Goutham Nanda Movie Review - Looks can be Deceptive at Times

Sethumadhavan. N

There’s a moment in Sampath Nandi’s Goutham Nanda where we find a superbly shot action sequence that happens on the top of a sea-facing expressway of sorts in Maldives. The sequence is a murder attempt seen in the form of a heavy duty vehicle dashing against a Bentley car, the impact causing it to crash into the sea. If you are an action lover you should certainly watch out for this scene, this is something that the action director has really conceived very well with equal support from the DOP Soundararajan of course. Each and every frame, mostly in slow motion is not just for style but also for impact and the effect is there on screen. A little later we see the “Bole Ram” song on screen and I am very open to admitting that it’s one of the most gorgeously shot romantic songs in Telugu cinema of late.

Why am I beginning my review of the film with all this? Are these the only good things about the film? Well not really and I’ll certainly focus on the rest as well, it’s just that these are elements that one might for various reasons overlook while watching or evaluating a film. Sampath Nandi has been noticed for his commercial entertainers which include Racha (2012) and Bengal Tiger (2015). This time he teams up with Gopichand for the first time and considering that Gopichand hasn’t had a release for quite a while (Soukhyam in 2015 being his last release) it is of course understood that it’s a film that the star and his fans would be looking forward to eagerly. The trailer promised us an entertainer without revealing much about the storyline in particular, something that could be looked at as a positive or negative after the watching the film. And thus I set out to check out the same, without expecting anything special to be honest.

Goutham Gattamaneni (Gopichand) is the only son of rich parents, his father Vishnu Prasad (Sachin Khedekar) featuring among the Forbes Top 50 billionaires in the world. Vishnu Prasad and his wife (Anupama Kumar) encourage their son to enjoy his life to the fullest before taking over the business empire. Mugdha (Catherine Tresa) is his childhood friend and in pursuit of him but he remains slightly unmoved. One day a particular incident leaves him thinking about knowing his actual worth and identity as he realizes that he has always led a life of luxury and comfort all thanks to his family. Thus he sets out to discover life’s up’s and downs and in the process he comes across Nanda Kishore (Gopichand again) whose life is exactly the opposite of Goutham. Nanda hails from a poor background and decides to end his life out of frustration. Both of them now decide to swap their lives for a 30 day period; what happens from thereon is what the rest of the film is all about.

To be honest the first half of the film doesn’t really have anything spectacular to showcase, after a while one can even feel disappointed seeing the way the film assumes shades of the classic tale, “The Prince and the Pauper”. But if the writing by Sampath Nandi did not really get us excited pre-interval, it does manage to get things in order post interval and the effect is seen slowly but surely. It’s the last 35-40 odd minutes where the momentum reaches its peak and from there it will certainly please nearly everyone even if you weren’t too invested into the proceedings till then. The run time of 156 minutes is a slight dampener of sorts but since the best segment of the film is reserved for much after the interval, one doesn’t thankfully feel too bogged down about it.

Soundararajan’s cinematography as already mentioned is very good, perhaps his previous collaboration with Sampth Nandi on Bengal Tiger has given both of them a good comfort level in terms of understanding each other’s requirements. Thaman’s music works, the songs do register to an extent. Talking of performances, Mukesh Rishi and Nikitin Dheer play the standard villains; Vennela Kishore does not get much scope for comedy over here while Sachin Khedekar hardly has anything to do. Chandramohan and Seetha who play Nanda’s parents make an impact while both Catherine Tresa and Hansika Motwani get noticed but don’t really have anything substantial to deliver. Gopichand is pretty effective, playing both the characters with style and aplomb. In fact it is definitely thanks to him that the twist in the tale comes across as convincing and impactful.

Goutham Nanda eventually is a pretty decent attempt by Sampath Nandi, one where he unleashes his best only towards the end.

Bottomline:

Goutham Nanda is no doubt a spin on the classic “The Prince and the Pauper” tale, but it is given a fresh new treatment and with a twist that definitely works. Not the best of Gopichand but he does manage to impress and thus it makes for a time pass outing at the cinemas this weekend.

Rating: 2.5/5