'Current Theega' Review: Manoj's Show

Movie: Current Theega
Rating: 3/5
Banner: 24 Frames Factory
Cast: Manoj Manchu, Jagapati Babu, Rakul Preet Singh, Sunny Leone and Others
Cinematography: Satish Mutyala
Editor: S. R. Shekhar
Music: Achu
Written By: G. Nageswara Reddy, Kishore Tirumala (dialogue)
Produced by: Manchu VishnuDirection: G. Nageswara Reddy
Release Date: 31st Oct, 2014

Ever since Current Teega went on the floor, the film has been in the news and has been one of the highly anticipated films. An official remake of the Tamil super hit film Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangham, it has been directed by G Nageswara Reddy of Denikaina Ready fame. After a slight delay, the film is finally out. Let’s see how it has shaped up…

Story:
The story is set in Parvathipuram. The village headman Sivarama Raju (Jagapathi Babu) has three daughters, two of whom are married and the youngest one Kavitha (Rakul Preet Singh) is at college. Raju (Manchu Manoj) is a happy-go-lucky young man who doesn’t do anything in particular apart from running the VIP club.

Raju drools over the super hot teacher in the village school Sunny (Sunny Leone) and uses Kavitha as his courier girl to give her love letters. Meanwhile, he ends up having a face-off with a local goon Shankaranna and also manages to irritate Sivarama Raju.

But then, a proper story has the hero and heroine falling in love eventually and
that’s what happens in this story too.

So, will Raju win over Sivarama Raju who is hell-bent on getting his daughter married to a groom of his choice?

Artistes’ Performances:
Manchu Manoj as the jobless, good Samaritan Raju is a perfect fit. His over the top antics are ideal for the loud character and he shows various shades through the film. Of course, he seems to have pumped in a lot of iron and has a rather huge frame unlike the usual Telugu film heroes, but he puts it to good use during action shots. He also gets to do emotional and love scenes which he manages convincingly.

Rakul Preet Singh is the new favourite in the industry and she once again gets a glamourous role to play. As always she goes about her job sincerely. But her costumes and make-up are a bit disappointing at places.

Sunny Leone debuts in Telugu with the film and she looks hot as ever. Her characterization is a little old school, but her glamour more than makes up for it. However, her accent is unintentionally hilarious and the one odd Telugu words she says with her thick accent are really funny.

Jagapathi Babu plays the village headman Sivarama Raju. He plays the part of a serious father who wants his daughter to be happy really well. He seems to be enjoying his second stint immensely.

Sampoo puts in a cameo as the fiancé of Sunny and the bit role got a lot of whistles in the theatre.

Tanikella Bharani, Vennela Kishore, Thagubothu Ramesh and others put in decent performances.

Technical Excellence:
Since the film is a remake of a Tamil hit film, the task was more or less easy for director Nageshwar Reddy. But he did tweak the original a bit to suit the taste of Telugu audiences. As for the other departments, cinematography is okay as is editing.

Music is by Achu and some of the songs have already become popular with the masses including the Sunny Sunny number which has been shot like a music video. Given that it is a Manoj film, some dialogues did have the audience laughing out loud.

Highlights:

    Sunny Leone
    First Half
    Comedy scenes with Prudhvi

Drawbacks:

    Weak second half

Analysis:
Current Theega has been a much publicized film not just because of Manchu Manoj, but also because of Sunny Leone debuting in Telugu. Of course, she is a huge asset for the film, but one must be warned that the film is set in a village backdrop.

Nageswara Reddy who made the hit film Denikaina Ready with Manchu Vishnu handles the remake well, but could not retain the entertainment element throughout the film.

Of course, he does start off well. The first half goes off smoothly and the audiences get into the story. But as the second half progresses, one ends up feeling that there is something missing. Like Sunny Leone, Prudhvi becomes another draw for the audiences. His comedy track was enjoyed by the audiences in the theatres.

Like most films these days, Current Theega also has a message for young lovers as a part of the story. Barring a few scenes here and there, which could have been chopped off at the editing table, Current Theega remains true to the original story.

Apparently, the film is the biggest release of Manchu Manoj till date. It remains to be seen how the audience will like his latest attempt made by his family banner 24 Frames Factory.

Bottomline: Not Shocking