"Midhunam" Telugu Movie

“Midhunam” (Telugu) is a much-awaited film for the art-loving Telugu crowds who love clean, good cinema. “Midhunam” means “couple” in Telugu. It is based on a story by noted Telugu SriRamana (different from Mullapudi Venkata Ramana) by the same title released in a Telugu weekly in 1998, the story went on to became an instant classic – critically acclaimed and encomiums poured in from all sides – readers and legends in literature. Bapu, himself got so overjoyed reading that story that one fine day, he re-wrote the entire story running into about 6000 words in his own handwriting. It was re-printed in that famous Bapu font and became a best-seller. Director is Tanikella Bharani, one of the most talented personalities in Tollywood (he is a poet, theatre artist, dialogue writer and himself an acclaimed film actor noted for his unique timing and voice modulation). He was so taken up with the story “Midhunam” that he directed the film investing a lot of his passion and energies into the making of this film. Earlier this year, Bharani also released his famous couplets on Lord Shiva as an audio CD in his own voice which are selling well. As a writer first and a poet later, Tanikella Bharani is a unique personality who never loses an opportunity to propagate the grandeur and beauty of Telugu language. He loves Telugu so much that for the past 25 years, he insists his signature on bank cheques is also in Telugu and not English. Against this backdrop, “Mithunam” is quite an experiment which deserves the plaudits showered on it.


The story is about an aged couple AppaDaasu (S.P.Balasubramanyam) and Bucchilakshmi (Lakshmi) who live in absolute trance of the village life with an ecosystem of natural habitat full of organically grown vegetables, co-habiting animals and lush greenery all over. The couple’s five children are all settled abroad but the couple is nonchalant about pleasures and pressures of parenthood in twilight years. SPB keeps reminding his wife about “detached attachment” and being merrily and madly in sync with each other, they tune into the radio, help each other in various chores including pressing each other’s tired legs, make the rituals and rearing the cow and its calf and cultivating a beautiful horticultural farm a feast and a happy pastime. No TV, no freakouts, no secrets from each other and no other hang-ups in life except to occasionally spar with each other on issues best known to them. Everyday it’s a breeze and time flies because the elderly couple are busy with so much of work with their hands and legs – the manual work which gives villagers so much headway in health and happiness.Then there is a twist in the film with one of them passing out. You will have to find out which one. A simple story but there’s a third character in the film - the nephew who is witness to the old couple’s foibles and fracas with each other and funtimes together – that character is omitted by Bharani as he was keen to experiment the whole film with just characters. Infact, that is an amazing part of the film. For 123 minutes, the running time of the movie, there are just two human characters SPB and Lakshmi playing the two roles and Bharani has produced quite a stunning play of a range of Nava Rasas between the two with many shades and spirited entertainment. There is uproarious laughter, giggles, laments, weeping, anger and the occasional drama created between the two characters in their well-nuanced roles.

Not many films have come with just two characters; the ones I remember are “Show” and some movie in which Sunil Dutt plays it all himself in a B&W film. Such plots have to be sustained and thankfully, in this film he picked two veterans in the craft of acting and sometimes overacting – Lakshmi and SPB. While Lakshmi is quite apt and well-controlled, SPB carries always a shade of Tamil stars like Sivaji Ganesan when he acts but his pronunciation of the toughest but most mellifluent Telugu carries the day for his detractors. He can control the flow of words as they should occur and in “Mithunam” he gives a dignified uplift to his performance except for about three scenes where he overacts. Even if SPB the actor cannot stop himself, his performance alongwith Lakshmi elevates the film to a new level. In the original discussions about this film about star cast, one actor who would have sealed it had he been alive today is Gummadi – who wanted to play it badly after he read the story and reacted in public. Prakashraj would have been too theatrical and Chandramohan is way out of touch with weightier roles of late, so SPB was indeed apt choice, in hindsight.

Music by Swara Veenapaani is reasonably well-received especially the title song sung by KJ Yesudas. There are few other songs which take a leaf out of mythological classics belting out “Padyams” and lullabies and “funny”item songs. There is one song sung by lyricist Jonnavithula on coffee. It can be the best ever song on coffee which can elevate even brands like “Starbucks” and “Café Coffee day”. It celebrates the heady feelings one gets by drinking the home-made filter coffee of the typical South Indian family. There are few other songs which showcase the grandeur of the song-banks resident in our old movie classics and also showcase the richness of Telugu culture. Kids will probably love a short cartoon film running for 4 minutes about the ills of over-eating SPB style - no insult meant here, SPB himself reduced 27 kilos before this film. In order to break the monotony, Bharani uses repeatedly the All India Radio as a backdrop for various daily chores of the couple, and reminds the new generation that it is not FM Radio but AM 700-800 MHz which still runs with sundry programs in news programs in Telugu, Sanskrit, Hindi and a host of native plays, skits, songs and utility fare that resonates with those who tuned in religiously from 6am till 11pm. That routine of tuning to the radio from sunrise till an hour before midnight is the right time for keeping your biorhythms in tow with good health and good sleep. Bharani captures all these with a great sense of nostalgia. A few shots stand out giving lot of symbological messages; being a Shiva worshipper, everytime there is a bereavement in the film, it is shown as if its going back to Shiva.

On the whole, the movie is a visual treat and is watchable by family. Bharani has hunted for a 3-acre house that captures the enchantment of what SriRamana wrote in his novel about. Bharani found one finally and grew fruits and vegetables and trees for six months before commencing shooting. He has also shown a rare courage, thanks to producer Ananda M Rao, to retain the pure and richly prosaic standard of Telugu language used by Sriramana in the film. This film is sure to dot the film festivals with subtitles in English but if you belong to the Telugu fan club, this is a must-see anyways devoid of commercial drivel that vitiates our films. In October 2012, there was a world survey by the World Languages Institute in Thailand in which the jury sat down to judge more than 33 classical and modern language scripts around the world. While Korean language was judged as the best language according to various parameters including use of the language in scientific paper presentations, visual appeal when you write the language, the shape and metric beauty of the letters, the number of words and combinations that the letters can facilitate, etc. Voila! Telugu Language has beaten the likes of Tamil, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada and Malayalam in being judged as the second-most beautiful script language in the world. English, not my mother tongue, has come third or fourth. For anyone who wants to know more about Telugu culture, language and the lyrical beauty, “Midhunam” is a fine biopic to get introduced to, even if it has its flaws. I will give 3.75 on 5 making a fractional exception for a fascinating film to watch. I can guarantee you that if you have aged parents and grandparents, they will bless you forever for taking them to this film. It also has a message: No need to retire from life because you retired from work. And parents can have their own space even after their kids move on.

"English Vinglish" Hindi Movie Review

“English Vinglish” is a lovable film that is worth the wait. If you like the English language, you will find it finger lickin’ good. If you can’t digest English language and like to stick to your native language, you will find it deliciously finger lickin’ good. No jokes here, I am serious. For fans of Sridevi who have been waiting for a film where she reinvents herself after a hiatus that’s almost a generation gone, it’s a very good comeback film. Credit must go to atleast three people besides Sridevi – the producers Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and Radhakrishna Damani (both of them India’s ace stock-pickers), debutante director Gauri Shinde (an ad professional in her own right) and her backer, R.Balki (R Balakrishnan who made acclaimed films like “Cheeni Kum” and “Paa”).

As the title says, “English Vinglish” is all about a homemaker’s falling sense of self-esteem because of her ignorance of English. Mother of two, and wife to a high-flying corporate executive, Shashi (Sridevi) is bored with life and except her younger kid who adores her, her elder kid chastises her for not knowing English. (Doesn’t happen as cruelly in real life) and her husband doesn’t show much sensitivity to her blues and midlife crisis of confidence (happens). There comes a call from Shashi’s only sister Meera in US beckoning her to come early for the wedding of her daughter. With much reluctance and usual ridicule from family, Shashi leaves for US ahead of the family members by three weeks. There, in proper Manhattan district of New York, she fumbles again and again failing to communicate in English but finds accommodative nieces and an affectionate sister. And the comes a move that redeems her sense of self-pride – a secretive enrolment into a English Class – an American equivalent of Russell’s Spoken English comprising of a cosmopolitan crowd – a Chinese, a Pakistani, a Madrasi, a Russian, an African, a Frenchman (who develops a fondness for her) apart from her – all taught by an infectiously enthusiastic Gay English teacher who looks like a cross between Clark Gable and Steve Forbes.

You can guess what happens in the end – a woman driven to desperation by family finally redeems herself, gets back her mojo in life and earns her spurs with the basic character-building traits of persistence, self-awareness and determination. Towards the climax, as the story moves, the English teacher announces the date of final test as proof of proficiency in functional English wherein each one of the students has to give a speech for five minutes in English. That coincides with the day of Shashi’s niece’s wedding- the purpose of her stay in US. But she comes up trumps on the d-day, skipping the test due to her own faltering first and later delivering the speech of her life for five minutes in full glare of the guests who turned up at the wedding, her discouraging family, raving fans of her culinary skills and the students of the English class and the teacher. She delivers a speech that stupefies all with words that stir you in fully functional English that makes her earn distinction. And then, the accolades sweeter than the Laddus she is famous for.

On the whole, a good story induces a form of trance because it alters your state of awareness – of the here and now. Director Gauri Shinde’s story can take most people of both genders to an expanded awareness of an imagined world that may not always happen– to the classroom corridors with kids who shy away from the deficiencies of their parents at the PTA meetings and get needlessly “embarrassed” by their parents, to the inside of a flight you are about to take for the very first time in your life and you choke for water, to the wide-eyed canvass that never seems to strike your visual range when you get on to the last floor of a building that’s enveloped by multiple skyscrapers in New York City, to the moments of our daily life when our destiny keeps getting shaped and re-shaped and relationships build and destroyed. Gauri Shinde seems as adept as her husband R.Balki in weaving a story that’s honest, and hugely evocative. “English Vinglish” gives you a roller-coaster ride of emotions that make you cry, laugh and not necessarily choke. In 136 minutes, she stirs your senses enough to give you a fully-bathed experience of watching a nice movie. Even though the story uses tunnels underneath the conscious walls of logic to touch the subconscious, most times it is convincing and on few occasions where it seems unreal it won’t affect your growing respect for the director.

Music by Amit Trivedi including BGM and lyrics by Swanand Kirkire are exceptional. Most of the songs enhance the story and heighten the cinematic experience which is the hallmark of a good composer. The five minutes of screen space Sridevi shares with cameo artist Amitabh Bachhan is a treat for fans. Amitabh dazzles well and every artiste gives good performance thanks to the characterization achieved by the director. Sridevi should be congratulated for taking a role that suits her demeanor and her sparkling body language which is strikingly expressive – her nuances of emoting naturally with her face and her spirited body rhythms show no signs of letting up. Age definitely shows on her face with makeup that hides the wrinkles but her acting talent in her squeaky cute voice is as spotless. I am tempted to call her by a movie title: the eternal sunshine of a spotless mind. Finally, for those who want to see the US at closer shots in the inner circles of New York city, you won’t find a better film.

Comedy and entertainment come in lavish doses through the grammar grouches of native speakers in English – they form the lightest part of the film. The film can easily find its way into the cinema halls of the countries whose populations aspire to learn English. At least 45 per cent of the dialogues are in English, the level of proficiency is expected to be a basic learner’s vocabulary of less than 1000 words and the toughest word in the film is the word - “judgemental”. I wouldn’t like to be called judgemental in rating a film of this quality and sizzle; I would not give 5 out of 5 but I think it deserves an above-average rating – 3.5 on 5. Take your family to the film – whether you like subtle messages or not – you will surely have good laughs and a feeling of seeing a neat and clean film.

"The Pen Commandments" by Steven Frank: Book Review

Most books on the art of writing dwell more on the rules of grammar, and the beginnings of story development, plotting, characterisation and growing the novel to the finish before making pre-publishing trips. Not many books exist in the realms of what really goes in the mind of a beginning writer - the one who has to exorcise all the demons that block the wannabe writer's creativity or over-draw it, the one who has to find the tools of trade, draw out reference material and weave the works. I have surveyed such books of tips on writing all my life. "The Elements of Style" is too pedantic even though classy. "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser is a classic and bang-on when it comes to talking about the craft of writing. "Good Writing" by Mitchell Ivers is another welcome addition to the two. "Overcoming Writer's Block" is another tiny yet memorable book on how to break out into the zone of profligate writing. However, the most enjoyable book is "The Pen Commandments" by a lesser-known high-school English teacher in US - Steven Frank.
Its a delightful book that revels in writing for fun at the level where the urge to write should strike us first - when we are still toggling between the love for language and the foundations of a commercial or scientific career.

"Pen Commandments" gives all the kickstarting tools and tenets of writing ourselves to potential, giving some outstanding examples of shiny writing mostly from the high school students of his class. You can well figure out that Steven Frank must have polished most pieces of composition and creative writing that he puts out for our perusal. There are anecdotes, commandments of biblical value and there are countless examples of appropriate grammatical rules intermixed with inviolable style rules. I read this piece almost two Olympics back and still find it a happy bunker to bury my head into whenever I need a resurrection of creativity. It is more elegant and stylish, contemporary and fun to read than a New Yorker piece or an Arthur Plotnick's repost in "Spunk & Bite" ("Strunk and White"). I don't know why Steven Frank never attempted more books after such a dramatic flash of brilliance in the book. "The Pen Commandments" will surprise you and permanently leave you with an incurable love for the English language - it deserves to be widely-read - not just in High Schools but by all who push their pen for any cause.

London Olympics 2012 - The Empire Strikes Back!

London Dreams woke me and my wife at 1.20 pm yesterday night. It was definitely worth a watch. The opening ceremony of 2012 London Olympics was smashing and stylish and proved to be a recession-free demonstration of everything that is British - that strikes a chord in colonial cousins in India or anywhere else they ruled for 200 years. I liked the whole theme engineered by Danny Boyle - the man behind "Slumdog Millionaire". He has chosen the most enduring British Icons that stood the test of time and created a brilliant, concise, ravenous and thoroughly stylish ballad thats almost putative to the viewers at large. The stiff upper lip, the sophisticated humour ( I dare not use "humor" here), the organised rehearsals behind those generous expressions and the general sense of Old world British Pride was all there in PDA format (Public Display of Affectation of being an Imperialist). Everything was precisely spick n span, prim n proper.

I can sense a lot of reading and meticulous brainstorming went into the selection of the icons and idioms that flowed after one another starting with River Thames, Origins of English people across Ireland/Scotland/Other "shires", Birth of the English language, Lord Nelson, William Shakespeare, Magna Carta, the unrivalled British Navy (which ruled the sea shores since Napoleon was defeated), the Industrial Revolution, British Royalty, Cricket, Charles Dickens, Winston Churchill, Humprey Boghart, Peter Pan, Harry Potter, James Bond, members of Beatles, Eurythmics/The Queen (Annie Lennox), British Queen Elizabeth, the movie industry here - call it BAFTA or Lollywood (London's Hollywood). The juxtaposing of Mr Bean with London Symphonic Orchestra was almost magical and rhapsodic. Loved the scale and the execution of all things considered British at the most picturesque ceremony. Yes, 2008 Beijing Olympics was still grander and vulgar display of Affluence by a growing Superpower, but London Olympics Ceremony was a spirited display by a nation that ruled the world once. London hosted Olympics in 1908 (when even my grandfather was not born, the 3rd Modern Olympics) and in 1948 immediately after the World War. In the period since 1948, Britain's pound and sterling pride only dwindled and diminished in value. This was a perfect opportunity to showcase the British phenomenon that as Niall Ferguson wrote in his epic book on "The Empire" gave modern living a chance through a language that thrives from incorporating expressions from other languages, a democracy that paved the way for many others to follow and a business culture that is engraved forever. Whoever thought that Britain is just the 54th state of the United States should re-view the Youtube clippings of the Opening ceremony and re-read history of the world that Britain made.