Five years after Sukumar-Allu Arjun’s ‘Arya’ took movie buffs by storm, the duo is back with a new story, ‘Arya-2’. The character ‘Arya’ is back on silver screen and now he’s torn between friendship and love. Allu Arjun, Kajal and Navdeep play major roles in ‘Arya-2’. Directed by Sukumar, the film has been produced by Aditya Babu and BVSN Prasad, under the banner of ‘Aditya Arts’. The story is about Arya who would do anything for friendship. But will he sacrifice his own love?

What is it about : Allu Arjun stars as Arya, an orphan who befriends Ajay (Navdeep). The two share a bizarre friendship but soon Ajay is adopted by a rich couple. Eventually the two grow up to be thick friends, although Ajay maintains his distance from Arya. Arya forces Ajay to give him a job in his firm and promises that he would always show exemplary behaviour. Geetha (Kajal) also joins the same company and both Arya and Ajay fall in love with her. The rest of the story is about how both of them try to express their love to Geetha and whom does she choose in the end.

What is Good: The film redefines the word ‘Style’! Allu Arjun is back with a totally new look and style. The entire story is woven around Arya’s character. Allu Arjun gets into the skin of the character so much that it’s difficult to understand his psyche. In this film ‘Arya’ is quirky, talkative and confused. His dances moves are some of the best in his career so far and it’s a treat to watch him in all the songs. Allu Arjun’s costumes are going to be a rage in the coming few days. Navdeep is adequate in his role. He plays the role of an insecure guy who’s always suspicious of his friend’s motives. Kajal is pretty good in her role as Geetha. She looks extremely charming in first half, while her role takes a backseat in the second half. Mukesh Rishi, Sayaji Shinde and Ajay played other important roles and they are good, especially Ajay-Allu Arjun’s episode is well written. Brahmanandam is hilarious in his role as Dr.Dasavatharam. Shraddha Das is alright in her glamorous role.

What is bad: Sukumar’s latest version of ‘Arya-2’ differs a lot from ‘Arya’; so much that it’s hard to instantly fall in love with this character who behaves sometimes like a psycho and at times totally confused. The film is too long and hence there are too many dialogues especially for Allu Arjun which often tend to beat around the bush. Geetha, in this film is a suave, smart and an extremely confident lady. However, she never becomes a part of any of the conversations between Arya and Ajay. The transition of Geetha’s feelings towards Arya could have been portrayed in a better way. Another problem with the film is its flow and narration. Every individual scene is stunningly shot, however the story narration has its share of ups and downs. The climax of the film is too melodramatic and it could have been kept short.

Technical Departments: Cinematography by Rajasekhar is fabulous. The montage shots in ‘Mr.Perfect’, ‘My Love Is Gone’ songs are brilliant. His work with the camera is the primary reason why this film looks so stylish. Art Direction by Chinna is amazing and he does both the Urban and rural set up with great care. Devi Sri Prasad’s music is excellent, especially the background score. All the songs of the film are placed well and they all ensure a visual treat. Dialogues are good and at times hilarious. Choreography in all the songs is brilliant. Editing by Marthand.K.Venkatesh could have been better. Lyrics of the songs are good and interestingly the lyrics of ‘Ringa Ringa’ have been altered. Production values of the film are lavish. Sukumar’s direction is good and he makes sure there’s a shock element in most of the scenes. The twists in the story come at the right places and most of them are well handled.

Bottomline: One reason why the earlier film ‘Arya’ was an instant success was because of its simplicity. Moreover, Arya was a vulnerable guy who just wanted his love to be reciprocated. However, in Arya-2 a lot of things have changed. Now, Arya is not only greedy, but also will sacrifice anything if his friend wants the same. This unconventional behavior rubs on to the audience and in the end it’s difficult to empathize or sympathize with him. The film has its share of brilliance, especially the scenes between Brahmanandam and his team, conversations between Allu Arjun and Navdeep and the entire episode involving Ajay. The film is all about style. ‘Arya-2’ is the kind of film which you will either dazzle you or bore you to death, there’s no middle way. Either way we end up hallucinating under its influence!