Kannappa Review: The Vishnu Manchu starrer has been in the news since its announcement. Touted as a big pan-India film, it is originally a Telugu movie that has been dubbed and released in various languages, including Hindi. We watched the movie in Hindi, and while the trailer had not left a strong mark, Kannappa has partially impressed us. Read on to know more about the film.
The movie is set in the 2nd century and tells the story of Thinnadu (Vishnu Manchu). Since childhood, he has been an atheist, and refers to Gods and Goddesses as just a piece of stone. But, how an atheist turns into one of the biggest devotees of Lord Shiva, forms the rest of the story...
Kannappa is based on a true story, and the film is written by Vishnu Manchu and directed by Mukesh Kumar Singh. The makers have been promoting it as a devotional film, but Kannappa is actually like a proper South movie that takes its own time to come to the point.
The movie tries to be like a proper masala entertainer with romance, drama, action, and dance numbers. But the problem is that all these things fail to keep us hooked to the screens. The runtime of 3 hours and 2 minutes is too long. The film could have been easily trimmed by 30-40 minutes. The romantic-erotic songs were not required. Also, why does every period film after Baahubali need to have a romantic-action sequence with the lead actor and actress, and to be honest, all of them look inspired by SS Rajamouli's movie.
Not just the action sequences, but in Kannappa, a few more things look inspired by other movies or series. For example, the villain's look is quite similar to Khal Drogo from Game Of Thrones, and he is even named Kaal Mukha.
Kannappa picks up in the last 45 minutes after Prabhas' entry. The devotional part starts after that, and of course, that keeps us engaged. The climax will give you goosebumps, and that is surely the highlight of the movie. Sheldon Chau's cinematography is fantastic, and even the VFX is quite good.
Kannappa Review - Actors' Performances
Vishnu Manchu's performance is undoubtedly one of the best elements of the film. He gets into the skin of Thinnadu very well and leaves a very strong mark. His act surely elevates the climax. Preity Mukhundhan looks gorgeous in the film, and she has performed well.
Prabhas, Mohanlal, Akshay Kumar, Kajal Aggarwal, and Mohan Babu, all of them are good in their respective cameos. Especially, Prabhas, his screen presence takes the movie a notch higher.
Kannappa Review - Music
One more department in which Kannappa impresses is music. The songs and even the background score are quite good.
Kannappa Review - Final Verdict
Overall, Kannappa has its heart in the right place, and visually, it is a grand, beautiful film. But, the villain of the movie is its runtime and unnecessary romantic scenes and songs. However, this movie is a treat for Vishnu Manchu fans!
Ratings: 2.5 stars
