Vamsi Kaza Everything about this movie is almost flawless. Mahesh Babu portrays both the characters of Nandu, the professional killer and Pardhu with equal aplomb. He underplays in some situations and gets the finer nuances in the final confession scene absolutely right. This according to me is his finest performance till date.Trivikram - Beyond the usual applause he gets for his dialogues, this film is memorable for his direction. Be it the very first scene which establishes the hero's character or the last one which is technically one of the most challenging fights choreographed with 120 cameras being used to shoot it, his direction has panache written all over it. The subtlety in humor and fight scenes is another strong aspect of the film. The countryside and the relationships Pardhu cultivates over there make you empathize with him. Pardhu understands what it is being loved for the very first time in his life and his relationship with his grandfather (Nasser), Ramana (Sunil) and Puri (Trisha) bring a lot of heart into the film and makes it different from any other action flick. In short, novelty in making, humor, Mahesh Babu's acting, a screenplay which blends mainstream Telugu masala with carefully etched characters, witty dialogues, stylish fight choreography and above all Trivikram's finesse both as a writer and director make ATHADU the best Telugu film.There are some scenes which are a textbook for any aspiring filmmaker.>The initial sequence of Mahesh Babu killing in crowded bazaar was so smooth and subtle that surprise me every time. >The scene starting from speech from Kota Srinivasa Rao on political dais and announcing Shayaji Shinde arrival to him getting hit by bullet in head is so perfectly orchestrated that you would want to watch it 10 times just for that one. >The fight at fields with innocent villagers, fight at temple with Brahmaji, Climax fight are so apt to surroundings and mood of the film. It's refreshing to see such kind of stunts. >Some sentiment moments adds the required emotional quotient. >How can one forget dialogues by Brahmanandam. >Hero Intro song is probably the best. If Mahesh Babu makes a James- bondish movie, this can be used. I can write a book on this film.

moviesenthil For a movie to have been made with so much energy, expense and extravaganza, I am left wondering why a little more time and energy couldn't have been spent on the script. For a movie that starts so well and promises so much, Athadu willingly becomes scattered and compromised, for no reason at all.Many Indian films suffer from this, and this is not to dis the whole Indian film culture, but there are many holes in the narrative, voluntarily shot on the canvas by the writer/director. For instance, the emotional tangent that Nandu goes on after being introduced as a cold blooded professional is utterly unconvincing. His acting is straight out of an English language American B movie and he seems painfully plugged into a Telugu movie. What is so hard about spotting something like this? If a movie maintains its "tone" while playing out, no matter how outrageous it may be, it tends to settle in the audience's mind. Once we know what kind of a ride we are on, it is not hard to sit through consistent movies, no matter the genre. This movie has a hard time deciding what it wants to be.The lifts from "Matrix" and "Face/Off" were neither necessary not subtle. So much money spent on what could have been a good movie, but even worse is the extra 90 minutes we are subjected to on absolutely needless distractions.

royalconqueror an almost perfect movie .. with some minor flaws (which doesn't matter much to a sensible tollywood cine-goer .. i swear). Mahesh is perfect for the role .. handsome - as usual.. trisha - the lady lead is good, even though she might not be given proper footage. but some light vein comedy track by the lead pair is a must watch for everyone. people who are familiar with trivikram's knack of writing powerful one liners will find them throughout this movie too. some action sequences are commendable.. photography for the title song is simply great .. and boy... what can I say about the theme song??? no words... i listen to this song almost daily ...even to this day (almost 6 months after the songs are released) .. great lyrics by Viswa ... good beats .. also a visual treat ... now waiting for the DVD . i'm gonna grab one as soon as they are out .. ;)

adp5302 Seen this movie, since my wife was pestering me. The story is simple and straight forward. Mahesh Babu (Nandu) is a contract killer. He is hired to fake an assassination attempt on the leader of opposition. In the last minute, someone actually kills the leader and so our hero is on the run. If you thought the rest of the movie was about the hero solving the mystery, then u r not a Telugu movie viewer. Because our producers have something else in mind. The hero has to have a heroine. Our guy has to be the savior and do great things. Of course don't forget the duets and the cute love story situations. In the end he does solve the mystery and in true Telugu movie hero style comes out winner and gets his girl! No points if u figure out who the killer is and who is behind the whole thing. I did in 10 minutes. The movie is full of 3D freeze frames, fast action, spl effects and all that. Oh BTW, if any of u guys are wondering about the sequences after the assassination scene, the escape and all that, its in Hyderabad (AP) and was the games village for the 22nd national games. And there is no railway track within 3kms radius. Thats where our spl effects guys have done the trick. Watch it if u like. My wife absolutely loved it and wants to see it once more. So the 6/10 rating. otherwise I would have given 4.