The best part of Maharshi is that it gives us a lot of solid moments to root for the protagonist and that is what matters in the end. Mahesh Babu, Allari Naresh and Pooja Hegde starrer Maharshi sounds almost like a clarion call that one must never forget their roots, no matter how successful they are in their lives. And in doing so, it focuses on the very idea of India, which despite tilting towards a capitalistic economy is still a socialist country. It emphasises on the need for working towards the greater good of the society rather than focusing on personal success. At its core, Maharshi is a well-intentioned drama and has some beautifully written sequences; however, it holds back on a lot of things it wants to say for so long that it makes you feel restless at times. It’s treated like a biopic of a fictional character, who goes back to his roots to mend some fences and in the process, his life undergoes a major transformation. And the film too gets better as its lead character progresses towards realising his true sense of purpose. The film has Mahesh Babu playing Rishi, who’s extremely ambitious in life. His father (played by Prakash Raj) is a simple man, who struggles to make ends meet. The duo hardly talk and Rishi kind of develops a grudge against his father for being a failure. His ambition in life is to not be like his father. When he goes to college, he befriends Ravi (Allari Naresh) and Pooja (Pooja Hegde); however, he moves on in life to pursue his ambition to become successful and rich. Much later, he gets promoted as the CEO of one of the leading tech companies in the world, and one day, when he meets his college friends, his life changes dramatically when he finds out what had happened to his close friends from college. The rest of the story is about how his journey back home changes Rishi as a person. First things first; Maharshi flourishes when it hits the emotional chords. The best scene in the film has Mahesh Babu reading a letter written by his father. The way Mahesh Babu emotes in that particular sequence is more than enough to show his acting prowess, and how much emotion Maharshi packs within its three hour long narrative. Then, there’s another beautiful segment set in a village where an old man talks about how nature takes care of us once we step into the soil. It’s a wonderful metaphor for the protagonist’s journey too since he feels alive when he gets his hands dirty. The mud under his feet and the scorching sun above him give him a lot more joy than the skyscrapers of Manhattan. It’s this progression of a man who starts from being too self-centred to a reformer that works quite well in Maharshi. Yet, the film’s narrative is riddled with quite a few issues. In the initial portions of the film, Rishi comes across as someone who’s too egotistical, albeit smart and intelligent. He wants to run as fast as he can in his life because the world remembers only names of champions like Usain Bolt. He pushes away people from his life because he thinks that they might be a burden for him later on. There’s hardly anything likeable about him as a person, even though you can’t help but admire his relentless pursuit to be the best. The film shows us a glimpse of all these traits in Rishi and makes it really hard for us to root for him. It’s only much later that we begin to understand the exact reason why Rishi has been running as far away as he can from his home and people who knew him. In the absence of an emotional high, especially in the first half, there’s very little to cling on to before the film changes gears. Except for Allari Naresh, Rao Ramesh and Kamal Kamaraju, the rest of the supporting cast doesn’t get enough to work with. The romantic track between Mahesh Babu and Pooja Hegde too isn’t well-etched to root for their relationship. Thankfully, things change dramatically once Rishi comes back to mend fences with Ravi and Pooja. Right from the moment Mahesh Babu decides to revisit his past, the film finds its rhythm and it also focuses on several key issues plaguing the country side, especially in terms of their right to live a dignified life. The concept of home, success and the importance of farming is handled quite well. Even though the film moves on predictable lines, the writing is good in the second half of the film and it makes its point loud and clear. The film owes a lot to Mahesh Babu’s conviction to pull off his role and he makes you believe in his characterisation so much that it doesn’t feel like fiction. His flamboyance in the college sequences and the maturity with which he pulled off the village segments is noteworthy. Allari Naresh shines in his role, although he gets sidelined towards the latter portions of the film. Pooja Hegde gets lost in the proceedings, and others like Vennela Kishore and Jagapathi Babu hardly have any role. KU Mohanan’s cinematography is a huge asset and he is instrumental in making Maharshi larger-than-life through his frames. Devi Sri Prasad makes his mark in some of the emotional sequences with his background score. It’s quite clear that Vamshi Paidipally has invested a lot of time in building the life of Maharshi, and perhaps, he feels quite attached to the issues that he tries to address through the film. One of the most memorable lines in the film goes something like this - “There are no full stops in success, only commas.” There are no full stops in Maharshi either, but there are a tad too many commas.<doc-sep>Murali Krishna CH By Express News Service Movies are a great medium to not only captures the imagination of the audience but also to educate them about prevalent issues. Some films, while telling a story, also inspire us to live a bit differently and help transform our beliefs. However, there also those that lack passion and fail in the attempt. Mahesh Babu's 25th film Maharshi, unfortunately, falls into this latter category. The story pivots around K Rishi Kumar (Mahesh Babu), a disgruntled man with little taste for slogging to support a middle-class life. He grows up with the fear of failure, but works his way up to become the CEO of a New York-based techno giant. During his journey, he realises that he's lost three important people in his life and so, he decides to follow his heart in the hope of turning over a new leaf. On the face of it, director Vamshi Paidipally had an opportunity to create a compelling drama about a go-getter, who changes his perceptions about his people, his roots, and his own goals in life. He has chosen a relevant theme and a perfect star cast too. But the perfunctory screenplay brings down the film, which tackles the problems plaguing the agricultural sector. Although some of these issues are addressed the narration is bereft of honesty. The director seems to have borrowed the narrative style from Koratala Siva and created an unusual cocktail of Swades, 3 Idiots, Kaththi and Srimanthudu. The clunky romantic track between Mahesh and Pooja Hegde feels underdeveloped (as evidenced by their first meeting, match-making scene and the scenes that follow) and the uninteresting songs only slacken the movie's pace. I don't want to give away too much, and hence can't detail how this film ditches the interesting potential of its premise and gets too idealistic, preachy and predictable in the second hour. Suffice it to say, with a running time of almost three hours, the journey of Rishi is way too long and demands much patience on our part, with little to offer as reward. Mahesh Babu plays a character that becomes more complex as the plot thickens. His agitated relationship with his father (Prakash Raj), his impulsiveness, and flawless persona until the climax makes it hard for us to empathise with this character. However, the actor performs with his usual flair in a role that barely challenges him as an actor. Allari Naresh as Rishi's roommate and well-wisher makes his presence felt with a subdued performance. Rao Ramesh, Prakash Raj and Jayasudha added gravitas to their respective roles. Jagapathi Babu is reduced to a mere caricature, but Vennela Kishore, Sai Kumar and Rajeev Kanakala leave an impression in their brief appearances. KU Mohanan's cinematography is beautiful, while Devi Sri Prasad's music and background score are ordinary. At the end of it all, despite its best intentions, Maharshi fails to drive home its point. It is disappointing that Vamshi Paidipally, who has delivered compelling dramas like Brindavanam and Oopiri, has only managed to whip up this inspid cocktail of melodrama, which will likely appeal to Mahesh Babu fans alone.<doc-sep>Maharshi movie review: Vamshi Paidipally handles an emotionally intense subject well. Maharshi movie review: Vamshi Paidipally handles an emotionally intense subject well. Maharshi movie cast: Mahesh Babu, Pooja Hegde, Allari Naresh, Jagapathi Babu, Prakash Raj, Jayasudha Maharshi movie director: Vamshi Paidipally Rishi (Mahesh Babu) is the CEO of a multi-billion dollar US-based company. He is an example of success to the outside world. What makes him so successful is conveyed through three phases of Rishi’s life. The movie begins with the complicated father-son relationship of Rishi and Sathya Narayana (Prakash Raj). Rishi considers his father a failure and vows to never become like him. His father acts as a catalyst for his thirst for success. In the second phase set in a college, he meets Pooja (Pooja Hegde) and Ravi (Allari Naresh). Ravi is the son of a farmer from a village called Ramapuram. Later, Rishi, Pooja and Ravi party ways, paving the way for the third phase. In the third phase of Maharshi, after many years, a successful Rishi visits Ramapuram village to meet his old friend Ravi. Ravi, however, is fighting corporates which are swallowing up farming lands. Rishi joins him in the fight. During his time at the village, Rishi understands the struggles of farmers and the faults in the agriculture sector. The ideas such as introducing farming as a lesson in the school curriculum, weekend farming and housing communities adopting villages for the sake of farmers really make the audience think twice about society before they leave the cinema hall. Mahesh Babu is convincing as Rishi. While Pooja Hegde’s role has nothing new to offer, Allari Naresh is the surprise package. Jagapathi Babu as the antagonist delivers the goods. Vamshi Paidipally handles an emotionally intense subject well. But, the director could have paid more attention to Maharshi’s run-time. He could have chopped two masala songs which act as speed bumps. Overall, Maharshi is a crowd pleaser.<doc-sep>Maharshi movie review: The Mahesh Babu movie is bankrolled by Dil Raju, Ashwini Dutt and Prasad V Potluri. Maharshi movie review: The Mahesh Babu movie is bankrolled by Dil Raju, Ashwini Dutt and Prasad V Potluri. Mahesh Babu film Maharshi has finally hit screens. Directed by Vamshi Paidipally of Oopiri fame, the film also stars Pooja Hegde, Allari Naresh, Jagapathi Babu and Prakash Raj among others. Mahesh has been all praises for Vamshi. “Vamshi has a lot of clarity. He directed the film exactly how he narrated the story to me. While directing, he communicated everything clearly to actors about what he expects out of a scene. So, I think he did a fantastic job. He and his team will be the first to receive compliments after the film’s release,” the actor said. Maharshi is the story of Rishi (played by Mahesh Babu) who doesn’t like to fail. He fears failure. In the film, Mahesh will be seen as a student, businessman and farmer. While Pooja Hegde plays Mahesh’s love interest, Allari Naresh plays his best friend in Maharshi. Talking about being a part of the film, Pooja said, “Mahesh Babu is extremely calm on the sets. Vamshi sir is extremely passionate about what he does. Allari Naresh is extremely chilled out. So, all three are very different. I think I am blessed for this opportunity. I hope I bring some luck to the film.” Naresh added, “I am fortunate. Vamshi called me in 2016 about the film. I got quite excited about the story.”<doc-sep>
Maharshi Director: Vamshi Paidipally Cast: Mahesh Babu, Pooja Hegde, Allari Naresh, Jagapathi Babu, Rao Ramesh, Prakash Raj and Jayasudha Rating: 3/5 Mahesh Babu’s films can be generally categorised as commercial entertainers that are intended for the masses. In this process, some of his films worked big time while some sank without a trace. However, with films such as Srimanthudu and Bharat Ane Nenu, he seems to have cracked a success formula: Take a social issue and address it in the most commercially entertaining fashion possible and make it resonate with the audiences. He takes the same path in Maharshi, which follows the journey of a self-made man (Mahesh Babu as a billionaire) who rediscovers himself through farming. Vamshi Paidipally’s Maharshi has traces of Swades and AR Murugadoss’s Kaththi as it follows Rishi (Mahesh Babu), a man who is so consumed by his own success that he gets lost trying to understand its significance. In his pursuit for success and fame, he distances himself from his family, loses his best friend and the love of his life. When he realizes what he’s lost, Rishi goes on a journey of self-discovery as he returns to India to make up for his mistakes. Maharshi has nothing new to offer in terms of story. It spends a lot of time on establishing the fact that Rishi wants to succeed because he’s afraid of losing. He wants to succeed because he doesn’t want to end up being a nobody like his father. A point that could have been easily made in lesser time is needlessly stretched for close to two hours and the pay-off isn’t event worth the time invested. The film finally takes off in the last hour and it’s this stretch, which is elevated by a strong emotional core, which makes the film work. The highly emotional farming stretch is inarguably Maharshi’s biggest saving grace. If it was giving back to the society in Srimanthudu and being a responsible citizen in Bharat Ane Nenu; Mahesh Babu fights for the honour of farmers in Maharshi. The sub-plot about farming and the miserable lives of farmers hits you hard and Mahesh makes this part even more gut-wrenching with his performance. Unlike Kaththi, Maharshi doesn’t dramatize things and that’s a big relief. Vamshi redeems himself strongly with a relevant and highly emotional farming stretch which is inarguably the film’s biggest saving grace. Maharshi is a problematic film with big ideas but it tugs at heartstrings. Take out the farming sub-plot, Maharshi would’ve been a tiresome watch in which Rishi just won’t shut up with his sermons on success. Mahesh Babu, as a billionaire and a farmer is acceptable, but he somehow struggles to fit into the shoes of a college student. One can’t shake off 3 Idiots hangover in the college portion which barely works except for some scenes between Allari Naresh and Mahesh. Naresh plays Ravi, a hardworking son of a farmer with big dreams. Pooja Hegde has very little to do in a role that has absolutely no purpose. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop