PremiumJathi Ratnalu: Naveen Polishetty's gem of a performance elevates this madcap comedy
Jathi Rathnalu is fun right from the word go and most of its credit goes to Anudeep, who is also its writer, for its side-splitting dialogues and Polishetty, who delivers his lines with perfection.
Last Updated: 12.00 AM, Apr 22, 2021
Actor Naveen Polishetty had already made his mark as the zany private detective in Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya, which had him in his first full-length role. With his latest venture in Telugu, Jathi Ratnalu, he proves he’s a natural when it comes to comic timing.
The movie, directed by Anudeep KV, follows a trio of indolent youth – Srikanth (Polishetty), Ravi (Rahul Ramakrishna) and Sekhar (Priyadarshi) as they set out from their hometown of Jogipet to Hyderabad to make a name for themselves. While Srikanth, who is tired of working at his father’s ladies’ emporium, wants to change his life around by heading to the city, his other two buddies – one who has a weird penchant for cooking rice and the other who prefers to be an inebriated state due to heartbreaks – join him to just so they can live off of him. A slew of misadventures follows during their stay in Hyderabad but one of them lands them right in the centre of a scandal that is being followed by the entire State.
Jathi Rathnalu is fun right from the word go and most of its credit goes to Anudeep, who is also its writer, for its side-splitting dialogues and Polishetty, who delivers his lines with perfection. When the latter’s character is not coming up with catchy slogans right in the middle of a political masquerade aimed at convicting him and his friends, he is misquoting film dialogues, names or hilariously twisting English to his needs – all so convincingly in this madcap comedy.
The movie is also peppered with surprise appearances from Vijay Deverakonda and Keerthy Suresh, but keeping Polishetty company and making the ride enjoyable throughout are Ramakrishna, Priyadarshi and Faria Abdulla, along with delightful turns from Naresh and Murali Sharma. The film doesn’t take itself too seriously and even when it does – especially in the court scene at the denouement – it’s a hoot!
The second half, however, does have some pacing issues and the story does go overboard with the Hong Kong argument. But then in a movie that asks you to “leave your brains behind”, why ask for a shred of logic?
Verdict: Naveen Polishetty’s fine comedy performance makes Jathi Ratnalu a fun, madcap comedy filled with some hilarious lines that you can enjoy.