'Brahmotsavam' Film Review: Mahesh Babu tries to keep this choppy family drama afloat

Film: Brahmotsavam
Cast: Mahesh Babu, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kajal Aggarwal, Pranitha Subhash, Revathi, Sathyaraj
Director: Srikanth Addala

What it's about: Mahesh Babu is back on screen after a year, with director Srikanth Addala's Brahmotsavam. The movie is a family drama revolving around Mahesh Babu's character Ajay and his parents played by Sathyaraj and Revathi. Sathyaraj has six sisters and their families are part of this extended family. Life for them is a celebration of togetherness. Mahesh meets an aunt's daughter Kajal, who comes back from Australia after ages, while Pranitha, another aunt's daughter, is part of his life in India. Mahesh and Kajal fall in love but one day an incident happens and it creates fissures in the family. What happens to Kajal and Mahesh? How does Samantha fit in the picture? How does Mahesh reunite the family?

What's good: Mahesh Babu is the star of the film and it's on his able shoulders that the film rests. He performs in the emotional scenes with ease and looks smart and stylish in the song sequences. Samantha is bubbly and perfect for her role. She is integral to the second half of the film where the main story unfolds. Director Srikanth Addala has tried to be the Sooraj Barjatya of Telugu cinema with this family drama. The film has many actors who play the extended family and they all add to the star power of the movie. There are many traditions and aspects of Telugu culture that are highlighted as being important to family. The cinematography of the film by Ratnavelu is exceptional and one of the highlights of this big budget film. The BGM by Mickey J Meyer really adds to the vibrant, colourful visuals.

What's not: Srikanth Addala has got about 20 actors in the film and there's a song that comes up every five minutes or so, especially in the first half of the film. The first half is slow and the story really doesn't move forward except just before the intermission. It's tough to get through the first half but the second half improves considerably. The script by Addala is not very engaging and that's one of the major flaws in this film. It's a movie meant for the family audience but sadly the misses are too many. While the theme of celebrating family and relationships are sure to strike a chord with people, the storyline is weak, dialogues passe and movie badly executed.

What to do: Brahmotsavam wants to be a celebration of the family, but unfortunately, it's in spurts rather than a Big Bang. And it's mainly Mahesh Babu who tries to keep the celebration going.

Rating: 2.5/5