big way. These scenes do go overboard on multiple occasions but still work given the film’s massive scale.

Film: Waltair Veerayya

Director: Bobby Kolli

Cast: Chiranjeevi, Ravi Teja, Shruti Haasan, Bobby Simhaa and Rajendra Prasad

ott:10