Performances:

The film deviates significantly from the original and that is just the beginning of its problems. The first half lacks interesting content. The initial portions dedicated to show Ranga’s episodes with his ladies could have been shown sensuously, but border on vulgarity. The song with Meghna Naidu is cheap (was Meghna Naidu’s make-up man sleeping?). Instead of showing Tabu sensuously, her depiction is vulgar. There are also parts of the film that show Tabu at her worst, reminding you of the possessed Jyothika in Chandramukhi. The portions that show Lord Krishna with his wives lacks the maturity that such a movie calls for; in fact, these portions are done comically and look like a comic version of a mythological film. The second half too offers nothing interesting, but the film picks up from the time Ranga realizes his mistake and begins to repent and these are the last 30 minutes of the film. It is these last 30 minutes that redeems the film only because these parts stick closely to the original. Again, the director deviates from the original in these last portions and the climax appears long drawn. The special effects are not state of the art and at times just don’t fit well (like the multiple cows scene).

For such a film to work, it is important to convey the magic, faith, and mythology that can captivate audience and these three elements are missing. Rather than focusing on the above three mentioned themes, the direction steers the film towards Lakshmi and makes the film (up until the 30 mins) a ladies-sentiment film where the wife is fighting for her husband from the ‘other’ woman. The other problem is the characterization of Ranga. It is important to show the wayward character of the youngster so that we can relate to as someone who is wasting away his life over women and still hasn’t realized his priorities in life. It is very difficult for us to empathize with Ranga. The character of Amrutha too should have been shown elegantly, sensuously, and with some character. Instead, both these important characters are shown as loose individuals and the focus is all on the wife. Lakshmi is the only character we can empathize with, but this doesn’t really help the story much with the other two main characters shown so weak. There is also no period feel to the film and at times it looks like a TV serial drama of a household.

The film has its positives too. Sneha as Lakshmi walks away the major role and does a great job. Balakrishna fits perfectly into the skin of Lord Krishna and his performance is excellent. The women get-up of Lord Krishna is done well by Balakrishna as it requires guts to pull it off. As Ranga, Balakrishna excels in the last 30 minutes, but otherwise is disappointed by weak characterizations. The music deserves special mention and the songs are filled with devotion and come to the film’s rescue. There is no comedy or humor. Sunil, Dharmavarapu, Ali (appears only a minute), and Bhramanandam are all wasted. Bhramanandam is made to talk in a different voice and in the process gets a raw deal. It is difficult to understand how this star comedian accepted such a role. Mohan Babu, in a guest role as a sadhu who guides Ranga, is fine. The last 30 minutes, though by this time you are tired by the goings on, really save the film and make it passable.