God Father Movie Review: A worthy remake of the Malayalam film Lucifer

Review: At an Interpol facility in France, a high-ranking agent hands over a confidential case of an elusive mastermind Abram Qureshi aka AQ, to another agent who is taking up the case. Cut to India, PKR, the supreme leader of a political party, is no more, sending the whole state into a crisis, and a new leader must be elected. Ideally, Brahma, an intelligent and popular leader among the masses and the backbone of the deceased leader, should have been the successor but senior leader Narayana Varma (Murali Sharma) and PKR’s son-in-law Jaidev (Satyadev Kancharana) eye for the CM post. Sathyapriya (Nayanthara), the eldest daughter of PKR and wife of Jaidev, gets thrown into the mix as a political heir to put a check on Brahma.

From the beginning, the screenplay is spot on and engaging, even for someone who has watched the Malayalam original Lucifer. Chiranjeevi, as Brahma, exuded charisma and produced a brilliant and refined performance. He carried a swag but a subdued one. Likewise, Nayanthara as a daughter, sister and wife and Satyadev as an immoral husband and power-hungry criminal, were unique and powerful characters.

Salman’s cameo as Masoom Bhai brings in the fun element and is mainly packed with swag and explosive action. Fans of both stars will enjoy the Bollywood meets Tollywood moments. Salman even delivers a Telugu dialogue, “Ee God Father court lo thappu chesinodiki siksha thappadu.” However, the visuals during the explosive scenes could have been rendered better.

Sarvadaman D. Banerjee as Brahma’s Father, Chiranjeevi as Brahma, Salman Khan as Masoom Bhai, Nayanthara as Sathyapriya Jaidev, Satyadev Kancharana as Jaidev, Puri Jagannadh as Govardhan, and other actors Murali Sharma, Sunil, Brahmaji, Samuthirakani, Tanya Ravichandran, Divi Vadthya, Gangavva were a delight to watch. In addition, Prabhu Deva, as himself in the song ‘Thaar Maar Thakkar Maar’ and Warina Hussain as a bar dancer in the item song ‘Blast Baby’, add the masala to the mix.

Music director Thaman S elevated the whole movie experience up by a notch with his accelerating background score. Director Mohan Raja, the captain of the ship, who is making a Telugu comeback after Hanuman Junction (2001), deserves a huge round of applause for helming a worthy remake. The film had dialogues by Lakshmi Bhupala, cinematography by Nirav Shah, and production design by Suresh Selvarajan.

The film proves to be a worthy remake of the Malayalam film Lucifer, and Chiranjeevi embodies the character of Brahma brilliantly and comes up with a charismatic performance. Engaging screenplay, exhilarating background score by Thaman S and neat camera work make this political drama a festive watch. It’s safe to say the boss is back!