“Syraa” (Telugu/Hindi/Tamil/Kannada) film review

Director Surendar Reddy has given an exciting and energetic twist to Megastar Chiranjeevi’s most ambitious project to date about Pre-Independent India’s forgotten freedom fighter Syraa Narasimha Reddy. With an iconic star cast assembled from Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Bhojpuri film industries, Surendar weaves a inspiring and pacy, sheer pacy narrative in 170 minutes about the times before Sepoy Mutiny or Rani Lakshmi Bhai with some highly convoluted cinematic liberties.  Is it watchable? Absolutely, you will not sit restless even for a minute. Is it convincing? Yes, even if you nod in dissent because the director doesn’t let the action scenes steal the intensity and depth of emotions. Until the interval bang, the film builds steady tempo but after that assumes an unstoppable momentum right to the finish - never letting any scene go waste in highlighting the steadfast patriotism and leadership qualities of Syraa in galvanising other satraps and the masses into revolting against the British. To be fair, the film has always hid the making and the production values in the shooting phase and that makes watching the film an epic cinematic  experience truly worth it. 

Authentically, we may have our doubts about the claim that Syraa single-handedly eliminated 10,000 British soldiers but the bone-chilling sequences of his rise and his bradvado in death deserve to be well-told and captured with all the paraphernalia that a Tollywood film can afford. From that standpoint, #Syraa is another Pyrrhic victory for how good an action film about a lesser-known freedom fighter can be without the fuss about a Mangal Pandey or a Manikarnika or the distractions of “Thugs of Hindoostan”. #Syraa is a winner in all departments and deserves to be more widely watched for the crafts in display. Ratnavelu’s cinematography, Julius Packam’s background score and Amit Trivedi’s high-pitch compositions all stand out in enhancing the dramatic appeal of the script.  There are quite a few spectacular moments which elevate the wow factor of the film. What deserves mention is that, Chiranjeevi and Ramcharan gave such free hand to director Surendar Reddy in extracting an intense portrayal of a warlord who tames the British in his own crude ways before more follow. Having two fair damsels like Tamannaah and Nayanataara, nothing stops Chiranjeevi from serenading them in dream sequences with silly steps but no, he didn’t and that raised the dignity and stature of the megastar in submitting himself to the script in his 151st film. Entries by special stars Amitabh Bachchan, Sudeep, Vijay Sethupathy, Jagapathi Babu, keep the excitement alive and the variety high, their exits equally dramatic and make you thirst for more. For a change, Tamannaah outshines Nayanataara. - a rarity considering the experience of the latter and the girlish tendencies of the former. Chiranjeevi delivers yet another mature and convincing performance as Syraa N Reddy, his dialogues are few, his emoting with eyes powerful and his stunts well-worth it. For someone who was obsessed with telling the tale of Syraa, he deserves credit but for whom the Telugu would have lost another opportunity to hear about another freedom fighter who never entered folklore. Some of the dialogues by Sai Madhav embellished by Parachuri brothers were epic but some more mention about the contemporaries and about the economic hardships of the Telugu would have added insights. Surprisingly, production values of the film stand out without much fuss -  a rare feat considering Surendar Reddy has never before directed a historical or a mythological. The film’s only shortfall is the degree of skulduggery and atavistic violence which perhaps is justified given the time of the protagonist. As the titles roll on, we noticed only one glaring omission of the long list of freedom fighters who took the mantle on after the first war of independence - Veer Savarkar. How did they miss him? On the whole, a well-made film and watchable once. Watch it for the screen presence of Megastar and many other megastars who set the screen on fire with great performances. Even if you like nothing about the star cast, the story itself will draw you in from the first frame. Vouch for it.

#Rating 3.75/5

#Syraa #SyraaNarasimhaReddy #MegastarChiranjeevi #AmitabhBachchan #VijaySethupathy #Sudeep #JagapathiBabu #SurendarReddy #AmitTrivedi #Tamannah #Nayanataara #JuliusPackam #Tollywood #Bollywood #FreedomFighters

Megastar's 150th Film

My analysis:

https://www.telugu360.com/logic-behind-megastars-150th-film/

Eddie Nageswar Rao: A Tribute in three parts

My tribute to the gold standard producer Edida Nageswar Rao in three parts:


Part 1:
https://www.telugu360.com/edida-nageswar-rao-the-gold-standard-producer-who-took-the-road-less-travelled/

Part 2:
https://www.telugu360.com/part-ii-edida-nageswar-rao-the-gold-standard-producer/

Part 3:
https://www.telugu360.com/part-iii-edida-nageswar-rao-the-gold-standard-producer/

"BruceLee" (Audio Review)

My take on "BruceLee" audio and on music of SS Thaman and on Ramcharan's choice of music in films:

http://www.telugu360.com/brucelee-audio-trendy-and-technobeat/

"Subramanyam For Sale" (Telugu Movie Review)

My review of the film:

http://www.telugu360.com/subramanyam-for-sale-telugu-movie-review/

Jai Chiranjeeva: A Tribute to Megastar Chiranjeevi

My tribute to the one and only Megastar Chiranjeevi in two parts:

http://www.telugu360.com/nostalgic-account-of-megastar-journey/

http://www.telugu360.com/part-2-jai-chiranjeeva-a-tribute-to-victorious-megastar/

When DSP Met Superstar Mahesh, again

On the choices of music composers by the ruling Superstars. An analysis over the years:

http://www.telugu360.com/when-dsp-met-superstar-mahesh-again/

How "Bahubali" made the World look to South for films

Has Bahubali made the world change its outlook towards South Film-Industry?

My analysis:

http://www.telugu360.com/move-over-bollywood-let-south-lead-the-way/

"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

"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

"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.

"Shadow" Film Review (Telugu)

"Shadow" is one of the most-publicised films of Victory Venkatesh. The publicity was imperative because in an era of fast-changing tastes of the audience, Venkatesh has fallen way behind both in terms of recent content and record. His films were becoming monotonous and shallow - the same family drama, trump-like character played by Venky, out to sacrifice his lover at the altar of marriage with another, and then the banal ending sometimes happy and sometimes sad - he even slashed his tongue in a film. No wonder, for the last year's Sankranti, his "Bodyguard" became a washout and couldn't stand the onslaught of "Businessman". Earlier in 2013, he co-starred with Mahesh Babu in "SVSC" which became a classic hit re-starting the trend in multistarrers. But his market-cap was clearly on the wane, he got paid a mere Rs.3 crores for the blockbuster while his co-star walked away with Rs.8.5 crs. (which was more than the satellite rights earned for the entire film Rs.7 crs. won by Gemini TV). Venky and Nagarjuna, who entered Tollywood a good decade or so after Megastar Chiranjeevi never could reach the dizzy heights of either Chiranjeevi or afterwards the range of box-office collections achieved by the likes of Mahesh Babu, Prabhas, Ramcharan and Allu Arjun. Venky and Nag might have touched a bare Rs.30 crs. if you count all the multiplex price collections and openings overseas. 

Why am I plodding on such long preface in a film review of "Shadow"? Thats because, given such a background, Venkatesh tries to don a different role in every sense. It has a negative shade but is positively highlighted in a manner that fits his body language and persona. "Shadow" directed by Meher Ramesh ("Billa" fame) shows Venky in a dashing new Avatar that could be lapped up by his thick-like audiences. It shows him as a multi-masked hero who  comes in different getups to finish off each villain responsible for the killing of his father Nagababu. Each time, he uses a different manner of slaying the villains from Shinde to Aditya Pancholi. How does he do it? By tail-gating Srikanth, a cop who almost nabs the villain only to pip him at the post.  Quite a fast-paced narration and gripping story with a few pointless excursions into comedy that sucks and a passable light-hearted love track with Tapsi. On the whole, what sustains the film is a commanding narrative with an occasional comedy by MS Narayana to give relief. Venkatesh, contrary to what the press and twitterati lambast, is quite good in the many costumes and hairdos. He remains the same rugged, tough-looking Venky of the earlier years, even if age catches up with him. A dignified swagger, controlled heroism, and stunning stunts make Venky a treat to watch. The composer of the season, SS Thaman scores peppy and trendy music including a haunting BGM  that uplifts the film and moves the narration. Picturisation of the songs and choreography by Raju Sundaram is quite a treat to watch. Srikanth and Tapsi hold their own in a film which tries to show Venky in his full-blooded range in all frames. Aditya Pancholi is an impactful villain whose dubbing lets his screen presence down. MS Narayana gets a few laughs with Krishna Bhagwan though he gets repetitive later. His jibes at casteism by commentating on a character called KammaReddy KapuRaju is hilarious.  Meher Ramesh's strengths are in slick direction, moving narrative and good editing (unlike in "Shakti"). He seems at home in shooting sequences in Malaysia, maybe he bootstraps the film's budget with grants from Malaysian Government to promote tourism. What bores the film is the insincere characterisation of Venky as "Chanti" before interval. 

Every actor goes through a hump in a career that gets truncated by invasions from nextgen of actors. Venkatesh, who has had an amazing run of box-office successes has given some of the most-watched Telly films in Tollywood with a selection of themes that appeals to family audiences and loyal audiences. There have been worse films in the past but "Shadow" is definitely worth a watch as I found it slick, riveting and different from the last five films done by Venky. It is not as bad as many reviewers have rubbished it to be. I am a fan of Tollywood, not a fan of Venkatesh and feel that everybody deserves a second-chance  and change of image - whether it is Balayya, Chiranjeevi, Mahesh, NTR Jr. or Prabhas or Nagarjuna. An actor like Venkatesh  deserves better reviews for "Shadow". It was a paisa vasool for all of us who watched the film. 3.25/5 it deserves.

"Viswaroopam" Telugu/Tamil Movie Review

"Viswaroopam" is truly a treat for fans of Kamal Hassan who admire his versatility and talent. Even though there's no title justification, the film is a stand-out in terms of technical brilliance and production standards that outmatch Asian cinema. To say, it holds a candle to Hollywood will be an outright cliche because Hollywood is always going to be on a different planet - their industry, their stalwarts, their creative flicks and their collaborative genius can never get exceeded in many lifetimes by anyone else outside of Hollywood. But Kamal Hassan wouldn't take that, as would  many other talents in Bollywood and other "Woods" who feel they are a misfit in Indian industry. Eventually, these talents either hit upon one or two films that pushes the door for an Oscar nomination or they end up collecting shingles for a role in "their" films which Americans can't even remember.

Kamal Hasan has gone through this angst many times in his lifetime and one day, we will all get to read about it in his own autobiography. Unlike his contemporaries in South film industry like Chiranjeevi and Rajanikanth, Kamal Hasan never compromised on his beliefs, his standards of acting, his quest for meaningful cinema within the boundaries set by commercial sensibilities. Unlike Rajanikanth and Chiranjeevi and even Amitabh Bacchan, he never got carried away by what the fans expected of him. Each time he acted, right from his toddler days as a child artiste, he kept pushing acting performances towards new highs and never fell to the temptations of stardom. We could have lost him many times in his career as an artiste of repute but Kamal Hassan never succumbed to the trappings of a mass hero which can nip your creativity in the bud. Playing characters, working with the greatest talent harvest in the golden age of Tamil and Telugu film industries, Kamal Hassan was true to his own self - which has earned the respect of every film goer who sees an artiste in him.  He has tried to play a new character and not the same matinee idol role that others were getting drunk on. On top of this acting talent, he can also write screenplays, sing an occasional song, make himself up into a different getup, edit films, pen sharp dialogues and direct movies. That makes him almost a non-pareil in modern times in Indian films a sort of a Raj Kapoor, Guru Dutt or a Shantaram. He is also a maverick in more ways than a Hollywood multi-faceted legend like Sidney Lumet, Clint Eastwood or a recent Ben Affleck - he strongly believes in creating cinema thats different, bold, taboo-free and subtext that sometimes is so strongly segued with his own belief-systems that they lead to the ruckus that's unleashed for "Viswaroopam". Whatever they may say, that Kamal is an atheist, he is anti-brahmin, he is anti-Hindu, he is secular, whatever, "Viswaroopam" is an uncomplicated visual treat which must be watched atleast once. 

What is evident from his films, in general,  and this film, in particular,  is that Kamal Hassan likes to give subtle messages of rationality, empowerment of women, a voice of dissent to those who act irrationally and a background to the social winds of change that sometimes miss commentary and observation by one and all. "Viswaroopam" is a good story told with lot of detail and passion  about an Indian RAW officer who infiltrates a "Jihadi" network of terrorists by becoming one of them. He changes his name, religion to be a Kathak dancer flirting with his girl disciples but earning the distrust of his not-so-loyal wife Andrea Jeremiah. Andrea is a nuclear oncologist and lands in a soup when a detective she appointed to spy on her husband's "illicit" liaisions knocks on the door of a terrorist. That terrorist's den belongs to Rahul Bose - a one-time ally of Kamal Hassan in his flashback role as Wasim Kashmiri. Rahul's men hold Kamal and Andrea captive and get ready to break his knees. That's when Kamal sets himself loose and polishes off the villains.  The sequence opens out further to reveal the flashback in terraneous Afghanistan where Rahul Bose and Kamal get together to become brothers-in-arms under the elderly guidance of Nazar (he is always there in Kamal Hassan's films, isn't he?). The flashback is the heart of the film and runs for an elaborate length within the overall running time of 148 minutes.  It is well-researched and well-shot on the magnificent plains of Afghanistan or the parts of Central Asia that protected Osama Bin Laden. This part of the film  - the part of the flashback which shows the sun-drenched tough-living conditions of mountainous regions where the terrorists train to fight for a cause but have their emotions run below the surface - for their loved ones - is shown with fascinating detail.  Under-stated but firm interplay of emotions of joy, friendship, betrayal, love and anger are well-bought out.  Certain scenes may remind you of the basic plot in "Kite Runner" that memorable tale filmed from a best-selling book. There are other scenes which resemble some of Kamal's films like "Dasavataram", "Satyaa" and "Hey Ram" (which he himself directed). 

Screenplay is pacy, and the narrative cascades well with a storyline that is well-written. Characterisation and emotions are the only two aspects which take a back-seat in Kamal's self-directed films. Not all characters get the right attention and except for Kamal, Rahul Bose and his associate, the rest of the characters were a wasted lot. Shekhar Kapur,  Prema Kumar and Nazar could have got meatier roles because they have the screen presence. Kamal's own performance actually gets overshadowed in the film by Rahul Bose who is such a fine actor. At times, Kamal Hassan is unconvincing as a Jihadi terrorist, but Rahul Bose is bang-on whether he stops himself short on doting his son and wife or rabble-rousing his camp followers or slicing his targets. Even his Arabic is flawless and sounds so good to hear. Andrea Jeremiah is cute and so is Prema Kumar but Kamal's fans must be disappointed not to find the customary lip-kiss that has become so commonplace in his films lately. The last time Kamal directed "Hey Ram" he was all over Rani Mukherjee but this time wonder whether it is the the creditors and the censors that made him lose intimacy with two cute debutantes.  Songs never get the extra-padding in his films especially the era after he gave up on Ilaya Raja. In this film, Birju Maharaj composes a lovely number on Kamal as a Kathak dancer set to hummable tune by Shankar Ehsaan Loy. The trio also score a terse yet tense background score that never distracts the audience from expecting surprises. Kamal has once admitted that he killed his own career in the early 2000s by acting in comedy films in which he plays marbles with other also-rans. Then it took many films to get back his mojo even though the golden run has gone. He is not a bankable star at the box office because he doesn't improvise on his charishma, he merely experiments with different characters and nobody really whistles when he appears on the screen, nobody takes ninety seconds to read his name on screen as with other stars with epithets like m-e-g-a-s-t-a-r or s-u-p-e-r-s-t-a-r. Here is a star who gives story the headweight it demands, blends his character like any other character in the film  and uses humor that is most often never dumbed down for the galleries. You will find references to famous literary works like "killjoy" or questions that he wants you to ponder like "Which God of yours?" (a reference to the Hindu Pantheon). Infact, think of the treatment, there is nothing in the film that buys controversy. Its just that the terrorists of a certain network are shown as highly religious in the traditions they follow - thats not objectionable by any stretch of imagination. 

Obviously, violence is quite graphic and brutal as it is depicted to match the explicit nature of what terrorists indoctrinated to achieve their means do. Climax could have been better and the wry humor that Kamal likes could have been spaced evenly throughout the film. Tension grips the film from the outset except for the titles when pigeons - the most peace-loving creatures flutter in their backyard. One noticeable point, I must say is that for the first time, a film doesn't preface with a statutory warning on smoking and drinking. Thats a rarity. Kamal Hassan, the director has aced up Kamal Hassan the actor. Wherever he wants to migrate to and become a citizen of,  Kamal's films are good to watch  - they are different and have a nice mixture of cinema sensibilities that the Indian viewer is seldom exposed to. For all that and for the controversy that it has generated sans the emotional and entertainment connect with the masses, "Viswaroopam" deserves 3.75 out of 5. 

"Naayak" Telugu Movie Review

“Nayak” starring RamCharan is a sensational winner and a film worthy of duel under the “Sun”kranti. Sankranti is the grand-mother of Tollywood movies and is not for the faint-hearted. Even the best of stars don’t take a shy at the stumps for Sankranti because of the weight of expectations and the stakes riding on the season. It is the equivalent of Diwali for Kollywood and Bollywood, but unlike Bollywood, Tollywood Sankranti separates men from the boys because there will be a clash of atleast two, if not three or four star-studded films. This little intro is for setting the tone for the year and “Nayak” proves to be an auspicious start for Tollywood. It has all the elements of entertainment – a rising star of a Megastar, romance, drama sans melodrama, villainy that justifies heroism, twists in the interval that shakes you up and comedy that is of an unprecedented scale, plenty of action and glamor of two cute heroines – Kajol and Amala Paul. Well-directed by veteran VV Vinayak.

The story is not dramatically different from dual-role stories in which Tollywood has taken a world patent. Set in Kolkata, Cherry is a happy-go lucky software engineer who falls in love  with Kajol. His side-kick is Brahmanandam playing the role of “Jilebi” who bumps into the gang of Rahul Dev and Jayaprakash. In the many romantic twists of the romance between Cherry and Kajol there is another character of Aashish Vidyarthi who is a CBI officer investigating gruesome murders of a goon, a police DIG (think of it!). He thinks it is all the work of Cherry and prepares to nab him next at a pre-announced Kumbh Mela where Pradeep Rawal gets a threat to get killed. At the Kumbh Mela where generally two doubles get lost from each other in olden movies, the bizarre twist that the one who is killing off all the villains is not Cherry, but Naayak, his look-alike. Then a lengthy interval which justifies the violent spree of killing by Naayak of all the guys who wronged him and his brother-in-law’s family. And then the proverbial climax after 160 minutes spaced with six spicy songs, about six to seven slick but needless fights and plenty of comedy from Jayaprakash  Reddy, Posani Krishna Murali, Brahmanandam and MS Narayana.

VV Vinayak is a director who excels in screenplay and story-telling and this is going to be a well-worked out example of his capabilities especially after the debacle of “Badrinath” but what can make his movies a family-draw is an abject reduction of grating violence with sumos, sickles and gunshots. While he has got great narrative grip in giving a story full of twists and flashbacks, he needs to be  a responsible film-maker of family sensitivities and tone down violence. In this film, he inter-mixes a lot of themes from movies like “Tagore”, “Aadi”, “Bunny”(all his films) as well as films like “Sivaji”, “Stalin” and “Businessman”. There are social themes touched upon like child prostitution and child beggary after maiming the children (as shown in “Slumdog Millionaire”). Couple this with violence, and you have a full-blooded “A” certificate. Personally, I feel “A” certificate films mar the fesivity of Sankranti season and should be avoided. But unlike  a movie like “Businessman” released last Sankranti, this film doesn’t have adult-level profanities. What redeems the film from its mediocrities of double-role tamashas seen from the times of “Ramudu-Bheemudu” is the fantastic comedy and entertainment right from the first few minutes. The first fight in a series of never-ending stunts comes only at the fortieth minute so it sets the characters well with the show-stealers being Jayaprakash (this must be his career-best), Posani Krishna Murali (he steals the show in second-half). Brahmanandam, Venu Madhav and MS Narayana have not get the better deal in this film and atleast their characters are not etched out to milk their potential. Ramcharan looks very stylish and “Orange”cool throughout the film and even the mass role of “Naayak” looks classy for him, he probably had the least dialogues in the film as a hero compared to all his previous films. But he proves a point again, that he can dance as well as his dad and his cousin Allu Arjun. All the songs carry  a signature step and a classy twist of a leg. There are so many others dominating in this film that Charan’s space comes only in the songs and fights a few one-liners with  the villains and Kajol. Both Kajol and Amala Paul look passable despite their skimpy clothes and sizzle in the navel. Kajol looks jaded and Amala Paul is guilty of horrible makeup; her lipstick and dressing sense has gone haywire. Aashish Vidyarthi, Kota Srinivasa Rao make their mark in their respective roles. Music by Thaman gives the classy feel to the mass numbers in the album with one song starring item girl Charmmee quite a foot-tapping number. The song remixing “Shubhalekha Raasa” (“Kondaveeti Donga”) is well-shot in Iceland but the song’s interludes are outright copied from the original song by IlayaRaja. I thought the interludes by IlayaRaja have given an iconic status to the song but by copying it fully right through the notes, Thaman  disappointed us. What is the meaning of a remix then?

On the whole, the film is marred  only by excessive violence but carries the day for some extraordinary entertainment and good songs and convincing performances by the entire starcast. Tollywood has patented few themes for eternity and ATM-cash-withdrawal from the box office. Examples, “Yamudu” theme, “Dual Role and sometimes triple role” themes – lost and found kind, “Shakespearan themes” of Taming the shrew/Comedy of errors/King Lear/Macbeth/All’s Well that ends well kind. The dual role concept is given an exhilarating treatment by VV Vinayak who should take a bow with this film. But for the violence in the film which extends the film by atleast 20 minutes, I subtract 0.5 and give the film an above-average 3 out of 5.

The Chiranjeevi Phenomenon

I wrote this piece on the occasion of Chiranjeevi's 57th birthday on August 9, 2012 which was published on http://www.frontpageindia.com/views/chiranjeevi-hero-love/36403

Chiranjeevi, the Hero we all love


When Chiranjeevi burst open his innings in Tollywood with “Praanam Khareedu” on Septemeber 22, 1978 (One month after his birthday), not many would have given him a half-chance. Tollywood was already in the grip of multiple matinee idols across multiple generations from NTR and ANR to Krishna, Shobhan Babu and Krishnam Raju besides star directors from Dasari Narayana Rao and K Vishwanath to Bapu and K Raghavendra Rao. Around the time his first movie was released, Chiranjeevi’s only claim to filmdom was as an actor struggling to find a foothold. Chiranjeevi had nothing to offer to what’s already not on fare – he is not hugely charismatic like NTR and SVR, nor had a lineage of filmy family. He could get hold of one such bargepole in the fomr of Allu Ramalingaiah when he married the latter’s daughter in 1980.


But Chiranjeevi had that killer instinct and the deep desire to create a unique position for himself – he tried various family fares playing the rogue liar in “Kothalarayudu”, the shrew-taming dummy husband in “Mogudu Kaavali” and the self-righteous do-gooder middle-class householder in “Intlo Raamayya Veedhilo Krishnayya”.

Almost all of them met with unexpected success at the most embryonic stage of his film career – one of them running for more than a year in some theatres. Fans – mostly toddlers, teenagers and housewives growing up in the anarchic years of the 1980s were hungry for a star who will project their aspirations, rebellions, frustrations and dreams on celluloid – they wanted a hero who is as rebellious as Krishnam Raju, a hero as dashing and daring as Krishna , a hero who is lovable like Shobanbabu and someone much more than all of them combined.

Chiranjeevi started feeding what the generation demanded from him very quickly acting in many movies, rotating directors and dialogue-writers and acting with the best in the industry – K Balachandar, Dasari, Raghavendra Rao, Bapu and Vishwanath. Fans loved the intensity of his eyes, the depth of his acting, and his dancing prowess quickly became the toast of a whole new generation who were fed on insipid dancing steps of veterans acting with half-opened shirts and bell-bottom trousers.

Chiranjeevi delivered the blockbuster “Khaidi” which positioned him as the new dashing hero and quickly followed more movies from Raghavendra Rao, Kodi Rama Krishna and Kodandarami Reddy – a director who relied on action dramas with light-hearted romances and the incredible storylines of ace novelist Yandamoori Veerendranath.

Chiranjeevi quickly became the darling of the masses as he belted out jubilee after jubilee hit with “Abhilaasha”, “Challenge”, “Raakshasudu” and “Marana Mridangam”. Like Amitabh Bacchan in Bollywood, movie scripts were written for him and artistes and heroines, technicians and writers all vied with one another in working with the first megastar of Tollywood.

Amongst the many trends he started, Chiranjeevi is famous for bringing in elegant dancing and stylish way of acting in tune with the rising tempo of music. He started the import of villain talent from Bollywood, and gave many technicians - choreographers (Raghava Lawrence), music directors (Mani Sharma, Raj-Koti), character actors (Amrish Puri, Prakash Raj, Kannada Prabhakar, Sarath Kumar) their major breaks.



Now with 149 films to his credit, Chiranjeevi’s career spans the most momentous period of Tollywood that marked the new decade after color productions, multi-starrers with excellent story scripts, the invasion of heroine as a star attraction, introduction of true item songs, choreography as a focal attraction of films, elevation of directors and dialogue-writers to cult status, intelligent use of fans and satellite and social media to enhance a star’s longevity, craze for audio release functions, and the undying craze for first-day-first-show tickets, heroes taking a cut in the distribution of movies as part of the remuneration, the list goes on…


Every five years or so, despite the unavoidable flops, Chiranjeevi systematically used the collective and imported talent in Tollywood to push new boundaries for himself, his family and for the industry. Today, Tollywood enjoys the best monetary status because of a huge star power and in-house talent of technicians from cinematographers and directors to music composers and story-writers, the credit goes to heroes like Chiranjeevi who pushed new boundaries for business of Tollywood.

When “Indra” was released amidst truly the first major audio event for Tollywood in the last decade, there was unprecedented frenzy – it sold close to a million cassettes on day one – there aren’t that many CDs sold even today.

Chiranjeevi, despite all the massive fan following is probably the second actor in Tollywood, after NTR, who has used the medium of Cinema to feed the adulation of the masses and gain symbiotic relationship to accelerate his family’s fortunes in Tollywood.

Because of his direct allegiance with fans, he has created many platforms to interact with them on a continuous basis. He is cognizant of the spinoffs that accrued to him over the years, and the payoffs that continue to others who turned up into films from his family – Pawan Kalyan, Allu Arjun, Ramcharan Tej.

Chiranjeevi and his brother-in-law Allu Aravind created fan clubs, organized them into strategic business units, fed their frenzy at all eventful functions, created websites that offer biographical wikipedias of the Chiranjeevi phenomenon, offered a bankable platform called “Blood Banks” which galvanized more of them into purposive actions which though met with unexpected controversies, and finally harmonized all the fans into one mega family of fans of Chiru the actor.

Even though he was lured into politics a good five years ago before he burst open on the scene with Praja Rajyam Party, Chiranjeevi is the second star-turned politican in the history of Tollywood to create some eyeball impact on the politics. Though his party fizzled out at the hustings in 2009, unable to create any impact with the themes of “social justice” and “inclusive growth”, the PR party managed to grab 17 per cent voting share of the population.

Even though he failed as a politician, Chiranjeevi continues to make attempts to avoid being sidelined by contemporary politics or where his heart lies – in Tollywood. He is now at the heart of Kapu politics in the Congress and continues to spar with the other Kapu politician Botsa in creating a position of power for himself and his community.

As a Tollywood biggie, his family continues to corner the best technicians and talent to turn out hit after hit and strive to be in heightened public currency from Pawan Kalyan’s “Gabbar Singh” to Ramcharan’s “Raccha” to Allu Arjun’s “Julayi”.

Chiranjeevi’s brother-in-law Allu Aravind who produced over 15 films (his best-ever producer) has created a triumvirate monopoly in Tollywood with control over distribution of movies along with producers Dil Raju and D Suresh Babu. As an investor, Chiranjeevi has been careful with his star remuneration and hasn’t over-invested in movies like other stars or created studios that lose money. He has invested in prime real estate and prime time television channels like MAA TV. As on date, MAA TV is rising to the top as a close contender to Gemini TV.

Now, he ponders over the next move whether to remain in politics or plunge back into movies to star in his 150th film now that the stars are aligned for his younger family members to take over Tollywood. As a towering hero in Tollywood, Chiranjeevi has been a phenomenon that’s hard to beat . But as a politician, he has been marginalized. What can beat him in happiness at this crucial birthday milestone is another movie after his own heart. Happy birthday, Chiranjeevi!
By Sridhar Sattiraju

Link: http://www.frontpageindia.com/views/chiranjeevi-hero-love/36403
http://www.frontpageindia.com/views/chiranjeevi-hero-love/36403

"Daruvu" Movie Review (Telugu)

‎"Daruvu" means drumbeat - or sound of mass as the byeline says. Ravi Teja's movies always meant you switch off your brain and mobiles together. So we went expecting a couple of hours of nonstop entertainment and comedy and antics that will chill you in this scorching summer. It felt this time a bit longer. A little short of 3 hours, the movie is dripping in masala fare, comedy and entertainment. It ropes in almost all of Ravi Teja's favorite co-star comedians - Brahmanandam, Srinivas Reddy and now Vennela Kishore who pack quite a punch. To give it a family touch, Ravi Teja figures in triple roles apart from the title role of a small time thug. How does it all add up?

There's an introduction scene of the "yamalok" - Telugu audience's favorite entertainment haven outside of our planet which makes the Old Yama Satyanarayana Kaikala anoint a new Yama (Prabhu who looks good) and warn him not to take "panga" with Telugu youth; he warns of those who tried to upstage "yamalok" in the past - NTR (Yamagola), Chiranjeevi (Yamudiki Mogudu) and NTR Jr.(Yamadonga). And the story is bizarrely concocted from there with a mischief played by Chitragupta (MS Narayana). No doubt, the movie smacks of tonnages of entertainment, comedy. So, the scenes shift off speedily and sometimes jerkily - with Ravi Teja trying to give a heightened sense of performance in every frame - he does have the screen presence and the mirchmasala factor especially with his loud voice, gay mannerisms and a Telugu accent that is neither here nor there, sounding like our CM's Telugu pronunciation. But he creates a variety in roles - as Home Minister, as mass thief, and two other fleeting roles. Director Siva's sreenplay is too fast-paced and doesnt allow most scenes to registe because of uproarious output by the energy levels of the comedy gang and Ravi Teja. We know what happens when Ravi Teja and Brahmanandam share the screen. Brahmanandam does well too but the character is one that family audiences may detest - an effeminiate, gay dance master.

Director has concentrated on the entertainment aspects well but has also introduced several elements that connect with classes - mother care, anti-corruption, Karma theory, etc. This creates a big drag sometimes - you can't unwind from the profane to the profound so fast especially with an explosion of entertainment and energy. There has been less concentration on the music and heroine. Music by Vijay Anthony is loud and "dappu" only and there's not one melody song that you can remember, it is so cacophonous. I wonder if this is the same guy who scored music for "Mahatma". Tapsi, the heroine, is never important in the plot and she doesn't add the glamour also despite trying hard.

How Good is the movie? I wouldn't watch it again - despite the extra efforts and the output of comedy, the length of the movie and the lack of subtelety does get on your nerves. Finally, my take on the heritage of "yamalokam" used in Tollywood is that the audience is losing interest in the theme. While "Yamagola" and "Yamudiki Mogudu" have been hits, current generation hasn't showered applause for "yama Donga" - it was not a comparative hit. Mohanbabu also attempted the theme in "Yama jathakudu" but with less success. Maybe the theme fires well on screen if you keep it close to the knitting - but if you mix up all the themes in the world, flat will be the output. Despite limited violence and extra-ordinary entertainment, I felt stressed in the movie watching my time a number of times. Ravi Teja, may be Tollywood's Amitabh and Dada Kondke, but he neednt have tried so hard. Sometimes, you need break from entertainment too.