Badrinath - Vinayak's Formula Movie Misses its Mark

While making Badrinath, V V Vinayak has taken up a medley of human emotions like faith, love, jealousy, and mixed it up with sensational news items like terrorism and religion. In the process he has served up stale cinematic fare.

What’s it about : Badrinath (Allu Arjun) is groomed by Guru Bhishma Narayan (Prakash Raj) as a protector of the badrinath temple, where Sri Maha Vishnu is the presiding deity. Into that temple walks Alaka Nanda (Tamannah) who due to circumstances becomes a staunch agnostic. Badri converts her into a believer and in the process, without him being aware, becomes the object of her affection. AlakaNanda's love for Badri, causes a conflict in the mind of his Guru who begins to doubt him. Till here V V Vinayak had some control. And then he introduces the villainy of Sircar (Kelly Dorjee) and loses the grip he so carefully had over the story. Sircar's aim is to marry his son to Alaka Nanda, who of course is in love with Badri. The rest of the story is about how Alaka Nanda and Badri become one to prove that love, above all, is the ultimate of human emotions

What is Good : The first half of the movie holds its own. Sequences involving Alaka Nanda and Badrinath are interestingly woven into the story. Prakash Raj as Bhishma Narayan is excellent. In fact, he, as much as Allu Arjun, lends credibility to the first half of the film. Photography is a visual delight. Peter Haynes choreographs a couple of awesome fight sequences. And Allu Arjun (with his 6 pack) does justice. He emotes well to convey a mix of controlled rage and aggression. Tamannah is easy on the eye. She dances ok. And acts well. The comedy track involving Dharmavarapu, MS and Brahmanandam is a retake on Indra and connects well with the audience. Brahmanandam as batting baba evokes a few chuckles and provides much needed relief in the second half. Most of the songs have good lyrics and Allu dances like he is born to dance.

What is bad: The entire second half is a wash out. Kelly Dorjee's villainy is a pathetic mistake. At the first sight of seeing an enraged Badri walking menacingly towards him, he grovels like a scared puppy and begs for his life to be spared. In Chiranjeevi's films, Rao Gopal Rao's villainous side kick Allu Ramalingaiah used to do that. But then his was a comedy character. Kelly Dorjee as sircar looked no different. His villainy is a cruel joke on the hero. Characters come and go without any logical connection to the story. The problem is the director concentrated on the location and taking as opposed to script and characterization. The neglect shows. Tamannah's humor on the boy priests, where she questions them about Rajinikanth and Chirnajeevi is ill-conceived and uncalled for. The fight sequence in Bellary station where Badrinath massacres at least 60 baddies should have been banned. One wonders how it got past censors. Headless torso, flailing limbs are not the staple of family entertainers. The insertion of songs too, is very random. Especially in the second half they disrupt the flow of the movie itself.

Tailpiece: Badrinath, despite the fervent wishes of Allu Arjun's fans, will not set the box office on fire. A soulless second-half and an abruptly ending weak climax are the main drawbacks of the film.