Waltair Veerayya is a film largely aimed towards Chiranjeevi and Ravi Teja fans, and if you’ve seen the trailer, you already know what you’re in for.
WHAT I LIKE
I enjoyed how the film isn’t too serious about itself. The film knows what it is and enjoys it. The first half is so goofy and carefree that there are no major stakes until the intermission moment. There are mass moments, allusions to Chiranjeevi and Ravi Teja’s prior work (both in dialogue and execution), and action scenes that will delight both their fans and the public at large. Even the BGM was excellent.
Chiranjeevi does an excellent job as Waltair Veerayya. He’s a huge delight to see on film. While I didn’t enjoy his accent or his exchanges with Shruti Haasan’s character, I found his sense of humour, body language, and interactions with other characters to be quite amusing.
Ravi Teja has a small role in this film, yet he makes a big impression despite his brief appearance. It was also sentimental to see Chiranjeevi and Ravi Teja reunited after Annayya (2000), along with Ravi Teja’s guest appearance in Shankar Dada Zindabad (2007). Ravi Teja’s appearance breathes new life into the film’s second half, and it was great to witness Chiranjeevi and Ravi Teja perform together in the song Poonakaalu Loading.
I also enjoyed Prakash Raj and Bobby Simha’s performances as the antagonists in this film. Bobby Simha seemed more menacing to me than Prakash Raj, although both performed a terrific job with what they were given. Bobby Simha also has a similar fashion sense to Chiranjeevi, which I felt was a great touch.
WHAT I DISLIKE
The CGI in this film is atrocious. The visuals are so awful that they appear to be from the 1990s or 1980s. The dubbing in the second half is also not good.
Besides her one-action sequence, Shruti Haasan’s character is totally sidelined in the film. She was just someone with whom Chiranjeevi could flirt and transition into a song. I also don’t understand why Pradeep Rawat and Nasser were cast in this film because they do nothing except linger in the background.
The story is very predictable and a bit too long. I felt that 20 to 25 minutes of the movie could’ve been cut out to make the story flow better.
CONCLUSION
Waltair Veerayya is a truly enjoyable film with scenes that will please both Chiranjeevi and Ravi Teja fans as well as the general public. This is what I expected from Chiranjeevi’s Acharya. This film is ideal for admirers of Chiranjeevi, Ravi Teja, or both, as well as those seeking a casual one-time-watch mass entertainer.
