Brahmotsavam Movie Review: The Family Saga that Fails to Excite, Entice or Amuse in Any Manner

A leading man who at 40 can easily pass off as someone in his late 20’s naturally and who is a superstar by all means, with his previous film (Srimanthudu) being a blockbuster, that’s Mahesh Babu for you. A director who has only made 3 films prior to this, but all of them being different from each other, coming across comfortable working with newcomers as well as big stars, that’s director Srikanth Addala alright. A production house which is known to back its directors all the way, investing in the fashion that is needed for a film and whose last 2 Telugu ventures (Kshanam and Oopiri ) have come across as among the better Telugu films of late, that’s PVP Cinema‘s identity in case you aren’t aware. With Mahesh Babu, Srikanth Addala and PVP Cinema coming together to make Brahmotsavam, the film was indeed expected to be a grand celebration, worthy enough of the film’s title.

And why not? The odds on the film to fail or turn out as unconvincing were so low that one would have been foolish to bet on such a prospect. Mahesh Babu and Srikanth Addala had earlier combined together for Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (2013), a family entertainer that worked very well at the box office and Brahmotsavam appeared to be an extension of the same formula in a way. The promos, songs and posters appeared to show that the film was a riot of colours, a celebration of family bonding and maybe a summer vacation treat for the family audience. By now we all know that on the contrary the film hasn’t really turned out to be what was expected. No one seems to be happy, neither the trade, nor the critics and certainly not the audience, including diehard fans of Mahesh Babu, whose popularity is legendary by now. So what is that went wrong with the film? How and where did Srikanth Addala err if at all? Come let’s take a look at this grand misfortune which isn’t quite a celebration in any manner.

At the face of it the plot of Brahmotsavam isn’t out of the box nor totally ridiculous. Our hero (Mahesh Babu) lives with his father (Sathyaraj), an industrialist who runs a paint manufacturing company in Vijayawada and mother (Revathi) and they have the company of their extended family, hence a host of relatives who ensure that there is always enough song and dance routine and time for celebrations. A perfect looking family has to develop a crack at some point of time for the momentum to set in right? That comes in the form of one of the uncles (Rao Ramesh) who always feels bad for living under the shadow of his brother-in-law. What however keeps him going is the prospect of getting his daughter (Pranitha) married to Mahesh but that goes for a toss with the arrival of Kajal Aggarwal, the daughter of a family friend (Subhalekha Sridhar). The romance between Kajal and Mahesh leads to a rift in the family. It is now for Mahesh to set right things and bring his family back into the same fold.

Ok let me get down with what works and what doesn’t –

Warning- Spoilers Ahead (but by now you probably know them anyways 🙂 )

1. Mahesh Babu’s presence in the film lends a calming effect, he is someone who doesn’t believe in loud dialogue delivery, preferring to depend on his body language to a large extent. He continues doing that with great elan over here.

2. Kajal Aggarwal in a short and sweet appearance does well as a practical woman with a clear and rational mind. Her scenes with Mahesh Babu stand out and they share a wonderful chemistry.

3. Rathnavelu‘s cinematography is impressive and this film is a wonderful example of why he is one of the best in the business. The film is visually pleasing, certainly one of the better aspects of Brahmotsavam.

4. The film has a wonderful supporting cast, most of them being well known actors. Sathyaraj as Mahesh’s father is effective but the best of the lot is Rao Ramesh who pulls off the role of the frustrated uncle of Mahesh in wonderful fashion.

5. Ok agreed there is a large family and that they are financially well to do, but does that mean that this has to be a poor attempt to pass of as a Rajshri film’s clone? Songs appearing at the drop of a hat, an array of people including some who probably don’t even have more than 1-2 lines to speak in the entire film and the need to show grandeur in every frame, beyond a point it gets tiresome.

6. Mahesh Babu’s charming presence has made us endure many not so interesting films in the past, but can that alone make a movie work today?

7. When the problem in the family is right at your own home or rather in your doorstep why would Mahesh want to go on a Bharat Darshan to meet and bring back his family members connected across various generations?

8. What is the point of the whole exercise when all that these relatives across India do is to silently come & attend Pranitha’s wedding in the end?

9. You conveniently make Kajal Aggarwal disappear only to facilitate the entry of Samantha who suddenly lands up and makes an impression on everyone just like that? Not a single soul is bothered to ask her any questions, seriously?

10. Once the film releases you realize that it’s not working with the audience and end up trimming the film by 18 minutes. Now couldn’t you have done some test screenings before the release and taken this call in advance?

11. When the interval point delivers an emotional high why would you not capitalise on the same in the second half? What was the point of the second half moving into a totally different direction?

12. Was there an actually a screenplay for the film in the first place? The output suggests a big no and if there indeed exists a screenplay couldn’t the producers (PVP and Mahesh) have had the sense of working out that it’s a potential disaster in the making?

Ultimately all the discussion wouldn’t really help in salvaging the film now and what could/should have been a great example of a good family entertainer has sadly turned out to be a disaster that should never have been made in the first place. It’s time that Srikanth Addala, Mahesh Babu and PVP Cinema ask themselves as to why and what led them to do this misfire of a film.