A Kingsman-touch with an underground, secret establishment hidden beneath a tailor’s shop; Bourne series-style hand-to-hand combats; a high adrenaline sound track; leading ladies who are not just props and a couple of really good twists.
Goodachari, despite its in-your-face title, is a good thriller which is script-heavy and lets its protagonist, Gopi alias Arjun (Adivi Sesh), breathe without engulfing the movie.
Arjun is desperate to get into Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) like his dad, despite his foster-dad Satya’s (Prakash Raj) reluctance to permit him. He manages to get into Trinetra, an intelligence wing, and just as he accomplishes his training, unearths a sinister plot that claims many a casualty including his identity.
Then starts a cat-and-mouse chase, with Arjun’s history coming back to haunt him and playing a big part in the whirlwind events of his life. Terror cells in Bangladesh, kids trained Jihadi-style to infiltrate every layer of Indian society, a witty Vennela Kishore playing a spy, and an ominous-looking Jagapati Babu (who is fast turning into, if not already, Telugu cinema’s most sought-after villain, with a great scalp of hair and a beautifully styled white beard) – the movie gives Adivi Sesh plenty of cover.
When thrillers are made in Telugu, there is always the fear that it may look amateurish especially to the trained eye, that the movie will give in to dramatization and over-heroism, but Goodachari treads carefully.
Yes, it does lack finesse in a scene or two, but considering the day and age of Telugu cinema, this product is definitely an overachievement. Kudos to Sashi Kiran who took Adivi Sesh’s story and handled it with elegance, a tight hand and the deliberate tautness with some clues.
The audience is seldom bored in this crisp film that doesn’t drag at any point. Couple of chases and fights have been implemented well and a big thumbs up to the shooting scenes where Adivi Sesh shines without really having to overdo the style statement.
Adivi Sesh has all the makings of someone who can own this genre, making one wonder why we haven’t seen him more often after Kshanam. The movie also gives Sobhita Dhulipala as Sameera, a chance to shine and Madhu Shalini has her moments too. But, it is Supriya Yarlagadda who gets a meaty role and looks deadly as Nadia, a secret service agent-trainer.
What stands out the most in the movie is how the screenplay gives the makers so much scope that they rarely have to resort to big-budget hyperactivity – cars blowing up, things breaking during fights (an entire fight scene orchestrated in a house hardly has things breaking).
Sricharan Pakala’s sound track and Shaneil’s camera work didn’t let the director down and their work reflected the sensibilities of crew that had complete awareness of how the spy-thriller genre works.
Goodachari is a movie that gives its audience its money’s worth, and shows how we have not used up all possible roles where a veteran like Prakash Raj can add value!