'Kick' - a robbery-romance tale without zing (Telugu film review)

Film: 'Kick'; Director: Surender Reddy; Cast: Ravi Teja, Illena, Bramhanandam, Shyam

Music: S.S. Thaman; Rating: *1/2

Known for his action films, director Surender Reddy has attempted to partly bank upon the recently acquired comical image of lead actor Ravi Teja after his commercially successful 'Krishna'.

The script of 'Kick' is more-or-less based on Hindi hit 'Dhoom' sans the technical brilliance.

The commercial angle suffers as the script accords its hero a needless do-gooder Robin Hood image to justify blatant robberies.

A Casanova thief Kalyan (Ravi Teja) romances and robs strictly for 'kicks'.

A casual girlfriend Naina (Illena) discovers that she has been taken for a ride while he pretends to have turned a new leaf. She gives him the brush off in favour of a marriage with an intelligent cop Krishna (Shyam), who is on an assignment to catch the thief.

The rest of the tale is all about Kalyan succeeding to win his lady-love's heart and hand after emerging from all his petty predicaments amidst Malaysian locales.

The first half has a generous dosage of comedy involving the main protagonist and actor Bramhanandam that just about passes muster.

The lead pair's attempts at love are good, thanks to their on-screen chemistry.

After the intermission, 'Kick' loses its zing and meanders towards its melodramatic climax unconvincingly.

While Thaman's music is nothing to write home about, cinematographer Rasool Ellore's frames sustain some interest in the proceedings.

Else, the whole package basically consists of the usual frills like a glamorous heroine, in this case Illena, and a few impossible stunts.