'V' review: An average action drama with little thrilling moments

Movie Name - V

Genre: Action Thriller

Cast - Nani, Sudheer Babu, Nivetha Thomas, and Aditi Rao Hydari.

Director - Mohana Krishna Indraganti

Producers - Raju, Shirish, Harshith Reddy

Music - Amit Trivedi

BGM - Thaman S

DOP - PG Vinda

Editor - Marthand K Venkatesh

Release Date: September 5th, 2020

Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video

Rating: 2.5/5

On September 5th, 2008, Nani wanted the audiences to accept him as an actor with his debut film Ashta Chamma. Cut to the present, Nani kept the audiences waiting for his 25th film 'V,' which is available on Amazon Prime Video from today. 'V' marks the reunion of Nani with director Mohana Krishna Indraganti, after 'Ashta Chamma' and 'Gentleman'. It also marks the reunion of Sudheer Babu with Indraganti, after 'Sammohanam'.

'V' is a slightly different film from what we have witnessed so far from the director. The film's trailer created a lot of expectations. 'V' typically has a story that sounds routine. Sudheer Babu (Adithya), the Task Force Deputy Commissioner of Police, gets challenged by a killer Vikky (Nani). As Adithya goes deeper into the case investigation, Vikky keeps throwing new challenges with new killings. The rest of the story is Adithya finding the killer and his motive behind the killings.

The story of 'V' sounds very obvious as it fits into a tested format of films that fall in this genre. But, Indraganti kept his faith in his writing, which is evident for the majority of the film. Scene by scene, Indraganti built suspense with his screenplay, especially in the first half.

The first half of 'V' carries thrilling episodes of action. From introducing the characters of Sudheer to Nani, Indraganti makes no mistake in letting audiences travel with the characters. However, after a crucial scene where Sudheer almost missed catching Nani, the latter gives a bonus clue. It is when the film starts failing to hold the interest. Adithya looks capable enough to chase the mystery, but his character loses power as soon as he accepts the bonus clue from Vikky.

When it comes to the second half, it is disappointing. The routineness creeps in the second half of the film, especially for the flashback part involving Nani and Aditi Rao Hydari (Saheba). Considering the hype around the film and the expectations that the trailer set, one thinks that the makers come up with something unusual while unfolding the mystery, but unfortunately, it becomes predictable. The unique element in the movie is Adithya accepting his failure over Vikky, which is a part of a few alluring surprises in Indraganti's writing for the film.

After an unimpressive second half, the pace of the film picks again during the pre-climax and finally ends on an exciting note. The film starts with Sudheer Babu's character, and we get the impression that he plays a lead equally with Nani. However, in the second half, Sudheer Babu becomes a supporting character. The initial engrossing face-off between Nani and Sudheer turns a debacle in the end.

All the four lead actors Sudheer Babu, Nani, Nivetha Thomas, and Aditi Rao Hydari, earlier worked with Indraganti Mohana Krishna. It is fascinating that Indraganti brought out something different from all of the four, considering their performances in previous movies. Indraganti presented a calm and composed Sudheer Babu in 'Sammohanam', but in 'V,' he is a complete revelation. Nani tries to excel in a villain kind of role, but in the end, he becomes a hero. Had he been more grey, it would have been next level. Comparatively, Aditi Rao's character looks better than Nivetha's. In 'Sammohanam', we saw an introvert actress in Aditi, and in 'V,' she's all charming but a little more talkative. Probably, this could be Nivetha's weakest role in her career. Almost every time she comes into the scene, there's no greater purpose. She's there in two songs with Sudheer, while Aditi sizzled in a song with Nani.

Technically, the film is very sound. PG Vinda's camera work is excellent. Amit Trivedi composed the songs. 'Manasu Maree Methaga' and 'Vasthunna Vachesthunna' are the two out of four songs that impresses. Thaman's background score sounds great for some scenes, but some, it reminds us of Tamil film Ratsasan's score.

'V' is the first Telugu film with a lot of expectations, to skip the theatrical release for a direct digital release. As a 25th, the film remains special for Nani. Indraganti, too appears as he stepped out of his comfort zone to thrill the audiences uniquely. Having said that, the director could have explored Sudheer Babu more for the talent he possesses. On the whole, 'V' is more like a slightly dragged action-drama than a gripping action thriller.