Mahesh Babu’s Athidhi has a little sentiment, simple storyline and too many fights.
Story:
Young Mahesh Babu is an orphan living in Delhi doing odd jobs like working in petrol bunks and tea stalls. One day while selling balloons, he meets a young schoolgirl. As she has got no money to buy a balloon, he gives away one free to her. This makes her very happy. She later helps him while he is soaking in the rain and takes him to her house. Her parent Shilpa Chakrabarthy (ETV) and Rajiv Kanakala give him shelter and name him as ‘Athidhi’.
When they are going out, a gangster accosts them and snatches the purse of Rajiv Kanalakala and also shoots the couple down and runs away. Young Mahesh Babu takes the gun and tries to shoot them but he is implicated in the murder and is sent to juvenile home for 14years.
The young girl believes that the young Mahesh Babu had killed her parents and she doesn’t want to meet him again in her life. Mahesh Babu comes out of jail after 14 years and his only mission in life is to kill the gangster who killed the young girl’s parents.
As fate would have it, they both meet but do not know that are the same childhood friends. Mahesh learns that Amritha Rao is her childhood girlfriend but does not want to accept her love, as she is still under the impression that young Mahesh Babu had killed her parents. The hero later realizes that Amritha Rao’s life is in danger, so he drops his plans to going back to Delhi and stays back in Hyderabad. What happens to their love, does Mahesh Babu manage to trace the real killer of Amritha Rao’s parents’ forms the rest of the story.
Performance:
Mahesh Babu once again comes up with a powerful performance. He still oozes the innocent school boyish charm and winning smile. He is good in dancing and his steps for a couple of songs are very good and draw wild cheer from delirious fans.
Amritha Rao suits her role like a perfect T. She is gorgeous and she sizzles in one song.
Kota comes up with is standard performance. Ashish Vidyarthi as gangster Danny comes across more like a caricature than a dreaded goonda. The villain Kaizer (Murali Sharma) gives a powerful performance but his characterization could have been made better. The rest of the star cast including Nazar and others give a routine performance.
Malaika Arioa Khan’s item song is just average.
Even the comedy is just average. Venu Madhav as the pickpocket has a very brief role. Brahmanandam and Sunil manage to raise some laughs with their drinking session with Mahesh Babu.
Mani Sarma’s music is average.
and his tunes for a couple of songs are foot tapping and the hall reverberated with loud claps and applause.
Dialogues:
Mahesh Babu comes up with some one-liners that evoke laughter. His dialogue – ‘I want Amritha to be happy, even if it means I have to stay away from her’ is received with appreciation
He tells the villain – Naaku nuvvu pannedugantalau time ivvadam kaadu, Nenu neeku pannendu gantalu time isthinnanu, heroine ni vadili ekkadikaina dooranga paaripo’ and Innallu Kaiser Chaavu tho aadukunnadu, ippudu chaavu vaaditho aadukuntundi’ evoke cat calls and applause.
Highlight of the film: Mahesh Babu rams his motorcycle into the gangster jeep and flies high into the air and puts the gun straight into the gangster’s mouth and shoots him.
The film will definitely please all Mahesh Babu’s fans. But director Surrender Reddy has added too much violence in the film, and this has stretched the film a bit too far and it tests the patience of the audience at times.
