Bodyguard – Venkatesh, Trisha breeze through their roles

Venkatesh has been part of so many family dramas that you can take it for granted that you’ll end up sympathizing with his character by the end of the film. Right from Chanti to Raja and then from Nuvvu Naaku Nacchav to Adavari Matalaki Ardhalu Verule, he has been consistently impressive and Bodyguard is no different. Directed by Gopichand Malineni, the film has Venkatesh, Trisha and Saloni in lead roles. The film is a faithful remake of the original Malayalam version with the same name.
Venkatesh stars as Venkatadri, a Bodyguard by profession. His uncle sends him to Varadarajula Naidu (Prakash Raj) under the pretext that there’s threat to Varadarajula Naidu’s life. Venkatadri considers Naidu as his saviour and immediately goes on the mission. Keerthi (Trisha), daughter of Varadarajula Naidu and Swathi (Saloni) are thick friends and they study together in the same college. When Varadarajula Naidu realizes that there’s a threat to Keerthi’s life, he appoints Venkatadri as her bodyguard. What happens next when Venkatadri ends up studying in Keerthi’s college forms the rest of the story.
Venkatesh breezes through his role as Venkatadri. He has done such characters plenty of times in the past and in this film too, he’s good as a guy who’s longing to meet his secret admirer. Kona Venkat’s dialogues add some power to his characterization especially in emotional sequences. On the other hand, Trisha plays a pivotal role in the film which drives the story forward. She’s extremely good in the film and lets her tears bring out the emotional conflict which her character goes through in the second half of the film. Saloni plays another vital role which adds a major twist in the story. Prakash Raj, Ali, Subbaraju and Pragathi Rajkumar are good in their roles.
The film’s USP is a love story between the lead pair which is narrated in an interesting manner. Gopichand Malineni does a decent job as a director and extracts good performances from his lead cast. The film does drag a bit in the second half, but the emotional sequences in the final act of the film are proof enough why Venkatesh and Trisha are such good actors. Bodyguard comes with a good package of comedy, drama and romance. In a way it’s the combination of these factors and good performances from the lead cast which work in favour of the film. Thaman’s music is good. If you haven’t watched the original film, do watch this one. Although it doesn’t blow you away, but don’t be surprised if you see someone in the cinema hall wiping away their tears towards the end of the film.