Veera Simha Reddy Movie Review: Balakrishna packs a punch in this template action entertainer

Nandamuri Balakrishna is back with yet another dual act after the enjoyable Akhanda. With Veera Simha Reddy, he treats his fans to another fun commercial entertainer, which also reminds us of old films with similar storylines. Does Veera Simha Reddy have enough meat to impress the audience? Here, we find out! Jai (Balakrishna) and his mother Meenakshi (Honey Rose) have a car dealership business and a restaurant, respectively. Jai meets Sandhya (Shruti Haasan) and falls in love with her. When Sandhya’s father asks Jai to bring his parents to finalize the wedding, he gets to learn that his father Veera Simha Reddy (Balakrishna again) is alive. However, when Veera Simha Reddy comes to Turkey, things take a drastic turn. The rest of the film shows us Veera Simha Reddy and Honey Rose’s past and why they aren’t together.

Director Gopichand Malineni’s Veera Simha Reddy is as formulaic as it can get. If you have a two-hero subject with the brother-sister sentiment, you get a set of clichéd moments as you have seen in films so far. All those moments (and more) are part of Veera Simha Reddy and that’s what makes it fun too. It’s a delight to see Nandamuri Balakrishna owning the screen even though the roles are similar to what he had done in his previous films.

Be it the over-the-top action sequences or his punch dialogues, they are aplenty in Veera Simha Reddy. In an action scene, Balakrishna strikes and two men fold hands in mid-air. These are action blocks that are enjoyable, typical of what can be expected out of a Balayya film. Among the two roles, Veera Simha Reddy’s characterization was etched well. And Balakrishna essayed both roles with such swag.

Veera Simha Reddy also has some strong political dialogues, which brought a lot of cheer among the audience. Balayya is seen talking about his father NTR and his lineage. And then, there’s Balayya praising himself!

That said, Veera Simha Reddy’s story has nothing new to offer. We get the brother-sister sentiment and how revenge clouds one’s judgement. There’s objectification of women and the problematic male gaze throughout the film and the songs as well. Seeing Honey Rose playing mother to Jai (Balakrishna), the odd pairing is sticking up like a sore thumb. Even though Rose’s makeup suggested that she’s old enough to be a mother, it didn’t add any novelty.

Shruti Haasan’s role could have been done by anyone. The so-called comedy sequences are as old as the hills and did not bring in any laughs. And her character vanishes after the initial half an hour. Comparatively, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar gets a meatier role as Veera Simha Reddy’s sister. She has a full-fledged character arc and has done her best to stay true to her role. Similarly, Duniya Vijay as the antagonist looked deadly. However, his role lacked the punch that was needed to take on two Balakrishna’s.

Veera Simha Reddy is a film that reeks of clichéd ideas. While most of them work, the lack of depth in the story made it an average affair.

2.5 out of 5 for Veera Simha Reddy.

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