"Pataas" (Telugu Movie Review) for today's Premiere

I wrote this review after watching "Pataas". Realised I haven't posted it and today "pataas is getting aired on Gemini TV at 6 pm."Pataas" (Telugu) is entertaining film. A bit late I know but a short one from me. In a single para, as someone wanted. Good to see Kalyan Ram score a hit after ten long years. After "Athanokkade", this must be a standout film for him - less classy, but more masala-oriented and entertaining. What I like about Kalyan Ram is that he never allowed his family fortunes to build halo around him. He could have chosen to finance half the so-called hit directors, but instead he backed himself with different and at times risky scripts but gave breaks to a new director everytime. This time it is Anil Ravipudi - he will surely go places because he has the knack of packing energy and punch in every scene even if it appears often predictable. 141 minutes of relentless fun with loads of comedy from Srinivas Reddy, Asutosh Rana, Brahmanandam and of course, MS Narayana. MS Narayana signed off with a hurrah and can be seen until the last frame. Music by Sai Karthik is average; he is better at RR than song composing but passes off as okay. For the police force, the film is a morale-boosting film - lifts them into higher orbit with moral rebalancing at the end. Heroine Shruti Sodhi is thunderous but lacks cuteness. Saikumar carries off his role with all sobriety and grace. Kalyan Ram is the guy who worked hard on dancing, acting, dialogue delivery and dress sense in the film  - and comes out good in every frame. Hope he builds on the image from the  success  guaranteed from this film. With "Temper" and "Lion" set for release, looks like the Nandamuri family is on a leash after a long time. Patience is the virtue of Tollywood fans - they will reward you if you are from the film's royal family even if you deliver even after ten years (Kalyan Ram). It happens so often with superstars. Rating: 3.25/5

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"Om" 3-D (Telugu) Movie Review

This year's much-advertised 3-D film begins and ends with a sordid stunt, several false starts and a bizarre climax that might give you a headache. There is neither "Om" chant in the beginning nor a "Shanti" at interval or at "The End". It is quite a twisted plot with a lot of twists throughout the film which make it quite taxable viewing.  

Story is deceptively simple: Kalyan Ram is a business tycoon's son  - his father Karthik (Remember "Mouna Raagam" and "Gharshana"?) and his uncles Suresh and Aahuti Prasad run the show. There is a pack of villains  - Rao Ramesh and another toughie who want to eliminate Karthik. Enter Kriti Karbanda, first heroine who entraps Kalyan in love. Enter Nikesha ("Komarum Puli" fame) who wants to marry Kalyan as well. But it turns out Nikesha is out to eliminate Kalyan Ram because he is one amongst villains. Even the first heroine is another cat set among the pigeons - the pigeon being Kalyan and family. Interval block shows Kalyan shooting Nikesha point-blank range. The second half has greater unravelling of dramatic fiction: the toughie who is a cohort of Rao Ramesh is the real father of Kalyan Ram and not Karthik as believed. Karthik is the original villain who kills Kalyan Ram's grandfather, usurps his wealth and brings up Kalyan Ram while making the toughie go to jail for his wages of sin. Quite a dazzle of a story with unprecedented twists and turns but what's the point of all this? Has it justified the title - Om? No. Has it developed the romantic track? No. Has it enough material to entertain and sustain the zig-zagging screenplay's running time of 125 minutes? Partially yes. Does it catapult Kalyan Ram to the next level? Hardly so. 

Kalyan Ram produced this film again directed by a newcomer Sunil Reddy.That seems to be his business model throughout his inconsistent career-graph so far. He introduced many newcomers which includes technicians and always has a first-time director and makes a film with good production values and a well-heeled budget. Some of his directors like Surinder Reddy have become star directors. With this film, he has introduced 3-D technology  - which makes it the first action 3-D film in Telugu. The total 3-D footage is commensurate with the action sequences of the film which is about half-hour - but the sequences don't thrill you with emotions, they merely explode on the screen  - tyres tumbling out in your direction, synthetic fires engulfing the villains,SUVs flying like amoeba particles, and the occasional side bars and pillars making way to the characters you see on screen. Is this what 3-D film all about? It's not worth all the buzz. No wonder, there are more 2-D films than 3-D films and there are more pirated films than there are 3-D versions in Indian Cinema. 3-D makes sense if there's more depth in the storyline than a mere revenge story with a love triangle as this. 

Production values, however, stand out. Cinematography by Vincent Ajay and music by two -  A Rajamani and Sai Karthik - uplift the film in both the songs and the BGM. Glamour is in ample measure - both Kritti and Nikesha look good. Comedy is weakest and that can undermine the film's mass appeal. Rao Ramesh gets the only chance to play a comic villain like his father. Karthik as the father and the villain is thorough and impactful - he maybe the only reason to watch the film despite special attractions, Ghantasala Ratnakumar who synced his voice for Karthik for so many years returns to uplift Karthik. Kalyan Ram should learn that time is running out for him to re-establish his stardom; his films are different but not very different from one another - at the core, they are turning out to be tales of revenge, graphic violence, modest romance and negligible comedy. He needs to try out different roles, stylise his looks, and try different commercial formats. Otherwise, the man who made "Om" and "Hare Ram" will become "Hari Om". Rating 2.5/5.