Story
Sandeep Unnikrishnan (Adivi Sesh) was brought up in Bangalore and falls in love with a north Indian girl (Saiee Manjrekar) from school. After a steady relationship, they get married. Sandeep has a helping and patriotic nature right from childhood and he puts people first ahead of his family. He decides to join the army despite strong opposition from his parents (Prakash Raj & Revathi). Rest of the story is about his growth in the army and how he ended up being a martyr.
Artists Performance
Adivi Sesh: Adivi Sesh performed such a difficult character with a lot of ease. The time span of the character on the screen lasts for 16 years. He has to portray himself as a 16 year old guy and slowly mature into a 31 year old martyr. Sesh has done amazing work with body language, expressions and dialogue delivery. You can see a lot of improvement in his dialogue delivery compared to his earlier films. He brought a lot of believability to the character. If you are impressed with his fights in Goodachari, this film takes it to the next level in the second half. He is very good as an action hero.
Others: Saiee Manjrekar surprises you with her performance. Her character too lasts for a span of 16 years on the screen and she looks very tender as a teen girl in the beginning and looks matured towards the end. Sobhita Dhulipala is very good as a hostage and a survivor. Prakash Raj is excellent as the hero's father. He is subtle when needed and highly volatile when the situation demands. Revathi is magnificent. Murali Sharma and Anish Kuruvilla are good. All other actors (mostly new faces) render a lot of freshness to the film.
Technical departments
Story - screenplay - direction: The story is based on the real story of 26/11 martyr and Ashok Chakra award recipient Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan. Writer Sesh has taken some interesting episodes from the college and personal life and written a heart touching story. The initial story (before Sandeep joining NDA) lasts for 45 minutes on the screen. It establishes what kind of a person Sandeep is. Screenplay writer Sesh plants some seeds in the first 45 minutes which work as payoffs in the crucial episode of the second half. Director Sashi Kiran Tikka comes up with good work as a director. It’s very difficult to place a natural love story in a film like this and he succeeds in narrating it in an interesting way. He has also tried to balance commercial elements with real story in the 26/11 episodes to elevate heroism. It’s like watching a Hollywood action hero film. This might appear cinematic and dramatic for some, but balances it out for the common movie goer. The money purse thread in the film is beautifully written. This film is not just about Sandeep, it’s about his parents too. The last 15 minutes of the film shows the helplessness plight of the parents. It’s heart rendering and makes your heart so heavy with indescribable emotion.
Other departments: Sricharan Pakala comes up with terrific background music. Cinematography by Vamsi Patchipulusu is a major asset for the film. He has brought in the required mood with his visuals - be it dreamy teen romantic episodes or fiery action sequences in Taj Hotel. Editing by Vinay Kumar Sirigineedi & Kodati Pavan Kalyan is very good. Dialogues penned by Abburi Ravi deserves a special mention. Each key scene in the film has an important/memorable dialogue written to it. Action sequences composed by Sunil Rodrigues are first rate. Production design by Avinash Kolla is excellent. He has brought authenticity and a period look whenever it was necessary. Production values by GMB entertainment and A + S movies banners are very good. The quality of the film is definitely higher than the budget spent on it.
Analysis: Major is a partly fictionalized biopic of Sandeep Unnikrishnan. We know him as the 26/11 martyr. But, there is more to him. Major film sincerely attempts to capture the human being in him by narrating it from childhood. The writers have succeeded in letting us know the real human being Sandeep Unnikrishnan. It’s a befitting tribute to the national hero. This film also succeeds in making us understand what it means to be a soldier. The screenplay and narrative style (father narrating the story) gives a personal touch to it. The entire team should be appreciated for making an honest yet cinematically engaging film. Go and watch it!
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