Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu - "Ex Calibre"

 

Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu

2026, Telugu

Genre: Family Action Comedy

Director: Anil Ravipudi

Stars: Chiranjeevi, Nayantara, Venkatesh, Catherine Tresa

Mohan's Measure ⭐⭐⭐

Just in time for Pongal, Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu reminds us of what the Telugu movie industry once was well known - just good, clean fun.  The movie is more ambiance than story, a mish mosh of comedy, sentiment, and over the top action meant to entertain, not educate.

In what is without doubt the continuation of a legend, Megastar Chiranjeevi steps on screen and takes over. His swag, his sentiment, and his comedy is so much a part of Telugu cinema that we can hardly remember a time when we were without it. And in this movie, he goes to show that neither pan Indian fanfare nor dystopian melodrama can stand up to with what real movie fans truly want.

What they want is the stuff of Telugu cinema, family, romance, sentimentality, lots of comedy, and for good measure, brutal violence against deserving bad guys. This formula plays itself out in the story of a secret service agent who is assigned to protect a rich and powerful family. As it turns out, this family happens to include his ex-wife and darling kids, making room for an expected reunion.

But, this movie ups the volume more in the spirit of the Rajinikanth movies of late. For in a surprise extended cameo, Victory Venkatesh joins in the antics as a possible suitor to the ex-wife. The screen is lit up by the bromance, as the two legendary actors reenact old songs from their respective classic films.  And to make it a fitting tribute, Udit Narayan serves as lead in the soundtrack.

A blast from the past to watch with the present, Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu is a nostalgic return to a time when going to the movies was simply about having fun.