Actor Pawan Kalyan’s film Ustaad Bhagat Singh opened in theatres to mixed reviews on Thursday, with some first-day viewers heaping praise on Kalyan’s performance while others called it average.
The Harish Shankar-directed film premiered on March 19 — the same day as Dhurandhar: The Revenge.
Ustaad Bhagat Singh also stars Raashii Khanna and Sreeleela alongside Kalyan. The film revolves around an IPS officer and his daughter, who fake their deaths following his family's murder by former foes.
“Just watched Ustaad Bhagat Singh. Pawan Kalyan Anna delivers a powerful performance. Big thanks to Harish Shankar for this mass entertainer. must-watch on the big screen,” wrote an X user.
Calling the first half “okayish”, another X user shared, “Second half ramp. Pure vintage Pawan Kalyan. Ustaad Bhagat Singh celebration mode. Sree Leela scenes worked very well, especially E Manase song & Patha Basti sequence.”
Similar echoes were found in another review, which said, “#UstaadBhagatSingh is an average action film. The first 20 minutes, which focus on the setup, feel slow and outdated. The film picks up once #PawanKalyan enters and becomes somewhat engaging.”
“From the beginning, the dialogues stand out as the film’s biggest strength. The meaningful lines with depth and the comedy dialogues work well. I liked the usage of pure Telugu words and the experimentation in dialogue writing at a few places,” the X user continued.
“The second half, however, is where the film dips. The love story feels flat. The Patha Basthi and Chudi Bazaar scenes are good, but apart from these, not much works. The impact of the dialogues also reduces in the second half. The film feels routine and predictable, with an old-style treatment that doesn’t feel fresh. Even with low expectations, it doesn’t offer anything new,” it further read.
Using a series of fire emojis, a netizen posted, “Dialogue from #UstaadBhagatSingh: Adavi annaka Nakkalu, Nadhi annaka Kappalu common ra. Kani vaati annitni sasinchedhi Simham okkate (Dialogue from #UstadBhagatSingh: When you say forest, there are jackals. When you say river, there are frogs. But the lion alone rules them all.)”
“One Word Ustaad's Ugadi. Intro kaani, Comedy kaani, Police Station Sequence kaani, Interval kaani, Kalyan anna dance kaani and Lungi Fight mathram ramp. PK fans ki happy ye ee ugadi hittu kottesillu (One word—masterpiece! Be it the intro, the comedy, the police station sequence, the interval, Kalyan anna’s dance…everything… and especially the lungi fight was absolutely ‘ramp’),” another tweeted.
“Congratulations on bringing such a powerful vision to life with Ustaad Bhagat Singh. Your storytelling is not just cinema, it’s an experience that stays with us, bringing back vintage memories from Tholiprema, inspires us, and reminds us why stories matter,” came another tweet.
Kalyan will next feature in They Call Him OG, which is slated to release in theatres on September 25.
The film is directed by Sujeeth and was released in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi languages. Produced under Mythri Movie Makers, the film has music composed by Devi Sri Prasad.