Telugu movie directors have mastered the recipe of 'masala' movie making. Pick a story that allows for enough sentiments; add two or more heroines, preferably with no qualms about displaying their assets; throw in lots of duets with colorful costumes, fast beats and well-synchronised dance steps; don't pull any punches when it comes to violence. And you have yourself a blockbuster. Many such movies(all Chiranjeevi starrers and the occasional Nagarjuna or Venkatesh starrer) also find their way into tamil and do end up making money by having a niche audience that is looking for unadulterated entertainment. Shanmuga Paandian is the latest entry in this category.

The telugu original, Samara Simha Reddy, turned out to be one of the all-time hits of telugu cinema. It rejuvenated Balakrishna's sagging career, made Simran a much sought-after heroine and most surprisingly, propelled its producer to the State Assembly! One of the reasons for its success was the fact that the hero was the leader of a popular faction that has quite a large following in the state. With this factor being lost in the translation, it is tough to decipher exactly what this movie contains that is so special as to make it a record breaking hit. But it is undeniable that it provides all elements of a 'masala' movie and mixes them skillfully enough to keep the viewer from being bored.

Unable to bear his stepmother's cruelty, a young Vasu runs away from home, leaving his three sisters. A long time has since passed and the stepmother Kanchana(Jayachitra). who runs a hotel, is facing stiff competition from a young woman Chittu(Simran). Appu(Balakrishna), who is new to town, steps in and helps Kanchana regain her customers. The three sisters soon learn from a photograph that Appu is none other than their longlost brother Vasu. He helps them in different ways, hiding his real identity from his stepmother. A crippled man Veeraraghavan(Jayaprakash), who is itching for revenge, sends his daughter Anjali(Anjala Zhaveri) to kill Appu. Her arrival leads to revelation of his violence filled past where he was Shanmuga Paandian, a beloved and respected leader in his village.

The initial portions run quite pleasantly with Balakrishna's encounters with Simran and his helping his three sisters. His ruses to convince Jayachitra to allow one sister to go to school and admit the other sister to the hospital are clever and sweet. The romance with Simran includes the telugu movie characteristic of an incident that allows the camera to zoom in on her midriff and involves her navel but is otherwise rather mellow. The three duets are catchy and well picturised. The suspense about Balakrishna's past, which is induced by the villain swearing to kill him violently, also helps keep the viewer engrossed during these parts.

The introduction of Anjala Zhaveri heightens interest and the twist just before the intermission is well-timed and well-presented. But unfortunately, its downhill from there. The scene where Balakrishna consumes poison and falls unconscious but rises to fight with the villains before falling right back again is rather silly. The flashback is the usual tale of rivalry between two families and offers nothing special. But it is steeped in violence. The body count is high with women and children being part of the fatalities and many of the murders (especially Balakrishna's decapitation of the first son) are brutal.

The screenplay takes several twists and turns involving sentiments (including the dreaded 'thaali' one) and many of them seem rather absurd. For instance the villain snatches away the 'thaali's of his daughters-in-law because his sons did not kill his enemy and hence are not 'real men'! This allows for a scene later when the wives turn against their violence-obsessed husbands. A man also kills his own daughter after her wedding since "she is no longer his daughter but the other family's daughter-in-law"! The movie does end with an anti-violence message but the climax seems cinematic except for the acts of the main villain who manages to keep his prestige intact.

Simran has a solo act through almost the entire first half and makes full use of it. Her duets with Balakrishna are a feast for the eyes and ears. She is joined later by Anjala. Sangavi is the third heroine who makes what can be termed a cameo appearance in the flashback. The comedy is rarely funny. The dubbing involves several known voices like Radharavi, Manivannan and Anumohan.

This movie, which cost rather little since its a dubbing movie, apparently made more money than other, more well-known tamil movies. As long as this trend exists, we can expect many more imports from Andhra. Hopefully, they will all be atleast as entertaining as this movie.