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Sunday, 24 December 2006 07:33 |
Jagapati Babu's baritone voice booms inside the theatres as he fights for justice as the owner of a newspaper publication in Samanyudu. This is a movie that has a good narration, remarkable camera work and is backed up by direction that digs a little deep into the psyche of an evil man. The story attempts to grip the viewers sincerely. The background noise is minimum signifying subdued melodrama. The songs are peppy, especially the Endira Bavmaridi song.
Jagapati Babu leaves no room for complains with his acting. Samanyudu is inherently a good movie. Yet this movie will be just an average one as there is no super star factor attached to catapult it. The masses do not applaud at the end of each and every dialog. The dialogs do not lack punch, but the situations that prompt the dialogs do not move the masses thereby reducing the effect.
The bubble of Samanyudu burst in the main scene where the hero corners the villain and demands to return the public's property and the audience responds just by a few claps from here and there. It's a pity that the viewers would go berserk about dialogs to settle personal vendetta but be unmoved when it concerns a public cause.
When a movie is made with a star and not a super star the direction has to be impeccable to make it a hit. For example in Samanyudu the villain should have been introduced in a more sinister manner. The assassination of the hero's father and its impact on the hero should have been more dramatic as well as meaningful. Kamna Jethmalini, the heroine, is seen less than Archana who is doing a character role. It's easier said than done, but then the results are there for all to see.
Samanyudu is a story that emphasizes, "The pen is mightier than the sword". Ranganath runs a newspaper and exposes the corrupt practices of the home minister (Sai Kumar). Sai Kumar is assisted by Lingam (Vinod Kumar) and the some civil servants in his evil designs. Ranganath is killed for his honesty. It's up to his son (Jagapati Babu) now to settle score. Jagapati Babu tries to avenge his father's death with the help of Archana, Dasari Arun Kumar and Rajiv Kanakala. But somebody is ticking off the villain about Jagapati Babu's plans...
Though Samanyudu is not a cracker of a movie still you can expect some firework. Wishing you all a happy Diwali.
| Director: | Ravi Chawali | | Producer: | Venkat | | Cast: | Jagapati Babu, Kamna Jetmalani, Sai Kumar, Vinod Kumar, Arun Kumar, Rajiv Kanakala, Archana, MS Narayana, Ranganath, Sujitha, Duvvasi Mohan, Narra Venkateswara Rao, Ramireddy, Benerjee, Ahuti Prasad, Raghunath Reddy, Ashok Kumar, Mumaith Khan, Chintu, Sudardhan, Sarika Rama Chandra Rao, Jenny, Subhashini | | Music: | Vandemataram | | Lyrics: | Kaluva Krishna sai, Raju |
| Editing: | KV Krishna Reddy | | Screenplay: | Ravi C Kumar | | Story/Writer: | Ravi C Kumar |
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Sunday, 24 December 2006 07:30 |
There is an endearing quality about the actress: Laya. Her smile and the slight twinkle in the eyes make one like her instantly. Her acting has always been splendid in whatever constricted scope she has been offered in a male dominated industry. Her tall and graceful shape, which wasn't meant for kitschy entertainment, complimented her roles to create a no-nonsense persona. This engineering graduate is a trained classical dancer that chose her scripts carefully. Though she never attained the status of Trisha or a Charmee, yet she was in a league of her own and had a unique appeal that was etched in the hearts and minds of the viewers. Too sad that she quit acting in movies.
"Tata Birla Madhyalo Laila" is a parting gift of Laya who tied the knot recently. She bade adieu to the film industry to experience marital bliss. A loss for the telugu film industry and the viewers is a gain for her husband and the in-laws. She would definitely be a beautiful and sensible better half. All the best to her on her marriage from all of us at nowrunning.com.
Tata Birla Madhyalo Laila is a comedy about two petty thieves Tata (Shivaji) and Birla (Krishna Bhagwan). The two thieves make a living by swindling the swindlers. Accidentally they end up as hired killers to kill Laya, an heiress to a rich empire of business and properties. They are hired by none other than Laya's uncle Gajapati (Tanikela Bharini) who acts like a doting caretaker father.
The highlights of the film are: a real woman Laya who looks the happiest as well as at her gorgeous best and a man dressed as a woman Laila (Ali). Ali brings the house down every time he appears on screen dressed as a femme fatale. His mannerisms are so feminine that he would easily pass off as a female for people who haven't seen him on screen before.
Krishna Bhagwan and Sivaji provide some side-splitting comedy. But Raghubabu's comedy as a dubious god man is really hilarious. The great comedian of yesteryears, Padmanabham too is there in the film rarely doing anything except to be in frames and mouth some lines. Still it's a good thing to see him acting.
"Tata Birla Madhyalo Laila" promises a large dose of laughter (though not of the better quality). The movie doesn't cast any impressions in the end, but the endearing actress Laya's smile stays on in the mind.
| Director: | Srinivas Reddy | | Producer: | Gopi | | Cast: | Sivaji, Laya, Krishna Bhagawan, Ali, Tanikella Bharani, Brahmanandam, MS Narayana, Venu Madhav, Padmanabham, Duvvasi, Raghubabu, Chitram Seenu, Rallapally, Jeeva, Kamal, Surya, Kavitha, Apoorva, Ranjitha, Subhashini, Pavala Shyamala, Lavanya | | Music: | MM Srilekha | | Lyrics: | Bhaskarbhatla |
| Editing: | V Nagi Reddy | | Screenplay: | N Srihari, Nivas | | Story/Writer: | N Srihari |
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Thursday, 12 October 2006 10:10 |
Yet it is an enjoyable fare. A Mills and Boons type romance, flavored with the charm of Nagarjuna, will find a lot of females making it a point to watch Boss despite the shortcomings in the movie. Not to speak of the thousands of Bosses and their personal secretaries who would definitely try to justify their peccadilloes. But the movie is strictly not about meaningless affairs; rather it's about love that seeks to metamorphose into a life long enduring relationship only to be met with stiff resistance.
Boss is the story of a real estate baron Gopal Krishna (Nagarjuna) who is a sort of a paradox: honest in his dealings and yet rolls in cash. He hires Anuradha (Nayanthara), a girl with a heart for social service as his personal secretary. Anuradha is raised in an orphanage run by Chandra Mohan. She finds herself swathed in luxury now. A posh flat to stay, a chauffeured car and the proximity to the head honcho make her grow up in stature. Yet her head is perfectly screwed and she is well poised. But she cannot prevent herself from falling head over heels for the debonair boss.
While the boss is busy lavishing the secretary with praises and expensive gifts he is oblivious to the fact that she is in love with him. Nayanthara takes a wee bit long time to express her love for him. In the meanwhile an incident results in the clash of the egos of the boss and the secretary. The self-respecting secretary decides to quit and tenders her resignation letter. The boss in true M and B type asks for one month's time. He hires another secretary (Poonam Bajwa) to add insult to injury. That's just a part of the story.
The sad thing is that the rest of the story is very predictable. That's what takes the gloss off the movie. Shreya makes a special appearance as the deceased wife of Nagarjuna. She is killed in Tsunami, mercifully not in a car accident. While V N Aditya can hog the credit for that he will find it difficult to answer some uneasy questions like: how come that Nayanthara who works as secretary knows everything except Nag's past married life? Logically the topic should crop up sometime during office gupshups and the secretary aware of it.
The jokes are infantile. And how many times the average film buff has not seen the hero stopping the heroine from getting married to someone else?
Sorry, the director let go of a chance of a lifetime to cash on the flamboyance of Nagarjuna. He is guilty of losing grip in the second half. The movie should have stopped when it still continued and thankfully stopped finally after dragging for nearly 20 minutes.
All said and done, Boss is a treat for Nagarjuna fans. The first half of the movie is enjoyable and having known about the second half from us you can watch the movie without any disappointment.
| Director: | V.N.Adithya | | Producer: | D.Shiva Prasad Reddy | | Cast: | Nagarjuna, Nayanatara, Poonam Bajwa, Shreya, Sumalatha, Nasser, Chandramohan, Sayajo Shinde, Brahmanandam, Sunil, Dharmavarapu, Ali and Tanikela Bharani | | Music: | Kalyani Malik | | Cinematography: | Siva Kumar | | Screenplay: | V N Aditya |
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Thursday, 12 October 2006 09:53 |
Chiranjeevi is awesome; Stalin is a good movie and the megastar rules. The affable and humble megastar deserves a standing ovation for defying age and for having the ability to stand at the top of the Telugu filmdom for such a long period: unchallenged and unbeatable.
The sheer energy that Chiranjeevi puts in to his films is clearly visible in the dance sequences, fights and dialog delivery. As you watch the movie Stalin, all doubts about age and on-screen chemistry evaporate soon. And you get sucked in to the story. The flawless acting of the megastar under the brilliant direction of Murugadoss keeps you engrossed with a story that has great social relevance.
Murugadoss is not a fluke. He justifies his belief that a strong story and imaginative direction will result in a hit. He has the acumen to come up with a story that seems to be tailor made for the megastar in conformity with his real life persona. The movie Stalin is like a sandwich prepared with a slice of real life Chiranjeevi, the character Stalin being the other slice, and the characters like Trisha, Khusboo and the rest form the stuff in between.
Stalin is a Major General who fights in the Kargil war gallantly. He quits the army as his boss sends him to the administrative department. Stalin thinks he is cut out for fighting for his country and not pushing pen. He returns home where his mother (Sarada) is ever eager to find a match for him. But Stalin remains busy helping people in need. An incident makes him dig deeper in to his conscience and start the concept of helping others. He doesn't take a thank you in return for the favor done, rather asks the person helped to extend a helping hand to 3 more people. Thus Stalin envisages a human chain of help that would touch everybody in someway.
What goes around comes around. Though slowly at first, the help chain spreads and touches many people's lives. 'Help others ever and hurt never' is the message of the movie to a society that erroneously believes that 'self help is the best help'. Somewhere in the eagerness to help others Stalin gets involved in a brawl. That escalates in to a major enmity with the home minister (Prakash Raj). The chief minister steps in to mediate the issue. But the chief minister's life is put in to danger. It is the help chain that saves the life of the chief minister and Stalin as well as puts an end to the rule of the devious home minister.
Khusboo is the elder sister of Stalin who marries a Punjabi against her mother's wishes. Trisha is the neighbor of Khusboo and loves teasing khusboo's son. This brings Stalin and Trisha together.
Trisha is at her expressive best as ever. Anushka scintillates in a dance scene. Prakash Raj looks every inch an eighty-year-old devious politician. Mani Sharma scores good music with which the do-gooder Chiranjeevi keeps pace along with a willing Trisha.
Murugadoss's imaginative screenplay and direction reverberates with the Paruchuri brothers' punch packed dialogs. There is a festival going on and looks like it will continue for the next hundred days. Be a part of it. If possible spread the good idea of helping three people. It would come back to you someday. |
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Tuesday, 26 September 2006 02:45 |
Ganga may not have huge star cast, big banners and great hype but it does have a lot of values: a rare commodity these days. Ganga may not run for hundred days even in one center but it's good movie, unquestionably.
Cinema is powerful medium that can bring about change in society. Cinema doesn't only entertain; it also moulds the psyche of people for better or worse depending on the story, characterization, and makers of the movie. Viewed from this angle, Ganga is a fabulous movie that makes people aware of the prevailing evils in the society and methods of curbing those.
The movie is about eradicating the evils of Jogini system. Jogini system is an archaic and cruel system that is still prevalent in some parts of rural Andhra and enforced by a handful of powerful village big guns that forces a few girls ostensibly to be married to the God, but in reality to be used for the gratification of lust of the same powerful and lecherous people. Poverty, helplessness and the wrong perception about a girl child being a burden forces many parents to succumb to such pressure from the village high and mighty.
Ganga is a movie about one such would-be-jogini who is married to the Gods. And the a handful of wanton and powerful villagers are waiting for the girl to attain puberty. But the jogini wants to lead a married life. How she achieves her dream and who makes the dream come true forms the crux of the story.
The cast and crew should be lauded for being part of such a cause. Definitely Ganga will shake up the people of rural Andhra to drive out the atrocious system.
| Director: | Vemu | | Producer: | Sekhar Yalamanchi | | Cast: | Venu Gopal, Priyanka, Tara, Suman, Eswari Rao, Venu Madhav, Jayaprakash Reddy | | Music: | Koti |
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Tuesday, 26 September 2006 02:44 |
Ram Gopal Varma is a yarn spinner who makes our belief stronger that there should and can be such knights to slay the modern day demons: corruption, abuse of power and lawlessness. And in convincing us he succeeds.
The villains are the powerful parasites of society, the hero a merciless crusader, the heroine is a ravishing beauty that sizzles and the text is the systematic dismantling (by the hero) of the blatantly corrupt edifice erected within the boundaries of the government - you have another Ram Gopal Varma thriller.
But do not be mistaken, though a typical Varma film, "Shiva 2006" is neither like James nor like "Shiva" (1989). Varma takes a fistful of Shiva, a lot of "James" and a dash of "Rangeela" to make Shiva 2006 a powerful yarn about the conviction and the guts of an intrepid cop. And after a long gap Ram Gopal Varma reminds people what he is ? Ram Gopal Varma: auteur par excellence. Thrill and horror are his genres and he is a connoisseur in these genres.
Among other things, picking up faces that suit his roles perfectly is Varma's forte. The heroes, villains and the side kicks ? Varma has a penchant for selecting people that seem to be cut out for the roles. He doesn't go face hunting too far. The Marathi theatre and movie artists market caters to his demand for unique faces for villains and sidekicks, while the heroes come from Mumbai.
Infusing his movies with interestingly novel shades and touches is the secondary characteristic of Varma's creations. Remember, in the old Shiva the villain Raghuvaran was shown watching cricket match on the TV. In the new one the villain is very careful about his mother's health. These are things done by normal people, and the villains doing these give a different shade to villainy.
All the while Varma maintains a strong grip on the reality as he has amazing understanding of the real ways of the world and doesn't just go by newspaper headlines like most directors. Finally, it's the development of the characters that sets Varma apart from the rest. He is the best in directing the body language, language, mannerisms, and timing. In Shiva 2006 he gets every thing right if you can forgive a minor mistake (the hero and his friends resign from the police department yet retain the motorbikes).
If Mohit reminds you of the knights of the past, Neha the damsel in distress scorches the scenes with her glamour in Shiva 2006. Upyendra Limaye is a typical parasite as a municipal corporator helped by his sidekicks like John. Zakir Hussain as a puppet police officer in the hands of the home minister Dilip Prabhalkar and the last minute taking over of John from Upyendra Limaye make you wonder whether Varma has access to insider stories through his friends and acquaintances.
The story of "Shiva 2006" is no different from a typical RGV production where the hero, a small town guy goes to the big and bad city of Mumbai to get entangled in a cobweb spun by the evil forces. Finally he cleans the city, at least a corner of it, off the cobweb. But it's the treatment that makes Shiva 2006 a must watch. Happy watching
| Director: | Ram Gopal Varma | | Producer: | Factory | | Cast: | Mohit Ahlawat, Nisha Kothari, Suchitra Pillai, Shereveer Vakil, Dilip Prabhalkar, Zakir Hussain, Raju Mavani, Nagesh Bhosle, Pankaj Jha, Upyendra Limaye, Vinod Jayawant, Ganesh Mayakar, Dinesh Lamba, Ranveer Shorey, Ninad Kamat | | Music: | Ilayaraja | | Lyrics: | Nitin Raikwar | | Cinematography: | Amal Neerad | | Editing: | Amit Parmar, Nipun Gupta | | Screenplay: | Nipun Gupta, Amit Parmar | | Story/Writer: | Sajid Farhad | | Art Direction: | Aparna Sood | | Action: | Ram Laxman |
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Tuesday, 26 September 2006 02:43 |
Bharat has a penchant for selecting movies with bold and unique story lines. That's very much appreciable. He has the potential to make it big. Sadly, Maa Iddari Madhya didn't prove to be lucky for Bharat. The break is definitely waiting around the corner. He has to keep working in such movies.
Vidisha is a superb actress with a lissome figure. She was given a lot of scope to prove her mettle, which she did. Hope she also gets more offers based on the good work she has done in MIM.
MIM has a unique story line. Girl drinking liquor and getting drunk in memory of her beloved is never shown in any film so far. "Maa Iddari Madhya" takes the laurel for taking such a bold step where such a heroine slaps around her boyfriend. But it goes a bit too far in such treatment. The excess slapping seems unnecessary. Otherwise the story is good and the twists are taut. You have seen it in many movies, but at the end you really wish the hero is alive and both the hero and heroine should unite. But somehow the treatment is poor.
While M Ramesh will be credited for writing a good story he will be held responsible for spoiling the movie with bad direction. May be a guy like Sekhar Kammula could have cut the bizarre scenes like a frustrated lover trying to kill Bharat and getting arrested. A lot of characters are not well carved out. That includes Brahmanandam, MS Narayana, the heroine's mother and several others.
But on the whole the movie is worth a watch for good songs and a different story.
| Director: | M Ramesh | | Producer: | V Shyam Prasad | | Cast: | Bharat, Vidisha,Brahmanandam, Rajya Lakshmi, LB Sriram, MS Narayana, Telangana Shakuntala
| | Music: | R P Patnaik | | Screenplay: | M Ramesh | | Story/Writer: | M Ramesh |
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Tuesday, 26 September 2006 02:41 |
One straight question needs to be asked to the directors like Shyam Prasad. Can they think beyond suicide, horrible comedy with mentally sick people as the theme, accidents, operation theatres and armed goons chasing supporting characters/heroines? If they can then they will have hit movies at the box office. If they can't then they will have 'could-have-been-hit' like Seetaramudu.
Seetaramudu has some unique scenes and the story is different. There are really funny moments with comedian Ali. The director show flashes of brilliance with a scene where Shivaji asks for a lift to his lover's brother-in-law. The way Seetaram (Shivaji) deals with the real estate don Ramulu (Rahul Dev) is interesting. But such credibility is lost in a flash in a scene where a person wants to commit suicide and Ali tries to rescue him. These types of scenes clearly show that the director lives in a make belief world of his own.
In the make belief world of director Shyam Prasad, Seetaram is a happy go lucky guy whose father works for a real estate-cum-gang lord Ramulu. Seetaram falls for the bare all Anjali (Ankhita) and woes her. But Ramulu's son also loves Ankhita. He realizes that Anjali doesn't love him and so is ready to forget her. But his father wants to present Anjali as a bride to his son. Will he succeed, given the fact that his love for Anjali is reciprocated and Seetaram is a hard nut to crack?
Seetaramudu has a good story. The Parimala track, where Shivaji tries to win the love of Anjali by requesting her to unite him with her friend Parimala is unique and hilarious. But as mentioned earlier some unnecessary comedy scenes add to the ennui and take away the sheen off the movie.
| Director: | Shyam Prasad | | Producer: | Yalamanchali Ravichand | | Cast: | Shivaji, Ankita, Rahul Dev, Ahuthi Prasad, Surya, Hema, Ali, Srinivas Reddy
| | Music: | Ramana Gogula | | Cinematography: | Anji | | Editing: | Gowtham Raju | | Screenplay: | Shyam Prasad |
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Saturday, 09 September 2006 10:46 |
It's a horror movie that has tried to use kinked creativity. The director Sivanageshwara Rao uses stupid premises to make the masses believe in his script. Premise no 1- You can catch ghosts on a Polaroid camera. 2- Ghosts can make phone calls. Well, the list is long...but I will save you the troubles.
Swapna (Muktha) loves Siddhartha (Anand). But Siddhartha thinks Swapna as a friend and moves with her to save her from the gang of his friends who rape girls and take their nude photos to make them silent. Yet Swapna is brutally murdered in the college by the same gang. The ghost of Swapna avenges her murder by killing all the three members of the gang and pursues Siddhartha till the end believing him to be an accomplice in the murder.
Sivanageswara Rao should have stuck to comedies, of which he gave us a string of flops. With time he could have improved. But he jumped track and shifted to horror, only to disappoint. Photo is an illogical movie both from the angle of the plot and the concept. How can a ghost not know who are her killers (if at all there is a ghost).
Before getting killed she has seen who have killed her and after her death she can see what's happening. Then how can the ghost in question here pursue the hero simply because his unconscious body was put on her dead body and photographed by the gang to give the impression that he raped her.
After all when the ghost is capable of doing many things that is shown in Photo, she could have easily found out whether the hero was involved in the killing. Both the ghost and Sivanageshawara Rao get poor marks for not doing their homework properly.
To top it all, the way Jayasudha is portrayed as a lovely mother who preserves her daughter's body for months end, hardly goes down with the audience well. The comedy is as horrible as the movie. Overall the movie probably would end up being the most boring movie of the year.
Director: Sivanageshwara Rao
Producer: Nagesh Pawar
Cast: Anand, Mukta, Anjali, Jayasudha, Suman Setty, Tanikella Bharani, Nutan Prasad, Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam, LB Sriram, Krishna Bhagawan
Music: Rohit Raj
Cinematography: K G Soman
Editing: Gowtham Raju
Screenplay: K Hanumantha Rao
Story/Writer: K Hanumantha Rao |
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Saturday, 09 September 2006 10:39 |
The story is good but the sense of being cheated makes it hard to appreciate the good part. Add to that inept direction and Pellikosam runs in empty theatres. Saikiran is a boy with clear notions of love and waits for the right girl. The right girl Sanjana arrives in due course of time. But marriage with Sanjana is linked to a condition. The condition is laid down by Kota Sreenivasa Rao, Sanjana's father. The boy who marries Sanjana should have a sister so that she could be married off to Sanjana's brother Dasari Arun Kumar.
So Saikiran starts searching for a sister. And he meets Keerti Chawla who is already in love with Dasari Arun Kumar who is a suspended IPS officer penalized for his honesty. So where does Venumadhav figure in all this? Simple ? he is a friend of hero (Sai Kiran, here) like he is in most of the movies.
The movie hovers between C and D grade in terms of quality. The only positives of the movie are the good acting of Dasari Arun Kumar and Kota Sreenivasa Rao. Hope to see Dasari Arun Kumar in more number of movies. He is meant for bigger stuff.
Sai Kiran has got good looks, acting skills and can carry off a big banner given a chance. Pellikosam will be considered a success if these two actors are picked up for more movies judging their work in this movie.
| Director: | Kondal Rao | | Producer: | Vijayprakash | | Cast: | Dasari Arun Kumar, Saikiran, Kirti Chawla, Sanjana, Venumadhav, Abhinayashri, Brhmanandam, Ali | | Music: | Kamesh |
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