Syeraa - Movie Review

There is a common belief that there are only very few stories that can be told but the way it is told decides if it works or not. Assuming that belief is right, story of a freedom struggle has already been told numerous times in Telugu and other languages. Where Syeraa could have succeeded is if they tried something new in the way the story is told. Syeraa achieves it only partially by making the same old story look ultra rich on screen with good sets, nice vfx and grand action episodes.

Going into details yes there are scenes of people hung by British, girls threatened to be raped, kids stomped and killed to boil your blood. But they fall flat because one we have seen such scenes so many times already and two the scenes also lacked conviction. So they come across as cliched. 

Performance wise Chiru, Jagapathi Babu and Tamannah stand out. Leaving aside Chiru’s physique I am intrigued by his eyes at his age. The eyes look so good on screen and they look so fearless of the camera. That is a quality most of the current generation actors lack. Chiru can not unlearn his Megastar body language whether he is in Rudraveena or Apathbandhavudu or Syeraa. That kinda gives some discomfort in the beginning of the movie but later you come to terms with it. Sudeep adds swag to the movie in a role where he just plays himself. Jagapathi Babu shines mainly due to his styling and the way he carried his role. Tamannah is outstanding in a dance sequence in second half. Rest of the cast is underutilized including Sethupathy and Amitabh.

Movie is very good in few departments-Artwork, VFX, Production values, costumes and authentic war episodes. The body double shots in Chiru’s action episodes are flawless. You will almost believe that Chiru did those. The dialogues are weak. The screenplay is very routine and so is the script. The direction is strictly okay, except for the Avengers assembling 360 shot inspired shot and the Tamannah Dance episode where it is very good. The movie totally misses Surender Reddy mark elevation scenes. You watch the whole movie emotionally disconnected to the characters on screen. Music is there but not a value add. With a routine story and cliched proceedings the movie also feels a bit too long. 

Cringe-note: Why are Telugu movie characters being named Saaho and Syeraa. Would anyone name their kids like that?

Overall, Syeraa is a rich looking routine drama.