Jagadam/: A good effort

After making a cool debut as a director with the successful love story Arya, Sukumar is back with an action flick, Jagadam.

Sukumar took an usually long hiatus to choose the protagonist for Jagadam after Arya hero Allu Arjun backed out, citing date problems. Sukumar then found Ram, who had made a successful debut with Devdasu.

As the title suggests, the film has a lot of action sequences; it also has a message for the youth at the end.

Devdasu centres around a young man's passion to become the local don. Sinu, a school dropout, hangs around with his cronies; even though he is short-tempered and picks up quarrels at the slightest provocation, deep down he is a good guy.

With dreams of starting their own gang, Sinu and his cronies are taken to the local dada Manikyam for induction. Soon after, Sinu is approached by a victim of a land-grabbing case. Promising to restore the land to the victim, he goes to Manikyam only to find, to his astonishment, that the land grabber is none other than Manikyam's friend.

Manikyam and Sinu clash when the latter refuses to look the other way and Manikyam accidently gets injured. The incident is magnified and Sinu is hailed as a hero who vanquished the dreaded Manikyam.

Sinu goes on to form his own adda, settles disputes and becomes the local don. Enter a police commissioner who tries to restrain the two groups and lectures Sinu about giving up violence. What also surprises Sinu are the actions of his little brother who idolises him.

From here on, the script takes interesting turns; Sukumar ensures there is never a dull moment till the end.

For Sukumar, the script is the king and he gives due it importance. His perfectionism shows on the screen. Equipped with a good idea, he goes about weaving a story that has a good pace. The film's message is simple; keep away from violence.

Ram has done a good job and proves he is not a one hit film wonder. Heroine Isha looks glamorous but has nothing much to do. Venu Madhav, who appears in a cameo, is delightful. Pradeep Rawat, Tanikella and Prakash Raj also do their job well.

The other plus points of the film are Ratnavel's cinematography and Devisriprasad's music. The entire film is shot on the Super-35 camera, which gives it an appealing unique look.

All in all a good film. Let's see if the box office agrees.

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