Over 70 per cent of our population lives in rural India. In AP, we are more agrarian than many states. Proof: take the massive human migration that happens around Sankranti season in AP: the cities look more deserted and the villages mill with millions of city-dwellers binging on village talk, cock fights and family get-to-gethers. Isn't it ironical that Tollywood makes less than 10 per cent or even 5 per cent of the films based on village themes? For many years now, Telugu films are getting made only for the multiplexes. Last year, we made 256 films - 58 more films than in 2011 (and 35 films more than Hindi film industry) and yet fewer than 13 films based on rural India. This year, SVSC came in Sankranti and then there was a vacuum until one or two small films came and went, hardly noticed. Until now, when "Uyyaala Jampaala" came.
Produced by Ram Mohan Paruvu, UJ is refreshing, entertaining and evocative. Ram Mohan is an IIM grad and a sensible producer who is building a catalogue of memorable films irrespective of when they are released, even if in between star releases. "Ashta Chamma" and "Golconda High School" were two of his acclaimed films which proved families will flock if you offer a message with a youthful flavor. "Uyyaala Jampaala", his latest breaks the mould and it is not a novel story. It has a classic three-act story of a boy and a girl born into relation, grow up fighting each other and eventually unite in happy ending after late realisation and triggers from a forced arranged marriage. What can possibly be ingenuine in this plot? The treatment, the straight narration with a momentary flashback, a mint-fresh starcast thats neither theatrical nor super-articulate giving them an unmatched natural advantage, motifs from rural backdrop that underpin the roots of our culture - simple friendships, grand-parent wisdom, village naivette, unalloyed emotions, sylvan scenery and bucholic charms. In less than two hours (I couldn't believe this included the interval), director Virinchi Varma takes us through a roller-coaster of emotions of what we go through on a daily basis with far greater impact than what some of the surreal madcap movies we see with akimbo dances and adipose dialogues that only create noise pollution.
Virinchi has used the dialect closest to Bhimavaram-Kakinada belt in most of the characters including the hero who is at stellar ease with the slant. Avika Gour is the heroine who is well known to audiences as the cute girl in "Baalika Vadhu" dubbed in Telugu as "Chinnari Pelli Kooturu". She is sharp and bright in the film even if she lacks the glamor rampant in commercial films. Raj Tarun is the hero who looks an underdog but walks away with most of the honours despite having an unusual and almost unremarkable personality. Its a credit to the director that if you infuse the right characterisation with the right lines, it doesn't require brute stardom to burn the screen with memories, you can create a stir with basic sensibilities and sincere emoting. Thats exactly what Raj Tarun achieved in UJ. Among others who created impact were Anita Choudhary and Ravi Varma, both playing powerful characters on opposite sides. They show that talent in serials is in huge supply that is untapped. Music by Sunny is impressive. Last heard in "Swaami Ra Ra", Sunny scored some soulful melodies with distinct instrumentation and vocal rhythms. Again hard to believe that a movie this short has just four songs. Virinchi uses the classic director's lag - the first song always starts late and the last song always finishes early - that's the only way to avoid the audiences getting restive. Seeing the film in good old Shanti theatre, I noticed that neither the smokers nor the leakers left their seats during even one song. The title song transports us to a magical world of romantic dreams minus the dirty drills and the foreign frills that today's movies mandate.
Cinematography by Vishwa has its highs and lows - it captures the essence of village life, at times, it dullens the frames. Still, it delivers. Dialogues are apt and raise many laughs. After a long time, entertainment and comedy is enmeshed with the storyline - most of the funny one-liners come from the hero and his gang. There is subtle and refined humor lurking at every dialogue if you catch the lingo and the local idioms. In a film of this variety where the story draws you intensely with its rustic charm, the only weaknesses are those you didn't notice and they may be impertinent to the overall feel of the film. What is cliched is the use of stereotypes typical of patriarchial society that defines villages - too many symbols of even children playing wife and husband games etc. are bad examples in a society thats outgrowing those qualms. This is in bad taste and must be shunned in films even if it evokes sick laughter. There are also more examples of how the heroine feels disempowered till the end on asserting her love or her independence as a grown-up, such stereotyping does more harm than good to the society because in cinema, the medium is the message and we must be careful in projecting the right messages. It's the same stereotype that Srikant Addala used in SVSC - where a girl grows up in household with the sole objective of marrying the eldest son. Here, Avika is culturally weak and traditional and closer to her regressive picturisation in the mega TV serial that propelled her to stardom. Despite these blemishes, the director and the producer pull off a surprise family-clean entertainer that will rake it in well till the big releases. It may even be a giant-killer if the audiences bless it. It certainly has a repeat viewing quotient because of arresting simplicity despite state-of-the-art references to skype and facebook etc. We need more of such films to resonate with what majority Indians live like. Good returns for co-producers D Suresh and Nagarjuna Akkineni for partaking in the sweat equity of Ram Mohan Paruvu.
My rating: 4 out of 5 for a clean fare that lingers on with freshness.
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