walter veerayya movie review

The story of Waltair Veerayya begins with Seethapati, an old and defeated cop (played by Rajendra Prasad), who is seeking revenge for the death of his colleagues. He needs someone who can track down and bring a powerful criminal named Solomon Caesar (played by Bobby Simha) to justice. Solomon kills everyone at the police station controlled by Seethapati and escapes to Malaysia during a jailbreak.

Seethapati eventually finds the right man for the job after seeing a notorious gangster tremble in fear at the mention of Waltair Veerayya. Waltair is known to be a nightmare for the satraps of the underworld, but his true powers are still unknown. The top Navy officer reveals that Veerayya is a friend of the Navy and is an influential figure among the criminals. He's also a guardian angel for the men in uniform.

Veerayya's superhuman abilities are revealed when he tames the oceans and is referred to as "the father of Bay of Bengal." The filmmakers want the audience to venerate the star playing Veerayya rather than respond to the character himself, which creates a disconnection. However, there is no emotional threat to Veerayya's soul, and the villains in the story pose no real physical danger to him.

Director-writer K. S. Ravindra, also known as Bobby, creates a lot of hype for Veerayya in the opening minutes but fails to maintain the same tempo for the remainder of the movie. The plot contrivances are shocking, and the cause-and-effect mechanism is disingenuous. The movie relies too heavily on the antics of Veerayya, assuming that the audience will overlook the lack of depth in the narrative.

Veerayya commits brutal murders at a festival celebration in Malaysia, but the devotees and performers continue as if nothing has happened. He faces no repercussions, and even his televised murder of an enemy doesn't elicit a response from the Malaysian government.

The emotional backbone of the story is the relationship between Veerayya and his younger brother, but even that is compromised when the brother asks Veerayya to murder their common enemy. The confrontations between Veerayya and Vikram Sagar bring comic relief, but they are not enough to save the poorly written movie, which is saved only by its good production value. The duets by composer Devi Sri Prasad do more harm than good to the narrative.No, we haven’t gained the full extent of Veerayya’s powers yet. Veerayya not only has superman-like sway over humans but has also tamed the oceans. “The father of Bay of Bengal,” says one of the kidnapped officers looking at Veerayya riding a tiny fishing boat braving the storm and raging waves. As if on cue, the waves rise to give Veerayya’s boat a distinct advantage against a big ship.Thus Waltair Veerayya is presented to us as a man with superhuman capabilities. He’s not human. He’s god-like. The filmmakers don’t want the audience to respond to the character Waltair Veerayya, but they want us to venerate before the star playing Waltair Veerayya. And that kind of presentation causes a disconnection. When you present a hero, who can manipulate the forces of nature, you must also present a villain who can match his powers. Not Michael Caesar (Prakash Raj) and Solomon. These criminals pose no serious physical threat to a man who is called “the father of the Bay of Bengal”. And there is no emotional danger in the narrative for us to worry about the soul of Veerayya. It’s all just surface-level without any depth.Director-writer K. S. Ravindra aka Bobby creates quite a hype for Waltair Veerayya in the opening minutes and fumbles to maintain the same tempo for the remainder of the narrative. The film falls victim to its own hype. To call the plot contrivances in Waltair Veerayya shocking is an understatement. Bobby takes the audience for granted as he assumes that they would pay little attention to the disingenuous cause-and-effect mechanism in the narrative as long as the film stays focused on the antics of Waltair Veerayya.Veerayya butchers gang members of a drug cartel during a festival celebration at a popular temple in Malaysia. The devotees and those performing at the festival continue to do their thing as if they are celebrating the killings done by Veerayya. In the same scene, Veerayya spectacularly murders his enemy while sitting on an elephant. And that murder is televised across Malaysian channels but Veerayya faces no repercussions. As if nobody in the Malaysian government cares when a man brandishes deadly weapons and terrorises the public in their country.And just before mounting the final assault against his enemy, Veerayya breaks into a duet number with his crush Athidhi (Shruti Haasan). What’s the thrill in breaking the tension after struggling to build it so much?

The film in question highlights the problematic trend of using female actors as mere objects of desire, with the camera leering at their bodies as the male lead, who is 31 years their senior, lusts after them. This tired trope of using romance to objectify women is unfortunately still prevalent in many South Indian films, and it's high time we see some progress in this regard.

That said, credit must be given to Chiranjeevi, who, at the age of 67, is a powerhouse of energy. In contrast, Ravi Teja, who is 13 years younger than Chiru, falls flat with a lackluster performance, carrying a single expression throughout, even while dancing.

Shruti Haasan's character tries to redeem the film by playing a 'RAW' agent, but her efforts are in vain as her performance falls short due to poor execution. Prakash Raj, yet again, plays the villain who gets outsmarted by the hero at every turn, which feels repetitive and uninspired.

Director Bobby Kolli's work is a mixed bag, showcasing two different styles of filmmaking. On one hand, there are some great experimental scenes that draw inspiration from the West, but on the other hand, he delivers cliched, stereotypical fan-service scenes that overpower the former by a significant margin.

Devi Sri Prasad's music is a letdown, creating more problems for the script than solving them. In fact, I wouldn't bother listening to a single song from the album ever again.