Venkatesh is one hero who is always very guarded about his choice of movies. Bodyguard falls into Venky’s scheme of thing neatly and he makes the best use of this original Malayalam film to provide his trademark family entertainer.
Even for those who are familiar with the super-duper hit remake in Hindi ‘Dabangg’ that catapulted Salman Khan into the really big league, Bodyguard does not fail to engage thanks to the fresh treatment sought to be given to the Telugu version.
The breezy comedy of the first half is, as expected, handled very well by the director and Venkatesh, who really enjoys to make people laugh. The elements of sentimental thriller are also skilfully weaved into the second half and you have a film that is safe viewing for entire family.
Bodyguard does reasonably well in technical departments, though you can’t expect anything spectacular. The music is not up to the standards of Venky’s films and may not sustain the interest of the listeners for too long.
The film is faithful to Venkatesh’s style of making, but audience will realize that the aging heroes need to reinvent themselves if they want to continue to cast themselves in the lead roles.
Trisha, Prakash Raj and the comedy gang that includes Ali, Dharmavarapu and Venu Madhav are okay in their roles. Given that Mahesh Babu’s Businessman – released a day earlier – is all sound and fury, Venkatesh’s Bodyguard is likely to have a better reception at the box office.
