"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.

Farewell Dr Manmohan Singh, history will be kinder to you tomorrow.

"Get me the number of Prof. Manmohan Singh", PV Narasimha Rao ordered his PA. His PA didn't know the number. Rao said,"I want him to be called in 10 minutes. Find out from wherever, he teaches at Delhi University." PA found his number by dialling some contacts and connected Dr Singh to Narasimha Rao.

It was 6 am. And Rao came on line to speak to Dr Singh. "Kya Professor Saheb. Bacchon ko Padhaare kyaa? Can you meet me at 9am today?" Dr Singh spoke in monosyllables of "yes" or "no" right from then. He said "yes" to Narasimha Rao's request. The meeting turned into one of India's most dramatic inflection points. For the first time, an RBI Governor whose signature appears on a one rupee note becomes India's new Finance Minister  - and the rest has earned both Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh a place in history books. The duo alongwith a few other hand-picked talents took decisions that transformed the economic landscape of India forever.

Dr Singh credited most of his success and boldness of decision-making to Rao's unflinching support. But when the time came for Rao to bid a goodbye to this world amidst unprecedented machiavellian drama and back-stabbing, Dr Singh, as per reliable sources did not even visit the hospital ward of Narasimha Rao before he passed out. For all the talk of "structural adjustments with a human face", Dr Singh didn't have the courage to bypass Sonia to even call on a person who he always called as his mentor.

Twenty years after Narasimha Rao cherry-picked Singh to India's most prestigious Ministerial portfolio, Dr Singh did a similar gesture in beckoning Dr.Raghuram Rajan to India, to test his erudition, prescience and academic brilliance in the laboratory of the Monetary Policy at RBI. History will judge Dr Singh in different light than the judgements passing on him now in the heat of the bittermost election just as history now sheds kinder light on Narasimha Rao's Prime Ministership long after the suitcase scams and JMIM bribery cases faded into oblivion.

While individual achievements in academics, intellectual prowess and the body of contribution to Economic thought-leadership besides the economic reforms unleashed as FM will take many more years to deep-mine, his ascent to Prime Ministership  has been his finest hour and most fallible moment. If you take the history of most Congress Prime Ministers outside of Gandhi dynasty annointed by a demagogic group of politicians, then Manmohan Singh has taken the brunt of brinksmanship and blindmanships all on himself unlike the rest. Guljarilal Nanda was always a standby PM. Whereas Lal Bahadur Shastri actually broke the back of Indira Ganshi to the point of almost driving her out of India to London because he took no nonsense from anyone, least of all encourage the nepotistic ways of Indira Gandhi.  That leaves Narasimha Rao alone who took on the most umbrageous steps of taming the Gandhi parivar, taking baby steps and later giant strides to thwart the dynastic rule in its shameless march. He was checkmated by a confederacy of dunces and a conspiracy of sycophants. That must have played out heavily in the mind of Dr Singh as he took on the role of 'The Accidental Prime Minister'. He became silent and abrogated the responsibility of the chair of Prime Ministership by being blind to all that is happening under his ecosystem.

He may have avoided the wrath of Sonia and the party colleagues but by becoming a Bakra for someone else's surreptious ways and ruthless pursuit of power without accountability, Dr Singh has earned only shame and sympathy in his last few years. It could be a "Saturn" dasa but his redemption in history can only come after time obliterates his scam-ridden second innings from public memory. If the price of silence to unbridled corruption and loot of national wealth is a tenure to India's third longest-serving Prime Ministership, Dr Singh has earned his place too in history books in more roles than what any son of a humble upbringing could have got. For that, Manmohan Singh gets my toast tonight. If only his personal integrity and scholarship and his crisis-management during the tumult of 1991 and again in 2008 had got a better say than his conscience which remained a mute spectator to the misdeeds of Congress, he would have slept better tonight.

Dr Singh's story reminds me of the quote which sums up what happens when you don't speak your mind:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.

A sad story. But as I said, history will judge Dr Singh better than what clouds our recent memory of his achievements.

"Anamika" (Telugu Film Review) /"Nee Enge En Anbe" (Tamil Film Review)

In times of male-chauvinist cinema plots in Telugu and Tamil film industries with kinky moustaches and thigh-slapping bravado, "Anamika" is Viacom's (Network 18) proud entry into the South bastions with a rivetting story based on "Kahaani" that shows Vidya Balan in totally different light after "The Dirty Picture". They picked Sekhar Kammula who has evolved cinematic sensibilities to direct the film and a bankable female star Nayanataara to play the title role of "Anamika". Despite the story's original contours being intact, some axis-shifting changes have been made to nativise the original story.

The original story is of a woman, in her late-pregnancy visiting Kolkata in search of her missing husband. The plot thickens with a stunning, unthinkable climax. It was too sophisticated but the film did phenomenally well bringing laurels to both Vidya, Viacom and Sujoy Ghosh; it particularly did well in markets like China and Hong Kong as these markets welcome unconventional subjects. Given this background, Viacom's choice of Nayanataara in a normal role sucks out the sympathetic chord that enhanced the emotional quotient of the original for reasons best known to the director, the producer and the star heroine. It seems Sekhar wanted bigger challenges for the film. So, the story is straightened a bit, dumbed down for the South audiences with impressive twists and a unique ending that is still unconventional for a vernacular film. Don't want to break the suspense over this thriller of 139 minutes - a unique feat for Sekhar Kammula with a starcast that did a consistently good job throughout except Naresh.

It is Sekhar's luck that such an immaculate team of technicians and crew got roped in for this bi-lingual project and he does a reasonably good job of turning in a watchable thriller with a finish that breaks the female stereotypes. His choice of the Old city of Hyderabad in a cute setting of the microcosm of life amidst rhythmic pandemonium is evocative. Despite a tight script that leaves little room for indulging in Sekhar's famously subtle potshots on current paradigms about life through common people's portrayal, Sekhar registers one or two signature scenes - especially the one in the police station where she is at the receiving end of a callous constable along with others who are used to it. And then, at the kitchen of the hotel where she is staying - where the people are out to help her unlike government servants who are paid to help but won't. Sekhar's strength lies in telling a good story without a rush to impress or embellish - to that extent this is a fine film even if you have or haven't seen the original film. He is also terrific at characterisation, each role is essayed with a precision and nuanced acting that makes the duration of the character's screentime irrelevant. This is Sekhar's greatest under-stated strength which few directors can match.

Vaibhav Reddy, son of director A.Kodandarami Reddy gets a meaty role as the helper policeman who escorts Anamkia in her search for truth. The irreverent hotel manager, the callous constable, and the curious minister Naresh  - all of them are utilised well except that the role of Naresh lacked killer instinct and the justification it needed in the end. Too many questions about his role in the plot were left unanswered. Among the roles that stand out in the film  - the role of renowned theatre actor Vinay Varma as the lusting SI who makes an indecent proposal to find Anamika's husband is intense but short-lived. It is difficult to finess a stage actor to the nuanced performance  packed in by Vinay buyt Sekhar pulls it off. Vinay gives the film's most dramatic "villain" moment and makes an oh-so-soon exit before interval. After him, Pasupathi as Mr Khan gives a standout performance with a variation that may be a few notches below what Nawazuddin Siddiqi achieved in the original. You cannot compare Pasupathi's role with Nawazuddin but he carried the role with all seriousness and intensity that captures the essence of a righteous officer with shades of grey that finally deliver justice. Nayanataara as the silent sufferer who takes on a system steeped in disempowering  the womenfolk is the perfect character played by her in a long time since "SriRama Rajyam". By choosing a role that shows her  deglamourised yet unapologetic for smoking out what she wants in her quest for her husband, she proved her talent goes beyond cherubic smiles and curvaceous dressing.

A word about the technical talents in the film before a word or two about Sekhar. Good to see MM Keeravani haunt you with one helluva song "Kshana Kshanam" that grooves in and out throughout the film's narration. He also composed an arresting BGM for the film with a contemporary appeal that is uncharcteristic of him. This is one of the rare films where his musical arrangements in RR kept pace with his inimitable talent for song-and-dance melodies. Having composed for quite a few films in Bollywood in the past like "Criminal", "Sur" and "Jism",  MM Keeravani  is one of the most under-rated composers in the country, who sadly announced his retirement after "Bahubali" in December 2015. The film's other hero is Marthand K Venkatesh, the editor who shortened the film in Sekhar's format to fit the bill in 138 minutes or so. If the film has defects despite Marthand Venkatesh's editing, they must sit on Sekhar's report card. And these are: Why Sekhar left a few gaps in the plot? Like, who was the guy with a devilish smile and a shooting revolver and why was he killed? What was Naresh's role in the killings? Who was Milan Damji really? Why is Anamika made to look like Bengali houswife in the backdrop of a Dussehra pandal erected by Bangalee Samithi rather than our own "Ammoru"? Questions that were better answered in the original. But if you pass these up as minor flaws in a genre that Sekhar Kammula is not used to handling regularly, then "Anamika" is quite an engrossing thriller to watch. It takes Tollywood to a new high in standards of film-making and investment by studios of repute. "Anamika" deserves to be more widely watched for the effort and class it exudes.
My rating: 3.5/5

How To Vote Intelligently

If you are in Hyderabad or anywhere else in Telangana, West Bengal, Gujarat, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Daman & Diu, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Dadra & Nagar Haveli this is for you. When you wake up tomorrow, you have a historic opportunity to break records in the seventh round. No, not the seventh round of whiskey of vodka. But the seventh round to cast your vote.

If you are from Hyderabad, you are blessed twice, friends. You will have to vote twice. First vote is for the Assembly (Pink Paper). Second vote is for the Lok Sabha (White paper). Again, don’t get confused and ask for The Economic Times and Businessline because that’s what urbanites tell you – when they tell you, “ I read the pink paper” or “the white paper on business”. You don’t have to carry both nor roll them. By the way, you don’t have to carry even your mobile phones. You will be sent back if you are found with a mobile phone. Don’t bother passing it on to somebody you spot in your neighbourhood to do the honors. Take some identity card proof and do not forget the voting slip – someone would have given you the same before. If you haven’t yet got, don’t panic. Ask the volunteers of party offices camping outside the voting booth for verifying your names in the list. If you still can’t find your polling station and voter serial no. either visit www.ghmc.gov.in or dial the call center 2111 1111. Or, send an sms as “ SMS KYP to 9177999876.or identity verification, remember, 24 varieties of proofs are allowed from PAN to Aadhar Card.

The voting booths open from 7 am and go right till 6 pm. I don’t know whether early bird gets the worm but I have always found queues shorter when I go early. Infact, my father born before Independence, is usually the first voter in the booth. It gives a different kick, to wake early, have a shower, wear new clothes, greet morning sun, pray to God or Christopher Hitchens (if you are an atheist) and walk your way to the voting booth. That’s a routine we follow. If you have alternative plans for tomorrow, don’t even think of  it. Ask me. Offices are shut. Banks are closed. Hotels not open till evening. Cinemas are also, shut till 6 pm show. And, I checked with the box office, advance booking for “Anamika” and “Spiderman-2” also won’t open till evening. And IPL matches start later in the evening. So you have ten hours to do your own thing but first get the vote out of your way, get it inked and linked in with your social media presence.

And by the way, don’t worry about the EVMs – those beepy machines with the pink paper and the white paper as mentioned earlier. Don’t believe these machines can be rigged or booth-captured as reported in Pune etc. These machines are made by ECIL and Bharat Electronics and are both mechanically and electronically protected to prevent any tampering. The software used in these machines is burnt into a one-time programmable/masked chip so that it cannot be altered or tampered with. They can’t be hacked too. And remember, a maximum of five votes can be cast in one minute. Which means, even the presiding officer cannot enable the ballot for twelve seconds after every ballot is cast. With an electorate of over 814 million voters, there are 900,000 polling stations with lakhs of EVMs. I read somewhere that EVMs are not only tamper-proof and loud (not a single vote is accepted without a loud beep, audible even outside the polling booth) but they also save paper, about 10,000 metric tonnes of paper.

Back to the pink paper and white paper. Before you press the button corresponding to your choice of the candidate/symbol, wait for the green light to appear and a sound. Then after your press the button, a red light appears with another beeping sound – signalling that your vote is registered. Know this much, that it is no rocket science. When the EVMs are counted, election results are easiest to declare – within hours on May 16th.

I am no seasoned voter as I have just voted for six or seven General Elections and as many Assembly elections. But keeping these golden rules has always helped me cast a vote that makes a difference at the national and local level, even at the municipality level. My piece of unsolicited advice:

1. When you vote for the Lok Sabha, ensuring that you vote for the national party helps your vote to get counted amongst the national voting share of each party. Instead, if you vote for an Independent in Lok Sabha, the vote share gets fragmented and a clear choice is hard to come up. According to data from Election Commisison of India, the percentage of votes secured by Independents has been declining from 15.90 per cent in 1952 to just 5.19 per cent in 2009. This also clearly, corresponds to a fall in percentage of forfeited deposits of Independent Candidates in Lok Sabha elections from 67.54 per cent in 1952 to 99.35 per cent in 2009. Friends, clearly, voting for Independents in Lok Sabha is not an Audience Poll choice!
2. Vote with a clear conscience, without inducements, expectations and party affiliations and other considerations. Vote for a party that can make you see eye to eye with the next-gen also who must be more positive and hopeful than us. Not that we are not. But just in case!
3. When you vote for a party at a regional level, go for the one who is closest in your assessment and understanding – someone who matches performance, governance and clean record with fresh ideas.
4. In summary, nobody can influence or should influence who you vote for. It is a personal choice and a hard one at that, something that even your own family members can seldom agree upon. But if you close your eyes, and visualise the last five years and then determine what can change in the next five years with utmost honesty and sincerity, you will hit the right buttons. Believe me, in my own case, I hit the magic buttons every time since I was first eligible to vote except in the year 2009. I had been lucky to cast my votes for the winning candidate. This time, I am hoping I won’t even have to push my luck further.
5. Lastly, should  you use NOTA (None of the Above)? I am not an expert on this too. I will quote from Hindol Sengupta’s superb book : 100 THINGS TO KNOW AND DEBATE BEFORE YOU VOTE. He says,” No matter how many NOTA votes are cast, even if the most of the votes cast in a constituency are NOTA, a candidate winning the few remaining minority votes should be declared elected. Unless the law is amended to say if majority of the votes cast are NOTA, a re-election needs to be held, this does not solve the problem of corrupt candidates but not enough. As it often is in India, this rule does not go all the way. In short, Hindol says, “Use it. But remember it’s the beginning of change, not the end.”

So long then. Happy Voting. Happy Record Voting. And here’s wishing all of us better times ahead.

"Pratinidhi" (Telugu Film Review)

Nara Rohit's films have so far been different. While "Baanam" was revolutionary, "Solo" was outright family entertainer with great comedy and performances. "Pratinidhi" promised to be intriguing from the trailer days and it was poetically timed for the elections but don't be over-expectant about the hype. It has some eye-popping provocations about the issues common man faces and packages them quite intelligently and convincingly in the backdrop of an exciting kidnap drama with a brief flashback but the narrative could have been better and arresting.

Prashant Mandava directs Nara Rohit as a people's representative who kidnaps the Chief Minister (Kota Srinivasa Rao)  when he comes to innaugurate an Old Age Home. He imprisons self and the CM in the vast house with a threat to kill the CM unless his demands are met. What are these demands? They grow, at first sight, sillier and curioser by the hour until the whole state gets swept by a tsunami of attention and goodwill. Police Commissioner (Posani Krishna Murali) encircles the house where the kidnapper relays his messages and demands while trying to unfathom the mysterious kidnapper's whereabouts and identity through only one source - Rohit's friend who agrees to share details of his friendship and association. The demands, those silly demands, meanwhile outgrow into a pattern that seems to connect the dots of a lot of issues and a few mysteries of a missing man and his son. The demands raised by Rohit are valid and thoroughly engrossing and tell a lot about the state of our democracy and the pace at which the government works: Despite the media's all-pervasive nature and 24/7 reporting, one of the key messages is that there is a paradox of choice amidst plenty of options: nobody really gets the big picture in the immediate aftermath of an event because the media doesn't ask questions that illuminate or decipher the truth.

The truth is unfolded, layer by layer, by the protagonist Nara Rohit himself, in the messages relayed outside the building and in his articulate interaction with Kota Srinivasa Rao who as the CM who gave one of his career-best performances. Kota asks questions that enhance the characterisation of himself and Rohit in ways that move the story forward. While the first half is about the demands, the second half gives an good twist to the plot with more seiousness sans romance and dull flashback which mars a few reels earlier. Why does the government take two hours to accept one simple demand? Can we de-notify the currency notes of higher denomination  - to drive out black money out of the "M3" circulation in the economy? Where is the money collected from the odd amounts rounded off on account of stupid taxes, cesses and VAT levies on petroleum, diesel and even hotel services going to? For example, if it costs Rs.72.84 per litre and we pay Rs.73, the rounding error itself comes to on a ball-park estimate of Rs.120 crore population times Rupees Two per day, as per the writer in the film.. That's a fair point and something that is fuelling black money and making some people richer.

With audacious demands like these underpinning the economic logic, Rohit gets war-room attention of the politicians and begins a change in the CM itself. The approach to this film is neat and fresh without stunts, vulgar dances or item songs or garrulous comedy or silly romance. Technically, there is only one song in the first half to give romantic relief with a forgettable heroine Shubra Ayyappa who is a let down. The second half has a few background songs that step on the gas for the hero's surge in popularity as the media amplifies his messages and their broader econo-political appeal. The approach to the story and the screenplay reminds you of "Wednesday" movie where the hero and the anti-hero see a paradigm-shift in their world views.

A promising tale told in 139 minutes with plenty of food for thought for our system and the polity that rides it. Good dialogues in the film by Rohit and Kota create an encore feeling. Music by Sai Kartheek is turning out better in RR , this is his second impressive BGM score after "Rowdy". Performances wise, Rohit is average though he has a baritone voice that is one of the best male voices in Tollywood today after Pawan Kalyan. But his repertoire is limited to poker-faced delivery that lacks variety and killer instinct. The most notable performance, make no mistake is that of Kota Srinivasa Rao, followed by Posani Krishna Murali. Director Prashant Mandava seems promising enough to tell a good story but the same film could have been made more intelligently and entertainingly to create a wider connect - the director has made the corruption issue more a monetary policy issue and leaves out many inconvenient issues that rock the state and the nation. What is tasteless is to show the late NTR as a great leader/thinker in the titles equating him with the likes of Che Guera, Gandhi, Tagore, etc. Secondly, I did notice that at interval time, they show all the past CMs of the state of AP  - Naidu, Rosaiah, NTR again, N Janardhan Reddy but show YSR in a split-micro-second. That makes the visuals political. Barring these, "Pratinidhi" is a watchable film with strong subtexts and thought-provoking issues. It could have been made better and more intense but is still better than so many commercial potboilers that come and go but don't linger on as much as "Pratinidhi".

Rating: 3/5

"2 States" (Hindi) Film Review

Chetan Bhagat’s most successful novel after ‘Five Point Someone’ was '2 States: The Story of My Marriage' which inspired the making of this film released today. The film strikes a lovely chord with all ages, especially those whom cupid strikes early in life but are unable to finish it off with marriage under elderly glare. Armed with a winning script, big studios and the backing of Karan Johar, director Abhishek Varman has embellished an evocative love story with great sensibilities that will linger on for a long time. With a two hour plus length of a film that doesn’t even begin with the statutory cigarette warnings or wild animal usage (the only things wild in the film are those things campus lovers do in between the sheets), the film’s resonance comes in a triple package: One, a fresh starcast of the lead couple who are in their early twenties – Arjun Kapoor as Krish Malhotra and Alia Bhatt as Ananya. Two, authentic hand-picking of the elders rooted in  the two states of Punjab and Tamil Nadu; Ronit Roy and Amrita Singh as the Punjabi Paramesans and Revathy and Shiv Subrahmanyam as the Tam-Brahm couple. Three, without multi-layering the film with side-dish distractions like cheap campus fare or extra melodrama or even comic tracks, the narration is kept closer to the love story as it is driven by the lovers themselves with occasional brakes or accelerators.

The story is not filmy though. A boy and a girl meet at IIM campus, fall in love and decide to marry in the arranged traditions of the family, with the parents’s blessings. Nothing unsual about that as most of the love stories in India suffer from a higher mortality rate than what affects infants in Sub-Saharan Africa. Disdain for each other, distrust and ego tussles besides expectations from one another not to talk of the mental sterotypes that run loops in your mind – all these are exploited in a crisp narrative in the film. In bridging a divide, the plot selects two states whose people harbour maximum prejudices against each other – Punjabis who think that Tamil girls trap handsome, tall Punjabi boys with perks and Tam-brahms who view Punjabis as gluttons and Punjabi mother-in-law as the most dangerous idea in the world.

These stereotypes only complicate the love story as the young lovers try to navigate the waters with help from the negotiation courses learnt at the B-School; the boy helps his prospective father-in-law with powerpoint presentations, gives his future mother-in-law the 15 minute-fame moment in singing while the girl settles it amicably in a Punjabi wedding from a demanding son-in-law to the delight of her would-be mother-in-law. Brownie points earned but what if you don’t like the people at all – that is the million dollar question in Indian families marrying across communities but only if you accept that loves comes in a family pack of four or six people. 2 States is a crash course in winning the elders over  before grinning with them in family videos. The other option followed by the fraction of successful lovers is to consummate the marriage and mend their parents with family additions and granular overtures. The film takes a simplified approach of nudging the parents with part-manipulation and part-affection; as always, all is fair in love and marriage.

However, the end is predictable and the pace is slow sometimes with some characterisations left in the lurch. Ronit Roy as Arjun’s father has the most intense charcterisation but his character is puzzling and inconsistent: why he confronts everybody at home and why he relents and surprises all is a mystery. Amrita Singh essays a fine performance that comes naturally to her, as a mother torn between a disaffectionate husband and a pushy son, she comes out right on top of everyone. Revathy looks graceful as the mother who takes it down but retorts in style, the lovely jingle she sings at a concert inter-mixing her famous duet song in “Prema” is a highlight. Alia’s father Shiva Subrahmanyam puts in a convincing performance too.

Alia Bhatt is a big draw with her youthful effervescence and stunning looks. Those who didn’t see enough of her bubbly moments in “Highway” will have a colorful feast of her grace and beauty decked in bright colour costumes. But she doesn’t look the part of a Tamil Brahmin girl because her accent and her body language deny her projected origins. That is clearly unconvincing. Arjun Kapoor as the bespectacled, writer-backed narrator of his own story in Chetan Bhagat’s words is the best character in the film and deserves a hurrah. Subtle and Under-emoting, he balances the many shades in the film while being the committed lover to Alia. Technically, the film scores brilliantly on all the fours – cinematography, editing, dialogues and music. BGM by a different technician enhances the emotions while Shankar Ehsaan Loy deserve a high five for a beautiful score that blends Punjabi beats with South Indian rhythms; the trio always put in efforts to give music new spins in sound and arrangement.

In sticking to the basic novel that already resonated well with the youngistan, director has given a routine story the canvass it needs to reverberate the message of inter-caste and inter-community marriages powerfully which will strike instant chord with both seniors and young rebels. For over 2000 years, ancient Indians married freely across communities and cultures according to a joint study by CCMB in Hyderabad and Harvard Medical School – published in the American Journal of Human Genetics. After a few centuries, the mixing stopped because the populations became endogamous. Caste and other differentiators entered our regional consciousness making traditions of inter-mixing unwelcome. After Ek Duje Ke Liye (“Maro Charithra”), a new-age BPO version tries to convey the same message with happier ending and modern sensibilities. Highly watchable with family but don’t bet on a movie better than the book, if you have already read it.

Rating 3.75/5

"Race Gurram" (Telugu Film Review)

"Race Gurram" has come in the middle of a season that is seeing the race of our lives in election.  Directed by Surendar Reddy, "Race Gurram" gets off to a good start  but in the bid to make a blockbuster, Surendar Reddy errs on the heavier side of entertainment with too many twists in a bizarre tale that takes your head for a spin especially in the second half with logic and sanity hit out of the park. 

The story casts Allu Arjun in the title role, which means a horse trained to compete at races. But there is no justification of the title except a footage of horses at the outset and towards the climax besides a cursory mention of the qualities of horses and horsepower. The plot is about two brothers, Ram (Shaam) and Lakshman (Allu Arjun) who grow up teasing and fighting with each other, developing a strong disaffection to each other. Shaam becomes a cop while Allu becomes a vagabond. As their animosity grows stronger, Allu falls in love with Shruti Hasan who keeps her emotions masked under a tough-looking demeanor. Shaam, in one fit of a rage to level the scores with his brother needles his love story with dire results. As a tit for tat, Allu levels scores by hoodwinking his brother  about to nab gangster Siva Reddy (Ram Kishan) with solid evidence before Siva Reddy files his nomination papers for MLC. Allu lifts the police jeep and speeds away with the file unbeknownst. The villain Siva Reddy, having got wind of Shaam's intentions to nail him sends a task force to polish him off but alas, the jeep has Allu, it gets pulped by the villain's gang and thrown into the valley. Allu survives the ordeal and decimates Siva Reddy after hearing of his plot to actually kill his brother. Suddenly, Allu undergoes a paradigm shift that starts a series of confrontations with the villains. The second half shows the massive confrontation between the family of Siva Reddy and that of Allu Arjun that ends with agonizing twists and mind-numbing   concepts liberally followed from films like "Kick" (director's own),"Oke Okkadu", "Singham" and "Arya-2". 

The fundamental flaw that may go against the film itself is the story of confrontation between two brothers which is anti-sentiment. Both brothers go to any extent to undermine the other and this goes on since childhood with parents remaining mute spectators. No film with screwed up sentiment like this has ever succeeded. (Examples, "Chennakeshava Reddy", "Brothers"). Even if Ambani brothers compete with each other, they are doing it in separate homes, never under the same roof. Dragging this sentiment further, director Surendar Reddy introduces a twist before interval block of Allu waking up to the basic DNA of his brother and aligning himself with Sham to fight the villain. The story of the  brother, being a senior cop, unable to dote on his younger brother is quite a flaw that hampers the feel-good sentiment even as the narrative moves at break-neck speed. While the entire story can be summed in three lines - two brothers fighting, cop confronting a criminal and the younger brother also joining the fight, Surendar Reddy builds fat tissue after fat tissue in building the narrative, elongating the sequences and getting sloppy comedy that enumerates a jumbo starcast. 

The starcast has Shruti Hassan as Allu Arjun's love,  Prakash Raj as Shruti's father, Ram Kishan, Mukesh Rushi and Kota Srinivasa Rao as villains, Shaam, the cop in "Kick" playing again as a cop and also Allu Arjun's brother and three ace comedians, including Brahmanandam, Jayaprakash Reddy,Ali and MS Narayana besides new-age comedy artists. There are too many distractions in the narration of the main story which make it tedious despite a whole-heartedly valiant attempt at making a blockbuster. The trouble is, when you set out to make a blockbuster, you should have checked if there are too many blocks to bust your film's chances at box office. Surendar Reddy missed wholly in this giving a free running time of 163 minutes to cover five songs, repetitive run-ins between the brothers, a comedy track with Shruti Hasan in a romantic setting and the cliched introduction of Brahmanandam as the supercop who will bring down the house of the villains, the film travels at a velocity that will gradually numb your senses in the second half.

Shruti Hasan gave her dumbest performance in years despite looking demure and cute in songs. Her role of a girl who conceals her emotions is apt for her insipid acting that oozes mannequin beauty without substance. Prakash Raj and Shaji Shinde bore you with their trite antics. Shaam comes out good in his role as the cop even if its a leaf out of "Kick" performance. Bhojpuri superstar Ram Kishan steals the thunder as a villain with comic timing. Brahmanandam tries to get the biggest laughs, he almost succeeds but how long will his stereotype magic work - the kind of role that comes in the wee minutes of climax and knocks the socks off everybody including the hero and the villains? How long will heroes and directors let him ride out this sucker punch comedy that has become staple fare? The nation needs to know!

Allu Arjun is a high-calibre star who has earned the spurs of a Style Icon with a wonderful mix of attitude, hardwork and impeccable behavior. He has also delivered cinema that moves the needle of content towards different genres and acceptability beyond the borders of Telugu Cinema. As a package of dance, metrosexuality, presentability and personality projection, he is a case study on how one can get catapulted into supertardom without conventional good looks and low-timber voice. With that kind of halo, Allu Arjun has done well in the film by himself. There are atleast three scenes where his words spell magic on screen. He emotes fluently and delivers a knock-out performance in all scenes, dances and stunts. Perhaps, with an eye on the growing Malayalam market, Allu also uses a heavy drawl in accent to emphasise words like "Devudaa" differently which gets good laughs throughout his utterances. 

But for that, and a few good laughs, the film falls short of a supergood tag because of hopeless editing, zero attention to logic and consistency and silly comedy in the name of entertainment. If the film is cut by 35 minutes, it would have been a different experience, to cut a long story short. The film is watchable once but only for a while after interval. Music by Thaman is peppy and catchy but the picturization disappoints except in "Gala Gala". This may not be Allu Arjun's worst film but this is not his best. Surendar Reddy's direction has energy but it is time for him to take a calorie count on how much of it is needed to collapse the genres of entertainment with that of action and comedy. He has failed with "Oosaravalli" and "Athidhi" and "Ashok". It's time to go back to the basics of unhurried story-telling. Despite the highs in the film - the dialogues of Allu Arjun, the heavy starcast, the clean comedy, the new villain, the lows of the film outnumber - the length, needless scenes of sibling rivalry, Brahmanandam ad nauseum, bizarre twists that are completely irrational, overdose of everything, the film deserves a rating no more than 2/5.