Being a fan of Ravi Teja, sometimes I find myself questioning why I continue watching his films after so many back-to-back failures. The reason is the impact he made during the peak of his career. It’s not like when a film fails, we shift our loyalty to another actor. As a true fan, you stand by the actor even through the worst stages of their career. However, in Ravi Teja’s case, the disappointments have been piling up, especially when a film fails despite being directed by someone known for successfully blending commercial elements. This makes it even harder to bear, and “Mr. Bachchan” is one such film where, even if you’re a die-hard fan, you still feel exhausted watching him on screen in second Half. I felt this way after “Amar Akbar Anthony.”
Ravi Teja is a complete commercial package, and if his energy is utilized well on screen, he can create wonders at the box office. He just needs the right director to harness this potential. We saw this happen in films like “Krack,” “Dhamaka,” and even his pivotal role in “Waltair Veerayya.” I hope Ravi Teja realizes this for his upcoming films and starts choosing projects with more substance, rather than simply chasing money or pairing with attractive heroines.
As for director Harish Shankar, what’s going wrong with him? He may not be a star director, but he has made a name for himself by crafting stories with mass appeal and successfully remaking films in his own style. So what went wrong with “Mr. Bachchan”? Firstly, choosing this particular film to remake was a huge mistake. Even though he went ahead with it, as a director with commercial sensibilities, he had the ability to inject the film with entertaining elements. However, Mr. Bachchan turned out to be a tedious watch, filled with nonsensical and unnecessary comedy.
Even after doing justice to the music and generating the right buzz for the film, thanks to Bhagyashree Borse and the catchy songs, it feels like the director focused solely on these elements and forgot that Ravi Teja is the hero of the film. Where was the energy? Sidhu Jonnalagadda’s small cameo left more of an impact than the protagonist who was present throughout the film.
The failure of Mr. Bachchan also raises another significant issue. The director used so many old Hindi songs to create a nostalgic vibe, but he was directing a Telugu film! If the protagonist is an Amitabh Bachchan fan, a couple of scenes hinting at this would have sufficed, instead of burdening the audience with numerous Hindi songs that many viewers, like myself, don’t connect with. Commercial films thrive in B and C centres, so how will the audience connect to Hindi songs in a Telugu film? It’s a very disappointing effort from the director.
