"Nani's GangLeader" (Telugu)

Once in a while, a Telugu film comes with a winning script which defies genre, packs a punch and loads of entertainment in each scene, pulls you deep inside a pacy narrative with great story-telling, energetic performances and hits the bulls' eye with a non-formulaic approach. Director Vikram K Kumar is known for making films where the dimension of time is sliced in clock-wise and anti-clock-wise directions often confusing the viewers without any defined storyline. But in NG, he surprises us with a well-written script and simpler narrative nuanced as the story unfolds; he puts an unthinkable starcast and concocts an indigenous but rare story that can only happen in crime-fiction novels. Yet, the output is engaging, outrageous, funny and thoroughly entertaining, joined by cinematic twists and a social cause at the end. The story has an audacious premise to start with - a gang of five different-aged females come together to polish off a deadly killer who killed one each of their respective members. Enter Naani, the gang-leader who comes with his own agenda who offers to help the gang reach their targeted villain. What conspires later is a premium range of thrills audiences haven't been treated before in a long-time with lots of fun and fluent narration. The last time I experienced new thrills of this variety was when I watched Gunnam Gangaraju's "Aithe" which was a path-breaking film defying all genres and yet wholesomely entertaining. NG is still a few notches below Yeleti's "Aithe" but nevertheless good to watch once.

Naani pulls off another sensational performance sublimating his screen-presence to accommodate senior talents like Lakshmi and Sharanya and also sharing his screen space with a villain Karthikeya who is at his swashbuckling best. There are moments when Karthikeya steals the show over Naani, Lakshmi dominates Naani with her inimitable style of acting.   In over 157 minutes, director weaves a predictable story with intensity and adrenalin-pumping action - romantic track is subtle and neat. He takes time to build the tempo in the first half but makes up for lost time with a brilliant climax. Technically, the film should have been a clean "U" certificate except for the gaffe in the first half and second half about male dating - oops...it still draws good laughs thanks to Vennela Kishore. Naani deserves a pat for choosing a film where story is the real hero - no swagger, no female skin-show, no indulgent talk. His filmography reminds you of the Chiranjeevi's first fifty films where story defined everything - a lesson here for all the rising stars, superstars, power stars, omega stars and rebel stars whose self-centered dialogues and narcissistic camera angles have been depriving the audiences of great cinema. Naveen Nooli's editing seems like a masterclass in editing and provides good support to Anirudh's music score. There are only four songs in the film but the pacing of the songs and the BGM with music leveraged out of the four tunes make it a draw. After "Jersey", this looks like a film which will keep the cash registers ringing for Nani. Karthikeya, the hero who looks like an Adonis perhaps gets the most stylish villain role that Tollywood hasn't seen for a while. By insisting on better shot-selection and introduction and build-up of his character, Karthikeya steals thunder from Nani in the same way Vijay Deverekonda did in "Evade Subramanyam". Flaws of logic permeate the script on why police are kept in the dark, and how banks share CCTV footage so easily and so on. Despite all that and the predictability of the film, a Paisa-vasool film and a great family entertainer. Must watch.

Rating: 3.5/5

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"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.