Waltair Veerayya (2022)

Waltair Veerayya (2022)

Directed by: Bobby Kolli
Starring: Chiranjeevi, Ravi Teja, Shruti Hassan

In spite of the commercial cinema template, with cut-away dance numbers interrupting the story, I partly enjoyed the film. Mostly because it's been so long since we saw Chiru as a character who is not perfect. He's an alcoholic, loose character with vulnerabilities and the goofy scenes done in his own style were a delight to watch. I enjoyed the second half, mostly parts between Chiru and Raviteja - there was some beautiful bromance there. The film is filled with references, I enjoyed them too. And though it reminded me a little of Racegurram, the flashback was really nice which added some more depth into their relationship. There are some really heartfelt moments in the film, especially the scene where Chiru goes and rubs the mud off Ravi Teja's posters, and the scene in the car. In the ending, when the court finally gives a verdict, Chiru does a light bang on the court stand - that was brilliant.

Now what didn't work for me in the film was the entire Rajendra Prasad plot in the first half. It didn't seem enough of a conflict, where he's trying to find justice for his colleagues. If it was his family or so, it would've been more impactful. But since it's his colleagues, without having their relationship established too, it didn't land as much. Which is why, the interval scene too felt a little flat for me. Although, why Chiru is so easy going is beautifully paid off with the Ravi Teja's flashback. And I did not enjoy the placement of songs with Shruti Hassan, at all. Because there's no love story explored between them, and whenever they need a song, they place a random interaction and cut to a foreign location. But apart from these hiccups, I enjoyed the core plot of the film. If not for the commercial template, or at least if the template was a little bit of a midground, then I would've enjoyed the film a lot more than I did now.