Story

Seenu (Ram), a child gets fascinated by a local rowdy Manikyam (Pradeep Rawat) and wants to be like him when he grows up. He makes his way into the Manikyam’s gang and soon becomes his confidant. Due to some unavoidable circumstances he walks out of Manikyam’s camp and forms a gang of his own. The rest of the story is all about whether he realizes the perils of being a Rowdy.

Artists Performance

Ram: Ram is pretty good as the youngster fascinated by the profession of mafia. The variety steps he has done in the ‘violence is a fashion’ and ‘5 feet’ are very good. His performance in the climax scene is tremendous. There is lot of casualness in his Ram which suits the ‘Seenu gadu’ character the best.

IIsha: Heroine’s character needs to exhibit mischievous expressions and should have lots of spontaneity. The heroine character in this film is of sly nature that if not properly cast, the innocence and mischief of the character could turn into vulgarity. But unfortunately, she could not get it right in this film.

Others: Pradeep Rawat is different in the role of the villain with a new get-up. Thankfully Sukumar has taken a decision not to show Pradeep Rawat again and again in ‘Sye’ type of get-up. AS Ravi Kumar Chowdary (director of Yagnam and Veerabhadra) did the role of villain’s sidekick. He is very good. Venu, who made debut as actor with ‘Jai’ film excels as sidekick of hero with terrific performance. The lean guy in hero’s gang is also very good. Raghubabu did the role of a meek father. This character is a different one for Raghubabu. Devi Charan did a vital role. Prakash Raj did the guest role of a police commissioner. Monalisa, Madhu Shalini and Zobyn Khan (sister of Mumaith Khan) did a couple of item songs in this film.

Technical Departments:

Story: Basic storyline of the film is pretty good. Story of the film seem to have drawn inspiration from Brazilian flick ’City of God’ (read jeevimovie.com review here). The violence aspect, how goons get excited by looking at the photos and news getting flashed in the media and indulging of kids in brutal activities are all there in City of God.

Screenplay - direction: Screenplay of the film is good, but seem to have become little contrived towards the end. Direction of the film is partly good. Taking is excellent. The director successfully narrated a thin storyline with nice visuals in the first half. But could not sustain momentum in the second half. Though the director could able to deal the action sequences well, he could not get the timing and zing right in romance thread. There are some impressive scenes like -

1. Hero’s first step of heroism in the scene where all the gang members step back and hero remains there.
2. The interval block.
3. The set-up for ‘Everybody’ song.
4. The scene in which police commissioner explains about the vicious circle

Other departments: Cinematography of the film is excellent. The graphic-work/color-grading is also good. Devi Sri Prasad excels again with this film in terms of songs and background music. Background music helped the narration of the film. Songs picturization of the film is also good. ‘Violence’, ‘5 feet’ and ‘Everybody’ are excellently choreographed. The set-up for ‘Muddante Cheda’ song reminds us of ‘Humma Humma’ from Mani Ratnam's Bombay. Artwork is good. Editing is neat. Fights are pretty good. Producer Aditya Babu should be commended for making such a brave attempt to do this film. The production values are extraordinary.

Analysis: First half of the film is good. The tempo in second half goes down. The last twist of the film and the pre-climax episodes are bit unappealing. Director Sukumar selected a different subject and narrated it in his own style. But the main story point of the film is only revealed in the last 20 minutes. Hence the total orientation of the film takes U turn in the last 20 minutes. The plus points of the film are technical values and the first half. Director Sukumar should be commended for selecting a different theme. But the commercial success of the film depends on how the last 20 minutes appeal to the general moviegoer.

Tailpiece: There is one song in this film called ‘Voilence is a fashion”. But the makers have change it to ‘Jagadam is a fashion’ because censor board objected to the word 'voilence'. The censor members who don’t mind passing visuals of brutal bloodshed do seem to have a problem with the word ‘violence’.

Jagadam links
• Audio Review
• Audio launch
• Press Meet
• Photo Gallery
• Wallpapers
• Trailers
Abroad:
USA | UK

Jeevi reviews of previous 5 films
• Okkadunnadu
• Lakshmi Kalyanam
• Madhumasam
• Maharadhi
• Desamuduru
• Annavaram
More Reviews