"Whenever he makes a comeback, magic happens," says Sreeleela's character in the trailer for Ustaad Bhagat Singh, Power Star Pawan Kalyan's 'Let me unleash my Gabbar Singh self' version of mass masala entertainment. The action entertainer is helmed by Harish Shankar, who enjoys making meta references and callbacks to his 2012 blockbuster with his matinee idol.
This time, the heroic cop is more romantic and less of a fan of 'hype bro' lines. The theatre of romance moves from the marketplace to the police station. Prabhas Sreenu, the comical henchman from the Antyakshari episode, is now in a different mold. While R Parthiban plays a political heavyweight, Rao Ramesh seems to be a bad guy from the tribal land from where the hero hails. Raashii Khanna plays a female lead.
While he danced with abandon in Gabbar Singh, this time, Ustaad declares that he doesn't like dancing, duly paraphrasing a Chiranjeevi punchline. A mass leader destined to be a swaggy saviour, his Gotram and Nakshatram are spiced up by the scent of commercial Telugu cinema. The fights by the Ram-Laxman duo, Nabakanth and Prudhvi are expected to match the energy of Thaman's background score. Devi Sri Prasad has composed all the songs.
Ustaad Bhagat Singh's pre-release event will be held on Sunday. Police Grounds in Hyderabad's Yousufguda is the venue. The film will head to theatres on March 19.
