Y.V.S. Chowdary’s Rey (2015) Movie Review

Movie Review: Rey
Star Cast: Sai Dharam Tej, Saiyami Kher, Shraddha Das, Tanikella Bharani, Brahmanandam, M S Narayana, Ali, Raghu Babu and Farhad Shahnawaz
Music: Chakri
Director: Y V S Chowdary
Writers: YVS, Sridhar Seepana (Story), Raja Simha (Dialogues)
Production House: Bommarillu Films
Censor Certificate: A
Runtime: 168 Minutes

Jenna (Shradda Das) is a famous in a way “Star” Mexican pop singer who won two “Best of the World” titles in the competitions held at the epicenter of music USA. But to win it the third time she faces tough competition from Sandi (Farhad Shanawaz). Annoyed with the competition from Sandi a Mexican Mafia Don Dange (Arpit Ranka) who worships Jenna kills Sandi to remove the competition for her. While this is going on one side, Amrita (Saiyami Kher) from India, pledges to win the “Best of the World” title and joins in a Jamaican College, Bob Marley to enter the competition. There she meets Rock ( Sai Dharam Teja). Rocket alias Rock is a big flirt and never cares for any woman’s feelings. He goes on flirting and using foul language with the girls. He annoys Amrita to the core. His life takes a sudden turn due to an incident, and he with his rock band decides to join Amrita in the competition. Jenna tries to create all sorts of troubles possible for the band very desperately. Why does Jenna need to stop Rock band? What is she afraid off? How will Rock answer to her challenges and overcome them? Will Jenna win the third title or will Rock band create history? Well you need watch the film to know answers to these interesting questions!

Sai Dharam Teja is the new addition to the mega clan, carrying the legacy of Megastar Chiranjeevi and Power Star Pawan Kalyan forward. Even though this is the first movie of the young kid around the block, for audience his first released movie, Pilla nuvvu leni jeevitham, will be the first movie. As a reviewer, I cannot ignore this fact and need to judge his acting abilities based on “Rey” being his first movie only. Going by that, Sai Dharam has potential in him and by using and motivating it in the right way, he has a long way to go. But the director, in the spot light here, YVS Chowdary, tries to put him in a larger than life character and create a huge image around him. Which is a lot to ask from any first timer. Sai Dharam manages to please us with dance grooves and fights but fails to score even pass marks in giving suitable expressions as at times he goes overboard and annoy us to no end. Director YVS should have been mindful of the fact that over emoting any scene or loud acting is not the way to go for a first time actor. Subtle and easing through would have been a better approach here. Anyways he needs to improve his standards and look to put this behind him. Now the ever glamor doll of telugu cinema, Shradda Das, who till now did many and only “glamor queen” roles focusing more on skin show than performance. This time she got a role with meat and she did work hard on her expressions put lot of efforts to convince us a pop singer. While being a glamour doll all the time. But after a certain point of time you feel like why is she over acting and giving a performance that is cringe worthy. Now coming to the heroine or may be we should call her a “hero”, Saiyami Kher, not because of her character or acting abilities but due to her looks. She looks more like a man than a woman and has a wooden face with no expressions at all. If she wants to act her way to glory she might not just fall short but could just find herself unable to even cross the start line. She tried to nullify the lack of expressions with skin show though. Her dancing abilities were just ok too. Ali, Ravibabu, Venu Madhav irritate us in the name of comedy. Arpit Ranka as Don Dange was Ok to good. Senior Naresh, Hema and Tanikella Bharani give a restrained performance in this unbearable over the top acting galore!

The story of Rey is very thin and lets make it clear. There is no problem coming up with a wacky narration or in narrating a different musical that the viewers are not used to. But here, the film simply tests your tolerance and you watch in disbelief when elementary ideas are being present as if that is something unique. After back to back flops director Y VS Chowdary seems to have been vying to present something out of the box, which ends up as a farce. Screenplay by Rajasimha and Y V S Chowdary never really impresses. The music competition in a Caribbean background might sound something interesting, but what follows next can be predicted by even a second class student. The director drags character introductions till interval and in the meantime fails to elevate romantic episodes between the Sai Dharam Tej and Saiyami Kher. The film starts and meanders along towards a tame end. It wouldn’t be exaggeration if it’s said that nothing worthwhile happened in-between. Yawn Inducing rather than enjoyable ride, The film doesn’t end up with music, dance and love in the second half things move out to drugs, terrorism. Sometimes you thing it’s a joke and start to laugh and then you realize it wasn’t supposed to be funny. Trying hard to be musical and an action entertainer at the same time, Rey fails to be either.

Coming to other technical aspects, Gunasekaran cinematography is neat. He succeeded in elevated available locales to elevate the mediocre sequences. The CG effects in the film are b-graded. Editing by senior editor Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao could have been sharper. The editor could have easily cut short the film in 2 hours. Songs by Late Chakri are okay, and his background score failed sync with mood of the film. The choreography by Raju Sundaram, Prem Rakshith, Bhavnodhay are fine. Dialogues by Sridhar Seepana are just routine. Production values of the film are alright.

Director Y V S Choudary’s Rey is a mushy musical drama which is amateurish and disturbingly inane. Though Rey is just about 168 minutes long, it requires real patience to sit through this ordeal. If anything is surprising about this damp squib, it is the audacity of those behind the movie to present this musical before the viewers. Rey narrates a story that is too simple and is a potpourri of some tasteless scenes. Adding some visual effects and loud background scores barely makes it even remotely entertaining. All-in all, a sequence of illogical, mind-boggling, silly, unnecessary scenes make Rey a movie you can happily miss. Certainly a brute remark. But then, the movie doesn’t show you any lenience.

Survi Review: 0.5/5

Theatrical Trailer: