"Oh Baby!" (Telugu Film Review)

 Apart from consuming Korean smartphones for years, we Telugus have been served Korean film content indirectly in many of our films - mostly unacknowledged. But "Oh Baby" is the first official remake of a Korean film "Mrs Granny" now brought to you in India by a crew of producers including D.Suresh Babu who is now famous for entering a good script film late like a Series A Venture Capitalist. Nandini Reddy, one of the most endearing directors who is known for DVD Classic catalogue films variety crafts a delightful family entertainer. The film runs for 160 minutes but you rarely feel the duration as it takes you on an improbable though intensely emotional roller-coaster ride of an old woman who can reverse-age.

The highlight of the film is the characterization of four actors - Samantha (in the lead role), Lakshmi (as the Granny), Rajendra Prasad as Granny's best friend and Rao Ramesh as Granny's son. The rest of the crew hang around with their lines but the soul of the film revolves around these awesome four who treat us with their range of nuances deftly directed by Nandini Reddy. I have never figured out how Nandini Reddy gets such a fine balance between poignancy (in showing weighty family sentiments), subtlety (in caricaturing moms and dads like we find in our midst) and light-heartedness (in painting heavy emotions with a humorous touch). But she indeed pulls off a coup this time with iconic and experienced actors. For example, the delicate and platonic friendship between Rajendra Prasad and granny (find out who she is really in the movie!) is a rarity in Telugu films who are used to typecasting a man and a woman as either lovers or as friends. Similarly, Rao Ramesh's presence in the film and the magical outburst on at least two occasions in the film make you squirm and cry at the same time. Then I realize the word magic is created by Lakshmi Bhupal who has been minting for Nandini Reddy in all her films so far. Samantha definitely steals the show all the way right from her first appearance on screen and this film will get her more accolades than "A.AA". It must go to the credit of Nandini again for reining in Lakshmi's over-acting urges to give sublime performance. Otherwise, any crossing the line would have made this film no different than "Jeans" performance for madam Lakshmi. Naga Shourya is effective as Samantha's brief lover and carries potential to hold his own screen presence against a Diva's. One point to note: this is perhaps another rare occasion where mother (Lakshmi) and daughter (Aishwarya) act together!

Technically, the film's songs by Mickey J Meyer were average and could have been better except for the title song. One expected special output from Mickey after the enchanting score in "Mahanati". What he slipped in songs, he covered up in BGM. Editing by Junaid Siddiqui is quite sharp and different without seeming like a commercial format - only in the second half, some chopping would have energized the overall output. Personally, I felt the film's intrinsic value and the messaging deserve to get picked up by Annapurna Films more than Suresh Films - because the overall stardom of Samantha and the cameo by her darling would have been picture-perfect for ANR family production. Overall, "Oh Baby" is uproarious, intense yet light-hearted, clean and classy, and soul-satisfying film for all generations of family audience. Missing the film will mean missing a part of your childhood and memories with loved ones. I hope the film by Nandini Reddy will soon be celebrated in all South Indian and other languages. Go watch it!

Rating: 4/5
 

“Janata Garage” (Telugu Film Review)

Koratala Siva is a director who believes in making meaningful commercial films with an underlying message. His previous films “Mirchi” and “Srimanthudu” have met with huge success even if the initial response has been slow to muted. What sets him apart from the usual mongrels directing commercial films is the unhurried pace of narration, and honesty in story-telling. Even the audio tracks of his films released have a touch of this honesty. Many times, the audience keeps guessing on the order of songs in the audio CD because the makers juggle the order of songs. But from the film “Mirchi” onwards, Koratala Siva insists the songs on the catalogue appear in the same order they appear in the film – that’s quite remarkable. It is proof of the director’s intent to never cheat you – either by meaningless side-shows or flippant comedy for the sake of it. How does Janata Garage fare? First half of the film sizzles with good romance, towering performances, great songs and impactful scenes. But the second half loses its way after a brilliant scene in a government office starring NTR Jr. and Rajiv Kanakala.

For NTR Jr. the film is one major step in the right direction – of moving away from lineage-heavy dialogues and mass-image roles – of becoming a metrosexual, uber cool actor who will pack a punch with subtlety and method acting. He excels in his dances and gives another career-best performance by staying true to the mood of his role as a nature-lover and environmental activist who tames villains. The best part of NTR is he takes a backseat in few crucial scenes to elevate the Superstar Mohanlal wherever he needs to – right from titles (where Mohanlal’s name appears) to the last scene of the film (where again Mohanlal finishes off). In a film with mighty starcast from Mohanlal to NTR to Saikumar to Sachin Khandekar to Samantha and Nitya Menen, rarely do you find the hero’s introduction delayed by 21 minutes after the film starts.

The story is not new: Mohanlal is a self-made repairman who builds a giant garage called `Janata Garage’ in Hyderabad repairing all wheeled vehicles. He also attends to the worries of people and hence the caption “All things repaired here” which brings his troop of men in direct conflict with a billionaire called Mukesh (sounds eerie, right?). NTR, on the other hand, lives in Mumbai with his uncle Suresh’s family pursuing his interests in nature conservation. Destiny and family history eventually brings NTR into the portals of Janata Garage but there are some hidden sources of conflict from within which pull the story. Even though the story is familiar, the treatment and the characters built into the story build it out for a watchable though predictable narrative  - something that is bereft of regular formula stuff.

What pulls down the film is the second half with a heavy dose of violence, an item song (that is avoidable and deplorable) and monotonous. It smacks of lazy writing and momentary lapse in clarity that pulls the graph dramatically lower than the feeling you get at interval time. A lot of ends which could have got tied up in the second half hang out loose – the character of Samantha who cutely tailgates NTR in the first half peters out, Suresh and Sitara who doted on NTR never come back in his life again, the environment activist in NTR who is so vocal in the first half goes to sleep once NTR takes up the causes of JG in the second half…It is things like these which make the 162 minute film a little less savory than a four-course meal, it is okay to skip the desert but don’t take the breads away from the table, the audience may ask. However, what redeems the film is the measured characterisation of the principal and side actors in the film – Mohanlal, NTR, Sachin Khandekar, Unni Mukundan (as Mohanlal’s son), Saikumar, Suresh, Rajiv Kanakala, Ajay and Bhargavi. 

Of all, the surprising elevation comes from unexpected characters like Rajiv Kanakala and the subtle romantic track between Ajay and Bhargavi. Rajiv’s character also elevates the crux of the message that Koratala Siva wants to spread through the film about principled and integrity-based living. Ajay’s characterisation leaves you with a heavy heart. Almost all the rest of the pack from Saikumar, Suresh and Sachin Khedekar make their moments of impact on screen. Unni Mukundan, the Malayali actor who plays Mohanlal’s son stands out with a good performance that shows calibre – there are shades of the film “Shakti” (Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan) in the way his role develops. Interestingly, Sachin gets to dub his own voice in Telugu whereas Mohanlal (who dubbed himself for “Manamanthaa”) borrows another baritone for his role. Of all the roles, Mohanlal’s role is consistent throughout the film – he stays in the zone of a comatose, good Samaritan and can fire up a lighthouse without even a twitch on his chubby cheeks, his eyes have that magical power. Even the way he takes to stunts ought to be a lesson for NTR and other macho heroes – you don’t need to bash up baddies till they crumble like nine pins, you just need a symbolic fight once, the rest is banality. That’s what makes the film a bore in the second half. After a dramatic fight by NTR showing the five elements of nature in a demonstrative fight with the baddies, he keeps using his brawn instead of brain in the second half to tame the villains which dilutes the intensity of the original character – a cardinal mistake.

On the whole, the film dazzles in technical departments – dialogues, cinematography (Thiru), music (DSP) and set design. Thiru’s cinematography is great but if greatness is all about showing “yellow” colors oozing out of every frame, then the eye clamors for more. Music by DSP is just about apt both in the BGM and songs – he uses silence more at crucial screen moments which build a subtle tension in the film. The song, set design and choreography in “Apple Beauty” make it a visual treat to watch with B&W images of fallen motifs from modern wonders of the world. The song showing a nature trek by the hero and the two heroines Nitya and Samantha can ensnare anybody into love for nature and serenity. Had the editing been sharper in the second half, this film would have got a blockbuster status but for that to happen, the excessive stunts, the item song on Kajal (what a waste!) and a few dragging scenes should have got mercilessly chopped. NTR’s twelve minute oration in the Government Municipal office will become the most famous scene in his career and that itself is a paisa vasool scene for me which can rebuild foundations of a moralistic society in a corruption-free India.

Finally, one needs to assess this film differently despite scant comedy, lack of fan-hungry entertainment, incomplete romance or a lousy climax. In the past, class directors used to get atleast a dozen films or more to establish their credentials as makers with a different idiom and style and who are here to stay. Nowadays, the directors get only two or three films to establish what they stand for and how they mould their film templates. Koratala Siva has established himself as a meangingful director in just three films – and despite flaws, deserves praise for making a film worth watching once. NTR Jr. too is directionally moving correctly towards a mass-affluent image and this film underlines that intent one more time after “Naannaku Prematho”. He may have erred on the overall finishing of the plot because he doesn’t have the benefit of a mega family where about half-dozen people hear a script before okaying it with more modifications. But that doesn’t make the film less worthy. It can be watched with family too.

Rating: 3/5

"Manam" (Telugu) Film Review

"Manam" is a beautiful film -  a flowing tribute to ANR and his lasting legacy. In the works for over two years, the film was making news for many happy reasons until it became clear that this will be ANR's last screen appearance. Directed by Vikram K Kumar ( "Ishq" fame) and produced by Reliance Entertainment, the film has all the elements of a sugar-syrup family comedy with minimum distractions. No villain, no side-tracking comedy and no vulgarity - it has a stamp of class and well-directed sweetness all-round. There are not many families in the Indian film history which had the luxury of appearing on screen in all the 3-G glory. The last time such an act was performed, according to me, was "Kal Aaj Kal" (starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Raj Kapoor and Ranadhir Kapoor). Now, it is the turn of ANR, Nagarjuna and Naga Chaitanya to give us a magical story of improbable origins.

The improbability is the only weakness in the plot - where Nagarjuna is the son of Naga Chaitanya and Samantha and ANR is the son of Nagarjuna and Shriya Saran. How these five people you will not otherwise meet in heaven actually get enmeshed with each other's lives in a cute inter-mixing of two love stories spread over two generations is the bone of the matter. Beyond this, it would be puerile to elaborate the story as it may snatch the thrills of watching a clean film not seen since  the likes of SVSC. The implausibility of the plot is tolerable as today's films have more illogicalities than the subtle cinematic liberty taken by the story-writer of this plot. So the illogicality is passable in the name of delectable entertainment that the film offers.

What are the highlights of the film? Undoubtedly, the scenes between Nagarjuna and Samantha as some of the best supermom moments get unfolded on screen in a rarely seen combination. Then the scenes between ANR, Naga Chaitanya and Nagarjuna - the drinking scene, even if slightly overdone. Then the delicate scenes between Nagarjuna and Shriya in the rural backdrop where bucholic charms haven't erased the purity of some souls. Finally, the roaring screen chemistry between Naga Chaitanya and Samantha for the nth time which makes the film youthful. Performance-wise, Naga Chaitanya gives the best shot amongst everybody as he shares screen space with Nagarjuna and ANR for the first and last time. This is his film, not really Nagarjuna's or ANR's. Samantha and Shriya get their sunshine moments and naturally have a blast. Nagarjuna looks old but carries himself better than some of the commercial roles we are used to seeing him. He should quickly migrate to being part of more such meaningful cinema such as "Manam". ANR is seen for less than ten minutes but by making a delayed entry minutes before the interval and staying the course right till the end, he gives out a dignified performance before he bowed out. Director Vikram used the limited availability of ANR's footage deftly by spacing him to re-surface again and again until that last shot of his where he smiles and waves you goodbye.

Whichever way you look at, "Manam" is a terrific film to watch that doesn't bore you despite the over-extended goodwill messages and sweetness. Infact, the emotions in the film choke you at times and remind you of the beauty of life and the miracles that pour out of love of all kinds. Vikram Kumar is quite a talent in the way he used a venerable starcast including Brahmanandam and MS Narayana. After a long time you get a feeling of confidence of a director in showcasing his mastery with a clean narration, good performances and messages that won't embarrass you in front of your mom. Except that little cheeky jingle of why we say "ladies first", nothing is offensive in the film. What makes the film different is the treatment of the story playing out between different generations of characters and the quality of output. Music by Anup Rubens, his 25th musical score deserves a high five. All the songs are exceptionally peppy and melodious. By using three different scores for each generation of Akkineni family, Anup Rubens has shown he has a talent for matching  song composition skills with a standout BGM. The director's class also shows in his selection of team in dialogues, cinematography. Vikram Kumar sure has a fresh mind that needs more backers  - how he thinks in telling a good story better is a case study. One example, in the song "Ta...Taaa....Tatta Tattaa...." which has Nagarjuna and Naga Chaitanya shake a leg with the old clippings of ANR song, any other director could have used an item girl to add to the stomping on the floor. But by not going for the predictable, Vikram proves he is different. More power to such directors and cinema. In many ways, Vikram's style of commercial cinema reminds me of the class of Radha Mohan, the Tamil director who made many successful films for Prakash Raj.

You wished the film's length of 163 minutes were cut down but I sense some scenes of ANR were not possible because of his passing out so they had filled in with other stuff. Good to see Amala and Akhil get roped in this family drama for the records. Akhil's entry in the end gives an inkling he will also join the family business soon. No less a person than Amitabh Bachchan did a 45 second cameo as a tribute to ANR. What a way to finish off a glorious career! In as much one feels compel to judge a film, "Manam" has surprisingly few shortcomings - which I have already qualified. You will walk away with many good feelings after watching it.

My rating: 3.5/5.

"Ramayya Vastavayya" (Telugu) Movie Review

"Ramayya Vastavayya" is a hummable line from one of Raj Kapoor's most famous films. It became a title for a Hindi film also earlier this year starring Shruti Hassan and a new Bollywood hero which was a remake of "Nuvvosthaanante Vaddantaana". Now, Dil Raju produces it in his banner-SVCC with NTR Jr. in a title role and Samantha and Shruti Hassan. It has been a major disappointment for those who go to Dil Raju's brand of family entertainment with a healthy touch and also for NTR fans. Harish Shankar who made "Gabbar Singh" got caught in his own elusions of grandeur and consequently made a film full of mind-numbing violence and pathetic story. "RV" will go down for Dil Raju as an aberration in his catalogue of films as he must have gone missing on the sets.

Once again, a wafer-thin line becomes fodder for 167 minutes of head-banging violence and entertainment that heckles your sensibilities. Ranjeet (NTR) falls in love with Aakarsha (Samantha) and stalks her at college. Samantha gives in to Ranjeet's overtures and invites him over to her village for attending her sister's wedding. Mukesh Rushi, her father, faces threats from two brothers who honk him with life threats often. On receiving one such call, Mukesh Rushi gets trapped into confiding into NTR about an impending life threat. This time, NTR takes them to a safer enclave but actually becomes the dreaded assasin himself killing Mukesh on the spot. Flashback: NTR and his two brothers are actually victims of Mukesh Rushi's atrocitiies; the latter eliminates most of NTR's relatives and even  his first-love called Ammulu (Shruti Hassan). The second half is all about NTR's attempts to explain the flashback to Samantha and justify the killing of Samantha's father and how he finishes them off. Such twists are not uncommon in Tollywood scripts; it appears that most of such films appear to be dug out of a dark tunnel sitting underneath the main road of entertainment. No matter how many stories come out of such dark tunnels, its a null void full of sand and mud coming out of the director's minds and we have to watch such drivel in the name of entertainment. 

Director Harish Shankar's flawed handling of the megaphone extends our pains. He succeeds in getting Dil Raju his first "A" certificate in his catalogue of family films by sprinkling "double-meaning" jokes, sadistic and atavistic violence and characterisation of a voyeuristic villain Ravi Shankar who is maniacally obsessed with sex all the time. Harish also misses out on casting mainstream comedians - and instead gets quite irritating humor from Rohini Hattangadi and others. Only Kota Srinivasa Rao gives a flash of humour in a four minute sequence.He misses milking entertainment which got him name in "Gabbar Singh" and "Mirapakay" and also diluted the emotional quotient in the film that could have got highlighted at few places. An example is, the best song of the film -"Jabilli Neetho Cheppamma..." which comes after interval. Even though the song is great and picturisation good, because Samantha yet doesn't know that NTR is the guy who knocked her dad off, the nuances of the song didn't allow NTR to get highlighted. There are many instances like that which were missed opportunities for Harish to raise the bar of emotionality. Even the dialogues penned by him didn't enhance the impact because of an over-dosage of violence and under-recovery of humour. 

NTR Jr. shines well in the film, his gait is ever confident, his dancing skills show greater variety and finesse (his body above torso is moving better than before) and his timing of comedy has got some impact and improvisation, fans will love his imitation of a few stars in Tollywood. After "Adurs", Chota K Naidu must get credit for showcasing NTR Jr. so well in the many shades that NTR shows up in the film. Stunts could have been shorter and less graphic in portrayal. Amongst the many stunts, one thing noticeable is that NTR comes up with a new weapon everytime - he starts with a mace ("gadha"), a hockey stick, an iron chain, a pick-axe and then guns galore...probably, this is Harish Shankar's idea to show him as the new heir to the 36th Chamber of Shaolin. Between Samantha and Shruti Hassan, Shruti steals the show in the flashback. Both Chota K Naidu and Harish Shankar seem to have got smitten by the cute girl who is getting bolder on scene. Since this is Harish Shankar's second film with Shruti Hassan, her character got etched out better than many other characters. Rao Ramesh gives another cool performance but his characterisation loses conviction in the second half. Music by Thaman SS is fine but only two songs stand out. There is lot of strain that can make us feel worn out on his music.

NTR Jr. should realise that the days of relying on family tree and thigh-clapping as a sign of machismo are over, not many heroes except those who benefit from such references are resorting to gimmicks. Veering away from violence and making entertainment as a form of team effort is the real recipe for success, not aiming to ambitiously carry the film on the hero's shoulders. Those heroes who rallied forth to undertake projects of benign entertainment are climbing up higher than reliance on hackneyed scripts and party symbols such as bicycles. My last two cents to heroes is: don't bank on directors who don't bank on solid stories. Tollywood today has a dozen heroes of bankable box office potential and has more severe competition amongst themselves than any other film industry - more competition than even entrepreneurs in the Silicon Valley, if you have to build embankments to keep yourself afloat for atleast 30 films in a career, bank on variety, invest in different stories and support family entertainment. 

"Ramayya Vastavayya" reminds at times the story of "Athanokkade" without any dramatic appeal or intensity. But for a less violent and better half before interval, it gets a rating of no more than 2.5/5.

"Atharintiki Daaredi" (Telugu) Movie Review

"Atharintiki Daaredi" is a smashing film power-packed with terrific performances by Power Star Pawan Kalyan, Nadia, Rao Ramesh, Brahmanandam, MS Narayana and Ali. It is definitely the most awaited film of the year because it involves star director and ace wordsmith Trivikram who can make the screen dance with his style of comedy, emotions and words that stir your senses. After a long drought since Ravi Teja's film, Tollywood's magic comes back with "AD" and credit must go to the entire team that made a family entertainer dripping with action, comedy, romance and emotions. 

"Atharintiki Daaredi" is a familiar phrase in Telugu which is played with babies held up close in arms - it begins with a few poetic lines and ends with an affectionate hug that tickles the baby. The film also oozes out the ticklish tone filled with one man's quest to find a place in the hearts of the people residing in his paternal aunt's home in India.  Siddhu (Pawan Kalyan) is the heir to a billion dollar industrial empire in Milan, Italy run by his father (Mukesh Rushi) and grand-father (Bomman Irani). His grand-father has become a vegetable on a wheel-chair but his only wish in life is to see his daughter who he threw out of his home because she dared to marry someone despised by him. That couple, Nadia and Rao Ramesh, now live in India with a huge family and their pretty daughters - Samantha and Praneetha. Pawan Kalyan vows to get his aunt back to see his grandfather. How does Pawan Kalyan charm the household by first masquerading as a Chauffeur and later on, as Siddhu as his aunt already knows is the story with a narrative that runs like a non-stop comedy show with a rich assemblage of characters  - the usual characters seen in a Trivikram film except two missing members - Tanikella Bharani and Dharmavarapu Subramanyam. A major plus is the music by DSP, almost all the songs including the one sung by Pawan Kalyan are hummable with high melody score, one song that shows DSP on screen with Pawan borrows the kinky style of Ilayaraja in one "Charanam".

Trivikram has returned to a thorough family theme that shows only the non-invasive villainy for the sole purpose of showcasing Pawan Kalyan in some fabulous stunts. Otherwise, the film doesn't have villains in a conventional sense, most of the screenplay is between the central characters of Pawan Kalyan, Nadia, Rao Ramesh and Bomman Irani. That's a healthy comeback for Trivikram because that puts him miles ahead of the rest of the pack of directors who tend to be caught up with crass commercial sensibilities. A Tollywood film today runs on few pillars  - narrative that runs with a straight bat, comedy that fires on all fours, characterisation that can run its full course with consistency and distinctiness for each principal and peripheral character that shows up as minutes pass, screenplay that ties you to your seat, technical mastery over the aspects that make up the medium- cinematography, shot selection, logicality, editing, aesthetics and of course, music. Besides all these, dialogues that sync so well with the many worlds we live in daily life. In almost all these aspects, Trivikram has been a pro who is at the peak  and this film is a fine showcase to all those who want to see him taste mega success. The thing with Trivikram, I noticed from his first film (Is that a film with actor Suresh, "Praarthana" or Venu ("Churunavvutho"?) that he has this ability to weave a narrative with a built-in thermostat that guides when to explode and when to stay under a leash, it is almost like a sleeping volcano that erupts only at the cusp of a major twist or defining moment of the story. Even if his filmography in the earlier films have been occasionally nativised adaptations from Hollywood films or best-seller novels ("Manmadhudu" was a Mel Gibson film, "Athadu" was a Sylvestor Stallone film, "Nuvvu Naaku Nacchaav" was a Ben Stiller film; try google out yourselves), his films have a shelf life that ensures repeat magic on successive telecasts on TV or your own DVD re-views. In this film, Trivikram falters only with editing  - he might have had constraints in chiselling huge portions which do not add value like that club song with Mumtaaz or those long Brahmanandam tracks which could have got shorter to make a point. Clearly, 169 minutes is a bit long even if the director, to quote his own words in the film hasn't told a "story of Ben Hur in Burra Katha format". 

Trivikram has ensured every character in the film gets a line that makes them stand out. For a change, he has breathed new life into the characters of MSN and Ali. Nadia as the title character "Athagaaru" has given a stylish and dignified performance making her role one of the most nuanced "Aunt" roles in Telugu Cinema, never once loses class in her portrayal. Rao Ramesh gives another well-articulated performance, he and Pawan Kalyan together get the best lines of the film, but more on Pawan later.  Brahmanandam's performance is sometimes puerile sometimes garrulous but overall just-above average. His best laughs come in the elongated skit of Ahalya, Gautama and Indra. Between Samantha and Praneetha, Praneetha has a better screen presence and looks more gorgeous even if she appears in one song. Samantha will fade out faster than a one-trick pony at this rate of exposure, pun unintended, even if she is a lucky mascot.

Pawan Kalyan seems to have a magical chemistry with Trivikram that sets the screen on fire. As a practioner of Vipassana meditation, martial arts and Zen Buddhism, Pawan has shown a lot of class, effort and style in this role with a body language that's a hit with his fans. His dialogue delivery has been a unique trademark that pack a punch in every scene, of course penned by the director; he seems to have outgrown some of his whimsical mannerisms as he gets quite comfortable under the skin of roles of a lover boy, responsible heir and a star performer amidst other comedians. His dancing skills, surprise, have also improved considerably even if he chooses to uncomplicate his movements, its a sign of a maturing actor who is aging but at peace with his world and his body chemistry. If "Jalsa" has been voted one of the best all-time Telugu hits, then "Athaarintiki Daaredi" will be another feather for Pawan Kalyan because his contribution if the film does well will be huge. Obviously, he has developed as an actor a quixotic mixture of non-chalance, innocence, poise and confidence that can sometimes ooze out more doses but so what if the fans like him. He has experimented with choking scenes in "Teenmaar" and he repeats more in "AD" which will connect with families well. In quite a few scenes of "AD",  like in "Jalsa", Pawan shows a repertoire of improvisations in acting that make him an explosive actor almost impossible to predict. His stunts have always held out a special charm because he is a warrior of sorts in real life too. In this film, Peter Hein composes stunts but the best stunts come later, the first two stunts are wasted. There is a jingle thats already popular sung by Pawan Kalyan himself in the film thats uproarious and electrifying that comes at a particular climactic comic scene with Brahmanandam. 

"AD" bears the stamp of Trivikram and the magic of Pawan Kalyan and makes it a riot  that will make it one of the most watched family entertainers ever. It is generally clean, upholds the traditions of entertainment of Trivikram  (even if some themes recur from his earlier films) and gives a rich treat of wholesome family fare. The triumph of this film will ensure directors and producers pay special attention to family themes. At a time when Telugu pride is wounded and at an all-time low, this is a proud showcase for a fun-filled, chimerical entertainer that makes you cry and laugh out loud.  My rating: 4.25/5

"Something Something" (Telugu Film Review)

Some stars hitch-hike their way to stardom doing the same star-turn again and again and hope for re-alignment of luck or fortune. Little do they realise that fortune favors the brave or the new or those who try out different roles. Atrophy sets in sooner for actors who play the same kind of roles. Siddharth is the star to talk about in this film "Something Something", his screen roles are less than half as exciting as his off-screen romantic tracks, maybe he should make a film on that like "Autograph Memories". This film is no different.  "Something Something" is a story borrowed from the film "Choti Si Baat".

 Kumar is an IT Geek who can't talk to girls, let alone woo them. Everyone in his office has a fling or two and are having a blast in office. Into this office steps in Hansika, the trainer. Kumar (Siddharth) lightens up, loosens his libido and makes many false starts to converse with the girl. Somebody advises that he needs the expert guidance of Premji (not Aziz Premji, just love Guru Premji). Premji (Brahmanandam) enters and starts his tutorial with Kumar. He succeeds, despite competition in the fray and all that. He gets paid by the minute and the hour like some Intellectual Property lawyer of Amarchand Mangaldass & Co. It is this chemistry between Brahmi and Siddharth that gets some genuine good laughs and punchy one-liners.

The only twist in the film is at break-time where Premji learns that Hansika is his own niece. He decides to move into reverse gear and starts a campaign that will antagonise Kumar. This is the part that is dreary and deadpan. Entertainment reaches a crescendo in the first half but fails to sustain the momentum in the second half making it an average film on the whole. Comedy with Brahmi and others is above-average and intensely situational; its been a long time since he is enmeshed with the main storyline and shows up till the end. But age is not on his side and had it been a younger comedian like Venu Madhav or Srinivas Reddy or even Sunil, the output would have been fiery and effective. Music by Sathya is new-sounding and not uniformly melodious. Director Sundar hasn't done his best in crispening the film. What peppers the film with a weak storyline are special appearances  by Rana Daggubati and Samantha, his current hearthrob.  Hansika is happy to be dressed like a princess who keeps looking at her own image in the mirror, she cannot act. On the whole, Siddharth tries to rope in the magic of Brahmanandam (Santhanam in Tamil) to turn his luck on. But this is unlikely to be a big draw in Telugu because he has no role to kill for and the film is just about average despite being a clean entertainer which families can watch. 2.5 out of 5 is my rating.

"Yeto Vellipoyindi Manasu" (Telugu/ “Neethane Enn Ponvasantham”(Tamil) Movie Review

“Yeto Vellipoyindi Manasu” (Telugu) or “Neethane Enn Ponvasantham”(Tamil) is Gautam Vasudev Menon’s latest film whose audio was released many months before the release date. Reason: Maestro Ilaya Raja composed music for the film. Maestro Ilaya Raja had done exceedingly well in the songs which are already chart-toppers. Atleast four out of the seven songs are haunting, hummable and lullaby-melodious. Music-wise, Ilaya Raja has done his part in giving amazing songs for the season, but director Gautam Menon hasn’t capitalized well on the genius of the Maestro. This is because the BGM is hardly perceived in the film – about 65 per cent of the movie is on silent track showing either dialogues between the hero and heroine, hero and his family, hero and his friend – and there is lack of cinematic twists or oscillation of emotions to let music drive the rest. That is why, for fans of Ilaya Raja, the film is a disappointment- sans the songs – which are already a “hit”. As a composer, Ilaya Raja has had an outstanding record in giving memorable BGMs and RR with directors like Mani Ratnam, Ram Gopal Varma, Bapu, K Balachandar, Suresh Krissna, Vishwanath, BharatiRaja, Balu Mahendra, Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, Vamshi and others. It is clearly director’s fault in failing to utilize such a talent that comes rarer than a Halley’s comet. Something has gone wrong with the soundtrack, in short.




What’s the movie all about? Naani and Samantha play Varun and Nithya - two mador-each-other kids who grow up in the same school, go to the same college and have the hots for each other despite huge strata differences, so different that Nithya vacations in Australia whereas Varun goes for Annavaram. And the story continues with time lapses at different periods with many cold wars and hot patchups, without any variety. Varun wakes up one day to be career-conscious while driving some sense in Nithya too that she needs to find a purpose in life beyond him. He writes CAT exams, gets into IIM Kozhikode (where else, Kerala!) and makes his career count – and then revisits his first love – who has found a new calling. She is helping out victims of Tsunami creating a new household. Varun and Nithya overcome their egos and regain each other’s love with a happy ending. Samantha is gorgeous and cute, sometimes tries to look erotic and sensual at the same time. But her style of acting will run out of steam soon if she continues with her ibby-jibbies - girly giggles, self-conscious eye gazes and half-smiles. She is also getting into a rare trap of letting her voice-over Chinmayi dictate her body language – that will make her trapped in an alien voice without giving vent to her talent. In the golden days, you had voices like Saritha, Shilpa and Roja Ramani heighten the characters with their voices dubbed for femme fatales. But Chinmayi is a good singer but comes out dramatically different in voice over – and Samantha is an easy bait for her; here, Samantha dances to the husky and superficial voice of Chinmayi on screen. Naani is a great actor and has put in the right sincerity required for a role of this kind. He is never loud, always apt and remarkably cool.



The lighter moments in the film come when Krishnudu and Samantha’s friends appear on screen. But the movie is mostly a drag and lousy to watch. It is tediously long at 151 minutes, monologous at most times, and inspid when dialogues appear. Gautam Menon couldn’t prevent the shadow of “Yee maaya Chesaave” on the film at most places – the film is again a quasi-documentary of love from K-12 days to Career days, mostly shows dialogues between the boy and girl in the form of conflicts in ego, perceptions and attitudes, and again shows a happy ending. Unless there are more episodes of variety to project on screen from Gautam’s personal experiences, Gautam should put paid to these twilight sagas of love and return to action films or police investigation stories, which are his forte. The movie could have done better with editing, and screenplay deftness. Some of the scenes are abrupt and don't  connect with the previous ones.Lastly, he should get over the leanings of documentary film-makers; every scene comes with a subtitle: Nithya and Varun in school, Nithya and Varun at age 24 and so on. The audiences are too smarter to decipher these - if you want to show an annotated photo and video album from your personal life, show it on youtube and get more clicks but why does he have to inflict them on the audiences? On the whole, a boring and disappointing film from Mr Menon. I would rate it 1.5 on 5.

"Eega" (Housefly) Movie Review (Telugu)/"Makkhi" Movie Review

"Eega" means housefly in Telugu. Thats the name of SS Rajamouli's latest and most-ambitious film till date. Its the most common and harmless insect heavily spotted even in concrete jungles and unlike mosquitoes and other blood-sucking pests, it is not carnivorous and usually doesn't harm humans - it is a very fidgety creature and moves at lightning speed, hardly stays anchored at a place beyond few seconds. To make a movie on a housefly is itself audacious and insane, nobody has done it ever in Indian Films. In the west, there have been many superhero films and maybe movies on rats, monkeys, sharks, bears and deadly snakes, but not on an insect so insignificant as a housefly - its amongst the lowliest of the lot but has a picturesque body - an amber red head, two hairline whiskers, two mini hands used to navigate direction, two wings that seem to generate sound an equivalent of a helicopter taking off when in motoring mode, and an identifiable body and legs. It has the most athletic body in insect world and director Rajamouli has studied the world of houseflies to the core, except a few lapses which I will come to later. "Eega" is definitely worth a watch once for the fabulous effort to make a superhero out of an urban pest - the director has spared no effort to finetune the movie - in Special Effects, technical departments of art and cinematography, in performances by the lead starcast in which Kannada actor Sudeep excels himself, and in overall pace of the film.

Rajamouli generally lets the story line out in the pre-release buzz. So the story is well-known before: Boy (Naani) meets girl (Samantha). Both fall in love. Enter Villain (Sudeep) who lusts after the girl, kills the boy. Boy gets reborn as "Eega" and takes revenge. Quite a simple and ordinary story, isn't it? But the execution is grander and the classic three-act structure, which Rajamouli always followed, is present here too. The movie is actually a special effects movie and the effects have a running time of more than 100 minutes - that can sometimes tire the viewer. Most of the action sequences are between the "Eega" and the villain; the director applies good logicality to how a harmless housefly can wreak havoc and throw your world upside down if you mess with its lover - it will attack you at the most unexpected places when you are least prepared, like in a steam bath tub when your face protrudes out of the heat tub and all your limbs are dissembled to atttack the insect crawling on your face. Rajamouli creates more scenes like this - when the villain is driving at high-speed, making a board presentation, trying to woo Samantha, or just sleeping. "Eega" just buzzes around, pricks the sense organs and drives out the peace out of Sudeep's mind. Quite wonderfully captured these stunts with amazing detail and Hollywood-style craft. The director uses the well-known laws of physics and some aspects of biology and chemistry in the friction shown between the two characters - Eega and Sudeep.

Most of the movie, MM Keeravani (MM Kreem as known in Bollywood) has given an outstanding BGM score that heightens the impact of the SFX and the moods. Quite rarely, Keeravani stops himself, seldom seen in our movies, to let the foreground become background - meaning, the score becomes silent when the heroine Samantha tries to communicate with the hero-housefly or when the housefly is plotting the next move against Sudeep. Those moments of silence, and the early part of the movie which builds up the romance between Naani and Samantha are the cutest reels of the film. Very few lapses on the part of Rajamouli - his clarity of thought and execution, screenplay (with extended help), characterisation and pacing of the film are terrific. Where he fails is in the entertainment this time - he cuts the romantic part of the film, which he could have shown more with the "Eega" or Naani in relapse which could have endeared the masses. He cuts the most beautiful, melodious song of the movie (probably, the decade) - "Nene Naanine..." to less than two minutes, and allows just two other songs to flourish. He hasn't inputed any comedy track in the film, that can prove costly to its success. A Telugu film without comedy struggles to get repeat audiences. When you spend Rs.43 crores on eye-popping graphics, you should have atleast 15 minutes of comedy. Another drawback in the basic plot: the villain kills the hero first, but the re-incarnated hero with all his killer antics creates fear in the villain's mind but fails to kindle any sense of remorse or regret. Besides, the heroine, after knowing her lover has come back as the housefly, enjoys the company of the housefly. How does a woman co-habit with a housefly? To pun, how does a housewife co-habit with a housefly? Thats absurd.

Well, enough of hyperventilative analysis of a movie that is breathtaking in effects but falls short on practicality and comedy, excels in performances by Sudeep and Samantha. It is most definitely watchable once, and by all kids. Its a proud addition to the creative power of Tollywood. An experiment that earned its spurs for Rajamouli.

"Ye Maya Chesave" Telugu Movie Review

It takes two to tango. Nag Chaitanya has a slick winner in "Ye Maaya Chesave" ("Vinaithaandi Varuvaaya" in Tamil starring Trisha and Simbhu) - his second movie, directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, with lot of awe and skill. If the essence of a love story is conversations, Gautham navigates the portrayal of a relationship beautifully, showing all the moments that make it, break it, and restore. It shows why some make it and many don't with lots of evocativeness, passion, sensitivity and honesty. Refreshingly, A R Rehman's music (replacing Harris Jayaraj in a coup) feels at-home, competitive and enriching. You remember the output of his early years in this movie. Nag Chaitanya and newcomer Samantha excel in their roles. Sporting to see Mahesh Babu's sister Manjula produce a different film for Nagarjuna's son. Cinematography is another major asset. There are more pleasant surprises in the movie.