"Mukunda" (Telugu Film Review)

Chiranjeevi's brother Naga Babu made his debut first in "Marana Mridangam" which also earned his brother the title of "Mega Star" for the first time. Decades later, Naga Babu's son Varun Tej makes his debut from a family which already has many "mega" sobriquets. "Mukunda" is the debut film for Varun Tej directed by IIM post-graduate turned-director Srikanth Addala who made such refreshing films like "Kotha Bangaru Lokam" and "Seethamma Vaakitlo Sirimalle Chettu".  It  is a proud addition to his catalogue of films with a earthy touch of reality and message. The message: Be Clear about life. Aim High, don't aim low.

Set in a village backdrop, the story is about politics and a cute love story, as the hero himself reveals in a flashback to a fellow traveller in a bus. Politics is dominated by Rao Ramesh who gets his career-redefining performance as a Municipal Chairman in a mandal. He is well entrenched in the post for the past 25 years and is yet unopposed for the upcoming elections until Mukunda enters. Mukunda is the Man Friday of Arjun who loves the daughter of Rao Ramesh which doesn't go well with his male order of son, brother, et al. They have repeated run-ins with Arjun and with Mukunda as well. These confrontations lead to many fights and dramatic scenes which kick up firebrand dialogues from Rao Ramesh, penned by the director himself. But the friction only grows even as elections draw near. Meanwhile, Mukunda, our hero, falls in love with the other daughter of Rao Ramesh, the lovely and demure Pooja Hegde who is decked up even in sleep to look stunning. The romance escalates tensions with  Rao Ramesh; Mukunda also unexpectedly fields the good Samaritan Prakash Raj opposite him. Who will win the elections? What happens to the two love pairs? Is there a tragedy in the tail? Find out yourself.

"Mukunda" is quite gripping in most parts as director builds a steady tension in the plot  showing steady conflict between a merciless and a crude villain Rao Ramesh who rides on the system to fuel his rent-seeking ambitions and a silent student Varun Tej who is ever protective of his friend Arjun but unafraid of fighting injustice. The highlight of the film are the dialogues of Srikanth Addala as he makes us think and join the bandwagon of emotions running undercurrent. Rao Ramesh gets  standout lines which will make him as famous as his legendary father Rao Gopal Rao. Most of his dialogues are an outburst of his state of mind when confronted by opposition from somebody but in the words of Srikanth Addala, they come across as measured output with mathematical preciseness. Infact, he uses many mathematical concepts like Pascal's theorem, trigonometry, geometrical terms like diameter, circumference and perpendicularity which convey the essence of a manly volcano about to erupt in further violence. His dialogues and  delivery in his carefully cultivated exterior in starch cotton aptly elevate his villainy to a level not seen in Tollywood recently. Because the last decade has seen mostly imported villainy and sidelining of native actors like Kota Srinivasa Rao, the audience is treated to dollops of freshness on what the original baddy in Tollywood looks like in-form. It is high time, producers take Rao Ramesh seriously and stop giving us pussilanimous spoonfuls of puerile gangsters and warlords in incredulous costumes sporting six-packs and Che Guera beards. Rao Ramesh is believable, original and just as apt-looking as the henchman who stood in your constituency last seeking your votes. 

How is Varun Tej? He is promising in his first film with decent looks, good in stunts and dances. Lacks a bit in packing punches in emotional and romantic scenes. Director Srikanth probably estimated his strengths correctly, so he gives the apt characterisation of Varun Tej - building him up in machismo and heroism and showcasing him as a valiant protector of loved ones but limiting his play in love and affections to minimal. Can you believe, in 152 minutes duration of the film, the director shows the first face-to-face meeting between Varun Tej and Pooja Hegde only in the 79th minute? That speaks of the director who knows his plot, believes in screenplay as a wind that powers the narration and has a clarity of class. Any other hero in maiden launch would have peeved at the paltry screen time given to work out the chemistry between the hero and the heroine. So this shows Varun Tej has the maturity to believe in a story. I am sure this film will win Srikanth more fans from the Chiru family itself who usually seek the beaten path to commercial stardom, with the exception of Allu Arjun. Srikanth Addala has the calibre to scale peaks of commercial film success just like writer-directors such as Trivikram.

Performances-wise, everybody plays their part well. Pooja Hegde, the damsel who first debuted in "Mask" has a cute characterisation with few dialogues but stunning looks. When was the last time you saw a heroine dancing in devotional songs on Lord Krishna and clad in costumes that barely show anything? "Mukunda" is a miracle in that sense. Parachuri Venkateswar Rao as the hero's father haunts you with a handful of resonating dialogues. Prakash Raj's presence in Srikanth Addala's film is more like a mandatory over in cricket; his dialogues stir your middle-class anger but his characterisation lacks depth. He makes an unexpected entry, makes a point or two as a madcap preacher and then exits like Arvind Kejriwal without an excuse, Funny. Sustaining a plot like this without legitimate comedians like Brahmanandam is a crime in today's Tollywood, but Srikanth pulls off with ease. If at all something can be held against him it is that the confrontation between Rao Ramesh and Varun Tej ends without proper retribution and apology, you wish that Rao Ramesh who gets humbled every time but packs a thunder in every dialogue goes weak in his knees but that never happens. Similarly, Varun Tej shows up in all the fights, even helping girls harrassed by roadside romeos. But we don't get how he suddenly appears for Income Tax Officer's exam and even becomes one. That is the only cinematic license Srikanth takes to deliver a message. The hero's punchlines at the selection interview speak the director's mind: "The Biggest Crime in today's developing world is low aspiration. Low aspiration is killing our potential." Despite minor flaws, the film is a winner all the way, ably supported by Mickey J Meyer's impressive BGM and music. Few songs stand out and scoring BGM for the many moods in the film must give Mickey a new high. 

Yes, there is a dose of violence in the film unusually associated with Srikanth's films - that earned it U/A. But we need more directors like Srikanth and movies like "Mukunda" to re-set our paradigms of entertainment. I recommend "Mukunda" as highly watchable film. 

Rating: 3.5/5

#Mukunda #MovieReviews #FilmReviews #Tollywood #VarunTej #SrikanthAddala #RaoRamesh #PoojaHegde #MickeyJMeyer #PrakashRaj

"PK" (Hindi Film Review)

Aamir Khan's latest film has raised enough curiosity while in the making and post-production stages. This year's most-awaited film combines Aamir Khan's starpower and universal appeal with the production values of Vinod Chopra and Raj Kumar Hirani and the stamp of quality associated UTV Motion Pictures. It delivers mostly in a 153 minute saga of an atypical story of an alien who lands on our planet without a bonafide reason but meanders his way through the deserts of Rajasthan to the din of Delhi. To a large extent, the promo preceding the release of the film gave away the plot - a nude Aamir Khan is stranded on a railway track holding a 1980-model two-in-one transistor that is diagonally held to cover his vital parts. But what does an Alien know about Earthlings? What does he know about human beings? How does he communicate with them? In which language? What binds him to stay on and move from Rajasthan to Delhi and back to Rajasthan? These are the questions that move the needle  in a dramatic way characteristic of Raj Kumar Hirani who gave India some of the memorable films of the 21st century. 

Raj Kumar Hirani's speciality is unique in Bollywood. He works with familiar starcast of lesser-known but proficient stage actors. He only collaborates with Shantanu Moitra and Swanand Kirkire as the duo who compose music and lyrics. His producer is Vinod Chopra who believes his stories have an evocative emotional appeal. His best-man for the job of writing, editing and dialogues is Abhijeet Joshi except whenever an extra dimension of a blockbuster novel is borrowed. He picks his lines from one kernel of an idea and then expands that to build layer after layer of experiential wisdom and learning on the theme to come up with a winning script. His films touch the Hindi heartland but resonate across the spirit of India everywhere. He doesn't rely on too much jazz, special effects or extravagant settings to work his magic on celluloid. He choses topics that test your integrity levels at the most basic levels and then weaves a credible human drama spruced up with enduring values of compassion, affection, honesty and faith. His films take you on a roller-coaster ride of emotions and end up usually on a high note - of optimism, of hope and cheerfulness. His films make buzzwords out of simple words that convey the central messsage of the film - like "All's well" or "Jaadu ka chappi".  ("Wrong number" in this film). His films are extremely high on cinema literacy - meaning the messages that are intended by his team in the process of content delivery are symbolically apt and exceptionally easy to digest by both the intellectuals and the unevolved. His films combine responsible film-making with entertaining comedy - a combination that makes him a nonpareil. No wonder, Aamir Khan chose him twice in his career. If you observe Aamir Khan's filmography so far, he hardly repeated his directors. Early on, he worked with director and uncle, Mansoor Khan in two films - QSQT and JJWS. Later, between 1990 and 1999, he worked with director Inder Kumar in "Dil" and "Mann". Afterwards, in spite of working with some exceptional talents like Asutosh Gowarikar , he never repeated directors until Hirani directed him in "3 Idiots" and now "PK". That speaks of Aamir Khan's faith in the scripting and execution capabilities of Hirani.

The story of the Alien stranded with a transistor needs to be told. Someone plucks a filament of thread from Aamir Khan's neck. That thread has a pendant  embedded with a  signal transmmitter that re-connects him to the starship which helped him descend to earth. So he cannot go back to his world unless the transmitter is found. This takes him to unusual places and people including Sanjay Dutt who plays a delectable character that protects PK to learn and grow into the worldly ways of Earth. Aamir is called PK because everyone thinks he is drunk and doesn't know what he is talking. But Aamir is clever, logical and intuitively smart - he can pick the lingos of people just by holding their hands and lo! he can divine their past and current intentions. PK's quirky nature kills the curiosity of most people except Anushka Sharma who is a TV anchor in search of breaking news stories. She works for a TRP-hungry Bomman Irani who reluctantly meets PK and piqued by his unfamiliar refrain and laser-sharp intellect. Anushka eventually wins the confidence and love of PK but the real twist in the film comes here where at least one of the two men in Anushka's life who had a great spell on her hold the key to his "return passport" - one of them is her lover Sushant Singh Rathore; the other is a Godman Futurist Sourabh Shukla. The conflict between PK and Sourabh Shukla is the central point of the film as director weaves a fantastic deconstruction of what makes people flock to faith and faith-healers and how religion has come to occupy a lion's share of our minds and dictates our choices. Roughly reminding of "Oh My God", "PK" takes a tangential tour of all the major faiths and puts threadbare questions that we don't seem to be asking while taking everything as gospel - why is white color used by Hindu widows and new Christian brides? Why do Hindus and Muslims take out their shoes entering the holy places of worship whereas we enter Churches wearing them? Why is black inauspicious for Hindus but good for Muslims? What if forecasts come true only because of coincidences that are not apparent to us at the time they occur? What about the superstitions that abound in every religion? Why are we not seeking logical explanations in the name of blasphemy? 

To be fair, the film raises valid questions last revisited in "OMG" about the overarching role that religion has come to occupy in our lives. There are a number of bad examples that improve the veracity of the claims of the agnostics and the intellectuals. But there are some omissions of what blind faith can sometimes do in improving the lives of people. But for that, the movie gives you a candid camera view that will influence us to revisit some of the responsibilities that we have abrogated ourselves from taking while handing over the baton to Gods and Godmen. For all that, "PK" deserves a rich rating which could have otherwise been a perfect five. Performance-wise Aamir Khan gives a five-star performance with an incessant glare that must have hurt his pupil in the shooting. He has proved again why he is India's finest actor who can make you think and laugh and cry with his histrionics, with lines or without lines. While this movie is an entertaining take on some of the themes touched upon in the "Satyamev Jayate", it has the potential to generate fresh controversy in the treatment of scenes - like entering a church with cocunuts and incense sticks but nothing sacrilegous inside a temple or a mosque. But respect for Aamir Khan goes up as he showed the courage to tackle sensitive topics through visuals like polygamy amongst muslims or the proliferating soothsayers who thrive on the fear of devotees. Anushka Sharma fits easily into a role cut out for her personality and she lives upto her reputation for "kissing" - the only thing you never expected in Raj Kumar Hirani's films. The romance between SS Rathore and Anushka is cute. Music by Shantanu Moitra befittingly elevates the moods of the film and never tries to dominate the scene itself - how many music directors in India can do that? Sourabh Shukla has given a masterly performance as a cold-blooded Godman. Don't remember if this was his best performance till date after "Satya".  Entertainment-wise first half rocks with hilarity oozing out of every scene as an alien comes to terms with life and living on earth. Second half dullens after a prolonged debate about religion takes over the script with half-hearted attempts. But the climax finishes off the movie and takes it to new high in true Hirani style of talking turkey and clearing the air on matters of life and death. 

Notwithstanding the vulnerabilities of the script and the occasional slippages, "PK" gives a paisa-vasool feeling and leaves you with searching questions that linger on. 

It is mostly suitable for family viewing despite some double-entendre dialogues in Bhojpuri on sex and memory. I rate the film 3.5/5 for the movie, warts and all.

#AamirKhan #PK #Bollywood #ShantanuMoitra #RajKumarHirani #VinodChopra #UTV #PKMovie #MovieReviews

"Linga" (This is not a Movie Review)

What made Rajinikanth select a shallow story shows a grandson as a joker and the real hero as a a learned Raja Lingeswara? The contrast was not compatible with each other till the end.

Why the same makeup, hairdo and cowboy costumes used for both the dual roles? When you are showing two generations, the simplest copybook rule is to show contrast in characterisation.

Why does Anushka the heroine for the grandson Rajini insist on taking him to the village of his grandfather? What is her connection to the village or the legend of Linga? Not very well answered.

Was the film based on true story? Why does it give an impression it is based on the life of Sir Arthun Cotton  - who built a bridge, splitting the tributaries of rivers Godavari and Krishna which were anyway flowing into the sea and changed the livelihoods of Andhra farmers forever? Was there any king who built a dam like this? The nation wants to know.

Why was the film so low on entertainment? Why did we not have more of Santhanam in the second half?

Why director Ravi Kumar who relies on good story-telling and drama give such a weak characterisation for everybody? 

Who is the main villain in the film? Is it the Britisher who opposed Linga's efforts to build the dam? Is it Jagapathi Babu who abuses the people of Singanoor? If it is Jagapathi Babu, as he's lasted out, why is he under-utilised? Rajinikanth's best blockbuster hits have been movies where the antagonist gets equal if not meaty footage. 

Why are there so many lags in the film? What happened to director's sense of energy and speed in story-telling? Why do you have to show a museum robbery for 25 minutes? Why do you have to show a dam construction in such detail? Is this a documentary or a film on dam construction? Why is the shot selection so bad? Where did you highlight Rajinikanth? Did the director do justice to Rajinikanth's charishma and  one-liner witticisms? 

In the scene where Rajini and Anushka get ensconced in a close room, when Rajini tries to open up the locked door by using magnets to attract the keys up the path he navigates on the other side of a strong wooden door, does the director know that wood is not a magnet conductor? 

Why were there only one duet song with each of the heroines? While full marks for the lavish settings and the extravagant picturisations, why was there no other relief moments in second half with the heroines or atleast a mass song? 

What was Brahmanandam doing in a film with star comedian Santhanam? Why did Brahmi get such poor lines? Why did his appearance go waste?

Why is the interval so weak? Even if you use flashback for over two hours, did it not occur to the director Ravi Kumar to use current time period to bring a good interval block? Even inexperienced directors do not use flashback scenes for interval bang effect.

The period drama dates to 1939 when the ruling queen of England was Queen Elizabeth. But the pictures show Queen Victoria all the time. Why? You could have used Mona Lisa if you had to use a lady's picture. More masses would recognise her.

When the only conflict in the film is between the Britisher and Raja Lingeswara, why didn't the director concentrate more on that in revving up more emotional quotient - through feelings of patriotism, righteousness and fight against poverty? The only highlight of the film is the dialogues between the Britisher, his wife and of course Linga the Senior. That could have got more mileage and emphasis.

In the opening shot of the introduction of legend Lingeswara, Rajini sits cross-legged reading a seminal book rated amongst the most influential books ever released: Joseph Campbell's "The Hero with a Thousand Faces". The scene looks impressive with shots in the dark on a moving train where a group of bandits try to kidnap Rajini. The shot had all the elements of a firebrand sequence but gets lost in translation into special effects. Why? And why use a book which was originally published in 1949 when the period setting pertains to the last stage of the second war? But the book highlighted was good - it has inspired many film-makers world over.

Why were there so few songs in the film when the scenes lag? The resonation of AR Rahhman's music with Rajini fans is so good that there is room for more songs in a film dominated by too much flashback. The background music, as usual is good but the scenes were not dramatic for a commercial film. So Rahman's effort looks wasted. But the songs  - "Mona Mona" and the song with Sonakshi Sinha stand out in picturisation and feel of the sound.

The dam is in Singanur but the king Linga is from Gadwal. Agree it is a dubbing mistake. But what is the connection?

Director KS Ravi Kumar shows woman as strong and powerful characters. But in this film an over-weighty Anushka and a naturally plumpy Sonakshi Sinha are used as mere paper weights in visually-rich songs. Rest of the time, they have no screen presence. If you take the "Padayappa" or "Muthu" for Rajini or for Ravi Kumar's previous films with Kamal Hasan like "Tenali", "Panchatantram" and "Dasavatharam", the heroines got great screen-shares with the hero. Why? And why is Anushka over-dressed? And why is Sonakshi  so under-dressed?

Why make films with 2 hrs. 55 minutes? At the end of this unbearable duration, why are  commercial elements awfully missing? Where is the swagger of Rajini Kanth? Where is the style of the style icon? What is so creative about this film which got completed in less than 100 days?

Why am I writing such a long post-mortem for a dud fillm? Why are you even reading this?

My rating remains at 1.5/5

#Linga #LingatheMovie #MovieReviews #FilmReviews #Kollywood #Tollywood #SuperstarRajini #Rajinikanth

Music Director Chakri No More! If only...

Music Director Chakri's premature demise due to heart failure is a grim reminder to all of us  to take care of the address that holds the key to the length of our stay on this planet - our body. My doctor friend tells me that the heart is the only human organ that stops working just like that one fine day without telling us. But it gives us warnings. Yet, one third of heart attack patients never make it alive to the hospital, he says. Chakri's must be unfortunately one of those unfortunate one-third who had a fatal attack. 

I saw Chakri's live music performance at a family friend's Shastipoorthi birthday a few years back. He was lively and humble but rarely smiled unless people greeted him. But he showed greater resilience in his career of over 100 films composing some of the best chart-busters that created mass following. He embarked into film music at almost the same time as RP Patnaik but lasted a wee bit longer than the latter - scoring hit tunes for Ravi Teja, Nagarjuna, Allu Arjun, Nitin, Siddharth, Sumanth, Gopichand, Ram, NTR Jr, Prabhas, Venu,Tarun, Jagapathi Babu and lately for Balayya and Vishnu. Only Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh, Mahesh Babu and Ram Charan did not sway to his tunes. Directors like Puri Jagannadh swore by him for a long time before moving on to others as it happens in a film industry seeking success than substance. But directors like Krishna Vamshee, YVS Choudhary, and Vamshee himself have hired his services as a composer where he belted out some amazing numbers - "Jagamantha Kutumbam Maadi..", "Neeve Neeve..." and "Vennello Hayi Hayi..".

Chakri's music had some essential qualities that ensured his tunes the staying power - rhythm, stylish arrangements, energy, speed, simple instrumentation, buzzwords repeated with hypnotic effect and the occasional melodies. It had an uncanny resemblance to old film tunes and hip hop music but rarely his music lagged. That is because in a career spanning films with so many directors bursting at the seams and so many stars, there was little room for error and Chakri fit the bill pefectly - even if his music had shades of Ilayaraja, Bappi Lahiri and several old film songs. For instance, remember that mass song in Ravi Teja's "Krishna": "Nee Soku Maada, Ammo Nee Jimmadaa..". I pointed out immediately while watching the film that this song is a fast-tempo replica of the famous Ghantasala song composed, sung and enacted by the legend himself himself: "Sesha Sailaa Vaasa Sri Venkatesaaa..". He had the knack of improvising songs like that - straight-lift some black and white melodies and remix them to modern settings. Perhaps this is what made directors like YVS Choudhary and Vamshee seek him out for giving some of the best hit films in their second innings. Nobody could mix up the Ileana item song in "Devadasu" from the old L.R.Maheshwari "Mayadari Chinnodu.". Even Vamshee sought his compositions and Chakri returned his faith with great numbers in some of his films which resembled the old magic of Ilayaraja-Vamsee tunes which had an atypical mixture of hummable melodies with simple dialogues and peculiar sounds created by mouth.

Amongst the new crop of music directors to enter Tollywood in the nineties, few have had such a run of success that Chakri had - with the only exceptions of MM Keeravani,  Mani Sharma, DSP and Thaman. Chakri seemed to have created his mark with clever remixes, smart composing and a legacy of hummable songs that had a modern tinge, simple rhythms and a melody mix that made him a sought-after for a major part of his career. If he had failures, that would have come only with his inability to handle success, not without an ability to persevere and re-adapt himself to the new demands and new heroes.  How else would you explain his awards from Filmfare to Nandi for "Simha" quite recently! His untimely death could have been prevented and he could have given more breaks to many other new singers like Kaushalya, Simha. It is a stark warning for all of us who die out empty in their brains every day  but may wake up dead one day in the body. Chakri may not be a maestro, may not have given us the best lyrics to be proud of or set the highest standards of composing  - but success sought him mostly before success took him away from us. May his soul R.I.P.

What is the legacy of his best five melodies? Methinks the following five:

1. "Jagamantha Kutumbam Maadi"  (Chakram)

2. "Rama Rama Rama Neeli Megha Shyama" (Sivamani)

3. "Vennello Hai Hai Mallello Hai Hai" (Avunu...Valliddaru Ishta Paddaaru)

4. "Konchem Gaaranga ... Konchem Kaaramga" (Chakram)

5. "Bangaaru Kondaa...Maru Malle Danda" (Simha)

NTR - Renaming after a Legend

I am not at all for either re-naming airports or universities after the initial signature is done. But people in both Telugu states should spare a thought or two for NTR as a brand name. He has done a lot for carving out an identity for Telugus in a world bisieged by South Indian motifs mostly thought of as Tamils or Madrasis. What is the legacy that NTR created for the Telugus?

Films to start with - playing roles that nobody else would have enacted - as a eunuch, as the main villains in Ramayan and Mahabharat, as tragic poet who crooned over women and died a pauper, as an Indian Nostradamus, as the grandsire of Mahabharat, as the architect of the Vijaynagar Empire, many social roles and of course, as Lord Krishna and Rama. He was perceived as Vishnu-blue avatar long before we switched to color films. His image as Vishnu avatar got so much burned in South India that when BR Chopra was making the Mahabharat serial on DD, the maker team approached NT Rama Rao for playing the role of Krishna. NTR said," Chopraji, the roles I played as Krishna and Rama is the exclusive privilege of Telugu people. I don't want any other language to get access to that privilege." Of course, the critics panned it as old-fashioned parochialism or inability to wear grease paints to come out looking fresh as Krishna. But the point is made - NTR loved Telugu language and culture, sprinkled Telugu films with high falatun Telugu dialogues which almost run into pages for each scene.

Film theatres and amphittheatres. Apart from Tarakarama and Ramakrishna theatres which were top of the tree cinema halls in those times, he created the RK Studios and produced hugely successful films. He created an open theatre without entry ticket for the masses at Public Gardens known as Lalitha Kala Thoranam - but even that legacy is shamefully erased by the likes of T Subbirami Reddy.

Self-Esteem for the Telugus. He was quick to snatch the opportunity when Rajiv Gandhi rebuked T Anjaiah at the Begumpet airport. He spared no effort in entering politics because he felt the Telugu pride was wounded. Nobody else built a party in that short a period to get elected as CM. But of course, there is also ambition and delusions of grandeur behind this move as some would say. About an year before NTR thought of politics, he was asked to star in a short film on the great Indian Nostradamus - the 14th century Sage Veerabhrahmendra Swami from the Andhra who made many famous predictions. Amongst the many predictions he made were these: That a bania would bring freedom to India from the British. That a widow would rule the country. And NTR read  another prediction: A man with a painted face will rule Andhra. And he thought why can't it be him? Thats how some say he plunged into politics. And he went about it methodically. He hired the greatest tax consultant of the time - NA Palkiwala, filed his returns spick and span - distributed around Rs.125 crores of his networth at that time into eleven parts to his children, willed all his property and started Telugu Desam Party. The rest is history.

Love for Telugus died with him. All through his career in politics, the love for Telugus never dimmed. When the late PV Narasimha Rao became the Prime Minister of India, NTR got a great chance to prove his love for Telugu pride. A contest was shaping up in Nandyal constituency as PVNR had to win to stay elected in the parliament as an MP and he was already a Prime Minister. NTR decided to give full support to Narasimha Rao even though he was from Congress-I. He said  the Telugus will not fight against one another in electing their beloved son. Rao got elected and expressed his gratitude to both NTR and Telugu people.

Video lessons on Telugu language. NTR loved Telugu language so much he wanted to create a lasting legacy for the next gen of Telugus. He asked the great Bapu Ramana team to create a video series on the language and its nuances. He gave a lavish budget and the duo went about diligently, created a master series on which the copyright is with the state government. It was 80 per cent complete but got stopped after the next incumbent government that came after NTR's loss in the 90s stopped the project itself. Thats how others think - they failed to see the thread of Telugu culture and heritage.

Telangana government should recognise this atleast - that NTR was a ubiquitous brand for the Telugus and raising holy hell over his name attached to the Airport terminal is in bad taste. As somebody said, if NTR is an anathema, you have to rename your son too. I am not saying NTR is a Yuga Purusha or a God, but he did his best to raise the market cap of Telugus in a world full of South Indian stereotypes dominated by others.

#NTR #RenamingRGIA #TeluguPride #Telugu #TeluguLanguage #TeluguCulture #NTRamaRao #HyderabadAirport

"Memu Saitam" : Gemini TV strikes back with a Winner.

"Memu Saitam" program on Gemini Television yesterday gave a new high in Star-struck  entertainment. The last time we got such a high from Tollywood was when MAA TV telecast the three-day fest celebrating the 75 years of Tollywood with a galaxy of talents including the venerable ANR who was alive then. "Memu Saitam" was a telethon  - a marathon on TV running for upwards of 13 hours - the longest in a single day. What struck me was the range and the repertoire - catching our stars doing what they are good at - entertainment all the way. The program itself was well-coordinated and orchestrated to near-perfection with plenty of interludes and breaks to mitigate any monotony from watching such a marathon.

The programs were light on content and crisp on delivery  - most of them except the two dud shows by the ruling music composers - Thaman and DSP who were stuck in old-world ways of boot-licking their demigods. What was Thaman doing when a CM was gracing the audience I could never get. Or, what was he really thinking in insisting on his nautanki drumbeats with every passing hero or director he worked with I failed to realise. DSP could have sung the latest songs from "Legend" etc. but he is stuck on the much-repeated song of "ShankarDada MBBS".

Moving away from those few jarring notes - the rest of the programs deserve a five-star  rating - the well-contested Kabaddi matches with refereeing by Mohan Babu and the outburst by Brahmanandam, the cricket games with the lightest ball and the lightweight overs - 6/6 format. Comedy inputs by Brahmi, MSN and others was impactful. Balayya's feat at showing his multiple talents outside of acting was neat and entertaining. All the other music directors but for DSP and Thaman who got their six minute hall of fame were dignified and mature enough to present their better songs for the occasion - Mani Sharma, Koti, Ramana Gogula, RP Pattnaik, Raghu, Srilekha etc. Interview by the giggly girl Samantha with Mahesh Babu was becoming quite frivolous and personal until director Trivikram intervened and brought the much-needed seriousness to the show. Yet, it was one of the better off-beat interviews seldom seen of Tollywood superstars - it had spontaneity, fun and the surprise elements in a tete-a-tete.

Two segments stood out taller than the rest of the program in terms of their uniqueness and innovation - one was Nagarjuna's short program on some of the silent heroes behind the HudHud relief efforts - it resonated well and elevated the program to a worthy level. The other program that wowed you with content and delivery was the culinary competition set by the producer of blockbuster in making "Bahubali" to the team that is making the film  - Rajamouli and Gang. Set in poetic motion, the struggles by the various pairs from the Bahubali team in coming up with award-winning delicacies was brilliantly shot and set to lovely music by Keeravani - the maestro who will hang up on the high of the movie's soundtrack release in December 15.  That program was the most creative one not seen in recent times anchored well by the ruling Divas - Suma and Jhansi.

On the whole, for a film-crazy public, the rewards of watching a Sunday full of entertainment is its own reward. The collections so far of around Rs.16 crs. are better than the individual awards announced in the immediate aftermath of the program. As the competition hots up on the Telugu satellite space, GeminiTV strikes back with an ace of a memorable program by the who's who of Tollywood for the HudHud victim relief. I won't be surprised if yesterday's "Memu Saitam" gets one of the highest TRPs.

#MemuSaitam #Gemini #SunTVnetwork #Tollywood #TFI #TeluguFilmIndustry

Raghuram Rajan is Right in post-poning Rate Cuts

The markets can take a walk for today but they will come back to re-appreciating what RBI Governor Rajan did when they can. Even if Rajan hadn't made the signal announcement on rate cuts, we better listen to what he says. In the 15 months since he took over, currency has stabilised, stock markets have rebounded to lifetime highs, bond markets have seen bigger FII participation than stock markets, gold imports have fallen until recently, and bond yields have fallen over 150 per cent insinuating a big fall in sovereign borrowing rates which should augur well for the borrowers generally. Today, the INR Bond has become one of the best fixed-income investments in the world - giving positive dollarised returns - better than many G8 economies. Even if the Fed Taper is pre-dated in 2015, Rajan is leaving no stone unturned to ringfence the economy from shocks coming from hot money flows. Remember the last time he warned a few quarters back: "We must use this window of capital flows to strengthen our economy". The markets were not expecting a rate hike then. He hiked for a solitary reason to attract short-term inflows and prevent a run on Indian bonds. Again, two quarters ago, he warned the world is not yet out of the woods as if he got premonition about a second crisis coming. The last time around, he was the only one who saw it coming  - earning the wrath of Gods like Greenspan and Goldman CEO. This time not many paid heed to his warning again but we just saw the European unravelling and the rumblings in the US and Japan forcing most Central Banks in the world to think independent of each other, to fend off their wounds. 

I followed his press conference closely today and feel there is a lot he says that is still work-in-progress before India can expect a rate cut even if the path is now more or less visible. His concerns are valid: Core Inflation is still high, we got relief on Crude Oil prices yes, but we may again see a sharp shoot-up in gold prices putting pressure on the current account deficit, we have yet to see the clouds lifting on the road ahead for savers and producers, we have yet to see the big banks cut rates despite bank rate lowered some time back, we have to still clear the projects on Infrastructure and clear the cobwebs on coal and power issues,  the issues of reducing the fiscal deficit, we have to address the issues of accountability of big promoters running away with bad debts (a quick rate cut will once again make the banks run with the wolves again) and we have to address the whole issue of return of confidence on financial market investments. Anyone who read the book "Faultlines" by Rajan, especially the chapter on India will find all these concerns well-highlighted by him. I am sure he is not going to give away the concessional cuts Corporate India unless he addresses these bottlenecks or fixes themfor good. He has talked about why growth is crucial for India but he wants to see growth on a sustainable path - a path that will not just appear as a false-start but run course for several years taking the step-up approach from 5.5 to 6.5 per cent and beyond in GDP growth. 

Unlike the previous RBI Governors, Rajan has an immaculate gentlemanly nature to explain how his policy translates into action and what it means for all the stakeholders in the economy. He was not talking down to the audience today like Dr.YV Reddy,  he didn't make it sound like rocket science like Dr Rangarajan and he was not sounding amateurish and out-of-control like Mr Subba Rao - although all of them gave RBI its much-revered autonomy better than three-fourths of the world central banks. Indians in general and markets in particular should weigh his words more seriously because this is a home-grown talent that is being sought after by world leaders. When the BRICS Bank was set up early this year, the Chinese Premier sought our PM's green signal to make Dr Raghuram Rajan its first Chairman. Modi rightly said no because Rajan has been a lucky find for India. Let's not push our luck fast by pressurising Rajan to do tokenism. He is capable of more than that. Let him decide that. If he has his way, now that his batchmate has joined Ministry of Finance as Minister of State Jayant Sinha, then the duo will herald a golden era for Indian Banks and Financial Markets and also restore the confidence of the savers and investors in the Indian Rupee assets. Amen.

#RaghuramRajan #RBI #CreditPolicy #RBIMonetaryPolicy #RBIGovernor

"Brother of Bommali" (Telugu Film Review)

In a film industry dominated by male chauvinism, a team of new writers pair up with director Chinni Krishna to give a heroine-oriented role. Allari Naresh must be lauded for agreeing to share the screen with Karthika - the tall, dark and muscular daughter of yesteryears' star Radha  calls the shots all the way in a fresh story not seen in Allari Naresh films of late. 

The story goes like this: Naresh and Karthika are twins born seconds apart but they grow up differently. Contrary to the pink brain-blue brain syndrome seen in twins of a girl and a boy, Naresh and Karthika turn out to be gender-atypical extremes; Naresh is a sheepish boy and a non-confrontist. Karthika is  tomboyish, no-nonsense girl who is at once abrasive and aggressive. She is the shield protecting her elder  brother infact. Naresh falls in love with a cute girl and is about to settle down. That is when their parents force him to postpone marriage until his sister ties the knot. It is interval time and the suspense moves at fifteen nautical miles per hour with Karthika revealing she has, o wonder of wonders, fallen in love with a boy Harshavardhan Rane. The twist takes a new level post-interval when the boy Karthika falls in love with is about to marry a girl who is loved by the real villain of the film who keeps running into Allari Naresh - his name is Abhimanyu Singh - that intense-looking guy last seen in "Ram-Lila : Goliyon Ki Rasleela". The girl he is in love with is none other than the "Varudu" girl - Bhanu Mehra. With all these twists, there has to be one man who will be needed to bump the villains and straighten the gang that acquieses to the perfect marriage of hearts. Thats when Brahmanandam enters and brings the story to the end as predictably as he is good at. 

On the whole, "B/o Brahmali" is an entertainer mostly with 143 minutes of comedy and dramatic scenes of women empowerment rarely seen in Tollywood. The second half lets you down with lot of lags and needless scenes that remind you of "Kandireega" and Sreenu Vaitla's films. Yet, the film makes an impact because of freshness in treatment in the first half and the dialogues that pack a punch in ever scene. Music by Sharath Chandra shows lot of variety usually missing in his recent output. Allari Naresh has done an EVV Satyanarayana act by starring in a film scripted to back a heroine more than the hero. That heroine and the sole fulcrum of the plot is Karthika  - she may not have the looks but she carries the film right through. I found she has better screen presence than Naresh. The film has gaping holes - the familiar flaws of Tollywood plot, of tomfoolery, over-simplicity in plots, hyper-comedy situations out of common situations. But it is mostly watchable and few dialogues linger on your mind long after the din of comedy dries - like the dialogue of the heroine when faced by sexual harrassment at work. Despite the overtness of the comic effort, as a viewer, my mind rewound to the classics of EVV on the power of the feminine - like "Aame", "Chaalaa Bagundi" etc. Had this plot got made with a star like Tamanna or Samantha with a Superstar hero and got a classier treatment, the movie would have been a runaway blockbuster. Right now, it is not and we can watch it but once. But the effort deserves patronage. 

My Rating: 2.75/5

#BrotherOfBommali #Tollywood #MovieReviews

Tollywood Donations for Vizag: Enough? Good Enough?

Tollywood has donated Rs.2.4 crores so far to the city of Vizag via CM's Relief Fund. Good initiative. But is it good enough? If you look at the history of natural calamities that hit the coastal Andhra both in late 70s or the early 90s, the Telugu Film Industry (TFI) played a pivotal role in mobilising resources in kind and cash for the ravages caused by nature. Both NTR and ANR and others led from the front in touring the state while they were flanked by all the leading actors and actresses of those times. I was a toddler in 70s when NTR, Jamuna, and several others passed our two-room house in Narayanguda - my parents donated cash and clothes. Those kind of initiatives are what are needed by the Industry that churns out movies - truly the opium of the masses. Each generation of TFI owes it on them to take such leadership initiative because the effect of such efforts galvanise many others to participate in the rehabilitation work as against mere tokenism. Today, it has become more a "you start- I will also announce something" trend. At a time when Vizag  has created the infrastructure to make a film hub and the city and its vast beach-side were exploited by many film-makers from Balachander to Jandhyala to EVV to Trivikram, the TFI should go a step beyond making chequebook donations to the "city of destiny" (a sobriquet given by Bharat Ratna Mokshagundam Visweshwarayya).

The figures also don't just add up to the math or the effect of inflation. Vizag and its surroundings usually quote at a slight discount to the distribution rights of Nizam territory. "Aagadu" was sold for Rs.5.5 crores in Vizag, "Govindu Andari Vaadele..." for about Rs.5 crores and so on. So, you get the idea. Contributions by the superstars and mega omega stars is not even five per cent of the distribution rights for one film. Infact, a contribution of Sampoornesh Babu's contribution is technically greater than the stars because this Babu acted in just one film and he must have given ten per cent of his takings from the film! In those days, the days of NTR and ANR, the donations were given out either as a percentage of their networth or a percentage of their annual takings which when compounded with the overall mobilisation of public monies that get enlisted by propaganda and canvassing - the benchmarks were higher than what today's generation of top heroes give out. Cinema has a symbiotic relationship with the society and during bad times, cinema has to reach out better than giving out token amounts - because it is the only medium that cuts across the lines and mobilise mass support. Better than most TV media which are clueless, heartless and woefully cynical. It's a shame if TFI can't rise to the occasion. 

#Tollywood #VizagCycloneRelief #HudHudReliefEfforts #TFI #MovieReviews #FilmStudio #Diviseema #TollywoodDonates

25 Years of "Shiva"

You have to give the devil his due sometimes. Just as director Krishna Vamshii remarked: "Shiva" is indeed the "Sholay" of Tollywood. Ram Gopal Varma definitely deserves credit for unleashing it on celluloid.

When the film released on Oct.5, 1989 I was in college. The promos looked exciting. A busty wall-like logo of the film with the Telugu letters "Shi" and "Va" symmetrically attached in vermillon red color and a hand-fisted cycle chain piercing the letters sounded like a promising film. The backdrop was black. And no one was highlighted in the poster. You only find four names - Ram Gopal Varma, Venkat Akkineni, Yarlagadda Surendra and of course, Ilayaraja. It was too tempting to go to college that day. So a bunch of all of  us - old friends - bunked college and decided to do what is a safe bet those days - Morning Show - at Devi70mm. Someone got the tickets easily - the last thing you ever heard relating to this film. After the release and the talk from matinee show, tickets were near impossible in almost ever single-screen theatre those days even in places like Bengaluru and Chennai. We knew when we watched the opening scene of JD smoking fumes on the face of a lecturer that there is a blockbuster in the making. And then the tempo built frame after frame after frame. In 142 minutes of taut screenplay, stylish presentation and crisp dialogues embellished by Ilayaraja's never-before soundtrack and songs - RGV has arrived. The film's greatest achievement is that it has redefined the film grammar for an entire generation of Tollywood audience that will set the agenda for the next 25 years. In my view, despite the glorification of violence in the film which is the only unfortunate byeproduct of the blockbuster, most film-makers follow the pattern of "Shiva". It had such a gargantuan impact.

I remember we were stunned into silence after watching the film till interval time and then right till the end. We were ecstatic and thrilled to watch something our minds were not used to processing on screen. Like someone once said about "Sholay". It seems there was one exhibitor in Mumbai who told Ramesh Sippy that "Sholay" will be the biggest blockbuster because when the interval curtains were down, nobody from one of the theatre halls moved from their seats - because they were thrilled to see the film and they can't wait for the next scene after interval. A similar experience greeted everybody who watched the film "Shiva" in 1989.  On that day, after the morning show, I somehow felt my family also had to watch the film - so I struggled for balcony seats for the second show and took my parents and brothers to the film. They were equally thrilled to bits by the unique presentation and punctuation of the film.

The film ran for 155 days in Devi and more in many theatres in AP and outside. It collected almost Rs.7crores in those days with all the runs across India. If you translate it in today's terms inflation-adjusted to current factors, it works out to Rs.44.50 crores. A mighty figure because the population must have been half of what it is today. The film had freshness, energy, intensity and spine that was rarely seen in Telugu films of that era. To Nagarjuna's luck, most of his films before "Shiva" except "Gitanjali" had the same mugshot appeal. "Shiva" made him a youthful superstar. And he never looked back. For Ramu, "Shiva" will remain a much-studied classic because he made the film on a bootstrapping budget and delivered a modern classic for the ages that will be referred to, again and again. The crew who celebrated "Shiva"@25 recently at Annapurna Studios rightly said that there were more than a handful who became directors after working under Ramu. Krishna Vamshi, Rasool Ellor, Teja, Puri Jagannadh,, S Gopal Reddy, Gunasekhar, Siva Nageswar Rao, etc. all have become independent directors from the RGV school of less melodrama, higher intensity and epic intensity that scales up from buildup.

The film's background score by Ilayaraja must make it one of the best soundtracks of all time from anywhere in the world. All those rhythms of drums beating up in rapid succession with a fear-mongering  effect whenever Nag's friend is chased and killed will haunt you. Then there is that melodious refrain that defines the romance between Amala and Nagarjuna that has entered Ilayaraja's "Hall of Fame" soundtracks available on I-tunes. The tune is so burnt in our minds that one of the antagonists of the film JD Chekravarthi used the tune as a BGM in one of his sensational films released as a no-title film which later was renamed as "Paape Naa Praanam". The songs in "Shiva" also played an anchor role in getting the youth repeat viewing in droves. "Anando Brahma" and "Kiss Me Wrong Number" are my personal favorites. Amala looks ravishingly beautiful in the songs and little wonder, sparks flew between her and Nag from the start of this film to the remake of the film in Hindi  - a courtship that ended only with "Antham" another RGV starrer that actually bombed. Years later, RGV was asked why he never worked with Ilayaraja again in his career (until "Shiva 2006" a reprise of the original in police uniform).  RGV said the intensity of Ilayaraja's music and his interpretation of the scene was so unique and unparalleled that RGV simply couldn't come up with a script as equal in magnitude to merit Ilayaraja's output. Of course, Sitarama Sastry the lyricist had his presence noted in some of the best modern lyrics that connected with the audience. 

The film turned out to be Tollywood's answer to ManiiRatnam because Mani was upping the ante in those times with hit after hit. Later, buoyed by the success of Ramu, Mani sought his collaboration for one film - "Donga Donga" ("Thiruda Thiruda" in Tamil). "Shiva" was dubbed in Tamil as "Udayam" which ran successfully. Only, because of alleged lukewarm response to the song "Sarasaalu Chaalu Sreevaaru..", the distributors deleted the son in Tamil version. That song was actually directed by noted director Vamsee and won applause for a creative kitchen song full  of sounds created from shining utensils and homely love-scenes.

"Shiva" definitely was an epic in Tollywood that had its unintended consequences - unleashing violence on a scale the world has never seen before in Telugu films. Of course, besides the mythologicals, only one movie directed by T.Krishna depicted violence so grotesquely before - "Pratighatana". In that film, Vijayashanti uses an Axe to behead Charanraj in the climax. That was in 1987. But in "Shiva", RGV has made ordinary instruments into weapons of mass destruction - cycle chain, compass divider, gold chain, mini-pick-axe and so on. In most Tollywood films before, you only hear gunshots from silly pistols and sten guns. But in "Shiva" what you commute with and play with have become murder-instruments that even flight attendants must take note of. I wrote about this in a letter to the Indian Express after waiting for nearly 100 days of the film being released because I wanted Nag and RGV to celebrate 100 days of run. It was too late! (sic). "Shiva" already entered our society's consciousness. 

#Shiva #ShivaMovie #NagarjunaShiva #25YearsOfShiva #RamGopalVarma #Ilayaraja #Tollywood #MovieReviews #ShivaBoxOfficeCollections #RGVSchoolDirectors #AnnapurnaStudios 

Nobody like Mandolin Srinivas

 Most musical geniuses peak at age 44 and with the exception of Mozart and a few others, many go on to cut more discs in their fifties. It is therefore shocking to hear U.Srinivas pass out at the peak of his prowess. I know of few other instrumentalists in the world whose surname is synonymous with the instrument they play with. You won't call Sax KennyG or Tabla Hussain or Violin Subramanyam or even Shehnai Khan or Piano Beethoven. But you will always know this prodigy as Mandolin Srinivas. He brought so much joy and veneer to an instrument which was actually shunned by both Hindustani and Karnatik musicians simply because it was either too simple or too complex - until you heard Mandolin being played by the butter-fingers of U.Srinivas. For those who had the luxury of watching him play the instrument, he released rare joy and energy into the ether when he played the Hamsadhwani or any other Karnatik raga.   

Mandolin was thought of as a western musical instrument such that the instrument was brought into the Karnatik fold only in the 1980s. This is because the bare instrument was beyond the scope of those who tried to navigate the strings for melodic movement. Before U.Srinivas, there was a film composer Sajid Hussain who tried to bring the magic of Mandolin into films. The great Blapu who died recently, used fifteen minutes of one of his compositions in the film "Muthyala Muggu" as a BGM for showing the consummation of a newly wed couple. He tried to use another piece in "Gorintha Deepam" by which Sajid Hussain became famously known in Tollywood too. 

However, the instrument required huge maneuvrability to produce the sounds that come easily in other stringed instruments like the violin or the Sitar - the most mellifluous of classical musical instruments where the semitones (the inter-frequency between each sound) are quick and continuous which expand the range of output. Mandolin had its limitations that got tweaked when it became an electric mandolin similar to an electric guitar - that was the stage on which U.Srinivas launched himself giving one performance after another performance winning plaudits and patronage from kingly sponsors. 

Though he started off with classical concerts playing at every world stage from Berlin to NY to the Asia-Pacific, Mandolin became renowned as an instrument that deserves attention and glory amidst the paraphernalia that musicians and orchestras carry. It was embraced in Karnatik music because of the electric mandolin's ability to create and sustain continuity of sounds  - like the violin or the sitar. Indians have finally thrown up another great instrumentalist - in the same tradition of world-renown as that of a Sarod, Veena, Violin, Sitar or Santoor. Mandolin Srinivas has given scores of concerts in his career, giving many jugalbandis with the other legends. One of his moments of crowning glory came not with a Padma Shri or a doctorate but an invitation to be part of "Shakti" band - which is the gold standard for fusion music combining the reigning greats of the day  - John McLaughlin, Zakir Hussian, L Shankar, Vikku Vinaykram. Mandolin proved to be a good addition to the ensemble of the best percussionists and stringed instrument players of the day. The brand "Shakti" created some electrifying music but later diluted itself further by calling a vocalist called Shankar Mahadevan. Shankar Mahadevan's addition proved inimical to the purity maintained by the Shakti group. But that's besides the matter.

Mandolin Srinivas played with his younger brother U.Rajesh and gave him good recognition and respected the Karnatik music traditions. It is both stress-busting and mesmerising to listen to U.Srinivas. He composed many different versions of the leading ragas and also tried to re-emphasize the versatility of Mandolin to play film tunes. One of the albums that I have is a rendition of Ilayaraja music on Mandolin, an absolute treat. Except for Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and AR Rahman in Bollywood, haven't heard many music directors use Mandolin in their BGMs or songs. But in South, KV Mahadevan, MS Vishwanathan, Vidyasagar, Mani Sharma, Mickey J Meyer and SS Thamman have embellished their sounds with strategic and selective use of Mandolin. The key to getting Mandolin enhance the feel and tonality of your music is to use it a pre-note or in the interlude - and you can see why all the music directors I referred to have used it as aptly. Where does Mandolin Srinivas's legacy go? As long as Mandolin is played, U.Srinivas will live on. It is fitting that the instrument lends its name to a legend who made it world-famous. Or poetic that Srinivas got his name surnamed as Mandolin because that is what gave him identity and immortality. All Maestros have expiry date but Mandolin Srinivas lives on.

#Mandolin #MandolinSrinivas #USrinivas #Shakti #ClassicalMusic

"Aagadu" (Telugu) Film Review

"Aagadu" is an alround entertainer starring Mahesh Babu which tries to erase some of the bitterneess tasted at the Box Office by the same producer trio who gave us "1-Nenokkadine". With Sreenu Vaitla, MS Guhan in cinematography and Thaman's techno-trance music on the technicals, the team cast fair and lissome Tamannah, ruling Diva Shruti Hassan in a club song and comedians Brahmanandam, MS Narayana, Vennela Kishore. Apart from a familiiar comic villain Sonu Sood who is a regular fixture in Mahesh Babu films, they cast three musketeers Prabhas Seenu, Raghu Babu and Posani in their career-best performances. The movie sizzles mostly in the 165 minutes of ubiquitous entertainment that moves at lightning speed. The audiences also laugh at all the right places. Yet, something has gone wrong in the film. Is it the story?  Characterisation? Treatment? Heroine? Over-confidence? Dialogue modulation? Lack of novelty? Lack of sentiment? Burden of expectations?

All of that and the fatigue that comes with the familiarity associated with all of Sreenu Vaitla's films. As a director, Sreenu Vaitla seems flawless because he moulds his films in the KV Reddy style of film-making that moves a story forward with all the elements of entertainment that family audiences lap up. But if you see the discography of Sreenu Vaitla after the first five films and compare them with the output of the last four - "Badshah", "Dookudu","Ready", "Dhee" they are the same - a light-hearted romance, a gang of villains, sentiment of family renuion or father-son-brother, hero using Brahmanandam to infiltrate the villain gang and tomfooling them with a fairy-tale ending. That is precisely the story in Sreenu Vaitla's films.

In "Aagadu", Mahesh Babu (Shankar) is a cop who takes revenge on the gang of villains led by Sonu Sood for separating him from his father (Rajendra Prasad) and brother and a lot that follows after that. And then eliminates each one of them in novel ways  - thats the good part of Sreenu Vaitla's screenplay. The story has a picture-perfect ending but takes you through a roller-coaster of entertainment and great comedy that ranges from top-class (like the MEK-inspired quiz show) and sub-standard (the teleshopping ad-inspired advert on Saroja Sweets).

Despite choosing some great jokes (which spare no one from Balakrishna to Chiranjeevi family  to Botsa to politicians and sportspersons) the film lacks freshness in content and treatment. This is where I doubt if the film will have the stamina at box office to beat previous records because as I reiterated in the past, Telugu audience is the smartest when it comes to detecting movies with a deja vu flavor or plot or treatment. While Tollywood doesn't make different films each time, the audience doesn't blindly consume films similar in content. This is the greatest irony of the industry which over-invests in stars and star music directors but under-invests in story-writers. Even if this film is made for the fans of Mahesh Babu, they will be the first to desert the movie after the holiday season ends - thats the cold truth which superstars and mega power stars must realise.

Over 165 minutes, the director goes down the beaten path of entertainment pursued in "Dookudu" - the same childhood days during titles, the romance in pre-interval, heights of comedy, fights galore and the square-off with villain in interval, the item song post-interval and then Brahmanandam's key entry at climax time. Punctuation followed with boring predictability and resemblance to so many films like "Yamudu", "Singham", "Gabbar Singh" and of course, "Dookudu". Sreenu Vaitla's obsession with television shows in igniting comedy out of everything needs to end. He has the commercial sensibilities to take entertainment to the next level without diluting family-wide viewing needs. Unfortunately, he has fallen out on ego issues with writers who supported him till "Badshah" - Kona Venkat and Gopi Mohan. With a new bench of writers, what stands out is the dialogues but not the story outline.

To be fair, there are some highlights in the film. Undoubtedly, there are actors who stand out - MS Narayana (he has the best self-edited lines in the film) who steals the thunder without moving an inch from his seat except in the last scene. And then the three musketeers - Seenu, RaghuBabu and Posani. Rajendra Prasad is under-utilised; a weighty actor like him is reduced to be a poster boy father to Mahesh Babu. The scenes where Mahesh Babu remixes and tells the storylines from his previous films are hilarious and different. The best scene of comedy is the Quiz Show spoof on MEK. All the three musketeers and Mahesh Babu and Vennela Kishore outshine each other with comic voice modulations mimicking TV hosts. It runs for almost nineteen minutes and can get repeat audiences. Sonu Sood, Mumtaz and Ashish Vidyarthi fail to create impact in the film - Sonu Sood salvages a bit in the climax with his own retelling of a Panchtantra story that sort of summarises the story itself. (Maybe thats the source of inspiration for Sreenu Vaitla's creative team). Tamannah seems a misfit in the film despite her bare-all attitude. Shruti Hassan outsizzles Tamannah in one song even if they don't share screen together. One is tempted to think the pairing would have been perfect if Tamannah was restricted to an item song and Shruti was the main lead.

Mahesh Babu, despite all the limitations and fatigue in content, carries the film entirely on his shoulders. He spares no effort in taking charge of every scene where he is either leading the show or insinuating an outcome. His voice modulation is seeing an unprecedented transformation. In "Dookudu" he tries two modulations (Telangana and Andhra accents). In "Aagadu", he tries too many to remember and register. Thats a fatal flaw because the audience need time to process so many modulations and in the end you may remember only few dialogues but fail to acknowledge the effort. In an attempt to make himself a Superman in all departments, his efforts may go waste unless audience repeats to this film. It may well be a costly lesson for all heroes - don't over-invest yourself in one movie unless you plan to retire with this one. Dance movements have been more graceful for Mahesh in the film. Prem Rakshit seems to have done his job well in the three songs that had some choreography to note. Stunts have been many but only one stunt pre-interval has been good - that should have been all there is in stunts thanks to Vijayan. The rest of the stunts actually suck including the costly one shot at Bellary in the opening sequence. With all the modern technology available, today's stunt masters don't seem to get the emotion that accompanied the "dishum dishum" sounding stunts of old times - today's heroes are better at bending limbs and breaking bones but not at getting whistles. Mahesh Babu has already made a statement in "Dookudu" that he is the best in the current crop of actors in range and repertoire of acting and screen-sharing with seniors. In this film he may have overdone his bit that borders on over-confidence. What undermines his efforts is the choice of the plot and the absence of connect with the audience in the form of sentiment. It was sentiment and comedy that made "Dookudu" a blockbuster. By firing on all engines of comedy, director overlooked the role of sentiment in this film.

Thaman's music in his fiftieth film is good in parts but not in the same league. One finds the BGM score reminiscent of "Dookudu" re-recording. While two or three songs stand out for the beat, the picturisation lets the output down. Sreenu Vaitla chooses outdoor setting for both the fast songs in the film which makes it monotonous to watch. Atleast the last song should have got done in a lavish indoor setting or in Chiraan Fort  (his lucky setting for scoring a hit). On the whole, you can watch it once for Mahesh, comedy but the length and the fatigue wear you out in the second half. First half by itself should have been the length in this 165 minutes of reptitive fare. For that it doesn't deserve the top-notch rating.

My Rating: 2.75/5

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