'Pakka Commercial' is currently playing in theatres. Produced by UV Creations and GA2 Pictures, it is presented by Allu Aravind.
Story
Lucky (Gopichand) is a criminal lawyer who has thrown ethics to the winds. His father Suryanarayana (Satyaraj), on the other hand, is a former Magistrate who always stood by his values while in service. Decades after a life-changing event, Suryanarayana is confronted to deal with a villainous businessman named Vivek (Rao Ramesh). Much to his shock, Lucky is in collaboration with Vivek.
Why is Lucky hands in glove with his father's enemy? Can Suryanarayana ever have peace in life? Can Lucky ever be ethical?
Performances
On the coolness front, Gopichand has got to play one of his career's most light-veined characters. At the same time, he gets into action mode now and then in keeping with the film's genre. Raashi Khanna's comedy takes off on a decent note, but after a point, it gets repetitive.
Rao Ramesh doesn't give a high despite his decent performance. His scenes with his sidekick (played by Ajay Ghosh) don't work. Saptagiri and Viva Harsha have been wasted jointly. Srinivas Reddy is limited to a couple of scenes, while Praveen has nothing much to write about.
The much-touted appearances by Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Chitra Shukla and Adithi Goutham are a mixed bag.
Technical aspects
This one is Jakes Bejoy's first commercial album in Telugu. The composer scores with the title track and 'Andaala Raasi'. The rest of the songs barely make a mark. Karm Chawla's cinematography performs all the functions expected of the camera department for a regular commercial entertainer.
Raveendar's art direction lends a touch of credibility to the courtroom proceedings, some of which border on the comical. SB Uddhav's editing is efficient.
Analysis
Director Maruthi brings back the good father-bad son trope in a new avatar. Going by how the proceedings take shape and advance in particular ways, you can nearly predict the reveal that arrives in the last 10 minutes.
The template is run-of-the-mill. The first act establishes the father's character in the context of a humiliating legal defeat. Soon after, the film takes a leap in time. Lucky is a sharp-witted lawyer who has come to see criminals as money machines for unscrupulous lawyers like him.
With the entry of Raashi Khanna's character, a few jokes on TV serials attempt to entertain the audience. The characterization is strong, but the jokes fall flat after a point.
Satyaraj's character gets inadequate scenes, overall. That's why the interval block doesn't quite connect with the audience emotionally. The second half has a few formulaic scenes with the entry of a mistress. This reminds one of the tracks in films like 'Aagadu'.
The humour dries up in no small measure, making the second half of this 150-minute movie look too long.
Closing Remarks
Only strong comedy could have saved 'Pakka Commercial'. But the humour dries up soon enough and the film falls flat.
