Story
Abhiram (Sai Dharam Tej) is from Eluru and is an intelligent youngster with ideals. He is son of a corrupt government official (Jagapathi Babu). Visakha Vani (Ramya Krishna) also from the same town and she goes on to become an influential figure in state politics. Her empire is built on a fisheries business which has been contaminating the environment and causing sickness to the people around. Abhiram who gets admission into MIT decides to abandon his plans and appears for civils exam. He is appointed as a collector with additional powers since he is specially chosen as a part of a social experiment. Rest of the story is all about the practical difficulties he has faced.
Artists Performance
Sai Dharam Tej is known as a commercial hero and it's a brave decision to do this movie. He has done terrific work as a youngster who goes to any length to do what he believes in. His diction and dialogue delivery has improved a lot. He has maintained that consistency in work throughout the film. The thick-bearded look went well with the serious characterisation. He has put on some weight. Aishwarya Rajesh justifies her role as an NRI with a limited screen time. Ramya Krishna adds more value to the film with her magnetic screen presence. Jagapathi Babu has played an author-backed role with perfection. Ravi Varma looks dashing in a brief businessman role. Rahul Rama Krishna does a vital role with aplomb. Subbaraju is good as a bureaucrat. All other actors are cast appropriately.
Technical departments
Story - screenplay - direction: Deva Katta is known as a filmmaker with social consciousness. This movie revolves around 4 characters (played by Sai Tej, Ramya Krishna, Jagapathi Babu & Aishwarya Rajesh). Each character has a separate backstory and is justified with a proper character arc. Deva Katta excels as a story (and dialogue) writer. He has handled the first half decently by balancing the ingredients. Though it looks good on paper, the narration doesn't look smooth and organic in the second half. We expect the film to be over once court judgment is given. There is a climax a few minutes later. Though there is a thought provoking point in the climax, the audiences are disconnected after the judgment. The climax of the film is a commentary on the mindset on the behavior of the common man. Screenplay should have been better as it didn’t properly use the character arc written for the four primary characters.
Other departments: Dialogues written by Deva Katta are thought-provoking and they make a strong impact. Songs and background score by Mani Sharma doesn't sound like his. There should be a theme and a consistent flow for the background music. Sadly it's missing in this film. Cinematography is okay. The cinematographer has used lower aperture for most of the shots to get that blurred background (bokeh) effect. Since lighting is inadequate for most of the scenes, the edges of the faces of the actors become blurred (no sharpness). Editing by Praveen KL is fine. Production design by Srikanth Ramisetty is okay. Production values by JB Entertainments banner are decent.
Analysis: Republic is a social commentary on the current system and politicians. Deva Katta has explored how and why the political system took over the bureaucracy and the judiciary system to deflate the spirit/essence of the republic. It’s an exciting concept and he explains it with a few recent incidents using powerful dialogues. He manages to narrate the first half interestingly. However, the second half is not exciting enough though the film dwells into the back stories of three vital characters. Climax of the film is realistic and makes you wonder if the system will ever correct itself. On the whole, Republic is a brave and experimental film. We need to wait and see how crowds react to it.
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