Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum review

Why waste dialogues when a few visuals can convey them? Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum sets the tone early in the movie when they show a tribe getting displaced because of mining activities in the region

Why waste dialogues on an actor, when his eyes can do the trick for you? LB Sriram, often an underrated actor has but a few dialogues in the movie. He is always digging and storing away soil for future use. He says, “Thindi lekapoina parvaledhu, mattini adigithe peduthundhi. Matti-e lekapothe? “ (We can always depend on the soil for food (agriculture), but what if there isn’t soil available?”

Dialogues in the movie are the lifeline. It helps that the diction of Rana is top notch in the movie. Early in the movie, when the credits are rolling, a couple sitting on the porch say, “Nyayam, annayam lo Annyayam chelltuthundhi, endhukante annyayam lo oka aksharam hechhu ga” (When it comes to justice and injustice, it’s injustice that always prevails because it has more alphabets)

Similarly the dialogue flow in the scene, especially about opportunity and need, where Rana is applying for a US visa is brilliant. Being a mass entertainer, there is a problem with so many good dialogues in the movie. Even if you can’ understand a lot of them, the understanding of the basic plot of the movie won’t be hampered. If you can understand them, it allows you an emotional connect with the movie

One can’t help but draw parallels with ‘Khaleja’. While Khaleja dealt the issue with a light hearted tone, this does it with lot of emotions. Comedy was central to the theme in Khaleja; in Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum, it seems forced even in the presence of Brahmanandam

If Nayantara had a fleshier role, the comedy could’ve been sidetracked. Then, the makers ran the risk of having made a serious film.

Rana Dagubatti has made considerable progress in the acting department, or is it that the directors have come around to the roles that don’t require a lot of acting prowess. One thing in the movie that you can’t fault him with, is his impeccable diction. His acting and diction both rise in graph as the movie progresses. In most of the emotional scenes in the movie, he holds the attention of the audience and that’s not easy. Comedy and dances, critical to being a mass entertainer, are the departments that he needs a lot of development in. The desire to be a mass hero is pretty evident. In one song of the movie he imitates his uncle’s steps and dances with the uncle himself in another song

Nayantara’s comeback vehicle doesn’t have too much for her to do. She is upto the mark. As said earlier. She could’ve been provided with a meatier part and the movie could’ve been better than what it is. It is probably the first time that she has dubbed for herself in a Telugu movie and does well

Milind Gunaji played the role of the antagonist in a sophisticated manner. The dubbing for him was brilliant. A lengthier role and more dialogues could’ve catapulted him to the bigger league immediately

All the others in the movie perform brilliantly, none more so than LB Sriram and Kota Srinivasa Rao.

Krish has this knack of making movies similar in content to movies previously released. Like with Vedam, so with Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum. There are a few places where the recklessness shows, especially with the graphics in the portions leading to the intermission. Comedy surely doesn’t seem to be his forte as he has inserted a few comical interludes (?) without them actually being comical. Where he didn’t err was in picking a brilliant dialogue writer. Much after the movie has ended, the dialogues remain in your head. One more thing where he needs to be commended is with the length of the movie. At 130 minutes, it’s of a perfect duration. Doesn’t make you shift in your seats uncomfortably looking at the watch

Overall a movie that isn’t novel but surely provokes a thought or two