Guntur Kaaram review: A tired rehash of ‘Attarintiki Daredi’ and ‘Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo’

There is a profound line in Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020) where Jayaram’s character talks about how the greatest battles are fought with people closest to you.

As a filmmaker, Trivikram Srinivas seems fascinated with this concept and has constantly churned out movies along these lines — Attarantiki Daredi (2013), Agnayaathavaasi (2018) or his last blockbuster Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo.

His latest outing Guntur Kaaram, too, has a similar theme and gives a déjà vu due to the presence of Jayaram.

The storyline of Guntur Kaaram has good scope for a festive family drama while also being a star vehicle. But here, Trivikram Srinivas falters in balancing the two aspects.

Mahesh Babu, as Ramana, is refreshing to watch.

Further, the film brings back the memories of his comic timing in Pokiri (2006) and Khaleja (2010).

Synopsis

Guntur Kaaram begins on an eventful night that ends with a murder. Jayarama’s royal Satyam is sent to prison. Vasundhara (Ramya Krishnan) disowns her husband (Jayaram) and son.

She gets remarried under the advice of her father Venkataswamy (Prakash Raj). Rahul Ravindran plays the hugely embarrassing role of Vasundhara’s second son, who is about to enter politics.

Vasundhara grows into an influential politician. Ramana becomes rowdy.

Venkataswamy feels “Rowdy” Ramana might become an obstacle and wants him to sign a document which would permanently erase him from her life.

However, Ramana refuses to sign the document despite never getting his mother’s love and care in his growing years.

As the story progresses, more layers reveal why Vasundhara has kept a distance from her husband and son.

Guntur Kaaram has a good beginning where the conflict is established without wasting time.

As viewers, you want to know the reasons behind her indifference. But the film soon stagnates as multiple characters are introduced whose relevance to the plot is better left unsaid.

Also Read: First review of ‘Guntur Kaaram’ by Umair Sandhu triggers social media debate

Performances

There are a slew of actors who have been terribly wasted. Among them, the prominent ones are Jagapathi Babu, Rahul Ravindran, Rao Ramesh and Jayaram.

The comic punches definitely raise some chuckles.

Mahesh Babu’s comedic exchanges with Vennela Kishore are fun to watch. Their chemistry is reminiscent of Sarkaru Vaari Paata (2022).

Mahesh Babu also gets dialect well, and there is a certain carefree nature, which is refreshing to watch after his Bharat Ane Nenu (2018) and Maharshi (2019).

Prakash Raj makes the biggest impact in the supporting cast. His confrontation scenes with Mahesh Babu are good to watch.

Ramya Krishnan also delivers a commendable performance as Vasundhara but the film needed more scenes between her and Mahesh Babu.

Apart from the multiple characters, another big issue with Guntur Kaaram is the insipid love story between Ramana and Sreeleela’s Ammu.

Sreeleela entertains with her dance moves. Apart from that, there is nothing much for the actor to do. This is sad because Sreeleela showed good potential in Bhagavanth Kesari (2023).

There is also Meenakshi Chowdhary of Hit 2 (2022) fame. She is supposed to be the second female lead, but her only job is to offer Mahesh Babu a plate of omelette or a bottle of soda when he consumes alcohol.

The action sequences are formulaic in nature, with the standard hero elevations that get tiring after a point. These action sequences have some trademark Trivikram Srinivas humour. But these are not enough to salvage the slow narration.

Thaman’s music is suitably massy, but most songs come across as speed bumps in an already tired narrative.

Final take

Guntur Kaaram is a massive downfall for a man who delivered commercial films that can be watched on repeat mode!

(Views expressed here are personal.)