Motta Shiva Ketta Shiva review: Raghava Lawrence's act will leave you exhausted

Director Sai Ramani’s Motta Shiva Ketta Shiva is the remake of the Telugu film Pattas. The typical commercial entertainer is as predictable as it can get. Shiva (Raghava Lawrence) is a police official who initially indulges in anti-social activities, apparently to punish his dad (Sathyaraj), who happens to be the commissioner of the city.

In fact, he even goes to the extent of taking the side of a powerful and corrupt politician-cum-businessman (Ashwath Dosrana), who wields great control over the entire administration, starting from a minister at the Centre to the goons in the state. When a strange set of circumstances result in Shiva eventually realising that his dad was not at fault as he initially believed, he mends ways and turns a good cop. He then chooses to take on the corrupt politician and puts an end to his atrocities. 

Director Sai Ramani’s sole motive seems to have been to appease the fans of Raghava Lawrence. In his zeal to ensure he does that, Ramani seems to have overdone everything in the film -- from situations presented in the story to the punch dialogues that the actor delivers.

Sample this. Raghava Lawrence, who is presented as an IPS officer, finds himself posted in a forest! He is assigned the task of rescuing a kidnapped Union Minister and while doing so, literally manages to threaten (!) the Minister and get himself transferred to the city. When he does get transferred, his interactions with higher ranking officials, especially the Commissioner, is nothing short of being atrocious.

Well, that is just the start. The film is full of such lapses, right till the point it ends.

At a time when attention spans of audiences are becoming short, the film has a runtime of over two and a half hours. Thanks to a weak story that is full of sequences that only seek to glorify Raghava Lawrence and bolster his image as a hero, the film ends up being an exhausting experience for viewers.

However, not everything about the film is bad. The actor excels in the fight and dance sequences. Some of the dance sequences have been choreographed by Raghava Lawrence himself. Three other choreographers – Siva Lawrence, Mohan and Kishore – have also worked on the dance sequences in the film and all their efforts seem to have paid off handsomely. The music of Amreesh is also loud and peppy, in tune with the spirit of the film.

There is not much for Nikki Galrani to do in the film. She plays Jaanu, a television channel reporter, who, eventually falls for Shiva. Galrani's role is confined mostly to the song and dance sequences.

A big bunch of comedians starting with Mayilsamy, Thambi Ramaiah, Sathish and Sriman do their best to induce some humour in the film. Thankfully, they do manage to succeed in parts. Had it not been for their portions, the film could have been an even more taxing experience.

Cinematographer Sarvesh Murari has done a decent job with the camera. He, along with stunt choreographer Ganesh, are two of the biggest strengths of the film.

On the whole, this is one film that is bound to leave you exhausted.

Runtime: 2 hours 32 minutes

Reviewed by Manigandan KR