Palnati Brahmanaidu is director B Gopal and superstar Nandamuri Balakrishna's new release after their four consecutive hits -- Lorry Driver, Rowdy Inspector, Samarasimha Reddy and Narasimha Naidu.

Will they succeed in delivering another hit? Before we tell you that, here's what the film is about...

Balakrishna is the much respected head of a village in the Palnadu region. He is forced to travel to another place to save his sister (Sujitha) from the clutches of Mukesh Rishi, who has imprisoned her in his house because he wants to her to marry his brother.

Balakrishna, in typical style, bashes them up and rescues her. Sujitha's friend, Aarti Agarwal, begins to like him so much that she waves goodbye to her fiancé, Prithvi. Balakrishna reciprocates and their families decide to get them married.

A furious Prithvi joins hands with Jayprakash Reddy. They co-opt Reddy's daughter, Sonali Bendre, in their vendetta. Just before the Balakrishna-Aarti marriage can take place, Sonali shoots Balakrishna. Instead of getting angry, he leads her to the safety of his home.

But when he comes to know that Sonali's brothers had crippled his worker Chalapati Rao's son Jatin on the assumption that he had written her a love letter, he orders Reddy to get Sonali married to Jatin. He promises he will not allow her to marry anyone else.

What happens next? Does Jatin get justice? Do Balakrishna and Aarti reunite? What happens to Sonali? These questions form the climax of B Gopal's Palnati Brahmanaidu.

Balakrishna tries to use his performance to compensate for his poorly etched character. Instead, he should keep his image and fans in mind and opt for better roles.

Sonali Bendre is good as the villain.

Aarti provides enough oomph.

The film has some breathtaking action scenes. Writers Paruchuri Brothers have penned punch-laden dialogues. The songs are well-picturised.

Yet, Palnati Brahmanaidu has a remote chance of doing well.

The blame lies at the door of director Gopal. Instead of sticking to a strong storyline like he had done earlier, he overconfidently tries to cash in on his previous hits with Balakrishna.

What's worse, both the director and the star have gone overboard comparing the conflict between Balakrishna and Sonali to the one between the late N T Rama Rao and Bhanupriya in Palnati Yudham. But neither Palnati Brahmanaidu's story nor the performances of its stars are a patch on NTR's memorable film.

CREDITS
Cast: Nandamuri Balakrishna, Sonali Bendre, Aarti Agarwal, Mukesh Rishi, Chalapati Rao, Jatin
Producer: Metikoda Muralikrishna
Director: B Gopal
Script: Prachuri Brothers
Music: Mani Sharma
Lyrics: Bhuvana Chandra, Vennelakanti, Veturi
Choreographer: Lawrence
Cinematographer: V S R Swamy
Stunts: Vikram Dharma, Raju
Editor: Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao