Home > Telugu Movie Reviews > Subhash Chandra Bose
Cast: Venkatesh, Shriya, Genelia, Prakash Raj, Gulshan
Grover, Tanikella and Others.
Music: Mani Sharma.
Direction: K. Raghavendra Rao.
Banner: Vyjayanthi Movies.
 This film raises the question whether or not any
Indian citizen has any right to question those who
distort Indian history or even the stories woven
around real life characters like Alluri Sitarama Raju
or Annamayya or Ramadasu. This film deals with a
sequence during the freedom struggle in 1946. But you
will be shocked to note that it is all absolute
fiction set in the usual Telugu film masala. The rule
that a real life story needs a truthful narration is
thrown to winds. It is absolute distortion of
history. Veteran director K. Raghavendra Rao thus is a
culprit that way and shapes this film into a mixture
of all commercial elements. Besides, this is a story
of the life of hero spanning over his two births.
Except a little change in hairdo, Venkatesh looks the
same in these roles. Then there are mandatory two
heroines, distributed between two lives of the hero.
Genelia plays in 2005 story while Shriya plays opposite
him in 1946 life. There is third woman also in his
life, daughter of British Governor, played by a
foreigner. Raghavendra Rao does not forget even to
create a comedy team like ‘Vidushakas’ in royal courts
by pairing the old team of Kota Srinivasa Rao and
Babumohan. These former MLAs are reduced to mere
court comedians of the British rulers. There are
plenty of stock characters too running across the
screen. We are also given a glimpse of Mahatma Gandhi,
played by a novice.
This hero (Venkatesh) was Subhash Chandra Bose in
1946 and Ashok in 2005. But he should not be mistaken
as the real Subhash. He was only named so by his
parents out of admiration to the real Netaji. As
Ashok, like in the present day youth films, he moves
around with a set of friends like a vagabond, till he
gets a job in a TV news channel as cameraman, with the
help of its news reporter (Genelia). As they move
together to cover a major political function Ashok
notices a familiar face of a politician, being taken
in a procession as prospective Prime Minister of this
country, approved by all parties. His name is
Venkataratnam (Prakashraj). As he starts watching him,
these thoughts take him back to his previous birth, to
the year 1946. What was he doing then and why he was
killed forms a flashback. Ashok then was Subhash
Chandra Bose, a freedom fighter. And this octogenarian
Venkataratnam was young ‘Bandodu’, the stooge of
the British. In order to put down the revolution the
then British Governor (Tom Alter) ordered for some
armaments to be brought from Calcutta to reach
Chintapalli, where this fight was going on. On knowing
this Subhash Chandra Bose blasted the bridge as the
train was moving on it. Upset at the development
British collector (Gulshan Grover) hatched a plan and
killed Subhash. In this murder and other activities,
Bandodu proved a traitor, while Governor’s daughter
got drawn to Subhash. She was also murdered along with
Subhash, all because of the villainy played by
Bandodu.
 There ends the flashback and the first story
resumes. On recognizing that Venkataratnam is the
same Bandodu, grown much old now, Ashok plans to
expose the traitor to the public and stop him from
becoming the Prime Minister of the country.
The visual quality of the film is awfully poor.
They should have shot the 1946 episodes in black and
white instead of color. Venkatesh tries his best to
give life to both the characters he plays but the poor
and farcical script never allows him to gain grip on
his acting. He is a clear victim of bad screenplay.
Song situations never suit such a serious theme.
Because of this lack of cohesion in the theme covering
two lives of the hero, the first part drags, while the
second is filled with bizarre action scenes. The two
heroines and the British girl are just onlookers.
Photographic work is better. Satyanand’s story and
Paruchuri Brothers’ script never stuck to reality of
the situation.
- ASLESHA
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