Andhra Mess: Director Jai Jai Shankar fails at narrating a comical gangster story

Andhra Mess is more a mess than anything else.

The film begins with Devraj, the head of a gang, catching up with four of his men — Varadu (A P Sreethar), Rathinam (Raj Bharath), Sethu and Richie, who have now taken refuge in an estate owned by a zamindar.

The film then goes into flashback mode narrating what exactly happened. We are told that Devaraj, the small-time thug, is a little low on intelligence. His gang comprises of six to eight men, most of whom are highly indisciplined, ignorant and sickeningly unhygienic. In short, they are a bunch of losers.

It so happens that each of them have their own reasons for being a part of the gang. Among these, the most significant is Varadu, a man who feels he is worthless after the woman he loves humiliates him. She leaves him devastated by choosing to live with another man who earns better. A hurt and humiliated Varadu decides that money makes all the difference.

Devraj gets an assignment from an unknown man. He is given a hefty advance to steal a suitcase, which has a crore in cash. Devraj assigns the task to Varadu, without informing what the suitcase contains, and sends along three other sidekicks with him — Rathinam, Sethu and Richie.

The four enter the building and try to steal the suitcase but end up learning its content. The sight of money affects Varadu and he decides to take the money for himself. He convinces the other three to join him and promises to give them each a share in the loot. The four leave the city to escape Devraj's wrath.

The film has very little to offer in terms of entertainment. The director seems to have the opinion that the sight of a person farting is funny and has one of his characters constantly release gases. Far from entertaining you, the trope only leaves you disgusted. The jokes are either superficial and redundant, or aren't funny to begin with.

The film's star cast deserves praise. Raj Bharath as Rathinam and Tejaswini as Bala, the live-in partner of the zamindar, have done a fantastic job.

Raj plays the angry youngster, who has been treated harshly by life, to perfection. Tejaswini, as the seductive partner of the zamindar, who falls for Rathinam, does an equally good job. There are good performances by debut actor AP Shreethar and actress Pooja Devariya, who plays Arasi, Richie's girlfriend.

The only other department that deserves brownie points is cinematography. Director of photography Mukesh G has done a splendid job capturing visuals in a tone that is bewitchingly beautiful. His choice of colours and lighting take the film to another level. Sadly though, the director is unable to capitalise on the wonderful visuals his cameraman has provided.

The film's music is just about okay. The same can be said of almost every other department in the film.

In short, this Andhra Mess doesn't serve a meal that is delicious enough!