Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy movie review: Get in for a ride full of action, patriotism and memories of Bahubali
Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, starring Chiranjeevi, Amitabh Bachan, Tamannah, Nayanthara, Sudeep Sanjeev among others, is a period action drama directed by Surendar Reddy. The movie is produced by Chiranjeevi's son and actor Ram Charan. Though originally a Telegu movie, it will be dubbed and released in four major lanuages including Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil. The movie is loosely based on the life of Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy, a freedom fighter from Andhra Pradesh in the early 1840s, who lead a rebellion killing over 10,000 British soldiers.
Running for a good two hours, 50 minutes, Sye Raa has unjustifiably married the movies 'Bahubali' and 'Manikarnika' together. Actions scenes are well executed and look justified on screen with a little inspiration drawn from Bahubali.
Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy Movie Plot
It's 1847 and Rani of Jhansi is leading her men into the battlefield. They are outnumbered and fearful for their life, so she is compelled to motivate them with an adrenaline gushing speech glorifying the great Narsimha Reddy. The story goes into a flashback narrarting the story of Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy and how he managed to start the fire of rebellion in the hearts of Indians.
The story is set around 10 years prior to the India's first war of independence of 1857, the Sepoy Mutiny. Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy (Chiranjeevi) is an emperor from the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh. As a ruler, he wants to do the best for his subjects and ask for their 'adhikar' from the Britishers. He falls in love with a dancer, Lakshmi (Tamannah), but under difficult circumstances is married to Siddhamma (Nayanthara). The people are struck with a famine and Narasimha is compelled to ask his people to give no 'lagaan' to the Britishers. The Britishers begin their torture, in turn he is forced to join hands with Veera Reddy (Jagapathi Babu), Avuku Raju (Sudheep), Raja Pandi (Vijay Sethupathi) and his guru Guru Gosayi Venkanna (Amitabh Bachchan) to start a rebellion against the British East India Company.
Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy Review
The movie has a good storyline but the loose story-telling fails to do justice to the story and characters with most of the focus on Chiranjeevi.
Chiranjeevi is impressive as Narsimha Reddy but the efforts of gloryfying his character in the movie are too deliberate, almost forcing people into believing majestic personality. Amitabh Bachhan shines in his role as Gosayi Venkanna, even with very less screen-time. His voice provides the weight required in his character.
The movie needs to be appreciated for portraying their female characters with beauty, even though their screen time is very limited. Tamannah looks beautiful as a dancer/lover to Narsimha, totally justifying her character. Nayanthara plays the cliche accomodating and overcompensating wife, with her main work -- birthing Narasimha's child.
Most Indian movies made on the patriotic lines usually consider the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 as the first struggle for the freedom fight. But Sye Raa digs deeper and takes you 10 years back into the timeline of Indian Freedom Struggle. It tries hard to give you something more that the cliche Rani Laxmi revolt but fails in some places and wins in the others.
Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy Final Verdict
Though the movie boasts of a great cast and a good story-line, it fails to make the desired impact on the audience. The screen time is too long, with movie running for over 2 hours and 50 minutes. The story-telling feels rushed in the beginning and too-streched in the second half. With great sets, action scenes and talented actors, Sye Raa Narasimha can make for a good one time watch! We give it 3 stars.