‘Mass Jathara’ movie review: An in-form Ravi Teja isn’t enough to salvage this lazily written, formulaic film Latest Entertainment News

In recent times, Ravi Teja films have come with the promise of delivering an unapologetic mass treat and bringing back the good old timing and energy of the star in the late 2000s — a phase that shaped his career. Among these films, only Krack and Dhamaka lived up to the claims, at least to an extent, while others missed the bus or felt like an unintentional parody of his prime years. Mass Jathara joins this long list of films that fail to deliver.

Bhanu Bhogavarapu, who wrote quirky and light-hearted Telugu films like Vivaha Bhojanambu, Samajavaragamanaand Single, makes his directorial debut with Mass Jathara. A self-proclaimed fan of Ravi Teja, he tries to make this film an unabashed celebration of the star. He relies on a flimsy plot and hopes to deliver a high-octane package with the actor’s trademark mannerisms with periodic, self-referential callbacks.

Once again, Ravi Teja is cast as a cop (does he not get tired)? His character Lakshman Bheri, however, has an intriguing challenge. He is a railway cop and all his heroics must be limited to the Adavivaram station premises. As a righteous officer, he means business. Known for his headstrong ways, he gets into trouble with superiors, politicians and wants to end drug trade in the region. 

Lakshman has very little to lose in life. Raised by his grandfather (Rajendra Prasad), he is supposedly middle-aged (like many of our senior male actors in their 50s and 60s), and unmarried. He is attracted to Tulasi (Sreeleela), a school teacher who travels by the same train. His nemesis is a cannabis-smoking Sivudu (Naveen Chandra), a drug peddler.

The first hour of Mass Jathara takes care of the film’s softer indulgences. Lakshman is unlucky in love and marriage, and has a love-hate relationship with his grandfather (the characterisation can make the audiences wonder if he has gone senile). Occasionally, there are references to Ravi Teja’s earlier films like Naa Autograph and Venky. Frequent banters with Sivudu’s henchmen leads to a predictable, high-voltage intermission sequence. 

The threat to Ravi Teja’s character gets real in the later hour. The stakes are raised, and finally a few sequences reflect flashes of the explosive film that Mass Jathara wants to be. Much like the famous wolf pack in Krack, Ravi Teja counters a bunch of ruthless contract killers in a superb action sequence.

Despite a better second half, Mass Jathara slips into the tired template of action, sentiment, comedy and song. The packaging is lazy and takes the audiences for granted (who, like the writer, looked exhausted in the theatre). There’s a lovely twist to Sreeleela’s character Tulasi that connects to the film’s broader conflict, yet the director reduces it to the staid damsel-in-distress trope.

When you more or less give up on the film, a smart confrontation sequence, modelled on popular action entertainers like Kaithiand Vikram, make the proceedings come alive. The problem with Mass Jathara is that it makes no effort to sustain the momentum after flashes of brilliance. The ending is just a formality as bodies fly and heads spin.

Sivudu’s villainy is another issue with the film. He appears too primitive for the times. His hair is unkempt, he sports a lungi, uses reptiles to trap his victims, chains a woman who refuses to marry him, references the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and reacts too impulsively to be taken seriously. Yet, Naveen Chandra plays it with earnestness and does not go overboard.

Mass Jathara is low-key entertaining when Ravi Teja is in the company of Praveen, Hyper Aadi, Ajay Ghosh (that platform ticket-humour is fun) and Sreeleela (this track begins well but loses its way). Naresh and VTV Ganesh’s comic timing ensures a few laughs. 

Ravi Teja is in strikingly good form as a dancer, almost reminiscent of Govinda in Hindi cinema of the 1990s. Rajendra Prasad gets a paisa vasool sequence towards the end, which might have been the clincher for him to accept this role. 

Taarak Ponnappa arrives too late to leave an impression. Formidable actors such as Samuthirakani and Murali Sharma do not get worthy parts. A few songs by Bheems Ceciroleo have a catchy vibe, but the high-decibel, soul-numbing background score can test patience. Visually, the railway station backdrop becomes repetitive after a point.

Mass Jathara is another futile attempt to revitalise Ravi Teja’s career with a throwback to his past glory. The writing is on the wall — give the audience something new.