A slick, stylish hero with a license to kill. The bad guy, feared for his ruthlessness, and his bizarre right hand man aiding him at dominating the world around him. The official establishment trying to do good for the people, for whom the hero is just a paid employee who somehow singularly puts the bad guys in their place, either playing by the rules or breaking the rules. Of course, there are the perpetual two women, both enamored of the hero, one through love, the other through lust, either ready to aid him or hurt him. Fisticuffs, gunfire, chase scenes, smart ass retorts, a handful of plot twists, and you have the perfect Bond flick. It is THE FORMULA that has worked for decades and minted money for its technicians.

For those who don’t understand why POKIRI is such a sensational hit, relive THE FORMULA again.

As a slick stylish hero, Mahesh fits the bill perfectly as Pokiri Pandu, with his sense of dress and his new, long hairstyle. Nuvvu vaade gun ki bullets lekka cheppali… nenu evvariki lekka cheppakkarledhu. Licensed to Kill, he uses this license liberally throughout the film.

The bad guy, Ali Bhai played by Prakash Raj, feared for his ruthless land grabbing by intimidating his detractors, politicians, police…the equivalent of world domination on a smaller, regional, realistic scale which the common man is more experienced with. His right hand man, played by Subba Raju, aiding and abetting in the bad deeds even in the absence of Ali Bhai.

The official police establishment trying desperately to nab the bad guy, but encountering difficulties unique to their efforts. The hero is just a paid employee in their department but will not shirk from duty come what may. It’s the nation’s way of life at stake and the bad guy who is an international figure has got to go. Of course, Bond has ”M” who doesn’t approve of Bond’s technique but is proud and supportive of his efforts, not unlike Krishna Manohar’s father, played by Nazar. The disdain for tactics shown throughout the film until the pre-climax, followed by the pride and prediction of glory is pure Bond formula.

Ah, yes, the two women…one innocent, the other dangerous; one a heroine, the other a vamp; one a damsel in distress looking for help from our hero and the other a vamp looking to seduce our hero. Both curvaceous, both pretty, both stylish in their own way. 

Ileana and Jyoti Rana. The good one is saved and the bad one is killed. Like clockwork, in film after film. 

Fisticuffs aplenty in the first fight, gunfire aplenty in the interval and post interval blocks, chase scenes involving trains with some thrilling, hair raising stunts, Pandu’s satirical retorts on women’s expectations and on his own character, the care a damn attitude toward the women in his life, the plot twists involving Nazar, Krishna Manohar’s identity, Ileana’s encounter in an alley with the police harasser Ashish Vidyarthi and Pandu’s rescue of her, all worthy of a Bond film. The only thing missing is the high tech gadgetry and the grandeur that comes from spending hundreds of millions on production costs.

Add in a dash of front benchery in the form of comic interludes involving Brahmanandam, Ali and Venu Madhav. Plug and play the typical Tollywood formula songs and we have an acclimatized Bond formula for the masses.

Is it any wonder, then, that THE FORMULA which has almost never failed in the more than 40 years of its existence is again minting more than 40 crores in shares for the first time in Telugu film history, with silver jubilee celebrations in more than 40 centers? 

Inadvertent it may be, but Puri ought to thank his lucky stars that he worked around this formula and proved once again that with an actor worth his weight in style, charisma, and virility, THE FORMULA will not fail. And that is the key. No George Lazenby or Timothy Dalton could make a success of the formula. None other than Mahesh could have made this formula a success again Telugu. There will be rip offs and several remake attempts of this formula. The question is will anyone else be able to carry it off with the same élan and success?

Oh, yes, did I mention the bad guys’ ignorance of the undercover nature of the hero’s character till the climax being core to THE FORMULA? Or that the Gala Gala song was canned at the same spot where they shot the Sean Connery film Dr. No, which popularized the location as a tourist attraction and a scenic set for movie shootings? Aah! THE FORMULA!!