Maharshi, starring Mahesh Babu, Pooja Hegde and Allari Naresh, is the journey of a man who is obsessed with success and how he slowly begins to reevaluate everything that he has done in his life to achieve his goal. Directed by Vamshi Paidipally, the film is treated like a biopic of a fictional character, who begins his journey as a self-centered young man to how he ends up being a social reformer. As a result, the film demands the viewers to emotionally invest themselves in the journey of Maharshi before it turns into a fulfilling experience. The bargain pays off quite well in the second half, when the film delves into social issues.

Mahesh Babu stars as Rishi, a intelligent student who goes on to become the CEO of a company in the US. One day, when he meets most of his friends from college, he realises that he is clueless about two key people from his college days — Pooja (Pooja Hegde) and Ravi Kumar (Allari Naresh). The rest of the story is about what happens when he sets out on a journey to find out their whereabouts and mend some fences from his past.

The film owes a lot to Mahesh Babu’s conviction to pull off his role at three stages of his life. As a college student, Rishi is extremely ambitious and confident about the path he has chosen. He tells his professor that he wants to rule the world, and wants to succeed at any cost. As a CEO, Rishi has everything that he desired for, and Mahesh Babu’s charisma and screen presence holds this segment together. And finally, when he begins his journey back home, Rishi undergoes a major transformation which changes his life. The third segment, when the journey of Rishi truly begins, changes the fate of the film as well. Mahesh Babu shines the most as a kind-hearted man who finds a true purpose in his life.

Apart from Mahesh Babu, it is Allari who has the best written character in the film. The actress does a fine job to become the emotional anchor of the film. However, his character gets sidelined towards the end of the film to make way for Rishi to become Maharshi. Hegde gets lost in the proceedings and her romantic track with Mahesh Babu is underwritten. On the other hand, Prakash Raj and Jayasudha make a solid impression despite their limited screen time.

At a runtime of close to three hours, Paidipally packs in way too much to justify the journey undertaken by the protagonist. The college segment, in particular, is dragged a tad too much. It is just way too much information about what kind of a guy Rishi is and the lack of emotional high makes it quite bland. Thankfully, the film gets better and better as it progresses. The second half is well-directed, even though the story itself might feel familiar. The best part is that it gives us a lot of solid moments to root for the protagonist and that is what matters in the end.