Uday Kiran - Promise cut Short by Self

I am surprised by Uday Kiran's suicide. All of us get our share of hard knocks in the school called life. Uday Kiran had been at the receiving end of high-handedness of some of the high and mighty of Tollywood. His death has also exposed the core issues of oligopoly dominating Tollywood which are being endlessly speculated upon on Telugu channels. Whether there is truth in that or not, whether or not the guilty will ever get punished or not, the laws of Karma will catch up with everyone one day - you can see the glimpses of such Karmic consequences in the way some of the family members of the "errant" powerful family suffered in their own personal lives too - somebody has married thrice, somebody else has ended a marriage too soon. Peace of mind will never return to them, neither will wages of sin be escaped ever.

Whether the speculation on dominating the Tollywood industry ceases or not, the days of oligopoly may soon be over because history teaches us that everytime a few people gang up together to stifle newcomers or corner the profits in the entire value chain from theatres to distribution to satellite rights, a tipping point like this occurs which will upstage the existing players who are calling the shots. 

In Hollywood, this happened from the times of Goldwyn Mayer till the times of Steven Spielberg. In Bollywood, it hapened with the original trio of RK-Dilip-Dev to Rajesh Khanna to Amitabh Bachan to the three Khans. Amitabh's over-dominance has bled the Bollywood industry with series of mega flops because the industry was revolving around the angry young man's machismo, it made the industry starve for good scripts, look for cheaper alternatives like Mithun Chakraborty and Anil Kapoor and eventually unleashed a new creative revolution that makes Bollywood the most celebrated industry in the world today - churning out regularly Rs.100-200 crore hits. Look at Sandalwood - Karnataka's film industry - which roared under Raj Kumar's mega stardom, driving creative composers, villains, heroines and producers out of Karnataka because they could not survive the big star-centric universe. It took many years of vacuum, government sops and renewed vigor to make people watch Kannada films again. Of course, though the film standards have gone up a few notches, the industry has gone back to more monopolistic days - with Raj Kumar's sons now being at the commanding heights of Sandalwood in distribution, content and production. Tamil Nadu used to be a leaf out of Andhra Pradesh in being oligopolistic but that has changed recently with Madam Jayalalitha seizing control of the trade by breaking up the segments concentrated upon by rivals from DMK family and restoring the order for small films to breathe free. 

Tollywood has always been peculiarly haunted by somewhat singular film fraternity right from the days of Akkineni Vara Lakshmi Prasad (Late LV Prasad) who ventured into films from agricultural surpluses and built the modern Telugu film industry as we know today. That has led to more and more industrialists with agricultural background turning to film-production and direction - most of the themes till today therefore, resonate with feudalistic fervor. Over the years, the domination attained unassailability with the Kammas entering the fray and building stardom upon stardom. At the height of his glory in 1980s, after his coronation as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, late NT Rama Rao took a decision that at that time was taken with a regressive intent: kill any competition that can allow the next Superstar to rise up again. NTR took a measure to introduce the slab system of charging entertainment taxes on the basis of assumed occupancy rates - that effectively sealed the fate of small films and low budget films. ANR, Krishna, Shoban Babu and Krishnam Raju were just dividing their stardom and Chiranjeevi was yet to see the megastardom. He wanted to see a bright future for his son Balakrishna and ensure the oligarchy continues. It led to wipe out of many small films because the halls refused to screen films which did not guarantee a minimum attendance. It also led to more and more such theatre-owners get into the clutches of producers who made big banner films and ensured minimum eye-balls for their family heroes. It led to more consolidation at the top end forcing more and more small producers capitulate. It led to concentration of stardom but distribution and production returning to the likes of the few that rule the industry. Major distributors like Lakshmi Films got annihilated. Producers who made high-quality family fare like Navata Krishnam Raju and K Murari withdrew from film-making. Creativity has hit new nadirs although the market cap has expanded - that has widened the gap between the mighty and the meek. Yes, you are still making more films but fewer hit films. 

Last year, according to one producer, there were 13 small-budget films which became superhits  whereas only 9 big-budget films became hits. That means, despite the channels of exhibition and distribution being at the mercy of a few, audiences are clamoring for new content. Eventually, the audiences will move on from one megastar to another but the appetite for imaginative and innovative content will grow with maturing of audiences across the ages. Only then, when all-round talent is harvesting a bounty will the industry expand. Bollywood is in that sweet spot today - with atleast three heroines and a dozen heroes commanding a gross of Rs.100 crores. Tollywood in its 82 years is making hopelessly 200 films plus but only now has crossed Rs.100 crores. A Rajini and a Kamal have routinely crossed Rs.150 crores in recent times, from a neighbouring Kollywood, which is reinventing itself to expand markets yet cut its teeth into new and expanding cakes overseas. Zombie films will atrophy and take down the majority of the makers who continue to swear by them. New Order will emerge from those few who are not being wholeheartedly backed today. Film Industry after Film Industry has escaped this fall however big. Look at the biggest studio in South India- Ramoji Film City. It's valuation is up because of TV serials and tourism activity, not because of film shoots planned there. A few years back, one of Hyderabad's biggest Star Producer studios came up for outright sale - this is the studio that made some golden hits for ANR and NTR and made over 100 films in all Indian languages and created a Guinness Record. According to reports, the valuation came to around Rs.700 crores and that hasn't come from film negatives but from the land parcels embedded within the studio limits. Doesn't it tell you that if you continue making stupid masala films, it doesn't get  you anywhere?  Or, just because you are Mahesh Babu or Pawan Kalyan doesn't augur well for all the producers in Tollywood? My point in this excursion is to give a consumer's analysis of where the industry is going and whether that direction is desired by one and all. Thats a limited point to the main discussion. 

Which ought to be really, why Uday Kiran had to give up so soon on his life. When you give up on your life, you are giving up on what can work from you from the next moment you stay alive. Acting is not the sole objective of life, if you are an actor. There are many actors who came to terms with what's not happening in their lives and then took charge of some things that made it happen in different ways:

Actor Tarun still acts in youthful roles,  runs a restaurant and retains his zest for life.

Actor Raja is waiting for the perfect small-budget film and converted to Christianity. He finds more solace in his new religion.

Actor Rajendra Prasad has matured into mellowed roles and winning accolades with his versatility. 

Actor Naresh has been experimenting with character roles and playing key roles in relation to the ruling heroes and heroines of Tollywood.

Actor Navdeep has not given up on himself and has played noticeable roles against superstars and also starring in small budget films.

Actor Pradeep, yesteryears hero in Jandhyala films, has reinvented himself as a top executive in an IT company.

Last heard, Uday Kiran has actually got a chance to hear four new stories from casting agencies I know of. Instead of listening to the new stories, he kept repeating his sob story, it seems. If only he has listened to new ideas and realised that life is not all about just acting...If only he realised that being alive offered infinite possibilities to his potential outside even films - as a restaurateur, TV serials, second heroes, character artist, sports coach, life coach...anything. Uday Kiran, R.I.P. You had so much potential but you limited life with your limitations, my friend. If only...

"Julayi" Movie Review (Telugu)

“Julayi” is definitely one of the most anticipated movies of 2012. It is an acid test for more than a threesome – Director Trivikram who struggled with form in “Mahesh Khaleja” , Allu Arjun who didn’t deliver a hit for a while, Producer Daanayya who’s missing his crores and dusky actress Ileana D’Cruz who is unable to capitalize on her early successes in Tollywood. All four of them needed a hit to resurrect their fortunes . I can’t say whether it’s a hit but the movie doesn’t disappoint – it is quite a wholesome family fare that’s worth a watch.

Director Trivikram Srinivas is one of the star writers who sharpened his narrative skills to make an Olympic triple jump into the hall of fame in Tollywood with terrific screenplay sense, story-telling with verve and an ability to weave many genres into one film. Besides, he can write dialogues that tug your hearts and make  classes and masses clap. Naturally, he is so skilled at writing, screenwriting and directing that one of the three has to outshine the other two. It started to happen around the time when he stopped writing for others (except “Teenmaar” recently) and went into directing. There’s an eclectic mixture of Western cinematic sensibilities with Telugu nativities in most of his narratives where he played a pivotal role in giving a tailormade script. “Manmathudu” drew inspiration from Mel Gibson movie “What women want”. “Athadu” which is a gold standard in modern Tollywood DVD collection is inspired from “Assassins” and so on.

There was some trouble with “Jalsa” and “Mahesh Khaleja” because he was carried away by the star charishma of Pawan Kalyan and Mahesh Babu and the result was either a concoction of neo-Indian pseudo-mythologicals (like an Amish Tripathi novel) or an an urbane take on Naxalism and other economic issues. At heart, Trivikram is a socialist who is inspired by an array of writers from 1920s onwards and all his movies bear a stamp of egalitarianism, inclusive growth and a society that should benefit many not just a chosen few. In between, Trivikram can pack a punch of dialogues that spark off uproarious laughter with both senior and junior artistes. Over the few films he has made, Trivikram has graduated from making unoriginal, punny, school-boyish. joke-book-collection of snippets into more classy, ingenious and Wodehousian sense of humor that sticks. Nothwithstanding this long digression into Trivikram’s style and its origins as seen by a consummate bystander, “Julayi” is an outcome of a renewed Trivikram who has learnt from his experiments that were indulgent in the past. It shows Trivikram’s amazing sense of dialogues that are sharper, wittier and also a return to responsible film-making - a'la the likes of Sreenu Vaitla and Shekar Kammula. However, unlike Shekar Kammula, Trivikram has the ambidexterous knack of appealing to A-class audiences while giving what the masses want to see – non-preachy entertainment, plenty of action, dances and romance that sizzles.

“Julayi” is a balanced film in all of that – it has a huge starcast from Brahmanandam, Ali, Tanikella Bharani, MS Narayana and Kota to veteran Rajendra Prasad, Sonu Sood besides Allu Arjun and Ileana. The story is quite average but the narration is pulsating. Ravi (Allu Arjun) is a naïve youth who believes in making money in a non-linear route; he bets with his father one day that a 10k bundle of cash can be converted into 100k in just two hours. Obviously, Ravi had plans to bet on the IPL matches when he challenged his dad with the deal. His bravado leads him to an episodic run-in with professional killers led by Sonu Sood and Kota Srinivas Rao who plan to usurp a bank’s millions. It sets him off as a cat amongst pigeons because the villains realize that Ravi is a smart aleck who needs more than their mite to be outwitted. The ending is happier even if smaller - the hero polishes off the villains and returns to a cosy job that nets a salary of 25k per month. The message is loud and clear: – hardwork and accumulation of money through self-effort is sweeter than Manna from heaven or mad pursuit of speculative endeavours. The movie has  dramatic flashes of car chases, stunts and a sweet romance with Ileana and oodles of comedy with Rajendra Prasad, Brahmanandam and gang. Allu Arjun is clearly a striking style icon who has finally got a plot that showcases his acting prowessand a director who will give the outreach that he deserves. He is at ease with himself and with the mature starcast that shares the screen. According to me, he is the best dancer in Tollywood and his dancing skills need no attestations. In this movie, DSP’s music has given enough footage to Allu Arjun to get foot-loose. He excels himself again but the dance movements could have had a better frontal view than a sideward, silhouetted slideshow. He could have bettered there.

DSP’s music has topped the charts well before the movie and he has created just the right moods for all the songs. Picturisation of the songs could have been better for a couple of songs. The song before climax and the song before interval are quite vivid and memorable. Ileana would have wanted this movie to give a fresh lease of life. Unfortunately, her acting skills and the range of expressions never permit this – she is stubbornly stale and hopeless. The outage of glamor we saw of Ileana after “Kick”, I am afraid will continue nothwithstanding her role in this film. Rajendra Prasad stands out with a full-length performance that almost runs parallel to the hero – this should be heartening to all his fans.

One last word on the flaws of the film. Trivikram sometimes takes logic to onerously outlandish levels for one part of the story while implanting inscrutable logic to other parts. The manner in which the heist is done by the villains of a bank and their escape from custody with lot of bloodshed is illogical even as the hero Ravi tries to second-guess every move of the villain even as the police look downright dumb beats sanity out of mind. Nevertheless, Trivikram has taken the genre of entertainment to new highs with his characteristic ease of blending action and intelligent-looking plots with a rich ensemble of talent and still penning dialogues that haunt you forever. Even the best writers need better editors , Trivikram will realise– but for now, even 160 minutes of a not-so-sublime plot is good enough reason to open the champagne for those who like to see his report card. He’s earned an A not an A-plus and I will give atleast 3.5 out of 5 for the film.

"Onamaalu" Movie Review (Telugu)

"Onamaalu" in Telugu is an expression used for learning the first letters of the alphabet in school. It is the latest film starring veteran actor Rajendra Prasad. He is an actor who has always had a time-neutral following from NRIs and Indian Residents alike because of associating himself with the most celebrated directors of creative cinema. He has worked with Bapu, Vamshi, Jandhyala, EVV, Krishna Reddy and Krishna Vamshee and has starred in some of the most preciously-revered DVD films of all time in Tollywood. According to me, his defining work in the second avatar as a mature, aged artiste came in the last four films - One, was "Aa Naluguru" (literally means, "those four people who carry our corpse after we are gone"). Second, "Mee Sreyobhilaashi" ("Your Well-Wisher"). Third, "Quick Gun Murugan" (which became a flippant Hollywood co-production that got him international fame). "Ayyare" came and went, but not so much adulation greeted him because he was hardly present in the first half. Now, "Onamaalu" is a fitting fifth film that will enshrine Rajendra Prasad forever in the hearts of Telugu audience. It is a different film and requires a context and patience thats hard to come by in today's multiplex and theatre-controlled environment where the big star movies alone run.

What's the story all about? Its about the scorching pace of Urbanisation and its undermining influence on the source of our values rooted in village. So, Rajendra Prasad is a retired master who gives holistic value-based education in a village in AP and trains batch after batch of students. He is happy being part of a village ecosystem where everyone from Sarpanch to the Post-master live in simple living and high thinking and more importantly, benevolent sharing of the good and the bad, rising above religious and sectarian difference. Time flies and we cut to the scene where, after the passing of his wife Kalyani, he is persuaded to re-locate to the US with his son's family. As he yearns to come back to re-visit his roots in the village, he returns only to find the idealistic world of his former village turned upside down - mass migration of the young generation, deserted look at the school where he taught and apathy of the village folks to what's going on at large. Technology drift has put a spanner in most careers like that of a postman and the teacher, while there's no more large-heartedness of the people and the rustic charms were visibly absent. Does he recreate the old magic? Can he connect with today's generation in loving their roots and going back to the source? That takes the brief climax of the film in a narrative that's reasonably good with occasional flashbacks and cross-flashbacks - take it like "pitta kathalu" (short-story within long story).

There are some hard-hitting dialogues by Mohd Khadeer Babu on the current scenario of nuclear families, hitech lives with low-touch approach, our continuous debasement of everything traditional thinking its not modern.Director K.Kranthi Madhav has characterised well a gentle story of a teacher who teaches all his pupils to be good samaritans without caring about monetary gains. The highlight of the film is the flashback with one batch of pupils taught by Rajendra Prasad - who are quite apart from each other but end up with the value system thats fallen on deaf ears today. Koti has given excellent songs and BGM score. He lifts off the tunes from Adimieus and "Secret Garden" albums, embellishes them with Indian instrumentation to give a memorable feel to the mood of the film. If you want to see a different film with some preachy content, the film will surprise you with the depth and the tearsjerker - you will have to use the handkerchief many times - the content is that touching even if sometimes didactic. Movie length is ideal for the theme - just 125 minutes in all. But watching the film made me nostalgic about the village life. Its heartening to see some memorable old artists like Giri Babu and Chalapathi Rao get meaty and affectionate roles. Rajendra Prasad steals the thunder, yet again  - he has reinvented himself to stay relevant for the times. Comedy is intertwined with the narrative and quite okay.

There are some exceptional scenes in the film which promote tolerance of all religions. No wonder, most sectarian violence or acts of religious hatred and bigotry happen outside of villages in India Today, in cities and towns, hardly ever in villages. The movie also makes fantastic commentary on the generation of NRIs and RIs who, on one hand, send off their kids to opulent schools without knowing what they teach and whether what they teach is relevant to our society or not. On the other hand, they either pack off their parents to Retirement Homes or Old Age Homes or send them lumpsum remittances to upend their maintenance needs while staying apart. The result: they are running away from the source of their origins (parents) and making kids alienated from the very source that made their worlds. Both these trends are gnawing at the roots. There are some soul-searching questions on what constitutes modernity and what is the end-use of all modern-day-living which will go well with the elite. Powerful statements are made on the way some hi-tech schools teach our kids - that milk actually comes in sachets, water actually originates in bottles and rice comes in sacks. Many years ago, Uncle Anant Pai told us that it is important to know the route to your roots through the history and value system thats relevant in India - thats what got him interested to combat the onslaught of Marvel comics  - of Batman and Phantom and Superman comics with relevant and man-making content of Indian stories through Amar Chitra Katha. This movie is closest to that attempt on celluloid. Though there have been movies like "Devasthaanam" etc. in recent past, this movie is more effective. But I doubt, producer and director Kranti Madhav will make enough money. But some movies are always made with the heart- not with an eye on satellite rights. A movie like "Aa Naluguru" or "Sankarabharanam" was never made with a lucrative motive - that they are still watched and count amongst classics is all that matters. Watch this movie too with that expectation - it is far better than "Devasthaanam" because Rajendra Prasad, unlike SPB doesn't over-act. And it makes far more relevant points, despite being didactic.