It's a really letdown when a big-time collaboration like the one between Mahesh Babu and Trivikram Srinivas - two major talents in their own right - ends up feeling so... underwhelming. Early reviews, including the one from Sakshi, pretty much confirmed our worst fears: that despite being literally called Guntur Karam (that's "chilli powder" for those who don't speak Telugu), it's just amazingly short on - well, on basically everything that makes a movie exciting.
Let's get real: Mahesh Babu does his usual thing, bringing massive charisma, the same old swagger we know and love, and seriously, he's pretty much the only reason to watch this thing for two and a half hours. The Sakshi review nailed it when they said he "acted really well." But that's also the real tragedy of this movie: a great performance won't even begin to fix up a weak script - it's a performance of a lifetime wasted on subpar material that can't get any traction.
If you're after high-end production values, Guntur Kaaram certainly delivers. Where I reckon the budget went, it shows - big time. Thaman's music does the trick - it's on point when it needs to be, and never fails to try and inject some much-needed energy into the parts of the movie that are dragging. And if the camera work is anything to go by, we're in good shape: the movie looks absolutely stunning. But here's the thing: technically, it's very good, but these things start to feel like the icing on an already pretty dull cake.
When you have a great soundtrack, excellent cinematography, and an actor laying it all on the line, and yet still the overall experience feels like running on a treadmill - then we need to take a long hard look at the script. The pacing goes all to pot, and the editing - which the Sakshi review diplomatically described as "fine" - can't even keep that afloat when the story just has no idea what it's doing.
The bottom line, as the original Telugu review said: Guntur Karam just doesn't have that je ne sais quoi, that real spark. You have a film that's being released as part of some film festival, and it's got talent like Mahesh Babu in it - so it had better be more than just some slick vehicle for the star. It needs a heart, a real conflict, and some substance - and Guntur Kaaram sadly just can't deliver. It fizzles, plain and simple - just like a handful of stale, flavourless chilli powder.