'Kannappa' movie review: A decent fare that hits and misses in equal measure

'Kannappa' is the mythological tale of a rebellious tribal youth who goes from scorning god and idol worship to surrendering in devotion and harming himself. 

The movie has been made in multiple languages, but for a Telugu audience, the immediate reference would be 'Bhakta Kannappa', starring the late Krishnam Raju and directed by renowned artist Bapu, which was made in the 1970’s and is still treated as a masterpiece. 

Manchu Vishnu’s version, produced by his father Mohan Babu, tries to retell the story with a larger canvas, slight variations, and a pan-India cast. However, it ends up being engaging and dragging in equal measure. 

The film opens to lush green forests, lakes and waterfalls of New Zealand which act as tribal lands in Srikahalasthi, situated in present-day Andhra Pradesh. 

Five clans live in these picturesque landscapes, and among them is actor Sharath Kumar’s clan, whose son Thinnadu (played by Vishnu) questions the logic behind rituals and idol worship after losing a dear friend to a human sacrifice. He is projected as a hardcore atheist. 

All the while, Lord Shiva (played by Akshay Kumar) and Parvati (played by Kajal Aggarwal), watch these events unfold from the celestial world. Nemali, the princess of one of the clans, falls in love with Thinnadu, which is opposed by her clan as he is a non-believer. Both are sent into exile, and their life thereafter makes up for the next half. 

The clans get into a conflict with Kalamukha, the antagonist who seeks the protected Vayulingam, a sacred idol of Lord Shiva. Mohan Babu plays the devotee and protector of the idol,and has a brief, but strong appearance. 

The ensuing war sequence seems to be a lost opportunity as the movie makers tried to mimic the visual magic of action sequences in 'Lord of the Rings' and the 'Bahubali', but failed to do so. 

Mohanlal and Prabhas also appear in cameos. At some point, it even feels like characters were written only to rope in big stars. The second half tells the story of how Kannappa has a change of heart and becomes a devotee of Lord Shiva. The actor Vishnu, however, gives a committed performance and proves that he has come a long way as an actor. 

While romance sequences take up a good portion of the movie and don't exactly create magic, but they do register. However, the music and songs—barring a few—don’t exactly match up to the original film either. 

'Kannappa' is at best a one-time watch, but may appeal to those who have a spiritual bent of mind—the attempt is daring, but may not be tagged as a classic. 

Film: Kannappa

Cast: Manchu Vishnu, Preity Mukundhan, Mohan Babu, Akshay Kumar, Prabhas, Mohanlal, Kajal Aggarwal, Sharath Kumar 

Music: Stephen Devassy

Director: Mukesh Kumar Singh 

Rating: 3.5/5

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