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Home > Telugu Movie Reviews > Jagapati
Cast: Jagapathi Babu, Rakshita, Navneet Kaur, Sai Kiran, Pradeep Rawat, Tanikella Bharani, Saleem Baig, Subbaraju, Raja Ravindra, Krishna Bhagawan, Lakshmana Rao, Duvvasi Mohan, Chandramohan and Others.
Photography: V Jayaram.
Art: DY Satyanarayana.
Editing: Kola Bhaskar.
Dialogue: Janardhana Maharshi.
Fights: Vijay and Ram-Lakshman.
Music: MM Keeravani.
Story, Screenplay & Direction: Jonnalagadda Srinivasa Rao.
Producers: M Ramalinga Raju & V Satyanarayana Raju.
Banner: Roja Enterprises.
 The director himself wove the story, which constitutes the basic weakness of the film. However much you try to resurrect it from the many thematic pitfalls it is difficult to shape it into an absorbing action drama. There should a sensible reason when the hero starts battling with all sorts of characters. The funny part is the director preferred to keep the hero in villain's camp almost till the climactic part. You will be surprised to know that the hero is just a Sub-Inspector of Police of Pulicherla, the backdrop for the story. You don’t find any other senior police officer. The town is littered with all sorts of characters - good, bad, ugly and funny. Clubbing a hero with the political Don of the area and running the show that long is in itself a self-inflicted troubling situation.
Jagapati (Jagapathi Babu) is this SI. At one stage he argues with a TV channel interviewer (Raja Ravindra) that there is no need for a police officer to keep to law and order, especially in these days when law and order do not exist at all. But the interview takes such an ugly turn, that you fail to understand whether the interviewee Jagapati is angry with the law and order or with the television channel and its crew. The dialogue at this stage gives a hint that it is directed at the channel too. They named it as TV 8. SI Jagapati even breaks the instruments and camera. The entire scene looks too artificial to relish.
 The gist of it is that the hero of this subject has scant respect for law and order. But he is not neutral either. He joins hands with the politician Don Nagaraj Gowd (Pradeep Rawat). There is repeat dialogue, Gowd expressing his gratitude to the SI for staying on his side and helping him amass wealth and political muscle. The sum total is that Jagapati is more projected as a villain than a hero during three-fourths length of the film. But then the main objective of the theme appears to be that such rugged persons can change only when they fall in love with good-looking, smart women. Rakshita is brought in in the role of Lavanya. Her entry in the latter part of the drama, gives first twist to the drama. Till Lavanya enters into his life, law and order means nothing for him. The moment he encounters her and falls flat for her beauty, law and order becomes his first priority. He makes visits to the railway offices, where she works as a clerk.
Then comes another twist with somebody informing Jagapati that Lavanya came there only to take revenge on him as he killed her brother (Sai Kiran). A shocked Jagapati proves he did not kill. Lavanya is a changed woman. She loves him with greater intensity. He does what all she says, including turning against Gowd. Jagapathi declares that he will do anything for his lover's sake. We can expect what kind a finish such themes get.
 It is a disappointing drama, mostly packed with rough behavior of Jagapati. Jagapathi Babu appears to be in a period of uncertainty lest he would not have accepted to play such an unsympathetic role. He has only two things to do – drinking and smoking and take part in artificially conceived action drama. Rakshita plays opposite him in the role of Lavanya, which is a character of contradictions. She believes one thing but another thing happens. There is no substance in her character. Pradeep Rawat is by and large gaining monotonous look of a villain. Here he is in collusion with the hero, not an adversary, except in last few scenes. There are plenty of other roles that just move the story a bit. The comedy part is linked to policing. Part of it is tasteless, tending to be obscene. Music by
Keeravani is palatable.
- ASLESHA
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