After a long gap, Samantha is back as the lead in a Telugu film with Maa Inti Bangaram, which released on Friday. Sensible filmmaker Nandini Reddy directed the film, while Samantha herself produced it along with her husband Raj Nidimoru. The promotional content created good interest among audiences, and Samantha’s massive fan following, especially in Telugu states, added more hype to the film.

The trailer suggested that the film would be a family drama with action elements. Even before the release, Nandini Reddy mentioned in interviews that Samantha’s character would have a Baasha-like backdrop.

After Rajinikanth’s Baasha, several films followed a similar template where the protagonist appears to be an ordinary person but has a powerful past. When the situation demands, the real identity of the character is revealed. Nandini Reddy follows a similar pattern in Maa Inti Bangaram, but she mixes her own style of family emotions, entertainment, and commercial elements.

Hindi actor Gulshan Devaiah makes his Telugu debut with this film, which also introduces Kannada actor Diganth Manchale to Telugu audiences. Samantha’s husband Raj Nidimoru has contributed to the story and screenplay.

Director: Nandini Reddy

Cast: Samantha, Gulshan Devaiah, Diganth Manchale, Gautami, Manjusha Mukkavilli, Anand, Srilakshmi, Sreemukhi and others

Swarna (Samantha) is an orphan who marries Dr Anirudh (Diganth Manchale), who belongs to a wealthy family. His parents oppose their marriage, forcing the couple to live separately. However, Swarna wants to reunite her husband with his family. An opportunity comes when Anirudh’s sister’s wedding takes place, and the couple returns to the village. Initially, the family does not accept them because he married against their wishes. Swarna tries to win their hearts despite not knowing their family traditions and culture. Slowly, she earns their love by helping them in difficult situations.

However, Kanaka (Gulshan Devaiah) enters their lives as a villain and creates problems for the family. While everything seems happy in the big family, Kanaka’s entry changes everything. Swarna decides to protect them. What is her connection with Kanaka? What is her past? How does she save the family? To know the answers, you have to watch the film on the big screen.

Nandini Reddy earlier worked with Samantha in Jabardasth and Oh Baby, and this marks their third collaboration. Known for feel-good and family-oriented films, Nandini takes a slightly different route with Maa Inti Bangaram by adding action episodes and commercial elements for the first time.

The story is simple — an orphan who faces humiliation throughout her life meets a person who trains her to fight back against those who hurt her. But later, she realises that even he had his own intentions. She leaves that past behind, marries a good person, and wants to live happily with a loving family. However, her past returns, forcing her to face it again. Nandini Reddy narrates this simple story in an entertaining way and balances family emotions with action.

The film completely revolves around Samantha’s character Swarna/Jhansi, and she carries it from the beginning to the end. The combination of Nandini Reddy and Samantha works extremely well as they understand each other from their previous collaborations. Nandini knows how to present Samantha, and the actress delivers exactly what the role demands. For the first time, Samantha has explored a full action backdrop, and she handles it with confidence. It feels fresh for audiences watching her in this kind of role.

The first half, which focuses on the big family set-up and Samantha trying to impress her family, is handled well and provides good entertainment. The scenes between Samantha and her friend Kiranmayi, played by newcomer Manjusha, are hilarious and well written.

The director reveals Samantha’s flashback around the interval, and the audience gets an idea of how she will deal with the villain in the second half. Though the story is not completely new, the narration makes it engaging.

The climax is also written well, especially the way Samantha explains her past to the family members. Some scenes between Samantha and Gulshan Devaiah feel slightly stretched, but overall the film maintains a good pace.

The action sequences are well choreographed, especially the bus episode, which creates excitement. Vasanth and Prahlad’s dialogues are effective, with some entertaining lines perfectly suited for Samantha’s character.

The villain character could have been stronger, but it is presented in a lighter manner. The use of the song from Bapu’s Mutyala Muggu fits well into the film and brings a nostalgic touch.

Coming to performances, Samantha is the biggest strength of the film. It is completely a one-woman show as she carries the entire movie on her shoulders. This is definitely one of her best performances in recent times and adds another memorable role to her career. More than anything, Samantha is the biggest attraction of the film as every major emotion revolves around her character. She handles the action sequences with ease, especially the bus fight scene. Her comedy timing and emotional scenes with the family members also work well.

The surprise package of the film is Manjusha, who plays Samantha’s friend. Her Godavari accent and performance bring a lot of fun to the film. Gautami adds value with her experienced performance, while Sreemukhi fits perfectly into her role as a daughter-in-law.

Gulshan Devaiah’s Telugu debut is not very impressive as his lip-sync does not match well with the dialogues. His expressions also do not add much impact. Diganth Manchale also struggles with the Telugu language. Actors entering another film industry need to work more on dialogue delivery to connect better with audiences.

Veteran actress Lakshmi suits the role of grandmother and performs well. Chaitanya, Gavireddy, and Anand provide good support. Vennela Kishore appears in a cameo role towards the end.

Technically, the film has multiple music composers including Santhosh Narayanan, Suresh Bobbili, and Mickey J Meyer. The background score works well and elevates several scenes. The cinematography is good, and the production values are impressive.

Another interesting aspect of the film is the strong presence of women characters, with almost everyone appearing in traditional sarees throughout, which adds a unique visual appeal.

Finally, Maa Inti Bangaram may not have a groundbreaking story, but Nandini Reddy presents it in an entertaining way with family emotions and action elements. Samantha completely steals the show with a powerful performance, making it a film worth watching.