Kotta Bangaru Lokam

Kotta Bangaru Lokam - Movie Review

Smt. Anitha Presents

Sree Venkateswara Creations
Kottha Bangaaru Lokam (2008)

Cast: Varun Sandesh, Swetha Prasad, Prakash Raj, Jayasudha, Ahuti Prasad, Rajitha, Brahmanandam, Rao Ramesh, etc.

Story, Screenplay, Dialogues: Sreekanth Addala
Camera: Chota K. Naidu
Art: A.S. Prakash
Choreography: Sobhi Paul Raj, Pradeep Anthony, Balabhaskar
Fights: Sayeed
Music: Mickey J. Meyer
Lyrics: Sreekanth Addala, Anantha Sriram, sirivennela Seetarama Sastry
Editing: Marthand K. Venkatesh
Co-producers: Shirish, Lakshman
Producer: Dil Raju
Direction: Sreekanth Addala
CBFC Rating: U
Date of Theatrical Release: October 9, 2008

Summary:
A 'tender' love story of the lead pair and the love between parents and children.

What's it all about?
Balu (Varun Sandesh) is the son of loving parents (Prakash Raj & Jayasudha) who hails from Rajahmundry. His father Vishnumurthy gives him love and nothing else! He joins in a junior college where Swapna (Swetha Prasad), the daughter of a strict father (Ahuti Prasad) and an over-concerned mother (Rajitha) from Gajuwaka (Vishakhapatnam), joins too. Naturally, they fall in love. How did their love get to be known to their families? How did their families react? Does their 'love' stand, or is it just infatuation?

Performances
Cast:
Varun Sandesh is just okay. He doesn't have the looks that suit a junior college student. At least, his moustache could have been trimmed off better! Even while the director chooses his friends who're actually in their teens, the hero appears older than his role. Swetha Prasad, on the other hand, carries the right looks for her role, and is at much ease on the screen. She's expressive too and emotes well in various moods of the film. Prakash Raj appears in the role of the hero's father, which is a toned-down, over-caring version of his 'father roles' in Parugu or Nuvve.. Nuvve... or Bommarillu; only here, he provides his son the freedom that was lacking in Bommarillu. Jayasudha again appears on his side, after Bommarillu, and gives controlled performance as the hero's mother ; she's particularly good in the scene where she shares her feelings with Prakash Raj after Varun Sandesh talks aloud and leaves. . Ahuti Prasad is at ease in the role of the heroine's father, and has an interesting characterization. Rajitha is good and natural as the heroine's mother. Brahmanandam appears in a relatively short role as the principal of the junior college, and provides some comedic relief, but has more of a serious role in the film. Rao Ramesh, the grand son of Rao Gopala Rao who shot into fame with the role of a naxalite in Gamyam, delivers the goods as a lecturer with a positive outlook, but his character could have been etched better; it reminds the young professor's role in Chetan Bhagat's popular novel Five Point Someone. Most of the rest of the cast is new, and have done their job appreciably nevertheless. Some of the hero's friends and heroines' friends have a natural instinct in acting and may make it big in future.

Technical Departments:
The story is wafer-thin, and there's a lot of dragging around in the second half of the film. The screenplay could have been better; the song placement doesn't seem to make much sense, particularly in the second half. The first half is filled mostly with scenes in the college hostel, which are very near to the natural. The writers and the debutant director should be appreciated for this; the director doesn't seem like a debutant in fact! The taking of the film is good, but it could have been more touching on the whole; the film's first half is particularly good and entertaining. The director should be appreciated for creating interest in the film through the first half and the scenes before the interval, and even using good symbolic shots in the film. The film has faint shades of Suswagatham, Premisthe..., and Juniors. Dialogues are good in parts.

Music by Mickey J. Meyer is good, but songs sound a lot better in the audio than on the screen. The songs are shot beautifully, actually, but are placed randomly. Particularly, the song Okay anEsaa... is totally misplaced. Because of the song placement possibly, the lyrics don't seem to fit well for the songs nEnani, neevani... and Okay anEsaa... on the screen. Visuals by Chota K Naidu are good, particularly in the songs, and one can thoroughly enjoy the locales and the cinematography in the film. The whole movie seems to have been shot in and around Rajahmundry and Vishakhapatnam. Choreography is okay. Editing is crisp. The producer should take care to not be branded for the father-son relation that he seems to emphasize on in all his recent movies.

Notable Scenes/Dialogues:


" ...kaLLa venTa neeLLocchElaa navvutundi... (pauses) orEy, avE raavaali... manam teppinchakooDadu!" (Prakash Raj to Varun Sandesh, about Jayasudha)
" konni chEpalaki cheruvu kannaa aquarium better!" (Swetha Prasad, indirectly about her own life)
" chinna paaTaki, marks-ki muDeTTaDam...!" (Swetha Prasad murmurs as her mom asks her marks when the former hums a song as she goes.)
" inTi deepam kadaa ani muddeTTukunTE meesam kaalindani..." (Ahuti Prasad)
The scene where Rao Ramesh explains the difference in people's attitude in different age ranges.
Minor Overlook:


Would a junior college hostel be hosted in the same campus for girls and boys, with both sharing the same mess?
Each of the lead pair count the number of times one thinks of the other, and note it. Surprisingly, it's shown that they go on writing numbers. Is it like you can count once every second you think of the other? No surprise that they come up number as high as 10,000 and 11,000 in a day, or rather, 86,400 seconds!
Heroine's letter to the hero is shown to have tears fallen while writing, thereby smearing the writing here and there, but she's shown to be writing with a ball pen!
Are students given loose papers and allowed pads into the examination room in Intermediate?! Whatever happened to answer booklets!
How come the hero comes up as an engineering topper when he's a Bi.P.C. student in Intermediate? (It's also shown in writing that he's in Bi.P.C.) Even if one could assume he got into Biomedical Engineering or something, there are at least three references to taking four years for the degree and one reference to even a software job after that degree, all while in Intermediate with Bi.P.C. group!
Another overlook comes towards the climax in the form of a question "Do people care...?" (More cannot be revealed without telling some part of the story.)
So, how should parents bring up their children? What does the film try to suggest in this regard?

Bottom Line:
Kottha Bangaaru Lokam is a thin story line that reminds of several films of the past in its treatment, with several aspects requiring more care than is shown. While the idea of (yet another) love story in junior college is not appreciable, the film's first half provides ample entertainment towards the youth, like Happy Days that was released just about a year ago, and can make the film a commercially successful venture. On the whole, the film is a youthful entertainer that has some drag, twists and turns towards its journey to the rather different climax.


TC Rating: 3.5/5

Nenu Meeku Telusa?

Nenu Meeku Telusa? - Movie Review

Dr. M. Mohan BabuPresents
In Association with 24 Frames Entertainment
Sree Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures
Nenu Meeku Telusa? (2008)
Cast: Manoj, Riya Sen, Sneha Ullal, Nazar, Uttej, Brahmanandam, Sunil, LateMallikarjuna Rao, Surekha Vani, Raghu, Harshavardhan, Tanikella Bharani, Hemachander, C.V.L. Narasimha Rao, Vizag Prasad, Tarzan, Suprith, Malladi Raghava, etc.
Story, Screenplay, Dialogues: Ajay Sastry
Writers: Thirumala Kishore, Thota Anand
Director of Photography: Suneel K. Reddy
Art: Ravinder
Choreography: Noble, Yasin
Stunts: Manchu Manoj Kumar, Tim Storms, Bob Chaplin
Fights: Nandu, Jholy Sebastian
Music: Achu, Dharan
Sound Design: Raghu, Rajasekhar
Lyrics: sirivennela Seetarama Sastry, Veturi Sundararamamurthy, Ajay Sastry
Film Editing: Baswa Paidireddy
Digital Editing: Naveen
Visual Effects: ThinkSmart, Pixeloid
Production Designer: Ashok Kumar Raju
Producer: Lakshmi Manchu
Direction: Ajay Sastry
CBFC Rating: U
Date of Theatrical Release: October 10, 2008

What's it all about?
Aditya (Manoj) a.k.a Adi is a Manager in S.S. Group of Companies. He survives an accident in which he loses his dad as well as his memory - all he can remember is only before he dozes off!With the advice of his US-based visiting doctor (Harshavardhan), he records "things to remember" in his own voice and keeps a note on his bedside to remind him every morning to play that tape. People around him include Madhumita (Riya Sen), the Vice President of his company and his girlfriend, the company M.D. (Nazar) who's his own uncle, General Manager (Sunil), and other colleagues Rajesh (Uttej), Lakshmi (Surekha Vani), etc. None except his uncle and doctor know his memory condition, and the doctor maintains all of Adi's life history in the form of cassettes. In his smooth life comes a jolt in the form of his uncle's murder, for which he becomes the accused, and no one knows (and he doesn't remember) that Adi is his nephew! Enters investigation officer Anjali (Sneha Ullal) who identifies Adi as her ex-lover from the college andtakes up the case with personal interest yet professionally. What happens next? How much doesAdi really remember? Did his ex-girlfriend take revenge on him for the dreadful past? What's the past really? How did the hero come out of his troubles? How did his current girlfriend see himthrough them all?

Performances
Cast:
Manoj fits very well into the skin of the role. His involvement in the film is not limited to being the hero, but he has taken care to design the stunts as well as pen a lyric, apart from taking part in the production part on his home banner.He keeps up the style in his role all through, delivers light comedy as is necessary, dances great,participates in stunts with ease and without a dupe! Manoj should be appreciated for making the film stylish with his presence and care. Riya Sen does the role of a professional yet a cute girlfriend appreciably, while Sneha Ullal appears in the role of an IPS officer with a college-based flashback, and does an okay job. However, her contact lenses are inconsistent throughout. Casting Sneha Ullal for a role very different from her debut film Ullasamga.. Utsaahamga.. is interesting, but she appears so very "non-Telugu" due to her contact lenses and seems like a misfit sometimes though she did deliver what's needed.

Nazar appears dignified as the worried uncle of the hero, while Harshavardhan has a different, non-comedic role as the hero's doctor. Comedic relief provided by Brahmanandam as an internationally famous Fashion Designer Barmani (rhyming with Armani) and Sunil is okay in parts but is too loud. A repetitive dialogue byBrahmanandam, though enjoyed to some extent, is not in clean taste and had to be censored out in one scene. Tanikella Bharani is wasted in a brief role, while Uttej is also casted in a rather unimportant role. Surekha Vani appears as the love interest of Sunil and provides somecomedy. Raghu appears as the hero's friend in the flashback episode, and P. Vasu appears as the hero's dad.

Technical Departments:
The plot point itself is not novel, but the story development is innovative. Ajay Shastry's screenplay is good, though it lags a bit here and there, but the climax should have been more presentable. There's much style in the taking, which is supplemented by the visuals: graphics, visuals, and choreography. The hero character's memory loss and taking help from the tape is sourced from the 1994 Hollywood flick Clean Slate (which was the original inspiration to Memento, based on which Ghazini was made earlier). But for this piece of connection, the current film is totally different from Clean Slate, and the director and writer should be appreciated for developing his own story, taking only an interesting characterization aspect from another film. Picturization of songs is particularly good and stylish; the visuals, graphics, and choreography are all different from routine and quite impressive. Stunts are designed well, and fights are executed well too. However, slow motion is used to show the fights clearly, but it has instead marred the effectiveness of the fights.

Dialogues are good in parts and evoke laughter in some scenes. Music is good, but the BGM seems to have relied more on already available tracks. Lyrics for the title song kannu teristE jananamelE... are good, and the tune for the remix of mabbE masakEsindilE! is very catchy and so's Yasin's choreography for the song. Editing is appreciable yet jerky. Production values are rich.

Notable Scenes/Dialogues:


" vaaram rOjullO maarchukOvaTaaniki idi nirNayam kaadu... prEma!" (Riya Sen to Nazar)
Brahmanandam: Heart patient-laki kooDaa doctors O peg taagamani chebutunnaaru.
Sunil: taaginOLLu kooDaa heart patients avutunnaaru! daya chEsi alaa evarinii tempt chEyakanDi! (in a party) (Reviewer's Note: The film makers should be appreciated for showing the statutory warning to avoid smoking and drinking, but included ample scenes involving bars and bottles. Lack of implementation has made the warning sound like a plain disclaimer! When they had the care to insert a dialogue such as the one quoted, they could have been some more careful.)
" asalu dEvuDu kooDaa naa laagaa nidrapOyi lEstE annii marchipOtaaDEmO kadaa!" (Manoj to Sneha Ullal)
Surekha Vani's comedy imitating Lakshmi Ganapathi Films' dubbed film trailers. " Blood lO unnaTTundi... flow-lO vacchEsindi! ...mana story-lO deeniki scope lEdanukunTaa..." (Before this dialogue, Manoj imitates his real-life dad Mohan Babu when Riya Sen asks him about friends, concluding with a parodical dialogue from Pedarayudu and ending in typical Mohan Babu style.)
Manoj imitating hero Raviteja
Manoj's dialogue about not using spoon to eat in a restaurant.
Manoj's cover-up with the gift of Leaning Tower of Pisa to Riya Sen and expanding the inscription "ITALY" as "I Trust And Love You". Minor Overlook:

Towards the end, Manoj claims he knows the murderer and calls everyone to his place the next morning. The scenes that ensue don't seem like he has identified his uncle's murderer. What did he actually know?
In the film Clean Slate, the hero records new stuff each day, as he starts knowing more things about himself and his life and surroundings. Why doesn't our hero do that?
The institution where Snehal Ullal met Manoj is shown as "Sri Vidyaniketan University", but their yearbook has a different name. Bottom Line:

Nenu Meeku Telusa? projects itself from a simple plot point and the story development is different from the routine. However, the film may not enthrall the regular Telugu audience, since the climax falls flat with incomplete treatment. It has more scope in 'A' centers for its stylish execution, but how the film will fare on the whole is to be seen.

TC Rating: 2.75/5

Blade Babji

Blade Babji - Movie Review
Film: Blade Babjee
Cast: Allari Naresh, Sayali Bhagat, Ritika, Harsha Vardhan, Venumadhav, Brahmanandam, Srinivasa Reddy, Krishna Bhagavan, Dharmavarapu, Kondavalasa, Jaya Prakash Reddy, Melkote, Khayyum, Kausha, Hema, Apoorva and others.
Music: Koti
Story and dialogues: Vegnesa Satish
Cinematography: A Raja
Editing: Nanadamuri Hari
Produced by: Muthyala Satya Kumar
Story and directed by: Devi Prasad
Release date: Oct 24, 2008

What's it about?

Blade Babji (Allari Naresh) is a thief and lives in a slum in Rajamundry along with friends (Rithika, Harsha Vardhan and Khayyum). A builder asks the slumdwellers to vacate the land in three months or to pay the 4 crores. Blade Babji takes up the mission to earn Rs 4 Crores. He loots a bank in Vizag and hides the money in a building under construction. A month later when comes to site it turns out be headquarters of Police Commissioner's office. He happens to meet a young guy named Krishna Manohar (Srinivas Reddy) who is about join the police commissioner's office as S.I. Blade Babji kidnaps him and joins the police force in his place. How Blade Babji recovers that money with comedy of errors forms the rest of story.

Analysis

If you are looking for just entertainment not bothering about logic, then Blade Babjee provides you enough entertainment. Although it is not hilarious movie, yet it provides some good laughs here and there. It is kind of movie that made in the style of EVV’s earlier movies - making parody on blockbuster movies and creating fun out of errors. The spoofs on Pokiri, Pawan Kalyan’s Tammudu, etc are really entertaining. The biggest comic episode in the movie is about a ‘blanket’ in which the money is put. The last 20 minutes are hilarious. Although the style of presentation is far from modern standards with poor cinematography, it can be watched for its comedy of errors.

On the down side, it has no logic. Music, heroines, cinematography, poor production values are substandard.

Performances
Naresh has done neat job. His acting in the spoofs of Pokiri and Tammudu are funny. Sayyali Bhagat has neither looks nor posses acting skills. She is bad choice. Rithika steals the show among the female leads. Ever dependable Brahamanandam and Krishna Baghavan are good. So are Dharmavarapu and other comedians.

Technically the film is too weak to write anything about. Music by Koti is passable. Director Devi Prasad and writer Vegesna Satish have succeeded in creating some funny scenes.

Bottom-line!

If you are not looking for logic and excuse poor taking, Blade Babji provides ample entertainment . It might not work for overseas and ‘A’ center audiences but it definitely is a sure bet on B and C Centres. Some spoofs and two, three funny episodes are really entertaining.

Sourced from:

1. Basic story line has resemblance to Blue Streak (1999) Hollywood film while some scenes are taken from Korean movie Can’t Live Without Robbery.

Rating: 2.75/5

Yuvata

Yuvata: Movie Review

Sree Tumma Chandrasekhara Rao Presents
Worth Watching Entertainments
Yuvata (2008)
Cast: Nikhil, Aksha, Ranadheer, Monali Choudhry, Narasimha Uthkam, Subhash, Sivanarayana, Sayaji Shinde, Narsing, Jeeva, Jayaprakash Reddy, Srinivasa Reddy, Prithvi, Giri, Hari, etc.
Story, Screenplay, Dialogues: Parashuram
Additional Screenplay: Dantuluri Chaitanya
Cinematography: Jaswanth
Art: Narayana Reddy
Choreography: Ganesh, Ajay Sai, Dantuluri Chaitanya
Action: Ram-Laxman
Music: Mani Sarma
DTS Mixing: Hari
Lyrics: Krishna Chaitanya
Editing: Marthand K. Venkatesh
Co-producer: Muralikrishna Dasari
Producer: Hari Tumma, Uma Prakash
Co-director: Vijay
Direction: Parashuram (debut)
CBFC Rating: U
Release Date: November 07, 2008

What's it all about?
A US-aspiring software engineer Ajay (Ranadheer), a wanna-be police turned security man Kiran (Narasimha Uthkam), and an assistant film director Subbu (Subhash) are friends in Hyderabad trying to live their dreams. Veerababu a.k.a. Babu (Nikhil) , outcast from his uncle's family, joins them from Kesavaram village, where they were all childhood friends. Babu meets Vishalakshi a.k.a Baby (Aksha) in a strange situation, and very soon they fall in love. Subbu finally seems to have made it big, and while everyone is celebrating, an old feud fires up, leaving the would-be director with serious skull injuries. The friends, including Ajay's girl Madhavi (Monali Choudhry) and Baby, decide to pool up all sources for money for his surgery. They finally loan the amount from a merciless goon (Narsing). When he pressurizes them to repay him, they plan to rob from the security company where Kiran works, and they plan everything right, but Kiran decides to wait behind since it might hand them up all! Ajay and Babu get arrested by the police at the company, but that's after they realize someone else had already robbed all the money! Was Kiran true in his reason? What's his role in the robbery? How much does Subbu's accident really turn the story?

Performances
Cast:
Nikhil is at ease as a careless and fearless youth, but he needs to take care of his diction some more. Aksha is okay but has a short, insignificant role in the film that goes around friends. Ranaadheer, who also acted as senior student in Happy Days, has a considerably lengthy role in this film and he performs okay. His body language is stiff at times, though. Monali Choudhry is attractive but has a limited role as his love interest and the daughter of their house owner (played by Sivanarayana of Amrutham fame). Narasimha and Subhash fit in their roles well and have done good job. Sayaji Shinde as hardcore criminal Nananna who has a weak point of being a fan of Simran plays more a comedy role than that of a criminal.

Narsing and Jeeva appear as comedy-oriented baddies, offering some good comedy through a part of the film. Jayaprakash Reddy as the jailer, Sreenivasa Reddy as a sentry, and Prithvi as "Krishna Manohar IPS" do a good job within the scope of their roles. Sivanarayana as the house owner is intended for comedic relief, but falls short of expectations of people who may want to compare his similar role from his much-celebrated TV show Amrutham. Hero Siddharth and Krishnudu (of Happy Days and Vinayakudu fame) appear in the end of the film, rather unnecessarily.

Technical Departments:
Debut director Parashuram comes up with an appreciable story line for the film. He also ensured a gripping screenplay and unveils the story carefully, maintaining elements of comedy and suspense in right proportions. In fact, it's notable that he has given more importance to the story than to the threads of romance between the two lead pairs. The taking goes in a good pace for most part; more care should have been taken in establishing the romance between the hero and heroine. Camerawork is okay, but the digital intermediatary (DI) work brings in inconsistencies pertaining to focus in a couple of scenes. Picturization of songs is okay, but it's more the lyrics that catch the attention of the audiences, and some tunes are catchy; choreography is okay too. Re-recording could have been better. Fights are choreographed in a natural style. Dialogues are very good and natural through most of the film, particularly depicting the hero's characterization. Editing is just okay. Production values are appreciable.

Notable Scenes/Dialogues:


" annii unna vaariki vaaTi viluva teliyadu." (Aksha to an old woman in the Home for the Aged)
Sivanarayana: " meerendukocchaarraa? Cheap fellows!"
Nikhil: " anTE... cheap panulu Emainaa unTE chEsi peDadaamani..."
Ranadheer: " oka saari aalOchistE manchidEmO?"
Nikhil: " aalOchinchi cheyyaTaaniki idi vyaapaaram kaadu, friendship!"
" OdaarchaTaaniki nuvvEmainaa World Cup Final ODipOyi vacchaavaa?" (Aksha to Nikhil)
" naaku telisindi okaTE, annaa! iddaru kalistE puDataam, naluguru mOstE pOtaam!" (Nikhil to Sayaji Shinde)
" innaaLLU 'Jihad' anTE pavitra yuddham, padi mandini champaTam anukunnaanu. kaanee, ippuDE telisindi... asalaina 'Jihad' anTE manam santOshamgaa unDaTam, padi mandini santOshamgaa unchaDam ani!" (A prisoner about to be hanged, when the hero makes him happy)
" EnTii, gunDelO kalukkumandi?" (Ranadheer, whenever Nikhil throws statements about money) [Reviewer's Note: This is an original dialogue from April 1 viDudala, with dialogues by L.B. Sreeram.]
Hero managing Sayaji Shinde with a phone call to "Simran".
Hero's repeating ringtone " aakalEstE...". Minor Overlook:

Why should the heroine tolerate the hero in the initial scenes? What's her logic behind falling in love with him?
Characterization of the two male leads is sacrificed in picturizing the item song maa oorEmO chinna....
Are prisoners' numbers issued in series or by fancy numbers? How can two people arrested at the same time have numbers "420" and "786"?
Discussions about Ranadheer's visa stamping and going to the USA go on even while he's been imprisoned! How can anyone with pending criminal cases on oneself think of going outside the country anyway?
What's called a "blank call"? A call from an unknown number or a call without any speech from the caller's end? Who made threatening calls to Aksha anyway?
When the voice-over towards the end of the film rightly says " ennainaa", it's misprinted on the screen as " Ennena".
The court scene towards the end of the film is executed like they want to urgently wrap the film up, breaking the tempo maintained till then.
Heroine supposedly goes to the "Home for the Aged" daily, at least until she finds the hero. What about after that? At least one scene together at the Home would have highlighted her characterization a bit more.

When the makers plan to use a polyphonic ringtone aakalEstE... for the hero, they could have shown a better phone than a Nokia 1108! Bottom Line:
While the title Yuvata is not really justified for a film on friends, the film is a decent entertainer in its own stride. Good story, okay performances, catchy tunes and lyrics, and no-nonsense screenplay, garnished with light comedy through dialogues and scenes may enhance the life of the film that opened in a rather low key. The film has a good interval bang and the second half has twists that enhance the tempo. The director should be appreciated for delivering his goods well. The hero who lost on his first solo hero film may gain better response to this film.

TC Rating: 3/5

Avakai Biryani

Avakai Biryani: Movie Review

Amigos Creations (P) Ltd.
Avakai Biryani (2008)

Cast: Kamal Kamaraju, Bindu Madhavi, Rao Ramesh, Varun Jonnada, Praneeth, Kameshwara Rao, etc.
Script: Anish Kuruvilla
Cinematography: Shyam Datt
Art: Narayana Reddy
Choreography: Prem Rakshit
Music: Manikanth Kadri
Lyrics: Vanamali
Analog Editing: K. Ravindra Babu
Digital Editing: Praveen Boyina
Producers: Sekhar Kammula, Chandrasekhar Kammula
Direction: Anish Kuruvilla (debut)
CBFC Rating: U
Date of Theatrical Release: November 14, 2008

Summary:
A story of an auto driver and his love interest, laced with social elements. More aavakaaya and less biryani, but both not enough to satiate one's hunger!

What's it all about?
Mohd. Akbar Kalam (Kamal Kamaraju) drives an auto that he rents from Masterji (Rao Ramesh), a bigwig in the village of Devarakonda. Purushottam (Kameshwara Rao) and family migrate to the village from Polavaram, understandably as one of those families affected by the Polavaram project. They have to start their life afresh here, and Purushottam intends to set up a hotel in the village, while his daughter Lakshmi (Bindu Madhavi) wants to sell mango pickle ( aavakaya) and support the family. Akbar and Lakshmi meet frequently as she needs to go to nearby Vikarabad to get the required ingredients and hires his auto. A local political aspirant, Babbar Khan (Varun Jonnada), eyes Lakshmi and follows her frequently. Akbar suddenly faces the wrath of his villagers when he raises his voice against the problems in the village when the Chief Minister visits the village.

Eventually, he turns out to be a hero in the same village, much to the dislike of the aspiring politicians of the village, Masterji and Babbar Khan, and they even try to force him to leave the village. Meanwhile, Lakshmi and Akbar get closer to each other. Purushottam is one of the many traditional Hindus who dislike Muslims as people who intend only harm to the State. What did Akbar's local enemies do against him, how Akbar tries to impress Purushottam about his love towards the latter's daughter and his credibility as an individual form the rest of the story.

Performances
Cast:
Kamal Kamaraju, who met the audiences' eye in Godavari as a haughty fellow now comes to fit into the role of a poor auto driver striving to excel as an individual. He succeeds with his performance to most part, but he needs to improve his diction. His expressions need some toning too, at places. There's no second thought to say he has the required ease in front of the camera, though. How much he alone can carry a film as a hero cannot be seen yet, since this film does its trade as a Sekhar Kammula-produced film all the way. Telugu girl Bindu Madhavi who debuted as the female lead is homely, beautiful, and expressive. However, her voice is still dubbed by Suneetha. She is a good fit into roles that require traditional and/or semi-modern girl of current day. Rao Ramesh has a different role compared to his previous films but he is misfit in the role, his acting is somewhat theatrical. Varun Jonnada joins him as a rough guy with not-so-good intentions. Praneeth as hero's friend offers very good comedic relief in the film with his ease and histrionics that sometimes do go overboard, but as is required for the role. The rest of the cast fit in their roles and do the job well.

Technical Departments:
Anish Kuruvilla has the skill to visualize a story well and his debut (commercial) film is very different from routine films. The story weaves through too many elements, thus diluting itself a bit, more so when some of the elements are selectively blinded off as the story moves on. Examples include the seemingly abrupt elimination of the bad guys, absence of heroine's family through a part of the first half, scenes highlighted more than they are dealt with or are connected to the main theme of the film (such as the hero appearing for B.Com. examinations, or children trying to get their fill of water in the pots), etc. The narration too is excruiatingly slow-paced, like some other films by his mentor and friend Sekhar Kammula. However, a big minus for the director from a commercial point of view is his taking that deals with the theme indirectly, giving the main theme itself the feel of being an undercurrent!

The screenplay traverses through several threads of the story, but the narration is still focused, one could say looking at it one way. However, most regular audience might find it hard to see why there were so many elements in the film or what the director even tried to tell in this film. Dialogues are adequate, with comedy where possible through the role of hero's friend. Makeup for the lead roles in the last scenes "two years later" is shown differently, with appreciable care. Visuals are one highlight of the film, with perfect wide-angle shots and okay-kind mid-long and closeup shots. Picturization of songs is neat, and the lyrics are all very apt to the situation; choreography is kept simple and adequate.

Background score reminds of Ilayaraja at places, and music on the whole is another highlight in the film; tunes by debutant Manikanth Kadri, the son of veteran saxophone player Kadri Gopalnath, are catchy and melodious. Editing is crisp. Production values are quite appreciable. The director should be appreciated for an unbiased stand on Hindu-Muslim issues and political aspects indicated in the film, such as migration due to Polavaram project, etc. He has the care and talent, but how much he can reach the commercial cinema standards, or would he be an artsy director like Sekhar Kammula and create his own fan base, is to be seen.

Notable Scenes/Dialogues:

Bindu Madhavi: " manushulu manushulaki help cheyyakapOtE evaru chEstaaru?"
Kamal Kamaraju: " manishiki, manishiki tEDaa choopinchEdi mee laanTi vaaLLE, madam!"
Rao Ramesh: " ...mana oorini kotta peLLi kooturilaa mustaabu cheyyanDi!"
Praneeth: " appuDu CM mana oorini peLLi chEsukunTaaDaa?"
" nuv maatram adiraav, Lakshmi! ee deepaavaLiki deepaalu akkarlEdu!" (Kamal Kamaraju to Bindu Madhavi)
" mEmaitE Hindu, Muslim-lugaa unDaalsindE... maa pillalainaa nijamaina 'Hindu, Muslim bhai bhai' laa unTaarEmO!" (Kamal Kamaraju)
" Government-lO OT chEstE Dabbulu ivvaru!" (Praneeth to Kamal Kamaraju)
Minor Overlook:

The number plate for the Enfield is shown as AP 10 BH 786 in all scenes except one closeup where it goes with the AP 9M series!
Timeline in the movie is a bit inconsistent, such as two months for disposing of lands in Polavaram, the hero appearing for supplimentary exams twice in not much a gap, and more.
The hero and heroine decide to speak only in English, but then that never happens... much like in real life, eh?
Bottom Line:
Avakayi Biryani has good intentions but the execution of the movie is not palatable to everyone. It is too slow . General audiences can feel boredome and for them it looks more like a docudrama. Yet the film has good performances, music, visuals, and is totally clean! Can appeal to niche audiences. The makers should be appreciated for such a film with good intentions. While the title Avakai Biryani is not exactly justified, the film can get its initial audiences, thanks to the name Sekhar Kammula that's associated with the film. Promotion of the film might take it further, but the slower pace and unclear narration might affect the film's run and acceptance.

Reviewed by NaChaKi

TC Rating: 2/5

Surya s/o Krishnan

Surya S/o Krishnan - Review

Film: Surya S/o Krishnan (2008)
Cast: Surya (dual role), Simran, Sameera Reddy, Divya Spandana, Daniel Balaji, Prithvi, etc.
Story, Screenplay: Gowtham Vasudeva Menon
Dialogues: Shashank Vennelakanti
Cinematography: R. Ratna Velu
Art: Rajeevan
Choreography: Brinda
Music: Harris Jairaj
Lyrics: Veturi Sundararamamurthy
Editing: Anthony
Produced by: V. Ravichandran
Banner: Aascar Films (P) Ltd.
Directed by: Gowtham Vasudeva Menon
CBFC Rating: U
Release date: November 14, 2008

Summary:
The story of a son who shares a life with his dad subtly and reminisces it explicitly after the dad's demise.

What's it all about?
Krishan (Surya) is an old man living with his wife Malini (Simran), daughter, and daughter-in-law Priya (Divya Spandana). His son Surya (Surya) serves in the Indian Army. For the smoker he is, Krishnan dies of throat cancer. Surya hears the news of his father's death when he's on a rescue mission to save a female journalist. As a loyal Army major, he cannot forsake his duty, and he thus sits in the helicopter calmly, taking the news through his memories of his dad. He recollects his life through these memories, starting from being a high school kid to being the Army major he now is. He walks through his teenage - the petty fights over girls, etc. and his casual engineering life. He remembers meeting Meghana (Sameera Reddy) in the train and falling in love with her and looking at it as purely as looking at his mom and dad's love story, eventually making her feel for him, going all the way to USA for her, and losing her right there, sharing all feelings with his dad all through. The eventual downfall of his spirit throws him into being an alcoholic and a drug addict.

Priya enters into his life as the childhood friend of his sister who gets attracted towards him. His parents tell him to go wherever he wants to and come back when he feels normal again. He goes to Kashmir and Delhi, and comes back only to decide that he'd join the Indian Army. He does, with his dad's support, and embarks in ranks to be a Major. He ends up marrying Priya later. All this story is felt through the flashback, and the film culminates in Surya running the rescue mission successfully and then coming to his family to perform the last rites for his dad.

Performances
Cast:
Surya, who did promise good performance with his earlier films, now brings us his magnum opus! The film is all Surya's, from the beginning to the end, or so it seems! The variations he showed through the age, from the formative years to the age of an old, throat cancer patient, he has shown how a person can slowly change. In fact, one can notice that he has shown the difference between dad and son even when he portrays young Krishnan in the flashback episodes and when he portrays Surya. His body language changes with age, his voice modulation (of course, dubbed in Telugu) changes with age, his maturity of thought and expression change with age, and he shows them all quite very effectively on the screen!

If you thought only Kamal Hasan could do such roles, you're in for a very big surprise, even if you raise your expectations after reading this sentence! His ease, natural movement, fitting makeup all through, and performance are all absolutely flawless, one could say! He even flaunts his 6-pack body in this film. What's more surprising is his looks change very much, without using computer graphics techniques or masks for makeup! He appears like Harish in the teenage part, like Salman Khan in the Army major attire, like Raghuvaran in the middle-aged part of Krishnan's role, and like Nana Patekar in the older age getup for Krishnan!

Sameera Reddy has a beautiful and touching role in the first half of the film, as Surya's love interest. She does her part well, and appears better than in her previous Telugu films. Divya Spandana has a much shorter role into which she fits well. Simran should be appreciated for the role she played in the film. While makeup brought in only a little change in her face, she brought in a lot more with her performance, particularly in her flashback. Prithvi appears with a different makeup, as kidnapper Asad, and gives a fitting performance in the short role. The girl who played Surya's sister was cute but didn't have much of a role to play. Gowtham himself appears as the masked informer to the Army, in helping the troops reach the hostage.

Technical Departments:
Plainly said, this is the story of a youth who falls in love with a girl, convinces her with his sincerity, and the girl dies suddenly, rendering the guy nearly mad; the guy finally gets back into life and wants to join the Army, during which period he also accepts the love of another girl and marries her. One can see there's not much new in this story. Add "association with dad" element to this theme wherever possible - how the dad supported and motivated the son and so on, and you have this film! Gowtham Menon packaged a normal story very efficiently into a different narration style, as one can see. Though Gowtham is said to have been inspired by Tom Hanks' Forrest Gump (1994), the two films don't have much of a resemblance as such. The first question I had was "How could Gowtham conceive this style, and how did he convince Surya with the same?" I could have understood if some actor-director made this film in his own direction or in the hands of a director with whom he had more than ten years of association! Both Surya and Gowtham apparently have good chemistry and also had their own share of research for both the roles, or it'd not be possible to deliver such a product! In fact, I could even say Surya could receive credit even as a technical crew member in this film! T

he next two departments that rendered their best to the film are visuals and music. Ratna Velu and Harris Jairaj, the people behind the scene in these departments, should receive as much applause as the director himself! Ratna Velu's talent can also seen not just in lighting or other visual shots but in showing both Surya-s together yet differently. Song picturization is good and eye-catching in the first half and out of place in the second half. Lyrics cannot escape the "dubbing" effect for most part. Choreography is appreciable in the flashback song for Surya and Simran, but the orchestration there could have been some more different and suitable. Dialogues are adequate and natural enough for a dubbed film, with occasional references such as "old NTR movies", and have a liberal dose of English all over, probably to make it easy for a bilingual film it is.

Makeup for Surya and Simran in particular is really good, particularly in Simran's flashback; Surya should also be appreciated for changing his body shape and size suitably through various parts of the film. Editing could have been better, though narration itself is very slow and it's tough to edit through a person's life account. Art department needs an appreciation for the look and the feel of the film, particularly in the 1970s. Surya's drug addiction, going around Kashmir, body building for peace of mind, etc. are clearly fillers in the second half that lacks strong story point. At least such fillers could have been trimmed off. Production values are good.

Notable Scenes/Dialogues:

Showing throat cancer as a result of heavy smoking by Krishnan is appreciable. At the same time, Surya falling for drugs could have been avoided. Going for alcohol does convey what the director wants to portray anyway.
Surya referring to his parents' love when talking to Sameera Reddy.
Surya's body building exercises show some of the care he took for the film.
Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 was used neatly to fit into the timeline of the film.
Changing styles in dressing, locations, and other such aspects between 1970s and current day are dealt with much care.
Minor Overlook:

In a movie where the dad's role is so prominent, it's interesting to note that Krishnan's profession is not talked of, but it's possible that the director avoided that particularly so that audience can connect to the "father" in him than to anything else about him.
Did Surya complete his engineering degree? How did he get a good job when he's so sure that he'd have a few backlogs? - These questions are not key to the film, but the film is about the life of a person, and in such a theme, some things cannot be avoided.
Indian Army troops go to the rescue mission in an Indian Air Force helicopter, which is not generally the norm.
Wouldn't Surya be over the cutoff age for Indian Army by the time he decides to go?
Bottom Line:

The film has the name Surya written all over it, but "deadly slower than dead slow" narration tests the patience of the audience. If people could still sit in the theaters, it's only because of excellent work on the audio and visual fronts. Be prepared to watch a dead slow film, and you can actually like the film, if you can bear a film for its hero alone really.


TC Rating: 2.5/5

Neninthe

Neninthe - Movie Review

Film: Neninthe
Cast: Ravi Teja, Siya, Subbaraju, Mumait Khan, Krishna Bhagwan, Surekha Vani, Supreet, Brahmanandam, Venu Madhav, Rama Prabha, Sayaji Shinde etc
Music: Chakri
Cinematography: Sam K Naidu
Editing: Varma
Art: Chinna
Fights: Ram - Laxman
Produced by: DVV Danayya
Story, dialogues, and screenplay and directed by: Puri Jagannadh
Release date: 18 Dec 2008
CBFC Rating: U/A

What's it about!

An assistant director Ravi (Ravi Teja) struggles to become a good director. He works under an established director (Brahmanandam) but he goes through lot of troubles getting right launch pad. On other hand, Sandhya (Siya), a troupe dancer falls in love with him. The rest of the movie is how he reaches his goal. Mallik (Subba Raju) and Mumaith (Mumaith Khan) play the roles of 'hero' and 'heroine' in the movie.

Analysis

Neninthe is all about movie industry and its pitfalls. Puri's 'bold' attempt to throw 'light' on industry's 'dark secrets' is not convincing. Those who are not well versed with the industry's inside stories would feel big bore. Except some 'movie buffs', the so-called satires on the movie industry cannot be related to. And the narration of the movie is very slow and there is hardly any story.

The biggest problem with the movie is that you can't empathize with the protaganist. Puri Jagannadh's hollow script, weak characterization of Ravi Teja and confused goal of the movie are main drawbacks. There are certain scenes that evoke right emotions and some scenes reflect Puri's intelligence, yet he has failed to translate them correctly on the whole. He also touches many aspects related to the movie industry. There is too much of everything that spoils the broth.

Performances

Ravi Teja carries the same rugged look that he has been showing in all the movies. For the character of a struggling assistant director, he looks odd with his 'street fighter' looks. Yet, he comes up with good performance in emotional scenes. Newcomer Siya is apt for 'junior artiste or dancer'. Mumait Khan's episode is silly. Subbaraju is okay. As 'die'-hard fan, Sairam Shankar stands out with his neat performance.

As in all Puri's movies, Shyam K Naidu excels with his right visuals in tune with the movie. Music by Chakri is ordinary excpet for the song of 'Krishna nagare mama..'

Puri Jagannadh is letdown by his own writing (script). Characterization of Ravi Teja is so confusing. Sometimes he is sober and in the next scene he is aggressive and bashes up villain (in all about 10 times). He is failed to portray the angle of an underdog (a struggling director) winning his goal correctly. The so-called satires on the movie industry are also skewed.

Some Questions/Observations

1. Puri questions media about its writings for 'exposing the industry'. Then what he did was in Neninthe not the same? Cursing the same industry that gave him bread and fame? Why this dual mentality?

2. There is a comment in the film - Why do you (NRI audiences) think too much about just 8 Dollars before going to the movie?

For Puri, 8 Dollars might be peanuts because he gets Crores of Rupees as remuneration but general folk always think twice before they spend single penny because it is their hard-earned money. For USA based Telugu people watching a movie needs a lot of planning, traveling, scheduling their tasks, etc. It is not just the question of $8. So they naturally tend to rely on reviews.

3. Agreed that some of the reviews are biased at times. A general sweeping comment that reviewers take money and write reviews is far beyond the truth.

4. Puri says through the movie that media is living off on movie industry by publishing news and photos of the movies. Really? Then what he is doing? Is he not living off on the public by throwing his movies to the audiences? In this world everything is mutual.

Bottom-line

Neninthe might seem 'bold' concept wise but it lacks punch. The treatment, hero's character, the supposed jokes, and satires all have not worked well. Puri is letdown by his own writing. If you are related with the movie industry, it might seem okay. It is big bore for general audiences.

Rating: 1.5/5

Nachchavule

Nachchavule - Movie Review

Film: Nachchaavule
Cast: Tanish, Madhavi Latha, Kasi Vishwanath, Raksha, Narasimha, Naveen, Kamesh and others
Screenplay: Satyanand
Music: Sekhar Chandra
Lyrics: Bhaskarabhatla
Cinematography: Sudhakar Reddy
Editing: Marthand K Venkatesh
Action: Kanal Kannan
Art: Narayana Reddy
Produced by: Ramoji Rao
Written and directed by : Ravi Babu
Banner: Usha Kiron Movies
Release date: Dec 19, 2008
CBFC Rating: U

What’s it about!

The story is told with the voiceover of protagonist Lava Kumar (Tanish), a young teenager. Freshly finished Intermediate, Lava’s sole aim in life is to have as many girlfriends as he can. Like Newton discovered gravity theory under apple tree and Guthama Buddha enlightened under Bodhi tree, Lava Kumar finally gets conclusion under mango tree that it is better to concentrate on a single girl than looking for many girls. Hence he sets his eyes on Anu (Madhavi Lata) who works part time in a coffee shop to finance her education. When Lava saves Anu’s father, she gets friendly with him and that leads to love. But Lava’s roving eyes make him to flirt with other girls that left Anu dejected. On the other hand, Lava’s mother dies due to illness. Then his life turns into topsy-turvy. The rest of the movie is how Anu and Lava meet again.

Analysis

Prestigious production house Usha Kiron Movies returns to film production after a gap with Ravibabu's Nachchavule. Director Ravi Babu presents another coming of age drama after his Allari but this time he also concentrates on the parents too. He touches right chord with some good moments, interesting dialogues, and heart touching sentiment scenes prior to the climax. Voiceover (written by director himself) is funny and intelligent too. Dialogues are best part of the movie. The basic theme of the movie relationship between parents and their children is handled deftly. Yet, it has boring moments. Especially, the first 15 minutes and lengthy fight scene climax are urgently needed to be trimmed. On the final analysis it makes okay movie.

Hero’s father is rigid parent never shows affection towards his children and his wife. Towards the end, he realizes his mistake when he loses his wife. Heroine’s father is liberal guy but his belief system is crashed when his daughter is dragged into a MMS controversy. These scenes are strengths of the movie. Director Ravi Babu has handled sentiment moments especially the Raksha’s death scene being the highlight, and picturisation of songs so well.

Ravi Babu has reputation of being a quirky director as he makes sometimes good movies like Allari and Anasuya, at times scares the audiences with his eccentric flicks like Party, Ammayilu Abbayilu, etc. This time he has done balancing act some very fine scenes and some dragging sequences. Looks like he also matured now.He has his command over shot making, cinematography and art. He uses technique so effectively and brings rich look within minimal budget. Nachchavule has all these qualities.

Performances

Newcomers Tanish and Madhavi Lata are cute pair. Both are good looking and have shown promise. Tanish is still in teens but he has come up with nice performance. His dialogue delivery has resemblance to Uday Kiran. Newcomer Madhavi Latha has good looks as well as talent too. She can be good heroine. Raksha in the role of middle class mother and director Kasi Vishwanth have shined. Kasi and Raksha’s performances come as surprise packages.

In all Ravi Babu’s films picturisation of songs and good visuals stand out. In Nachchavu Le too he has shown his creativity in canning songs and extracting visual quality in simple locations. Sudhakar Reddy’s cinematography (of Anasuya fame) is major plus. Sekhar Chandra’s songs have elevated the movie’s theme but his re-recording is loud. The pathos song when Rakha’s death has meaningful lyrics by Bhaskara Bhatla. As writer Ravi Babu has succeeded big time. But he needs to trim the film in the second half and the climax could have been better.

Bottom-line

Nachchavule is another coming-of-age story by director Ravibabu but he has handled in very sensible way. His handling of sentiment scenes and comedy dialogues are good. Cool visuals and cute lead pair are another advantage. On the whole it is good in parts. The important thing is that the movie shows Ravi Babu is a fine technician and he knows the real 'technique'. Probably this is the first time that Ramoji Film City's facilities are used effectively in Telugu Cinema.

Rating: 3/5

King

King - Movie Review

Film: King
Cast: Nagarjuna, Trisha, Mamta Mohandass, Deepak, Srihari, Brahmanandam, Geeta, Jayaprakash Reddy, Venumadhav, Chandramohan, Bharath, Krishna Baghavan, Shayaji Shinde, and others
Story: Kona Venkat, Gopi Mohan
Dialogues: BVS Ravi
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Cinematography: Prasad Murella
Editing: M.R.Varma
Lyrics: Ramajogayya Shastri, Sahiti
Choreography: Brinda, Rajashekar, Shobi
Fights: Ram - Lakshman
Executive producer: Akkineni Venkataratnam
Produced by: D Sivaprasad Reddy
Banner: Kamakshi Kala Movies
Screenplay and directed by: Sreenu Vytla
CBFC Rating: U
Release date: December 25, 2008

What’s it about
King aka Raja Chandrapratap Varma (Nagarjuna), heir apparent to late Raja Varma, takes over the business of his father after his death and works hard to live up to his father’s name. He has kid brother (Deepak) too and lives with large family consisting of his mom (Geeta) and uncles and their family members. On his business trip to Uttaranchal, he is killed by Swapna (Mamta Mohandass) aided by King’s archrival. Enters Bottu Seenu, a street rowdy, a look-alike of King. Bottu Seenu falls in love with Sravani (Trisha) an aspiring singer who is also sister to don Jnaneshwar (Srihari). To impress Sravani, Bottu Seenu gets introduced himself to her as a software engineer called Sharat. The rest of the movie unravels the mystery behind the killing of King, and the identity of Bottu Seenu.

Analysis

With three hit movies under his belt – Dhee, Dubai Seenu and Ready, director Sreenu Vytla has garnered the image of a good entertainer. He dishes out another masala entertainer this time with ‘Manmadhudu’ Nagarjuna. King is a pucca commercial formula movie designed to cater to the entertainment seeking audiences. It succeeds tickling your funny bone in most scenes. The first half is breezy and has funny moments with a spoof on music director Chakri (Brahmananadam’s character).

The best part are some hilarious situations, romantic drama between Trisha and Nag, and Srihari’s characterization.

But the director stretches the jokes too far in the second half and overshoots by almost 20 minutes. Too much twists and turns towards the climax have worked against the movie in the second half. It needs to be trimmed urgently.

Performances



Nagarjuna plays three different characters with élan. He looks very handsome compared to his recent films like Don and also the director has extensively used his ‘stylized’ gait to show the heroism. Nagarjuna is good in action and romantic episodes as ever. He should be commended for accepting to be beaten by comedian Brahmanandam in a scene. Trisha looks beautiful and chirpy. She walks through the role of an aspiring singer. Mamta Mohandass proves her mettle again in a character that has negative shades. She looks sexy too. Of the other cast, Srihari and Brahmanandam have more footage. Srihari portrays the role effectively. Brahmanandam as music director Jayasurya mimics real life composer Chakri and his comedy is hilarious. The so-called Om-Shanti-Om like song has little impact.

Technically, Prasad Murella’s cinematography catches the eye. He provides rich visuals and makes Nag and Trisha look even more beautiful. Editing by M.R. Varma is sharp but he should have trimmed the movie for a faster narration. Music by Devi Sri Prasad is ordinary except for the title song and the romantic duet shot in Bangkok.

Story by Kona Venkat and Gopi Mohan provides enough platform for some funny moments but the twists and turns post the interval too hard to digest. It has shades of too many movies like Bollywood's Welcome and Race, and Chandramukhi, Chandra Lekha, etc. Director Sreenu Vytla shows his comedic touch again but expectations one has from his film aren't quite met in terms of content. He needs to do a check on the receptiveness of same jokes.

Bottom-line

King is masala entertainer with plenty of comedy in the first half. There are many loopholes in the script but the Nag’s style and Sreenu Vytla’s brand of comedy cover them. If you are looking just to pass some time, King is worth a dekko if you excuse the length and unnecessary twists and turns.

Rating: 3.25/5

Indumathi

Indumathi - Review

Film: Indumathi
Cast: Shivaji, Swetha Bharadwaj, Harsha Vardhan and others
Music: Anand
Camera: Vasu
Art: Narayana Reddy
Editing: Shankar
Banner: Geo Media Arts
Presents: Soma Prakash
Story, screenplay and directed by: P Harsha Reddy
CBFC Rating: A
Release date: January 3, 2009

What's it about?

Indumathi revolves around a house. Swetha Bharadwaj and his lover steal huge money from their office and they flee to another safer place to hide. They land in a deserted like house which is owned by Harsha Vardhan. They take it on rent and move into the house. Soon her lover is found dead and Swetha is found absconding. Harsha Vardhan tries to hide the murder incident so that he could give his house on rent without much trouble. Few days later, a gang of friends step into it. Shivaji too joins them later and kills one person. Soon some more murders happen. Where did Swetha disappear? Who Shivaji really is? Why murders are taking place? These are revealed in the end.

Analysis

Director and producer Harsha Reddy makes debut with a thriller starring Shivaji. He takes inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock's classic Psycho (1960) for this flick. But the director has changed it and some more new elements. Although it is his debut movie, he dealt the thriller in satisfactory level. The director has concentrated more on entertainment aspect in the first half of the film and in the second half suspense elements begin to start. He has tried to balance entertainment and suspense. On the whole the movie provides some thrill moments and Swetha Bharadwaj's oomph factor is more attractive.

Performances

Hero Shivaji does justice to his role. Newcomer Swetha Bharadwaj does very sizzling act. Her skin show might attract the mass audiences. She has shown her assets in liberal dose. Others are just ok in their shoes. Technical wise, it scores. Camera work deserves first mention and back ground score is just ok. Director Harsha Reddy, for a debutant, passes the muster. But he should have taken care more on screenplay. Background score by Mantra Anand is impressive.

Bottom-line

Indumathi is on the lines of Psycho and it is for the audiences who love the thriller genre movies. The film provides suspense elements with some skin show by the lead heroine.

Sasirekhaaa Parinayam

Sasirekhaaa Parinayam - Review

Film: Sasirekhaa Parinayam
Cast: Tarun, Genelia, Ahuthi Prasad, Parachuri Gopala Krishna, Abhi, Monali Chowdhary, M S Narayana, Raghu Babu, Subbaraj, Sivaji Raja, Abhi, Giri, Surekha Vani, Tulasi, Geeta Singh and others
Dialogues: Nagaraju
Music: Manisharma
Lyrics: Ananatha Sriram and Sirivennela
Cinematography: Bhaskar Samala
Editing: Shankar
Produced by: Madhu Murali
Screenplay and directed by: Krishna Vamsi
Release Date: Jan 01, 2009

What’s it about!

Independent spirited Sasirekha (Genelia) is ordered by her father to get married to an NRI alliance. When the groom’s father demands dowry on that wedding itself, she runs away from her marriage and on her journey she meets Anand (Tarun). They bond well during their acquaintance and the rest of the movie is how she falls in love with Anand.

Analysis

Director Krishnavamsi’s movies always create enough pre-release buzz as he has delivered some of the best movies in Tollywood. Of late, the director seems to have his lost his Midas Touch. Although Sasirekhaa Parinayam has distinct touch of Krishnavamsi here and there, but on the whole the movie leaves with mixed feelings. Romance between Genelia and Tarun, two songs, climax scenes are best part. On the flip side, boring moments in between, slow pace of the movie and no major conflict in flick to sustain the interest till the end induce boredom. On the whole the movie is just any okay.

Performances

Genelia steals the show. She is the ‘hero’ of the movie, in fact. Sans make-up she came up with brilliant act showing all emotions. Her banter (ala Kareena in Jab We Met) is also entertaining. Tarun has given neat performance and he is best in climax episode. Ahuthi Prasad’s character is extension to what he had done in Chandamama but this time he acts as strict father and uses liberal dose of double meaning dialogues. Parchuri Gopala Krishna is okay. Raghu Babu and M S Narayana evoke laughter.

Krishna Vamsi shows his touch in the handling of climax. The maturity he has shown in handling some of the scenes is also brilliant. But he is down by his own script. The screenplay is weak. Like always for KV’s movies, length is also big minus.

Music is good. Two songs Ninne and Edo Edo are best. Newcomer Bhaskar Samala’s camera work’s neat and appreciable. Dialogues are filled with full of filthy talk.

Bottom-line

Sasirekhaa Parinayam is mixed bag. Distinct touch of Krishnavamsi is there but on the whole the film fails to sustain the interest till the end. Genelia’s performance, music, climax episode are best part of the movie. Length and slow pace of narration induce boredom. On the whole, it is an okay movie.

Rating: 3/5

Nenu Devudni

Nenu Devudni - Movie Review


Film: Nenu Devudni
Cast: Arya, Pooja, and others
Dialogues: Sri Ramakrishna
Music: Ilayaraaja
Lyrics: Vanamali and Bharat Acharya
Cinematography: Arthur Wilson
Editing: Suresh Urs
Art: Krishna Murthy
Stunts: Kanal Kannan, Super Subbarayan
Produced by: KS Srinivasan
Story and directed by: Bala
CBFC Rating: U/A
Release Date: Feb 6, 2009

What’s it about?
Rudra (Arya) is left in Kasi by his father as astrologers suggested not to see the father and son each other. Rudra is raised as kala bhairav in Kasi and lead life as devout sadhu. 14 years later, his father comes in search of his son and is shocked to see him as Aghora. Rudra’s guru tells him to go with his father and come back after severing all the ties. But he doesn’t stay at his home and instead lives with other local sadhus on a temple mountain. A local mafia leader who controls beggars tries to sell off a blind beggar (Pooja). Rudra kills the mafia leader.

Analysis

Tamil director Bala is one of the finest directors we have in India. His films Sethu and Shiva Putrudu (Pitamagan) ushered in new trends and inspired many directors in South India in portraying realism on screen. Hence, his latest offering, Nenu Devudni, created a curiosity among Telugu audiences too. Sadly, Nenu Devudni leaves all of us (including fanatic off-beat movie lovers like this reviewer) in a big disappointment. The story has no purpose and at the end of climax, the question remains on everyone’s mind - as to what the director has tried to say. It certainly not about ‘aghoras’ or ‘life of Kala Bhairava’s. The life of ‘aghora's part in Kasi is hardly 10 minutes, which, no doubt, is riveting. The film more delves on how beggars are treated by cunning local mafia leaders and how they are exploitated.

We don’t get any straightforward answers to the intention of the movie. Is the movie about the pretence of idol worship in Hinduism? Or about how ‘Dharma Bikshatana’ losing its meaning and has become a racket now? Or about a disgruntled son taking revenge on their parents? No clarity in the movie.

Climax sequence makes farce of the whole exercise of the director’s whatever intention. Rudra’s Guru asks him to come back after severing ‘bhava bandhalu’ and Rudra returns to Kasi after granting ‘maranam’ to the heroine with whom he doesn’t have any attachment in the first place. She is not his lover nor she related to him nor does they develop a bond or friendship. Then how does he got disheartened to return to Kasi? What is purpose in coming to his village – just to grant ‘maranam’ to a blind girl? If the girl wants to end life she could easily do on her own and why would she seek it from Rudra?

In one word there is no purpose to the script. As a director, Bala is undoubtedly a great technician but he disappointed us this time with his hollow plotline.

Performances

Aarya should be commended for his hard work and dedication. He looks menacing and maintains the same look through out the movie. Pooja as the blind girl gives award-winning performance. The glamorous girl has gone for complete de-glamorized role and she does it with honesty. Especially in the climax scene her make-up and acting is terrific. The look of the Guru of Kala Bhairav is good. Rest of the actors who acted as beggars and other roles have done neat job.

Cinematography by Arthur Wilson is excellent. Krishna Murthy’s artwork and Kanal Kannan and Super Subbarayan’s fights are realistic. Director Bala has shown his ‘master’ touch many scenes but he is disappointed by his own weak script.


Praise worthy points

1.The first and foremost re-recording by maestro Ilayaraaja is outstanding. His music is haunting and sometimes very spiritiual. Best part of the movie is definitely Ilayaraaja’s musical score. In our country, he is god of re-recording.
2.Performances by the lead actors simply superb.
3.The dedication shown by the filmmakers and realistic (really hard to absorb some visuals) portrayal of beggars and their life (like in Slumdog Millionaire)
Bottom-line

Nenu Devudni is disappointment from director Bala. Except for the first 15 minutes, rest of the movie is hard to diges. It has very disturbing visuals and the movie is too dark than Bala's previous movies. Its script is weak and the movie has no purpose.
By JP

16 Days

16 Days - Movie Review

Film: 16 Days
Cast: Charmee, Aravind, Kota Srinivas Rao and others
Dialogues: Nivas
Lyrics: Bhaskar Batla
Cinematography: Sukumar
Music: Dharan
Editing: J N Harsha
Producers: D Y Chowdhary, Mahesh Babu
Banner: Cosmos Entertainments
Directed by: Prabhu Solomon
Release date: Feb 20, 2009
CBFC Rating: U/A

What's it about!

A local don Yadagiri (Kota) loses his son to his rival Rami Reddy. Yadagiri vows to kill Rami Reddy’s son in 16 days on the day of his son’s Karmakanda as per their family’s ritual. He hires several professional killers but Rami Reddy eliminates all. On other hand, Yadagiri’s men bring Gutti Murthy (Aravind), a fresh graduate youngster searching for a job, mistaking him for Subramanyam who owes them money. Murthy impresses Yadagiri and gives him an idea how to kill Rami Reddy’s son. So Yadagiri entrusts the killing job on him. While he is heading to his home, Rami Reddy’s men kidnap him and bury him in an isolated place. But he luckily escapes from it and lands in his apartment where he meets Angel (Charmee), a loner who lives in empty flats while the owners are away. They bond well and eventually marry each other. The rest of the movie is how Murthy escapes from the dons after 16 days.

Analysis

Basic concept of 16 Days is taken from Hollywood thriller - Lucky Number Slevin. The original Hollywood thriller is a revenge drama but the debutant director Prabhu Solomon has removed the revenge aspect and weaved his own story which is nothing but hotchpotch. While the chacterisation of heroine Charmee’s is copied from Korean movie - 3 Iron. The film is engaging in bits and spurts. But after a few scenes it tends to get monotonous and drags on and on. Although it starts off well, the director loses focus in the mid-way by concentrating on silly aspects of bonding between hero Aravind and heroine Charmee and also the unnecessary sub story of Ramireddy’s son indulging silly games. Such sub plots have distracted the core story. On the whole the movie seems okay in some scenes but it gets boring towards the climax.

Script is filled with lot of loopholes and logic less scenes. It could have been better if the director focused on main plot line - an innocent guy caught in two mafia dons and come out as winner.

Those who expect the film would be another good thriller or some steamy scenes from Charmee would be in major disappointment. 16 Days is more focused on the film’s hero Aravind than the Charmee. In fact she doesn’t have much role in it.

Performances

Charmee plays the role of a loner who imitates all the heroes in Telugu. Her act of imitating is irritating at most times. Her glam act in two songs is not that sizzling, as it is nothing compared to what she had done in earlier movies. Newcomer Aravind is perfect to the role of an innocent guy. His dialogue delivery (dubbed voice?) is similar to A.M.Ravi Krishna. The film revolves around him and he carries it off well. Senior actor Kota as local mafia leader does his best. Other cast is mostly newcomers or Tamil actors.

Cinematography is excellent. Some of the shots composition by debutant director Prabhu Solomon deserve praise. He seems to have talent in ‘executing the movie in stylish way’ but he has poor script sense. Or seems so. Music is good. Two songs especially the first night number is lilting.

Bottom-line

16 Days is copied from Hollywood movie Lucky Number Slevin but the execution in the second half goes haywire. The movie is good in bits but on the whole is not that interesting. Concept is okay but somewhere down the movie, the director loses its focus.

Rating: 2.5/5

Billa

Billa - Movie Review
Film: Billa
Cast: Prabhas, Krishnam Raju, Anushka, Namita, Raghu, Kelly Dorjee, Supreet, Subbaraju, Raghu (Rehman), Ali, Hansika (item song), Ali and others
Music: Manisharma
Cinematography: Soundarrajan
Editing: Marthand K Venkatesh
Action: Stun Shiva
Art: A S Prakash
Presents: Krishnam Raju
Banner: Gopikrishna Movies Pvt Ltd
Produced by: D Narendra and Prabodh
Screenplay and directed by: Meher Ramesh
Release Date: April 3, 2009
CBFC Rating: U/A

What’s it about!
Billa (Prabhas) is an international don who operates from Malaysia. Billa has his own gang Ranjith (Supreet), his moll Lisa (Namitha). On other hand, Maya (Anushka) joins his team with a mission to kill Billa as he finished off her brother (Subbaraju). Indian police try to nab him and his Kingpin with the help of Interpol Police (Raghu aka Rehman). ACP Krishnamurthy (Krishnam Raju) is deputed to crackdown Billa’s activities and he succeeds when he pins down Billa in a chase. After Billa’s death, Krishnamurthy tries to uncover the entire Billa network and replaces a Billa looka-like Ranga (Prabhas), a petty thief in Vizag, in his place. Ranga is able to do the job and provides all the info to Krishnamurthy but in a shootout, the police officer is killed by Devil, the original mafia don. The rest of the movie is how Ranga finishes the mission he left with.

Analysis

This is remake of Billa - a Tamil film (which itself was remake of Hindi Don). Director Meher Ramesh presents the movie in a very stylish manner. He succeeds with the able help of cameraman Sounder Rajan in making it a very slick flick. Billa has chic look, cool visuals, rich production values, and stylish hero (Prabhas) and some good skin show by Anushka. The movie is an escapist action drama with technical glitz. But has little substance. Except for the climax, the movie is faithful remake of the original Billa / Don.

Major part of the movie is shot in Malaysia and car chases and action sequences in that country are good. In fact, choppers and fancy cars are heavily used in the movie and also some not-so exposed Malaysian locations bring a very sophisticated look. Prabhas has never looked such dashing with his well-tone body. First half is good and fast-paced but the second half lacks the fizz. Manisharma fails to make any impact through his music.

The movie mainly scores in department of cinematography, glamour quotient, and slick presentation.

Performances

Prabhas has done dual role for the first time in his career. In the character of flamboyant don, he looks so dashing and debonair. Suits, Ray ban glasses, and his gestures all are cool. In the role of Ranga, he does some comedy. Veteran Krishnam Raju does the role of a police officer and a younger actor should have portrayed the character. Anushka is sexy and her slim figure is enticing for men. Her bikini act has

short span in the movie. Namitha in her overgrown size lacks sex appeal. Her glam is off-putting. Hansika in an item song is disappointment. Neither her song is hummable nor her dance moments are sexy. Raghu aka Rehman as the Interpol officer is adequate.

Music by Manisharma is big letdown. Except for the Bommali Bomalli Ninnu Vadala song, none of the songs are worth watch or to listen. Dialogues are not effective. Technically it is so good. Cinematographer Sounder Rajan takes all the credit for presenting it chic. Director Meher Ramesh handles his job perfectly. He deserves credit for making it very rich in short time. He should have taken care on second half and more on music department.

Bottom-line

Billa is all about style and gloss. First half is good but second half lacks any interesting moments and it drags on too. Stunning cinematography, rich production values, glamour, and action stunts are main highlight of the movie. Music is its weak aspect. On the whole, Billa is okay.

Rating: 3/5

Mitrudu

Mitrudu - Movie Review

Film: Mitrudu
Cast: Balakrishna, Priyamani, Deepak, Ranganath, Balayya, Brahamanandam, Pradeep Rawat, Krishna Baghavan, and others
Story: V Vijayendra Prasad
Dialogues: M Rathnam
Music: Manisharma
Cinematography: Balamurugan
Editing: Kola Bhaskar
Art: Anand Sai
Styling: Rama Rajamouli
Action: Ram - Lakshman
Produced by: Shivalenka Krishna Prasad
Screenplay and directed by: Mahadev
Release date: May 1, 2009
CBFC Rating: U/A

What’s about!

Indu (Priyamani) is daughter to industrialist Sai Krishna (Ranganath). She studies in Malaysia and loves philanthropic Madhu (Deepak) who runs a charity organization and helps everyone even though he is physically handicapped. On other hand, a pandit tells her that she has some dosham in her jatakam. That means her husband would die in 30 days after the marriage. In order to settle with Madhu happily forever, she looks out for a guy who is about to die. Aditya (Balakrishna), a loner residing in Malaysia, doesn’t care for death. So She eyes on him for marriage and woos him. They get married and land in India to seek blessings of Indu’s father. Aditya knows that Madhu is duping Indu by acting as physically handicapped and he is not really into charity. The real twist in the story comes in the open when they land in India.

Analysis

Of late, Nandamuri Balakrishna’s movies are failing to make any impact at Box-office. The latest offering, Mitrudu, is very crucial to his career but this one too disappoints. With clichéd storyline (by Vijayendra Prasad) and simple presentation by new director Mahadev, Mitrudu offers nothing new. It has full of stock situations and trite dialogues. Just look at the story - heroine marrying a guy in the hope of he dies in 30 days and then marry her lover. EVV Satyanarayana used that storyline in comic way in Appula Apparao and now director Mahadev has taken it for a big hero movie. So, Silly Na!

Only saving grace in the movie is some comedy by Priyamani’s friend’s character. The film has Lesbian comedy that evokes laughter. That comedy track is just opposite of Gay Comedy act by SRK and Saif in Kal Ho Na Ho.

The biggest drawback in the movie is that there is not an iota of novelty. Balayya plays a very soft role and there are no overthe top dialogues which normally Balayya fans expect.

Performances

Nandamuri Balakrishna has opted for soft role in this film and he has little do in the entire first half. He only comes to his style in the later part of the movie. He also looks so aged and his makeup is gaudy. It is high time that he should check on his looks and more importantly on scripts. Priyamani is okay. The girl who acted as Priyamani’s friend gets more applause with her good comic timing. Brahmanandam’s comedy is tiresome. Deepak does his role effectively as main villain. There are several actors in the movie, none of them make any impact on audiences’ mind. Technically too it doesn’t have anything to rave about. Only two songs are hummable. It is sad that new director Mahadev has come up with such sloppy presentation though he seems to have flair for comedy. Dialogues by M Rathnam are trite.

Bottom-line

Mitrudu fails to impress, as the movie offers nothing new. Except some comedy here and there, Mitrudu is a disappointment.

TC Rating: 2.5/5

Kick

Kick - Movie Review

Film: Kick
Cast: Ravi Teja, Ileana, Shaam, Brahmanandam, Shayaji Shinde, Kota Srinivas Rao, Venu Madhav and others,
Dialogues: Abburi Ravi
Story: Vakkantam Vamsi
Music: S S Thaman
Lyrics: Seetharama Shastry
Cinematography: Rasool Ellore
Editing: Gowtham Raju
Action: Vijay
Choreography: Raju Sundaram, Kalyan, Krishna Reddy
Executive Producer: Suresh Reddy
Produced by: Venkat
Screenplay and directed by: Surender Reddy
Release Date: May 08, 2009
CBFC Rating: U/A

What's about!

Kalyan (Ravi Teja) is well-educated and intelligent guy but doesn’t stay in any job for long as he always seeks ‘kick’ in everything. A girl falls in love with him but his sister Naina (Ileana) scolds her for loving such reckless guy. Eventually Kalyan runs after Naina for love and romance blossoms between them. Naina asks Kalyan to stick to one job if he wants her love. He gets a job that makes Naina happy and she decides to express her love towards him. At the same time, she gets to know that he already quit the job and that makes her heartbroken and they separate. She now stays in Malaysia. A police officer Kalyan Krishna (Shaam) enters the scene. Naina’s parents arrange marriage alliance with him who comes on a mission to Malaysia. He is on the mission of nabbing an intelligent thief who is none other than Kalyan (Ravi Teja). Rest of the movie is all about why Kalyan becomes thief and the cat and mouse game between Kalyan and the police officer.

Analysis

Kick is modeled on the lines of Dhoom 2 and other cop-thief dramas but it is told in entertaining way. Rather than on the action, the film has completely focused on entertainment and Ravi Teja’s core strength of comedy style. Director Surender Reddy who is known for making films on revenge dramas has changed his pattern with this film. The first half focuses on the love track between Ileana and Ravi Teja and the comedy scenes between Ravi Teja and Brahmanadam, while the second half changes tracks as it transforms into a cat-n-mouse game between Ravi Teja and Shaam. Invariably, the movie strength lies in first half of the movie, which is more entertaining. Pace in the second half slows down but towards the climax, the movie gives okay feeling. Unlike in Hindi movies, here a sentiment angle is added to Ravi Teja’s robbery act. Such reason and other sequences defy the logic but on the whole, the movie is worth a dekko. Music is big minus. None of the songs are good to listen.

Performances

Ravi Teja cakewalks into his character of smart thief. His comedy act with Brahmanandam as well as his teasing romantic scenes with Ileana is interesting. But he needs to take care on his looks. Ileana has slightly put on weight that makes her sexy now. Her physique looks so good. Yet, her face in the movie is looked oily. She

has played hyperactive role in the movie and her performance is neat. Tamil actor Shaam is handsome and is fitted perfectly to the cop role. He has done fine job. Brahmanandam takes the care of all the comedy in the movie. Ravi Teja and Brahamanandam’s comedy is like extension of what they did in Krishna. The girl who played the role of Ileana sister is there only as ‘showpiece’.

Cinematography by Rasool Ellore is neat. Some of the dialogues by Abburi Ravi are impressive but on the whole just okay. Director Surender Reddy is tried best to move the movie with comedy and succeeds to the most part. He should have taken more care in the second half. He has shown his weakness in music department once again. Music director S S Thaman (Malli Malli fame) has badly done his job. Neither the songs nor the recording is impressive. It is extensively shot in Malaysia and the production values are good.

Bottom-line

Kick is presented in entertaining way. Director Surender Reddy focuses on comedy rather than his brand of action. Entertaining first half and Ravi Teja - Brahmanandam comedy episodes are main strength. Music is big letdown but the film is good time pass.

Rating: 3.25/5

Sourced from: Basic storyline is taken from Dhoom/Dhoom 2

Ananthapuram 1980

Ananthapuram 1980: Movie Review

Simhapuri Talkies
Ananthapuram 1980 (2009)

Cast: Jai, Sasikumar, Kanja Garuppu, 'Colors' Swathi, Samudrakani, etc.

Script Assistant: G.K. Ram Mohan
Dubbing In-charge: Shareef
Dialogues: Shashank Vennelakanti
Cinematography: S.R. Kadir
Fights: Rajasekhar
Music: James Vasanthan
Lyrics: Vennelakanti
Dance: Dinesh
Costumes: K. Natarajan
Art: B. Rambone
Editing: Rajah Mahammad, Madhu
Producer: M. Raghunath
Screenplay, Direction: M. Sasikumar (debut)


Summary: An old tale of friends, feud, and fraud.

What's it all about?
Three friends (Jai, Sasikumar, Kanja Garuppu) are hot-headed youth in the town of Ananthapuram in the 1980s. They're unemployed, and they get into trouble often due to their temparament. They fall for the plans of a politician (Samudrakani) who helped them with petty things in the past, and end up as murderers behind the bars. Jai also loves Tulasi ('Colors' Swathi), who's the daughter of the politician's brother. The love angle to the story adds a different twist in the trust that forms the basis of the friendship and their "job". They get out with the help of another prisoner and start avenging for the conspiracy played against them by Tulasi's uncle and dad. What follows is a gory mix of trust and love and the otherwise.

Performances
Cast:
Jai resembles the Tamil hero Vijay very much. He did his role actively and jovially, carrying the elements of love and vengeance the same vigor and fervor. Sasikumar, the debutant director of the film too, appears as one of the male leads and has less to emote but does his part appreciably. Third male lead Kanja Garuppu offers a little comedic relief in the first half and has more to do in the second half of the film. 'Colors' Swathi is cute and simple, but has a very small role on the whole, since the movie runs around the male characters mostly. The rest of the cast is as new to Telugu audience as the male leads, and everyone seems to have done justice to one's part.

Technical Departments:
The story depicts the 1980s in a town setting. Choosing Ananthapuram as the title in Telugu is apt too, given the theme of the film that runs around political plots and ploys; it also has a cute love story within. However, the story treatment has a strong Tamil flavor and may not appeal to all sections of Telugu audience. (This film is the dubbed version of Subramaniapuram in Tamil.) The screenplay is choppy at times but is appreciable for a debutant screenplay-writer and director. The treatment makes the film quite authentic. With very careful work in the art department, costumes, and cinematography, together with tedious post-production work, the production team has taken every measure to make the film representative of the 1980s' town setting. The different feel of the film, the music used, the lighting, the costumes, etc. take the audience to a different time.The hippie styles and beards, the attires, the town look, etc. are all mostly perfect. (Remember the getups of the male leads in Aakali Raajyam of 1980?) What's a bit too much is the violence in the film, though it's not the worst of the kind seen on the Telugu screen. The music department did an appreciable work too, and the song konTe chooputO... is very appealing even on the screen. A couple of other songs are okay too. However, the lyrics for the title song are not apt in Telugu - it's supposed to be praising Ananthapuram, but in that process, there's a comparison to several other places that have a name ending in "puram", including some villages and even "Hindupuram" which is in the district of Ananthapuram itself!

Bottom Line:
Ananthapuram 1980 is an appreciable effort by the whole team, the cast and crew included, and brings

Prayanam

Movie Review: Prayanam

Aryaki Arts
Prayanam (2009)

Cast: Manchu Manoj Kumar, Harika, Brahmanandam, Janardhan, Daniel, Tamim, Kalpika, etc.
Music: Mahesh Shankar
Lyrics: Anantha Sriram
Dialogues: Chandrasekhar Yeleti, Radhakrishna, Kumar
Editing: Mohana Ramarao
Cinematography: Sarvesh Murari
Producer: Seetha Yeleti
Story, Screenplay, Direction: Chandrasekhar Yeleti

Brief story:
The story involves only six main characters: Dhruv (Manchu Manoj Kumar) and his two friends, Kailash (Janardhan) and Raman (Tamim), Satyanarayana Swamy (Brahmanandam), Harika and her aggressive colleague (Kalpika). Raman is a bookworm who gives new ideas to Dhruv and offers support in approaching the latter's love interest, while Kailash is a storywriter. When they all meet at the international airport in Malaysia, Harika is on her way to India to look into a prospective marriage alliance suggested by her parents. Dhruv gets into a bet with his friend about blowing a feather non-stop into the air from one end of the airport to the other. In his attempts to emerge a winner in the challenge, he encounters Harika, almost tosses her, and falls in love with her in the first sight. He now has only two hours to express his love, since they were not traveling on the same flight. How he tries to win her heart within the time limit forms the rest of the story.
Analysis: Manoj presents his best performance, although some expressions get repetitive. Harika (screen name for Payal Ghosh), who has shades of Shriya, offers good performance too. Episodes involving Brahmanandam offer comedic relief only partially, sometimes together with Janardhan.

The story point is good, and the process of convincing a girl in just two hours of time is explained well in dialogues by the male lead's friend, but the director failed to transform the same on to the screen. Key episodes of the story, such as befriending the girl, building up the right moment to express his love for her, and convincing the girl eventually, have not really worked out the way they should have. The whole scenario lacked interest, excitement, or fresh moments! The screenplay is artificial too, and the thin story line is dragged with insertion of unappealing comedy scenes and not so lovable chemistry between the lead artistes. The characterization of the female lead is also unconvincing: how much should a girl think of falling in love with a guy in the airport, when she'd travel from Malaysia to Hyderabad only to check compatibility with a guy that her parents suggested? Her straightforward and sensible behavior in the first few scenes is transformed later without much intensity. In treating this character, the director could have concentrated more on the feminine factor he was dealing with. "Why would such a girl fall in love with the male lead in two hours?" is a question that's not answered appreciably in the film, even towards the climax. The titles are presented in 2-d animation with funny characters and actions representing the cast and crew that worked for the film, giving a feel-good first impression, though. The first song where love blooms in the mind of the male lead is a disappointment both visually and musically. The lyrics give the right feel but the same is not transformed into visuals and properly conveyed to the audience. The song showcases 3-d animation for nearly half of its presentation, but the dark colors used for such a long time are not really pleasing to the eyes.

On the whole the film is just okay, but the hero's and director's attempt to make a different film must surely be appreciated.

Editor's Note: As our regular reviewer is not available, movies that released this week are not given a numerical rating.