Cast: Teja Sajja, Manoj Manchu, Ritika Nayak, Shriya Saran, Jayaram, Jagapathi Babu
Director: Karthik Gattamneni
Teja Sajja, who garnered popularity across the country with HanuMan, has come up with one more epic storytelling, which is associated with our culture and dharma in the form of Mirai. While the trailer looked like a big screen spectacle, let’s see whether it impresses the audiences like Teja’s previous film or not…
The story of Mirai starts with Samrat Ashoka’s Kalinga war, who was in remorse for the bloodshed in the battle. Post that, he transfers all his powers to 9 sacred scriptures, which cover immortality, tantras and other mystics. He distributes 8 scriptures to 8 soldiers and the 9th scripture to rishis and gives the responsibility to guard them.
The soldiers and rishis guard scriptures from generation to generation through their legacies. In the year 2000, the 9th book, which is about immortality, is in Ambika Ashram. Ambika (Shriya Saran), who can see the future, sees that a devil and a powerful person, Mahabeer Lama (Manchu Manoj), will take all eight scriptures. She immediately calls all 8 guardians and tells them about it. However, they arrogantly ignore her warning. To protect the 9th scripture, she goes to the Himalayas in her pregnant state to meet Agastya Rishi (Jayaram) for his guidance.
Rishi tells him to protect the 9th scripture; she needs to sacrifice her son and abandon him when he is born. Life will teach him lessons, and being her son, he will become the ultimate protector of the scriptures. 24 years later, Mahabeer Lama, who now has 8 scriptures, is in search of the final one. Meanwhile, Vibha, Ambika Ashram’s student (Ritika Nayak), finds Vedha (Teja Sajja) and reminds him that he is a special person and he has a big task of protecting the 9th scripture from Mahabeer. The journey unfolds as he goes on an adventurous ride.
The story of Mirai beautifully blends the history and dharma of Indian culture through a fictional story, which not only makes you smile but also makes you proud. Director Karthik Gattamneni has done a brilliant job as a director and handled this beautiful and sensitive subject with love and finesse.
Right from showing the references of Lord Rama to narrate how the Sanatana Dharma is present across the world, Mirai has aced the narrative with flair. However, the runtime of around 2 hours and 50 minutes might feel a bit exhausting for cinegoers. Special mention to the VFX, music and BGM department, which made the movie more impactful.
Talking about performances, Teja has done a fine job, and his transition from an ordinary person to a soldier looks believable. Ritika Nayak, Shriya Saran, Jayaram and Jagapathi Babu have played their roles to the T, with the former having a charming screen presence. Manchu Manoj’s antagonist avatar looked far from menacing and was quite disappointing.
On the whole, Mirai should be watched on the big screen with family and friends.
Rating: 3.5 (out of 5 stars)
Mirai is releasing on 12th September