Ragada Movie Review

ragada Movie Review
A film need not be realistic, it is enough if it has some substance and some soul. Ragada lacks both the elements, has neither an interesting story nor is it padded up with a gripping screenplay. A very stale intro for the hero, two heroines who appear like the Chinese bulbs on a Christmas tree, patchy writing and dialogues as old as the dramatis personae..that is how the film begins and the story is about internecine gang rivalries with the leading ladies having a role to play that would be termed as a 'twist' to the story later on.

Director Veeru Potla who showed his expertise in playing up with multiple characters in Bindaas fails thoroughly this time by choosing to work with a top hero. He buckles under pressure visibly by not able to devote his time to rest of the characters and concentrates on glorifying and venerating the hero who looks as if he is doing a favour to the film by acting out the role.

The result is that Satya (Nagarjuna) struggles to portray the image of city-bred mobster and district-level strong man with evenness. Even an action film or a ridiculously hilarious film should be told with sincerity, here though the focus is more on violence, it goes slow on the emotional quotient, gets so tiresome that you would want the healing lectures of Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam to continue.

The first twenty minutes fail to elicit interest till Brahmanandam arrives. His deadpan humour somewhat enlivens the screen. The songs or the locations whether it is shot in Jordon or Johannesburg doesn't make a difference. In most of the songs you get to see Nagarjuna walking, not dancing. Luckily the action scenes are believable.

Technically the film is just about average and it's high and an excellent time for Nagarjuna to go bold and try out various roles rather than harping on formula. Earlier films were restrictive in terms of writers and scripts, but now with so much fresh talent around, stars like Nagarjuna can use their valuable years and looks for path breaking, revolutionary and off beat subjects. How long can one see them dancing to the same stories?

About Ragada, it is another director, actor taking the audience for granted, their time and money for a ride. Finally there is a dialogue in the film, which talks about beauty and brains being a deadly combination. Wonder which aspect of the film Veeru Potla was referring to!