Venkatesh, Trisha steal hearts, again!

Movie: Bodyguard
Cast: Venkatesh, Trisha, Saloni
Director: Gopichand Malineni
Rating:3/4

Remakes have always been an integral part of Venkatesh’s 26 year old career. The good part about such films is that he makes almost any story his own and delivers endearing performances. Right from Chanti to the recent Adavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule,the actor has been riding high on his ability to evoke sympathy from the audience for the characters he portrays on screen.

His latest film Bodyguard is no different. Directed by Gopichand Malineni, the film is a faithful remake of the original Malayalam version of the same name. Trisha is Venkatesh’s co-star in the film and it’s her third film with the actor after Adavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule and Namo Venkatesha.

Venkatesh stars as Venkatadri, a bodyguard by profession. His uncle sends him to Varadarajula Naidu (Prakash Raj) under the pretext that there’s a threat to Varadarajula Naidu’s life.Venkatadri considers Naidu as his saviour and immediately goes on the mission. Keerthi (Trisha), daughter of Varadarajula Naidu and Swathi (Saloni) are thick friends and study together in the same college. When Varadarajula Naidu realises Keerthi’s life has been threatened, he appoints Venkatadri as her bodyguard. The rest of the story is about what happens next when Venkatadri ends up studying in Keerthi’s college.

Unlike most other remakes in his career, Venkatesh lets Trisha hog the limelight for most part of the film. He dazzles in a couple of action sequences and tickles the funny bone quite a few times in the first half of the film where most part of the story happens in a college. There’s even a scene where Venkatesh and Ali dress up like women to enter a women’s hostel in search of an anonymous caller. Moments like these make sure that the film has enough humour before both Venkatesh and Trisha tug hearts in the second half of the movie.

In the film, Keerthi poses as an anonymous caller and distracts Venkatadri so that he loosens up a bit. At one point of time, Keerthi realises that Venkatadri has immense respect for her and falls for him. Venkatadri never finds out who the anonymous caller is until the very end and that twist is sure to take the viewers by surprise, if this is the first time they are watching the film.

Bodyguard isn’t the kind of film which would make you think or melt your hearts, but it has a bit of everything to keep you glued to your seats. On the other side, the love story between Venkatadri and Keerthi drags on a tad bit too long; however, a well etched climax saves the day.

Both Venkatesh and Trisha deliver good performances and the duo share great on-screen chemistry especially in the songs. Saloni, who plays a crucial role in the film, is good and it’s a pity that we don’t get to see her more often. Prakash Raj, Subbaraju, Ali and Pragathi Rajkumar do justice to their roles.

Gopichand Malineni does a decent job in terms of remaking a successful film. The performances are natural and Gopichand handles the emotional scenes quite well. Thaman’s music is good and a few songs are quite melodious. Kona Venkat’s dialogues are noteworthy.
Bodyguard makes for a good watch if you haven’t seen the other versions.

More than the plot, it’s the performances of the lead cast which manage to hold the film together. Few things never get boring and Venkatesh’s performance is among them. Don’t besurprised if you see the person next to you wiping his or her tears in the middle ofthe film.

Tags: Bodyguard, Gopichand Malineni, remakes, Saloni, Trisha, Venkatesh

Category: Cinema, Tollywood