G.K. Film Corporation Presents
Pista (2009)

Cast: Vishal, Shriya, Prakash Raj, Tanikella Bharani, Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam, M.S. Narayana, Ali, 'Telangana' Sakuntala, Geetha, Surya, Annapurna, Rallapalli, Sayaji Shinde, etc.
Dialogues: Shasank
Choreography: Dinesh
Art: Velu, Prakash
Editing: Vijayan
Director of Photography: Priyan
Music: Mani Sarma
Fights: 'Stun' Shiva
Lyrics: Sahithi, Anantha Sriram
Producer: Vikram Krishna
Story, Screenplay, Direction: Saba Iyappan (debut)

What it's about?
C. Murali Krishna (Vishal), or CM for short, promises his mother (Geetha) that he'll bring back her elder son, who ran away from the house as a child, and comes to the city searching for his brother. As he lives with Chittibabu (Ali) in the city, he incidentally gets involved in a fight between two local gangs, led by Surya Prakash (Prakash Raj) and Guru (Kishore), in the city. He also, as usual, falls in love with Indu (Shriya), a typical working metropolitan girl. CM finds his brother right when the latter is under attack by Guru. Rest of the story deals with how he saves his brother amidst the attacks on him in the city. A huge twist unwraps just before the interval. What is it? Is one of the gang-leaders the brother that CM is looking for? Did CM finally keep the promise he made to his mother?

Technical Details:
Vishal appears, as usual, in a mass-oriented role where his character demands more action and rough look than being a simple, romantic hero. His dialogue delivery needs refinement. Shriya fits perfectly in the role of a typical Telugu movie heroine, settling for three romantic scenes and four duets. Prakash Raj, with his natural performance, attracts audiences' appraisal. He appears in black shirt all through the film! Kishore as Guru is okay. M.S. Narayana, Ali, Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam, Tanikella Bharani, ' Telangana ' Sakuntala, Sayaji Shinde, Geetha, Annapurna are apt in their limited roles. Overall, the narration and visuals are appreciable. Choreography is good with impressive dance movements and steps. Mani Sarma is a natural when it comes to mass-oriented music, but the music fails to be a hit on the whole. naa mahaaraaNi nuvvE... is hummable, though, and is picturized well. Lyrics are okay too. As the home production of the hero, the film maintains good production values, particularly concentrating on songs than the movie itself. Debutant director Saba Iyappan has a strong hand in the technical departments, but he needs to develop the same in the story department to make it big.

Setbacks: Many side-track comedies and digressions make the story movement worse in an already "dull" story line. The movie's title lacks justification too.

Notable Scenes/Dialogues:
Ø Prakash Raj: kattini dimpitEnE daaniki gauravam, Satruvuni champitEnE naaku gauravam.
Ø Rallapalli: enDa annaaka tagalaDam kunDa annaaka pagalaDam maamoolE!
Ø Ali: naaru pOsinappuDu neeru poyyaali. paata friends kalisinappuDu mandu poyyaali.
Ø Vishal: Aatreya oka uppena, Veturi oka samudram
Ali: mari sirivennela evaru? chalivEndramaa?
Ø Vishal: bhayapaDE vaaDiki taaDu kooDaa paamu laagE kanipistundi. bhayapeTTE vaaDini choostE yamuDiki kooDaa daDa kalugutundi!

Bottom Line:
On the whole, Pista is a just a regular film with nothing new to offer. Techincal and production values, and Vishal's performance in action scenes is good. Shirya is limited to skinshow.

Editor's Note: As our regular reviewer is not available, movies that released this week are not given a numerical rating.

Review by Rajendra