SAAHASAM - Welcome Back Prashanth

Prashanth is one of the few versatile actors in the industry who is highly talented in terms of acting, dance and stunts (trained in kickboxing & martial arts) and is underrated always. He has delivered some iconic movies which the 90's kids have grown up watching such as Thiruda-Thiruda, Jeans, Jodi, Appu, Tamizh, Majnu and Winner. They were all iconic in their own perspective and he nurtured the performer within him delivering some matured performances in Adaikalam, Tamizh and, Appu.

So "TOP STAR" - PRASHANTH (as he was fondly called back then) is back with his latest outing SAAHASAM, the remake of the Telugu blockbuster 'Julayi', starring Allu Arjun. So let's see whether this movie lives upto the expectation of both the remake and Prashanth's comeback...

So what is this all about :

When one considers the Mahabharath, the entire epic starts because Dharma gambles..Similarly, the movie begins on a night when Ravi (Prashanth) goes out to bet on the IPL after a brief argument with his father (Nassar) and ends up as bait to a bank robbery planned by Bittoo (Sonu Sood). And from that point it's a cat & mouse game between the protagonist and antagonist which forms the crux of the story.

Pros :

First and foremost the biggest highlight of the film is Prashanth. He looks dashing and gives a spirited performance. If his comeback was the only objective, then the production & the direction teams can be proud that their mission has been accomplished. Prashanth nails the action and mass scenes big time and the project is rightly backed by his father's production values, as required by the story.

The supporting cast has done a fabulous job here. Nassar, Thulasi, Leema Babu, MS Bhaskar, Kota Srinivasa Rao make the runtime of the movie pretty smooth for the viewers, while Thambi Ramaiah (reprises Rajendra Prasad's role from the original) has given yet another good performance. His comic timing with MS Bhaskar and John Vijay, is incredible.

Another strong pillar of the movie is the music by Thaman."Oh Madhu" song is the key takeaway of the album, crooned by Anirudh, followed by "Desi Girl" and "Sayaang Ku" which fits the bill for the kuthu genre. Even the re-recording has been done to go with the flow of the story.

The technical team of the movie has done a good job too. Be it Shaji Kumar's cinematography or Zashi Qmer's edits, the technical team has played a role in maintaining the pace of the movie. Thiyagarajan himself has written the screenplay and dialogues for the film and the dialogues are indeed razor sharp in a few places.

Debutant Arun Raj Varma has done a decent job, recreating this movie frame by frame.

Cons :

The female lead of the movie, Amanda, is beautiful, glamorous in songs and acts to an extent, but one can notice something significant missing in her performance. Maybe the role of 'Madhu' needed a more popular lead with star value, the original being portrayed by Ileana D'cruz. The romance sequences and songs in the 2nd half could've been trimmed down, as it tests the patience of the viewers for sure.

A slight alteration of the screenplay could have taken the film to an all new level. Julayi's original screenplay is loosely inspired from 'The Dark knight' (in the opening sequence) and from 'Italian Job' (in the climax) and that could've been avoided to give this movie a fresh look.

Verdict :

Having discussed the Pros and Cons of the movie, at the end of the day, we are very delighted to see Prashanth on screen in an ultra commercial-masala flick. He does the role with delight and it's a treat for all fans who love commercial flicks. Having got the comeback, we have a small piece of advice to give to our Top Star: 'There are umpteen no. of young directors in the industry today. Make use of them and shape your 2nd Innings with ease. Best wishes for your future projects.'

How well did u enjoy Saahasam?  Let us know in the comments section below...