Anaganaga Oka Raju Review: Naveen Polishetty’s Performance Saves a Weak Plot

Naveen Polishetty and Meenakshi Chowdary play the central characters in the film Anaganaga Oka Raju. The movie is produced by Suryadevara Naga Vamsi and directed by Mari.

It has been over two years since young hero Naveen Polishetty appeared on screen in Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty. Following that film, Anaganaga Oka Raju faced multiple delays due to an accident and other issues. However, the movie has finally arrived during the Sankranthi festival season. Let us see how this film competes in the festive box office race.

Some actors naturally attract attention, and Naveen Polishetty is one among them. Before achieving fame, Naveen acted in minor roles, but he gained strong recognition with Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya. Later, he scored a major hit with Jathi Ratnalu. While Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty delivered only average results, expectations remained high for his next project. Despite a long delay and changes in both director and heroine, fans believed that Naveen would once again impress audiences with Anaganaga Oka Raju.

Coming to the storyline, Raju (Naveen Polishetty) is the grandson of Goparaju, a zamindar from Gauravapuram. Living in fantasies of inherited wealth, Raju wastes away his ancestral property due to irresponsible habits and luxurious dreams. After facing severe embarrassment during a wedding event, he decides to plan a marriage that his relatives will never forget. To achieve this, he targets Charulata (Meenakshi Chowdary), the daughter of wealthy businessman Bhupathi Raju (Rao Ramesh). As planned, the marriage takes place, but that is when Raju's real troubles begin. What shocks await him from his wife and father in law, how he overcomes those challenges, and what he ultimately does for his family and village form the rest of the story.

There is no shortage of entertainment when Naveen Polishetty is on screen. Director Mari ensures punch dialogues are placed throughout the film. Despite being his debut project, the direction does not feel amateurish. Many dialogues generate laughter in theaters. However, the major drawback is the predictable storyline. The twists involving the father in law being burdened with debt instead of being rich, and the zamindar heir turning out to be nearly penniless, do offer some interest. Eventually, both characters are pushed into crisis by Jogi Jogi. While this idea had potential, the director fails in convincingly showing how the characters escape their problems. The narrative unexpectedly shifts toward political drama. Though the climax introduces a minor twist that sparks some curiosity, without it the outcome could have been worse.

Naveen Polishetty fully justifies his role and delivers humor through effective dialogue delivery. However, weak storytelling and uneven narration affect several scenes. Meenakshi Chowdary performs well, with acceptable chemistry in the first half, but the second half lacks emotional depth between the leads. Their interactions appear overly plain. Tharak Ponnappa plays a restrained antagonist. Rao Ramesh, Jhansi, Chammak Chandra, Mahesh Achanta, Bhadram, Goparaju Ramana, Madhusudhan Rao, Ananth, Ramana Bhargava, Satyashree, Rohini, Priya, and others contribute in supporting roles. Master Revanth provides comic relief, while Faria Abdullah appears in a guest role. Saanve Meghana features in the item song.

Music composed by Mickey J Meyer includes a couple of appealing songs, and the background score enhances certain scenes. Cinematography by Yuvraj is neat. Producers Suryadevara Naga Vamsi and Sai Soujanya maintained quality without compromise. However, Anaganaga Oka Raju ultimately falls short of audience expectations.

• Rating: 2.5 / 5
• Tagline: Anaganaga is a routine king