PANJAA MOVIE REVIEW

Movie :Panjaa (2011)
Sanghamitra Arts & Arka Media works
Cast: Pawan Kalyan, Sarah Jane Diaz, Anjali Lavania, Sesh Adivi, Jackie Shroff, Atul Kulkarni, Tanikella Bharani, Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao, Brahmanandam, Ali, Subbaraju, Jhansi, Surekha Vani, Amith Kumar, Teja, etc.
Story: Vishnu Vardhan
Screenplay: Rahul Koda, Vishnu Vardhan, Abburi Ravi
Dialogues: Abburi Ravi
Cinematography: P.S. Vinod
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Lyrics: Ramajogayya Sastry, Chandrabose
Playback: Yuvan Shankar Raja, Hariharan, Belly Raj, Hemachandra, Satyam, Shweta Pandit, Saloni, Priya Hemesh
Choreography: Geeta Kapoor, Nixon, Feroz Khan, et al.
Sound Design: A.S. Laxminarayanan
Visual Effects: Firefly
Action: Sham Kaushal
Art: Sunil Babu
Styling: Anu Vardhan
Editing: A. Sreekar Prasad
Producers: Neelima Tirumulasetti, Nagesh Muntha, Shobu Yarlagadda, Prasad Devineni
Direction: Vishnu Vardhan
Date of Theatrical Release: December 09, 2011
Watched Theatre: Cinesquare, Guntur.
Rating: 3 / 5

well Panjaa is an action-oriented drama executed in a stylish manner that has become a trademark for the director. Even its not so big bpx office hit film but its a good film.

Story:
Jai (Pawan Kalyan) is a loyal henchman and bodyguard for Bhagavan (Jackie Shroff), who calls himself a "power manager" helping public servants and private parties with mafia kind "settlements", with the aid of Guruvayya (Tanikella Bharani) and Sabhapathy (Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao). Bhagavan literally has a monopoly in the business to the displeasure of his ex-gangmate and current rival Kulkarni (Atul Kulkarni), who's constantly trying to get an upper hand in the business. However, Bhagavan's mafiadom is invincible due to Jai's extreme alertness and meticulous planning way ahead of his enemies. On the other hand, bar dancer Jahnavi (Anjali Lavania), who grew up with Jai under the shade of Bhagavan's mafia world, takes interest in Jai. But Jai actually likes Sandhya (Sara Jane Dias) who he met at his greenhouse (plant nursery) managed by Chotu (Ali). All is well until Bhagavan's dearest, only son Munna (Sesh Adivi) returns to India. How Jai takes the situation into control forms the rest of the story.

Artist Performance:
Pawan Kalyan looks uber cool with light beard and ultra stylish in suits. His acting is subtle and extremely controlled. Style is the word that describes Pawan Kalyan in this film. His dances are superb in Papa Rayudu song and are stylish in the title song that comes after the movie is complete. He is agile, flexible and believable in aesthetically choreographed action sequences. Anjali Lavania fits the bill of a glamour doll in this movie. Sara Jane Dias is a class heroine. Sesh is excellent as a psychotic guy. He has complete authority on what does on the screen. Brahmanandam is okay as Papa Rayudu. Ali is alright as hero’s assistant. Jackie Shroff is the main villain and he does justice. Atul Kulakarni is perfect. It’s different role for Tanikella Bharani. Subbaraju, Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao and Jhansi are fine.


Technical and Other Departments:
This story of this film is about loyalty. It is about the internal turmoil of loyal man when his boss does a wrong thing. It’s a class story that deals at psychological level. Hence the reactions and emotions are sophisticated. The hero has certain ethics. He doesn’t react emotionally. He thinks and then takes the right decision. When somebody is making a film with such a story line, one has to make sure that the screenplay is racy and entertainment (may not be the comedy) is in tact. The screenplay of the film is slow. The conflict point is too sophisticated and classy. As Abburi Ravi told in the music launch, the main reason why Pawan Kalyan accepted this story could be because the characterization (style of thinking and reasoning) is similar to that of his personal traits. Direction of the film is adequate with good framing and stylish picturization. While making a movie with a Telugu star, the commercial elements and entertainment are must. The placement of the songs is an example, the first two songs in the movie are heroine songs. The last song that comes after the movie is complete is the Panjaa title track and its very energetic with rocking Pawan Kalyan.

Movie Analysis:
First half of the film is decent. The motive in the second half is not strong enough, hence it will not connect to the average audiences. Pawan Kalyan and technical values are the strengths of the movie. On the flip side, the much needed emotions and entertainment which is staple diet for any Telugu film lover is lacking in the movie. On a whole, Panjaa is a sensible attempt, but not in the tune of popular taste. We have to wait and see how crowds react to it.

Final View:
Panjaa caters to the fans of Pawan Kalyan. While the movie offers nothing new, the stylized making and topnotch cinematography and technical values give the film different look. Pawan Kalyan satisfies his audiences with an appreciable screen presence, performance, and stunts. The film has shades of Pawan Kalyan's Balu (2005) but this one is stylish and sleek film.