Director Merlapaka Gandhi sticks to the usual horror template with bizarre scenarios. This won’t work for all, still the film is largely entertaining. Varun Tej and Satya’s comic timing brings the house down on numerous occasions. Muralidhar Goud as the ghostbuster also leaves the viewers in splits. A video call involving Satya and him is a sheer laugh riot. The emotions though are rather undercooked especially the track of Srinivas Avasarala as Varun Tej’s on screen brother. In the final tally Korean Kanakaraju makes for a good stressbuster
Starcast: Varun Tej, Satya, Muralidhar Goud, Ritika Nayar and others
Writer and director: Merlapaka Gandhi
Genre: Horror/comedy
Music: Thaman S
Cinematography: Manoj Reddy
Producers: Rajeev Reddy Yeduguru and Sai Babu Jagarlamudi etc
Production Companies: First Frame Entertainment, UV
Running time: 2 hours and 45 minutes
Merlapaka Gandhi has created a strong niche for himself with the likes of Venkatadri Express and Express Raja. Both these movies are high on entertainment quotient with plenty of laughs. The last few years though has been a rough ride with Like Share &Subscribe etc. Korean Kanakaraju is an important film for both the director and Varun Tej. The movie is a good return to form especially for fans of horror comedy template.
The story of Korean Kanakaraju follows the tumultuous journey of Varun Tej’s Kanakaraju. He runs a traditional bhajan trope and is known for having temper. Ritika Nayar plays Chaitra, she is Kankaraju’s love interest. Chaitra is hugely obsessed with K dramas and has dreams of marrying a Korean guy. Kanakarju’s life turns upside down with a vessel carrying the remains of a deceased old man. One particular night during a brawl Kanakaraju drinks alcohol mixed with those ashes. The already temperamental Kankaraju becomes even more fierce with the entry of a Korean Gangster inside his body. This is the plot in brief.
A major strength of Korean Kanakaraju are the scenes between Varun Tej and Satya as Kankaraju’s friend/photographer. A special mention must be of the portions post Varun getting possessed. Satya’s bewilderment on how to cope with this strange scenario leads to ample chuckles. In fact, Satya has some of the funniest dialogues and the talented comedian nails it. For example, there are scenes of Varun slashing body parts as a Korean gangster, on both the occasions the slain part falls into the hands of Satya’s Kishtappa. This is followed by a hilarious punchline with Kishtappa saying does he think I am Virat Kohli, why is he sending these into my hands.
Another scene worthy of mentoining is a video call with Muralidhar Goud. Kishtappa is trying to do an occult ritual with Chaitra accompanying him. Muralidhar’s character is seen giving instructions but there is a constant buffering issue. This entire portion is filled with hilarious moments. Muralidhar Goud is another big strength of the movie. Yes, the screen time is limited but the actor makes his presence amply felt.
Varun Tej also gets into the skin of his dual shaded role; he brings out the variations in a solid manner. His performance as a Korean gangster deserves a special mention. The badas s attitude coupled with Thaman’s background score makes for an excellent watch. Additionally, Varun also shares a good chemistry with Satya.
Ritika Nayar as Chaitra does a competent job within the character confines. Yes the love track isn’t fleshed out that well, having said that Chaitra forms an important part of saving Kanakaraju from the ghost of a Korean Gangster.
Thaman’s songs don’t make much of an impression but the background score more than makes up for it. The portions set in Korea establishing the ruthless nature of the Korean spirit is solid in particular.
As already mentioned the emotions are severely undercooked. Kanakaraju’s family issues with an estranged older son feels like more of an add on. Srinivas Avasarala’s track and his connection to the ghost is narrated in a rather flat manner. The climatic portions high on visual effects isn’t seamless either. Also, the portrayal of Koreans does come across as problematic.
Final word: Korean Kanakaraju isn’t high art, nevertheless it does give a good time provided you are in the mood for some fun