Siddharth Reddy (Sai Dharam Tej) hates his father Mahender Reddy (Jagapathi Babu) as he marries another woman after his mothers death.
Mahender Reddy turns busy as businessman of racecourse and stops caring for Siddharth as he used to do. So the kid Siddharth Reddy runs away from home and develops hatred towards his father and horse racing.
Years later, Siddharth Reddy turns out to be owner of a newspaper. He falls in love with Sitara (Rakul Preet Singh) who comes to Hyderabad to participate in a running competition.
In typical cinematic style, he proposes her, she says no to him. Then her father arranges a marriage with a horse rider (Anup Thakoor Singh). In the marriage mandapam, Sitara asks both Siddharth Reddy and this horse rider to compete with each other in horse riding race and winner gets her.
Siddharth who has aversion to horse riding now has twin challenges to win the love of Sitara as well as win back his fathers love by competing with this Jockey. What happens next?
Analysis:-
Director Gopichand Malineni is known for mass dramas, none of the movies he has directed so far won critical praise but were money spinners as they had struck a chord with B and C center audiences. In Winner too he has tried to repeat the same trick. Starting from the very beginning of the story, the treatment is quite routine and mass-oriented.
The movies first song comes at just after 15 minutes of the runtime and the song is not heros introduction but an item song involving with Anasuya. Such massy way, the director begins the movie and he continues the same track.
He immediately introduces heroine and hero falls for her also instantly. Because the hero says he does not like lag. Although the writer and director don't take much time in setting up the story, the screenplay is full of lag.
From the introduction scene of Rakul to interval bang, nothing happens except silly romantic track. The lengthy comedy track involving Prudhvi, Rakul and Sai Dharam Tej is repetitive of many masala movies. Though some dialogues bring smile, the track doesn't add much to the drama.
Even the interval bang seems illogical. Rakul does not accept the love proposal of Sai Dharam Tej in earlier scene and in the very next scene she challenges her would be to fight with Sai Dharam Tej.
The second half begins on better note with story focusing why Jagapathi Babu didn't care for Sai Dharam Tej and who played the villain role between father and son, etc. The first twenty minutes post interval makes an interesting watch. But it drifts again into routine with silly comedy track involving Ali. And the climax sequence is laughable.
In the beginning of the movie it is shown that Sai Dharam Tej is the owner of a newspaper but in the rest of the movie he behaves like an awara than an editor or owner of newspaper. Never in the movie again his job is shown. Anasuya's appearance, Rakul's aim in life, and Mukesh Rishi's back story all seem forced.
Both the story by Veligonda and narration by director Gopichand Malineni is cliched. What works in the film are Sai Dharam Tejs ease, some scenes post interval and couple of catchy songs by Thaman.
Dialogues like Nenemi Gaddipochani Kadu Gaddaparani Digipoddi, Pattumani Patikellu Levu Kani Pettukunnarante Patikamandi Paine Potaru, Chooddaniki Chinnappati Chiranjeevila Unnavu may ring well with the front benchers.
All in all, Winner is so hackneyed but delivers what it promises in its theatrical trailer a film for B and C Center audiences.
Greatandhra