When an acclaimed film is remade into another language, often the expectations are towering high and we all unknowingly tend to compare almost every element to the original. Uma Maheshwara Ugra Roopasya is one such film which is a remake of the hit Malayalam film Maheshinte Prathikaram that starred Fahadh Faasil in the lead role. Actor Satydev plays the lead in the Telugu remake and C/O Kancharapalem fame Maha Venkatesh dons the director’s hat for it. With cinema halls shut due to the current pandemic, Uma Maheshwara Ugra Roopasya has now released on the popular OTT platform Netflix and is already receiving rave reviews, for many reasons.
Uma Maheshwara Rao aka Mahesh (Satyadev,) owns a photo studio in a town near Araku, Vizag and is leading a happy and smooth life. From the cobbler to vegetable vendors, every person in the town knows Mahesh and the young man is known to be the nice hearted guy. One fine day, life takes a turn which he wouldn’t have expected and Mahesh finds himself seeking vengeance against Jognath, a ruthless henchman from the neighbouring town, who would have bashed him up in a fight. This fight is a result of numerous sequential incidents which happened in town. Mahesh vows to not wear footwear till the time he takes revenge on Jognath. However, Jognath flies to Dubai after getting a job there in construction. What happens next forms the crux ofUma Maheshwara Ugra Roopasya.
The director Maha Venkatesh established himself in Telugu cinema as one of those filmmakers who sticks to originality in characters, narratives and the dialogues with his debut film C/O Kancharapalem. One sees the same pattern continued in Uma Maheshwara Ugra Roopasya. The characters in the town, be it Baabji (Naresh) or Korra Suhaas (Suhaas,) are convincingly natural and seem like they are someone you would have seen all your life. The narrative is so involving that one may tend to forget that it actually is a feature film. Satyadev as Mahesh delivers a stunning performance. Satyadev maintains the right balance between subtle, realistic and authentic playing Mahesh and by the end of the film, one may forget that he actually is the actor. Naresh, playing Baabji annaya, owns a bone setting store and his portrayal is nothing short of a stunner. It is hard to imagine any other actor playing that role. The credit of casting must go to Maha Venkatesh. Talking about the leading ladies of the film, Hari Chandana (Swathi,) and Roopa Koduvayur (Jyothi,) do not come across as newcomers and own their characters completely. While all these actors will leave you stunned with their performance, it is the veteran actor Raghavan playing Mahesh’s father, Manohar Rao. His one liners about life lessons will leave you thinking about your own self and have a strong impact.
The music of the film, by the original composer Bijjibal, completes the great screenplay work by Maha Venkatesh. The melodious tunes during happy moments and the dull sounds during intense and sad moments prove why he is the right choice for the film. The story ofUma Maheshwara Ugra Roopasya takes place in the rural towns of Araku, Paderu and surrounding hilly areas, and all those beautiful elements are captured brilliantly by Appu Prabhakar.
While the film intrigues you with it’s narrative, it is the same narrative that may tend to become a bit slow. This could be a result of being used to watching mainstream Telugu movies which are more than many times fast paced. While it all boils down to the preference of the viewers, it may seemingly tend to slow down at times and the shift of focus happens way too soon.
Uma Maheshwara Ugra Roopasya is one of those heartening films which leaves you with a good feel. Satyadev and director Venkatesh Maha take you on a phenomenal journey.
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