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Home > Telugu Movie Reviews > Ashok Ash-OK APK | July 13, 2006 Rating: *** (***** Very Good, **** Good, *** Fair, ** Average, * Bad) Cast: NTR, Sameera Reddy, Prakashraj, Ravi Kale, Rajeev Kanakala, Satya Prakash, Jeeva, Ramaprabha, Venumadhav, Krishna Bhagavan, Supreet, Vadivukkarasi and Others. Action: Stun Siva. Art: Ashok. Cinematography: KK Senthil Kumar. Dialogues: Marudhuri Raja. Editing: Goutham Raju. Music: Mani Sharma. Story: Vakkantham Vamsi. Direction: Surender Reddy. Producer: Valluripalli Cinema. Banner: Maharshi Cinema. Release Date: 13th July, 2006. Discuss: Post Your Review On 'Ashok' Here  Whether a mainstream mass hero's previous four flicks hit the bullseye or not, he will only choose to play safe. That explains why NTR's latest offering, Ashok, has the 'same old..' feel to it. Even with a director like Surender Reddy, who showed immense talent and promise in his debut 'Athanokkade' starring brother Kalyan Ram, even with Mani Sharma's hit melodies appealing to the public and the star's presence to save the movie along with huge amounts of publicity and hype, the movie doesn't reach the public's sky-high expectations from NTR.Plot Ashok is your regular good guy with superman strength. He displays self-righteous anger at any wrong-doer, who is doomed at Ashok's hands; unable to tolerate his affinity to such street fights, his father (Prakash Raj) throws him out after a certain incident. He lives with his friends in old city, studying (engineering?) and working as a mechanic. KK, the local don, is your regular bad guy who enjoys killing people. One of KK's men (played by Supreet) is given a powerful punch courtesy Ashok, and KK and his gang search for Ashok to teach him a lesson. Incidentally, Anjali (Sameera Reddy), Ashok's love interest is the girl KK wants to marry. The goons find out that the guy who punched one of their men, and Anjali's love is the same-it ensures a fight..till the end. Story, screenplay and direction The plot is not much to write home about, so it all depended on the taking. There are plenty of action sequences; some are good while others are a yawn. Coming to the current event, freezing and going back 'A few hours ago' are a regular feature in the movie. While these mini-flashbacks are initially interesting, they get repetitive after a while. The main problem lies with the plot-people seem to want some excitement or something revealed suddenly from NTR (Remember the 'Singamalai' track from Simhadri and the confession that he is a killer in Student No 1?). The scenes where he cries for his dead friend and the climax where his father realizes his folly are good. Editing by Gowtham Raju is good, and is a plus point for the movie. Rajeev Kankala's performance is very good. Senthil's camera work is excellent. The romantic angle does not have much scope, and Ashok remains all action. Action is fine, but where is the soul of the plot? The originality and innovativeness that Surender Reddy shows in his debut is missing. NTR is definitely coming back to form after four dismal duds, because this movie will fare well enough-NTR fans can relish his heroic power, and enjoy all the stunts, especially the car chase in the movie which is the most expensive sequence in Telugu cinema. The climax fight sequence resembles the one in 'Pandem Kodi' slightly. Forget romance, there is not much comedy either. That really bogs this commercial fare down. All action and no comedy makes Ashok a dull boy.  Performances NTR has good presence; he can hold an entire movie together, which in itself is commendable. But the spark which he showed in, say, 'Aadi' is still missing. When is that coming back? He is an excellent dancer, especially with Sameera, who is a very good dancer herself. The chemistry between the lead pair is good. But NTR needs to get on to Atkins ASAP.For those who wish to see the Sameera we saw in Musafir, you'll be disappointed-the lady is seen only in Indian attire. Prakash Raj is good and for a change, displays his acting prowess instead of hamming his way through. Sonu Sood is a really good actor, but like NTR, his versatility is wasted here. Jeeva, Raghubabu (as Anjali's brother) and Krishna Bhagawan (as a police officer) do justice to their roles. Vadivukkarasi as evil KK's evil mother is subtle. Song and dance The audio fared very well, with songs like 'Yekantanga' and 'Gola Gola' topping the charts. The steps that NTR-Sameera perform are sure to be mimicked by enthusiastic Telugu crowds; otherwise the picturization is nothing new. And the verdict is.. Definitely not dismal-the movie might not prove to be another dud in NTR's resume, but it's not exactly a comeback launch for him. This won't hit bulls-eye, but it won't sink either. Overall, it's just about 'OK'. |