Movie Name: Hari Hara Veera Mallu: Part 1—Sword vs. Spirit
Rating: 2/5
Cast: Pawan Kalyan, Nidhhi Agerwal, Bobby Deol, Satyaraj, Nasser, Suneel, Subbaraju, Tanikella Bharani, Aditya Menon, and Others
Director: Jyoti Krishna – Krish Jagarlamudi
Produced By: AM Rathnam, A Dayakar Rao
Release Date: 24th July 2025
Everyone knows that Pawan Kalyan’s Hari Hara Veera Mallu: Part 1—Sword vs. Spirit faced many hurdles in its filming stage, and the theatrical release of the film faced issues as well. Finally, the film made it to the theaters today and let us check what it has in store for audiences in our review.
Story:
Set during the 1650s, this story features Veera Mallu (Pawan Kalyan), an outlaw reminiscent of Robin Hood. After being recruited by the King of Kolluru, Veera breaks free with Panchami (Nidhhi Agerwal) and wows Qutub Shah (Dalip Tahil), who hands him an even bigger job: steal the Koh-i-Noor from Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (Bobby Deol).
However, Veera Mallu’s goal is beyond just the diamond. Underneath the mission, there is a personal story filled with hidden secrets and emotional wounds.
Performances:
Pawan plays the title role in Hari Hara Veera Mallu: Part 1—Sword vs. Spirit. There are a few good dialogues from him, and he showed great enthusiasm in the fight sequences, which is good. But apart from that, Pawan’s character does not have a proper arc or impact whatsoever, and he also looks disconnected or barely involved in some scenes.
Niddhi Agerwal looks good, and she has a few scenes in the first half to her name, and that’s about it. Satyaraj, Nasser, Suneel, Subbaraju, Tanikella Bharani, and many other artists are present in the film, but they do not have much to act or make their presence felt.
Bobby Deol’s screen presence is terrific, but even his character fails to register, as he just comes at regular intervals and mouths some dialogue in Hindi. Late Kota Srinivasa Rao Garu appears in a short role.
Analysis:
Directed by Krish Jagarlamudi and Jyoti Krishna, Hari Hara Veera Mallu is a period action movie set in the Mughal Era. The first half starts on an interesting note with the hero’s introduction and subsequent scenes engaging well.
Apart from a few drops in the first half, the narration manages to hold the interest with the Puli-Meka Fight sequence, and the Panchami scenes are also fine. The pre-interval episode set against the Charminar backdrop has some issues with the VFX, but it still impresses with its twist, and the following episode, where Veera Mallu decides to bring Kohinoor, raises expectations for the second half.
However, after setting up the stage nicely in the first half, Hari Hara Veera Mallu misses the mark with an awful second half. The VFX is consistently poor in every scene, and the latter half does not have a single scene that works in its favor.
Moreover, the way the director shaped Veera Mallu’s character is not at all exciting. The flashback should have been more impactful, but it appears rushed and fails to provide any emotional impact.
The climax is bland, to put it mildly. The Asura Hananam song sequence is okay at the start, but the effect gets derailed as the film pointlessly moves on for another 15-minute sequence, “The Aandhi,” which again fails because of poor VFX.
One can feel that there was a disconnect between the directors’ visions, leading to lackluster content.
Positives:
- Initial Scenes
- Two Fights in the First Half
- MM Keeravaani’s Background Score
Negatives:
- Disjointed Screenplay in the Second Half
- Poor VFX
- Pathetic Visuals in a Few Places
- Unclear Climax
Hari Hara Veera Mallu Movie Review and Verdict:
Hari Hara Veera Mallu kicks off strong and sets up an intriguing interval, but the second half totally crashes and fails to match the vibe or pace of the first half with its awful VFX and dull content.