Review: Mirchi wows all
Mirchi is an unabashedly violent film and one among the scores of films where the hero must put an end to the violence.
His bravado takes a backseat for the greater good, but to make us root for the protagonist, filmmakers make it a point to showcase his violent side and throw light on the incident which changes the protagonist's heart.
In Mirchi, this life changing event involves his parents. No surprises there. The surprising part, however, is that the violence in the film is its biggest strength, apart from the sizzling chemistry between Prabhas and Anushka.
Jai (Prabhas) lives in Milan, Italy and one day he bumps into Manasa (Richa). She falls in love with him but soon she tells him that they can never be together because she comes from a village near Macherla where violence reigns supreme.
Soon, Jai goes to Hyderabad and befriends Poorna (Subbaraju), who turns out to be Manasa's brother. When Jai lands in Manasa's house, she's shocked but soon realises that he has come to her house to reform her family and make them shed their violent ways.
When all seems to be going well, Jai tells Manasa, a devastating truth about his past, Deva (Sathya Raj) and Vennela (Anushka). Who's Jai? Why does he come to Manasa's house? That forms the rest of the story.
Mirchi is a neatly packaged entertainer and Prabhas takes up the entire onus of carrying the film on his shoulders. The plot has a heavy hangover of several films like Brindavanam, Shankam and Dhammu where rivalry between two warring factions is a major subplot.
The film takes off on a positive note and Prabhas looks fantastic in his uber suave avatar in the first half. Despite the predictability of the film's first half, Koratala Siva, the film's director, pulls it off with some good dialogues.
The film's best part is a long flashback and Prabhas is on top of his game in this action-packed sequence. The action scenes are indeed gory, yet with Prabhas wielding the sword with great panache, they look splendid.
There are plenty of instances in the second half which are written just to elevate Prabhas' larger than life image and Koratla Siva does a good job here. Anushka is a revelation in the film and her chirpy performance is a delight to watch.
The sparkling chemistry between Prabhas and Anushka is remarkable and one of the songs, Idhedo Baagundhe, which is shot on the duo, is the best of the lot. Richa is good in her role as well. Sampath Raj, who plays Uma, is menacing as the villain whereas Sathya Raj and Nadiya suit their respective roles quite well.
Madhie, the cinematographer, captures the rustic countryside quite well and Devi Sri Prasad makes a big impression with his background score. It's a big surprise that a writer turned director like Kortala Siva, who showcases a good grip on the craft, offers no surprises in terms of the story or the screenplay.
The lack of imagination or should we say adherence to the template of a mass entertainer takes the sheen away from the film to some extent. There are some loopholes in the script as well.
It's never clear how Uma (Sampath Raj) fails to recognise Jai's voice when they meet for the first time, after all the two have a history and what happened to Uma's henchmen who already know the truth about Jai.
Films like Mirchi are like a lavish buffet which promises something for everyone. You don't get the best that one can offer, yet it's value for money. Mirchi is exactly like that. A little spicy, a little mundane and a whole lot of action.
It makes no pretensions about what it achieves to do and there lies the crux of the film. Go watch it and if nothing else, you'll end up liking Prabhas and Anushka.
News Posted: 8 February, 2013
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