Tagline: GG is Educating! But Venky & Pawan makes it Enthralling & absolutely Entertaining!
Cast: Pawan Kalyan, Venkatesh, Shriya Saran
Banner: Suresh Productions & North Star Entertainment Pvt Ltd
Editor: Gowtham Raju
Cinematography: Jayanan Vincent
Music: Anup Rubens
Producer: Suresh Babu, Sharat Marar
Director: Kishore Kumar Parthasani
Average User Rating: 3.75/5
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Plot:
Gopal Rao (Venkatesh) is a middle class family man with wife Meenakshi (Shriya) and son Moksha (Arjun Daggubati) who owns a shop of Hindu idols and antiques. He claims to be an atheist and advices a more practical and logical way of living. One day, Gopal Rao disturbs a superstitious religious ceremony and thereby gets cursed by Siddheshwar Swamy (Posani), a god man who operates under Leeladhar Swamy (Mithun Chakraborty). The next day, Gopal Rao’s shop collapses due to an earthquake. While everyone think it is an Act of God, indeed a punishment to Gopal Rao, he in turn sets out to file a case upon the God demading compensation for the damage. How Gopal Rao finds justice in this complicated case forms the rest of the plot.
Performances:
Venkatesh: We know he is the most seasoned actor and this ‘Gopal Rao’ character is just yet another feather in the cap of Venkatesh. Gopal Rao tickles your funny bone, makes you clap for his witty logics and even makes you emotional for his pain. And Venky just proves that this is a tailor made role for him.
Pawan Kalyan: He became a God to his fans long back and with this film, he just proves as an onscreen ‘God’ as well. He added his style to the subtle act of Modern day Lord Krishna and his fans will absolutely love his performance, especially his powerful dialogues. His entrance in the pre-interval episode is yet another highlight. And the Bhaaje Bhaaje song was the right icing on the cake. If Sr NTR was Lord Krishna for us, Pawan was equally convincing as the ‘Modern day’ Krishna. This Gopal from Gokul was an absolute entertainer.
Mithun Chakraborty: The dark menacing horse in the film is Mithun (as Swamy Leeladhar). The typical histrionics and shrewd performance of this legendary actor were a treat to watch. Wish he could do more films down South!
Arjun Daggubati: This little master has made a cool debut with this film. He had the charm and ease in his trivial act also. Of course, acting is in his blood!
The rest of the cast including Shriya, Posani, Madhu Shalini, Krishnudu and others have given their best in their respective entertaining characters.
Direction:
Gopala Gopala (being the remake of Hindi Blockbuster Oh My God) might be a known story but to a common man who did not watch the original, GG remains to be a well-knit short and sweet entertainer laced up with right ‘Power’ful touches of the Powerstar and his much ‘Power’ful dialogues with point and logic. The story itself has the right blend of fun, satire and emotional conflict and the shrewd performances of Venkatesh and Pawan Kalyan bring the native ‘Telugu’ flavor to the story. The director has successfully managed to keep the tale crisp and intact without a single dull moment in the film.
First Half: Venky was the whole and sole entertainer in this segment. Venky and Shriya strike an appealing chemistry. The scenes between Venky and Posani and the court scenes are the true highlights.
Interval Bang: This was the most hyped segment in the film and measuring up to those sky high expectations, this segment has the right momentum with a powerful entry [Sorry…No more hints!]
Second Half: This segment is an outright entertainer with its share of intense and emotional moments. The scenes between Pawan Kalyan and Venkatesh are endearing, especially the dialogues make it a must watch. The climax is an outright delight for fans with Venky and Pawan finishing off things in philosophy and style.
Merits:
- Of course, Pawan Kalyan’s presence, dialogues and subtle performance.
- The able performances of Venkatesh, Mithun Chakraborty, Posani, Murali Sharma and Aashish Vidyarthi.
- The simple yet powerful dialogues that have both punch and point.
- The slick, crisp and uncompromising narration with the right commercial touches.
- Anup Rubens music and back ground score.
De-merits:
- The emotional content in the film went largely unnoticed with the racy narration.
- The lack of any fights and routine commercial elements might disappoint some conservative fans.
Music:
Anup Rubens gave a short and sweet album with a chartbuster like Bhaaje Bhaaje. With Venky & Pawan shaking a leg, this song is an absolute treat to watch in the film. Besides this, Anup gives an engrossing back ground score, especially for Pawan Kalyan’s ‘God’ role.
Others:
If dialogues could grab the attention in a Matinee idol’s film, it is the sheer talent of the writer and here writers Burra Sai Madhav and Deepak Raj deserve a special mention. The dialogues are simple yet powerful. Sunil’s Voice over sets the right the comical mood for the film. However, the animation in the film was not so effective except in the climax.
Verdict:
Though Gopala Gopala is a known story, it might be educating for some, enlightening for some, preaching for some, boring for some but Venkatesh & Pawan Kalyan make it absolutely entertaining. An engaging tale told by two biggest stars of the industry!
