Story

Balu (Pawan Kalyan) starts off his life in Hyderabad by opening a bouquet shop at Mahankali Market. He gets closer to the local don Nayudamma (Jersey Singh) under the guise of his well-wisher. His secret mission: To retrieve a valuable thing from Nayudamma.

Cut to Flash-Back:
Ghani (Pawan Kalyan) is an orphan who is picked up by a local goon Khan (Gulshan Grover) who later becomes the biggest don in Delhi. Ghani is trained as a ruthless killer. He falls in love with a medical student girl called Indu (Neha Oberai). He inspires Indu to shed all her hidden fears and face the world bravely. But certain incidents leave bitter memories for Ghani.

The crux of the film is about why Ghani of Delhi turns into Balu of Hyderabad

Artists Performance

Pawan Kalyan: It is heartening to see Pawan Kalyan back in his elements. His glamour during Kushi period is back. He excels in all departments. His dance in 'Inthe Inthe' song shows the terrific energy he carries when he performs. His histrionics projecting agony when he visits Indu to shoot her are excellent. His comedy in the first half is pretty popular (as good as his comedy in Kushi film). And the interval fight shows how he strives to bring realism in fights. With his performance in Balu, Pawan Kalyan brings back the smiles on the faces of Telugu film lovers who frowned him for his arty look in Johnny and eccentric antics in Gudumba Shankar.

Heroines: Shriya is cool as the girl who gets teased by Pawan Kalyan. She danced well in the 3rd song of the film. She does the role of a typical happy-go-lucky glamorous girl in this film. "Indu" is the most vital character in the film. The characterization of this role is good. But unfortunately, Neha Oberai does not fit in to the role well. But the characterization is so good that you would not notice this shortcoming on the screen.

Others: Gulshan Grover is adequate for the role of main villain. Jersey Singh is good. Sunil entertains by playing second fiddle to Pawan in the first half. Jaya Sudha is compassionate. Milind Gunaji is terrific in the little cameo role. Master Teja and Baby Kavya are pretty. Brahmanandam and Dharmavarapu Subramanyam are good. Saurabh Shukla is adequate as the brief of Gulshan Grover mafia wing. Suman does a small yet vital character. Rajan P Dev and MS Narayana have tiny roles.

Technical Departments:

Story: The story is a typical mafia story of a loyal member of a ruthless don, shifting his loyalties for the sake of a girl and turning into an adversary. First half of the film appears as one story and the second half as another one with a fine link between the two halves. It is essentially a revenge story with good potential.

Screenplay - direction: Screenplay and direction of the film is good in first half. Karunakaran excels in extracting tender feelings in love episodes and sensible humor in comedy scenes. However, his grip in handling mafia related scenes is not good enough. The way he handles the emotions in the love thread between Pawan Kalyan and Neha is skilful. It is surprising to see Karunakaran who is good at picking up innocent-looking and expressive actors like Keerti Reddy and Bhumika Chawla for his films ended up taking Neha Oberai.

Dialogues: Dialogues by Kona Venkat are praiseworthy. He excels in writing comedy and philosophical dialogues in this film. Here are few of the good dialogues that are worth mentioning

1. Ye vastuvunaina naasanam cheyyadam chaala easy. Kaani srustinchadam chaala kastam. Manam srustinchaleni vaatini naasanam chese hakku ledu. (Pawan Kalyan to Shriya)

2. Bhayapadithe chachipothaavu. (the kid Pawan Kalyan)

3. Prapanchamlo prati vokkariki samasyalu vuntai. Samasyalunnai kada ani chachipokoodadu. Kaalithene Nippu. Tirugutene Bhoomi. Poradithene Manishi. (Pawan Kalyan to Neha Oberai)

4. Ee Ghani ni champataaniki Gunnulu Kaaduraa. Gundelu Kaavali (this dialogue got maximum response from the masses).

5. Pawan Kalyan introducing himself as "bokeist" (florist) and Sunil introducing himself as "helpist" (helper to Pawan Kalyan).

6. English literature lo naaku nachani padam - Commission. Veelaithe ade amount gift gaa ivvandi. (Brahmanandam to Sunil)

Music: Music by Mani Sharma is an asset. Background music is a plus. Here is the sequence of songs in the film. Picturization wise Kannukottina, Inthe Inthe and Lokale gelavaga are the best in that order.

1. Inthe Inthe: It is a group song picturized in the market set. When you have so many dancers in a song, it is very difficult to maintain rhythm. But this song has got terrific rhythm that complements the beat of the tune. Pawan Kalyan is amazingly fresh and handsome in blue jeans attire.

2. Neelo Jarige: This song is shot on Pawan Kalyan on Shriya in outdoors with the beautiful backdrop of Hytex(in Madhapur). It is a soothing melody song with slow steps.

3. Kannu Kottina: This is the highlight song of the film giving the masses the way they want it. This song is picturized on Pawan Kalyan and Shriya. The sets erected by Anand Sai are excellent.

4. Hut ja Hut ja: It is a song that shows the modus operandi of Ghani character through montage sequences. This is more of a situational song than a solo-dancing song. Pawan Kalyan wears the expensive turbo pants for this song.

5. 'Athi Methani': This song is my personal favorite when I listened to the audio. It has got great theme and superb lyrics. This song should have been shot in the lush outdoor locations by exploiting simple feelings between Pawan Kalyan and Neha. Instead, it was made with routine dances in extravagant sets. Vaibhavi Merchant choreographed this song.

6. Lokale Gelavaga: This song is shot on Pawan Kalyan and Neha on journey from Delhi to Agra. This song explores the sweet nothings between the lead pair. This song was shot in Pune and Mahabaleswar. Saroj Khan choreographed this song.

Other departments: Cinematography by Ramesh is first rate. He captures the grandeur of the film and transforms it on to the screen in an effective way. Art work is by Anand Sai is excellent - be it extravagant sets for songs or the realistic market set. Editing by Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao is adequate. Costumes of Pawan Kalyan designed by Renu Desai are excellent. The fight composed by Stun Siva before interval is extraordinary. Production values by Vyjayanthi banner are of very high standards and the film oozes richness all the way.

A few heart touching scenes in the film:

1. The first interaction between Pawan Kalyan and Neha
2. The scene in which Pawan Kalyan visits Neha to assassinate her.
3. The last interaction between Pawan Kalyan and Neha with Taj Mahal backdrop.

Analysis: First half of the film is good with class orientation and fine suspense elements about the past of the hero's character. The second half has mafia backdrop where Pawan Kalyan uses guns rather than muscles. The love track between Pawan Kalyan and Neha is gentle. But the director could not sustain grip over the proceedings in second half. Climax of the film offers variety. The plus points are live-wire performance and the glamour of Pawan Kalyan, music, good first half and excellent production values. On the flip side, is the tempo drop-down in the second half of the film. Different sets of parameters (backdrops, storylines and heroines) for first half and second half makes the two halves appear different that offsets the balance of the movie. On the whole, Balu sums up to be a film you should watch to see Pawan Kalyan in a fresh radiant look.

Balu links
Sreya Audio Review

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