There’s a hero who calls himself ‘Shadow’. Of course, there’s a reason
why he’s called that. He’s on a mission, to single out the core group
members of mafia don Nana Bhai and wipe them out. The story is as old as
the hills, or as old as Indian cinema itself: Nana Bhai (Aditya
Pancholi) and his gang murder Raghuram (Nagababu), an undercover
investigative journalist, in front of his son. The boy manages to escape
and vows to avenge his father’s death. Nasser, who provides shelter to
children of families affected by the mafia group, takes the boy under
his wings. Under Nasser’s guidance, the motley group of children grow up
determined to pin down their prime target.
The problem with Shadow is not merely in the been-there-done-that kind
of a story. Many mainstream films follow that path anyway. Pack in a few
stunts, songs and comedy and you have a staple formula that ensures a
decent opening at the box office. Director Meher Ramesh probably wanted
to make a film high on style, where the action sequences are on par with
Hollywood films. So we get to see a large number of people clad in
hooded leather jackets walking with a swagger and all of them captured,
at least once in 30 minutes, in silhouettes as if to remind you of the
title. By the time you are halfway through the film, you lose count of
the number of people killed, the number of bullets used and the limbs
broken.
Years later, the task of capturing Nana Bhai and his gang falls on a
straightforward cop Prathap (Srikanth) before they can wreak havoc on
Hyderabad. If you’ve watched Telugu movies, you’d know that the scene of
action will shift to either Thailand or Malaysia. We get to see a lot
of Langkawi islands as the gang goes about its work and one member after
the other gets killed by Shadow. Prathap and his team of cops are at a
loss about the identity of Shadow. Please note that all the mafia
members — in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Malaysia, speak fluent Telugu. The
police station in Malaysia has only Indians, in particular
Telugu-speaking officers.
This revenge drama is hugely punctuated by comedy provided by M.S.
Narayana and group. The gags aren’t remotely funny and we are left
wondering if the audience is laughing with the jokes or at them. There’s
also a poor version of Gabbar Singh’s antakshari thrown in. How funny
is it to watch M.S. Narayana attend a press conference pretending he is
‘Tom Yum’ from Japan?
While watching Shadow, it will also help if you don’t ask what, why,
when, who, where and how. There are more bloopers than you can count on
your fingers. As Venkatesh goes about introducing himself to the mafia
members as ‘Shadow: Rajaram, son of Raghuram,’ followed by more phrases
that rhyme, you wonder if there’s anything to like about the film —
dialogues, script, screenplay, styling (Tapsee’s clothes and accessories
are simply over the top; as for Venkatesh’s colourful hairdo, let’s not
even talk about it), music, comedy — and you can’t think of any.
The only ones who make a mark are Venkatesh and Srikanth. The two
seasoned actors are earnest and give their best to the roles, but are
letdown hugely by the film. Tapsee doesn’t have much scope and what
little she has gets overshadowed by her kitschy styling.
If you are a Venkatesh fan, we suggest you watch some of his earlier
films instead. Here, he has been reduced to a shadow of his once
glorious self. At one point, when Venkatesh suffers retrograde amnesia
and behaves like a boy, you feel sorry for the talented actor caught in a
wrong film like this one.
Cast: Venkatesh, Srikanth, Tapsee
Director: Meher Ramesh
Music: Thaman
Plot: A son avenges the murder of his father by wiping out a mafia group
Bottomline: What was the director thinking?
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