Story:

Abhinay (Nithiin), a junior artist employed in Tollywood, has an undying passion for acting. His madness puts him in harm`s way when he fancies himself as a saviour cop as if life were a movie. He voluntarily locks horns with a dreaded gangster-like villain Nero (Sudev Nair). In his quest to behave like a cinema hero in real life, Abhinay dons the costume of a cop and goes about clashing with whoever comes in his way. A cat-and-mouse chase, wherein Nero embraces the prospect of a mind game, ensues.

Performances:

Nithiin`s styling (especially the hairdo) and costumes add style to his screen presence. His performance is decent, and his comic timing works best in the scenes co-starring Rao Ramesh, who plays his flustered father. This is a subject Nithiin has been highly optimistic about, especially after burning his fingers with a run-of-the-mill script like `Marcherla Niyojkavargam`. So, his emotional involvement shows.

Expectations from Sreeleela have been muted after `Skanda` and `Aadikeshava`. Had her character come with brains, it wouldn`t have been a trainwreck. She never behaved like the CM`s daughter in `Skanda`. She never behaves like a CEO in the film under review.

Dr. Rajasekhar`s look and limited screen time disappoint, particularly because we walked in with the belief that his character will be durable. Sampath Raj, whose comedy timing has been under-appreciated, is underwhelming here. Rao Ramesh overpowers even Hyper Aadhi. Brahmaji, Ajay, Soniya Singh and others land weak roles.

Technical Departments:

Music: Harris Jayaraj`s songs are enjoyable if your expectations are low.

Cinematography: Well, not so good.

Production Values: Sorry, but pretty average.

Editing: Good enough.

Analysis:

Writer-director Vakkantham Vamsi doesn`t try to reinvent himself. He chooses a safe formula. On the upside, he doesn`t fall back on lazy ideas. The ambition to mount whistle-worthy comedy stretches is evident. The police station scene wherein Nithiin, Soniya Singh and others break into a dance is derivative but the effort to go beyond the obvious is worthy of appreciation. The scene featuring Nithiin, Sreeleela, Pavitra Lokesh and others is another example.

With `Kick` and `Race Gurram` (both of which were co-written by Vamsi), the heroism was cogent. In the case of this film, Nithiin`s character shows an unreal transformation, something the audience find hard to enjoy. The pre-interval and interval segment is where some irreversible damage happens. Had this portion been worked out with rigour, `Extra` would have been far more engaging. 

Merits:

1. Some comedy scenes.

2. No old-style hero aggressiveness in the context of action.  

3. Lighter tone in the scenes involving Dr. Rajasekhar.

4. Sidelining the rom-com track in the second half is a plus.

Demerits:

1. Inadequate exploration of the hero`s passion for acting in the initial scenes.

2. Narrating the story to Sampath Raj`s character feels jaded after a point.

3. The slapstick comedy doesn`t work in some scenes.  

Overall rating: 2.5/5