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Victory is a clarion call for people to unite and fight for what is rightfully and legitimately theirs even if the enemy is a politician-cum-don-cum-land shark. To some extent it reflects reality with the underlying message woven in.
The Telugu film begins with mother Earth talking about her woes -- how mankind is trying to destroy her and how resilient she is. She also mentions the war for territory and the ensuing bloodshed. From here the general introduction zooms to a specific region (Andhra) and a specific person (Devraj) -- a land shark bent on terrorising people.
In short, the story of Victory is the tale between good -- Vijay Chandra (Nitin) and evil -- Devraj (Ashutosh Rana).
Vijay, who hails from a middle class family wants to join the police force. Janaki (Mamta Mohandas) is an independent girl who finds her match (Vijay) on an online matrimonial site (his parents posted his profile). Janaki with the help of Vijay's parents gets him to stop smoking and the occasional drinking.
Meanwhile, Vijay and his friends are drawn into a tussle with Devraj. Another land shark Pandu also tries to get Vijay into his camp, as he wants to finish off Devraj. And so the struggle begins.
The film throws light on the land issue and to some extent touches upon corruption and inflation. It also exposes the nexus between the police and the goons. Violence to fight violence is also shown.
Vijay and his gang of friends (Sashank) also try to use the media to reach out to the people.
While the theme is noble enough, (Ravi C Kumar should be complimented here) the treatment is simplistic and far-fetched. To that extent it seems even 'utopian'. This is not the first time that Ravi C Kumar has taken up cudgels on behalf of the downtrodden. Earlier too, the filmmaker made Samanyudu starring Jagapathi Babu, which dealt with 'reform of politics'.
The other negatives ot the movie is it's pace which waxes and wanes. The climax too seems far-fetched. Some of the dialogues are humorous but for a 'message-oriented movie' they lack the desired punch.
Performance-wise Nitin has the meatiest role. He has built up his abs and flaunts them too.
Mamta looks good and brings the glamour quotient. But beyond that there's nothing much she can do in her limited role.
Sindhu and Sashank do what is required of them. Brahmanandam, Ali and M S Narayana enact the bit on corruption and inflation in their usual fashion. Tanikella Bharani as Nitin's father is believable. Ashutosh Rana is convincing as the bad man. He is ably aided by his right-hand man played by Ravi Babu.
On the whole, Victory is contemporary and slightly different from the run-of-the-mill fare, which makes it watchable.
Rediff Rating: 