Amma Rajyamlo Kadapa Biddalu movie review: A jumbled botch of an interesting premise
Ram Gopal Varma and Siddhartha Tatolu have squandered an interesting premise with lousy writing that is never as surefooted as it needs to be
The much-awaited Amma Rajyamlo Kadapa Biddalu, which was initially titled Kamma Rajyamlo Kadapa Reddlu, is a political commentary about our times. An intentional spoof on Andhra Pradesh politicians and some relatively dramatic events that happened in three different timelines, a lot is stuffed into a single film and as a result, it’s overlong and occasionally rambling.
Directed by Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) and Siddhartha Tatolu, Amma Rajyamlo Kadapa Biddalu is the story of a crime of passion, revenge, trust, betrayal, and fight for power, set against the backdrop of Vijayawada. It's a figment of RGV's imagination that wants us to look beyond the obvious and explore the unforeseen.
The narration, however, is slow and outlandish. The film opens with a lengthy disclaimer announcing that it is not the filmmakers' intent to hurt a community/region/party or an individual and the events or the characters in the film are neither inspired by nor based on real incidents. The story delves into the lives of Velugu Desam party president Babu (Dhananjay), his son Pappu aka Chinna Babu (Dheeraj), an evangelist-turned-peacemaker-turned-politician PP John (Ramu), and an actor-turned-politician Pranav Kalyan of Mana Sena, who gets trounced in the election by RCP Party chief Jagannath Reddy (Ajmal Ameer). Babu waits for an opportunity to bounce back and snatch power from Jagannath, while his son Pappu tears up for not becoming the Chief Minister of the State. Then we have an unrelenting Pranav Kalyan, who greets his fans with a clenched fist, speaks extempore about almost everything and ends it with a warning 'thaata teestha' (I will peel off your skins).
We also have a speaker Pammineni Ramram (Ali), who simply falls asleep in the legislative assembly while a minister pours out his woes against the opposition. In addition to these, there's a security person (Brahmanandam), who instead of a yes or no, gives a sly smile as a response. Amidst the chaos, we have the prominent television presenter Swapna Sundari playing a jaunty cop. Joining her is Mahesh Kathi in CBI officer's role and together, they go on a mission to track down and nab the criminals behind the brutal killing of a top politician. Refreshingly, some jokes are also cracked about Ram Gopal Varma's tweets.
The directors have squandered an interesting premise with lousy writing that is never as surefooted as it needs to be. The film concludes with a video clip of RGV saying, “Whether its politics or movies, the only thing our people want is entertainment.” Unfortunately, there is nothing close to entertainment here. All we get is a jumbled botch that doesn't work.
