Dear Readers, as we approach the New Year and another decade it’s time to recap the 2019 Telugu movie calendar. 2019 could easily be summed up as the worst year for Telugu movies this decade with barely any noticeable films and with the emergence of Amazon Prime and Netflix, the audience has stopped coming to theaters and encouraging good content movies in theaters. Nonetheless, let’s take a look at the movies that made an impact this year.
1) Hero of the Year- Victory Venkatesh. The award is for the most commercially successful actor of the year. In what could be called a roaring comeback for Venky, the veteran actor delivered two successful movies in F2 and Venky Mama. Many doubted him and wrote him off, but he proved his superstardom among the family audience once again. It could be argued since Malliswari back in 2004, Venky doesn't have a proper family entertainer that made the audience laugh out loud and was a solid entertainer and then came F2 directed by Anil Ravipudi and showed us his legendary comic timing once again. It’s a fact that without him, the film would not have become the sensation that it was grossing 80 crores share but at the same time the film benefitted from all the movies around it during the Sankranthi season becoming disasters. As for Venky Mama, it’s supposed to be one of the worst movies of the year, but hey what can you say about the Indian audience, they love dumb movies and don’t know the difference between good and bad. Overall, it’s Venky’s year and brings his career back on track again.
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2) Best Actor- Nani for Jersey. Nani said in the Jersey pre release event that it will be the best film in his career and I thought he was overhyping the movie. Nani has always been known for different movies with good entertainment but Jersey was a step outside his comfort zone and he delivered a world class performance which is easily his career best. The various emotions that he shows from pain, to sadness, to happiness, to arrogance is incredible. The train station scene alone makes the case for why all the Best Actor awards next year should go to this man.
Special Mention- Chiranjeevi for Sye Raa. In his passion project, Chiranjeevi delivered an amazing performance as Narasimha Reddy and carried the movie throughout. Be it his costumes, stunts, or dialogue delivery, the Megastar did everything with the utmost sincerity and his performance in the climax was brilliant.
3) Best Actress- Samantha for Oh Baby. Even though I personally wasn’t a fan of Oh Baby and found the movie to be very overrated, I can’t deny that Samantha was outstanding in her role. It’s not easy to replicate the body language of an old woman in a young person’s body and she does a fantastic job. Be it her in the emotional scenes or comedy scenes, Samantha was really good in her role and delivered a solid performance all around. Her role in Majili could also make the case for why the Best Actress award should be hers next year.
4) Best Film- Jersey. Every now and then Telugu cinema comes around and makes a gem of a film. Initially skeptical of the reviews with a 3.5 rating from all the major Telugu movie websites, I decided to check out the movie for myself and I was simply blown away. As mentioned before, Nani said people will remember this movie for a long time and he was right. Commercial success aside, Jersey is a masterpiece. The movie talks about a former cricket player who sacrificed his career 10 years ago and wants to start his career again. While it seems like the movie is another redemption story, it’s actually a family drama with cricket undertones and the father-son relationship is portrayed beautifully throughout the movie. The climax had me in tears and the message of the movie really resonated with me and will resonate with everyone who watches it. It might not have gotten the box office response it deserved, but if you’re a true fan of cinema, you will always appreciate and respect the classic that it will go onto become and that’s why Jersey is my pick for the best film of 2019.
5) Best Director- Gowtham Tinnaruri for Jersey: After a divisive debut in Maali Raava, Gowtham Tinnaruri had this sort od directorial style and screenplay of telling a story through 3 time periods. It didn’t really work in Maali Raava. But it seems the director took the criticism into his stride and improved upon it immensely. In Maali Raava, the screenplay feels erratic. But in Jersey, it feels flawless. The way that Gowtham narrated the story was just simply amazing and showed a director who was in true command of his craft. The father son relationship, the cricket scenes, background score, cinematography, and the performances were all outstanding and it all stems from a good script and a good director. Movies like Jersey don’t come around too often and they rarely stay with us for a long time. But one could easily say that Jersey is Gowtham’s masterpiece and shows a director who’s in full command of his craft. Despite the film getting complaints that it’s too slow or too artsy, if the industry wants to go forward we need to start supporting more and more directors like Gowthan Tinnaruri and Venkatesh Maha who made Care of Kancharapalem. The future lies in the new directors of the industry.
6) Best Supporting Actor - Allari Naresh for Maharshi: Allari Naresh has always been known for comedy movies and nonsense entertainers. But when given a chance, he can also be a solid dramatic actor as shown in Gamyam. When he was announced as the supporting lead in Maharshi, many questioned whether he will have enough screen time and be able to match up with Mahesh Babu. When watching the film, all our doubts got cleared and Naresh was simply amazing. The friendship between him and Mahesh Babu and the emotional connection that his character arc brings gave him a superb opportunity to showcase the varied emotions in his role. He made you laugh and he made you cry with his endearing performance and was arguably the highlight of Maharshi.
Special mention: Rajendra Prasad for Oh Baby. The veteran’s legendary comic timing and charm was on full display and his range in emotional scenes make him a strong contender for the award as well.
7) Best Supporting Actress - Lakshmi garu for Gang Leader and Oh Baby. I can’t really think of many other actresses who did a good job this year compared to yesteryear actress Lakshmi garu. It’s always nice to see a legend come back and enjoy their work and one could easily say she had a blast in both movies. Whether it be as a nagging grandmother in Oh Baby or a bamma that wants revenge in Gang Leader, Lakshmi garu delivered two very good performances and the award should be hers next year unless I’m forgetting a better performance.
9) Best Debut (Male)- Naveen Polishetty for Agent Sai Srinivas Athreya. After brief stints in Life is Beautiful and 1 Nenokkadine, actor Naveen Polishetty arrived on the big stage with his scintillating energy and amazing acting skills in a low budget crime thriller in Agent Sai Srinivas Athreya. With the film’s unique detective set up and comedy laced throughout the narrative, Naveen was simply hilarious in his role and has all the makings of a big star and a long career in Tollywood provided industry executives and nepotism doesn’t drag him down. Wishing him all the best and his performance in Agent Athreya literally wipes the floor with his competition for the award.
10) Best Debut (Female)- Sraddha Srinath for Jersey. After an impressive debut in Tamil with Vikram Vedha, Sraddha Srinath made the jump to Tollywood and was really good as Nani’s wife Sarah in Jersey. The strained relationship between the husband and wife was really well done and she was able to show her acting skills as a frustrated wife to the full extent. SHe has a nice screen presence and had good chemistry with Nani and left her mark in an already excellent film. Hoping she stays around and seems to be one of the few actresses with beauty and talent, not one or the other.
11) Best Music - Thaman for Ala Vaikuntapuramlo, Prathi Roju Pandage, Venky Mama, and Disco Raja: Given the fact that 3 out of these 4 movies release in 2020, it could easily be argued that it was ANirudh’s year but Thaman has made a late push and made a strong case for music director of the year with consistent hits in each of the 4 films. Once trolled for his repetitive songs, he’s now found his stride and is delivering fresh music with each passing week for each film. With Samajavagaramana and Ramulo Raamulo, both songs are extremely catchy and have gone onto to become record breaking songs in the musical space while Nuvvu Naatho Emmanavo, Venky Mama title song, Oh Baava, and recently Dilliwaala and Butta Bomma all being catchy and nicely composed songs too. Thaman has arrived and hopefully he continues this solid run of form he’s having for the next few years.
Special Mention: Anirudh Ravichander (Jersey and Gang Leader): The ace Tamil composer was trolled heavily for his work in Agnyathaavasi but made a solid statement with his background score and re-recording work in both Jersey and Gang Leader. Both movies had good albums and good background music and Anirudh did his best to ensure that even if the film fails, his output didn’t. And for the most part, it worked.
12) Biggest Surprise- Maharshi: After Bharat Ane Nenu, Superstar Mahesh Babu was looking to see if he could continue the streak of successful movies and joined hands with Vamshi Paidipally for a slice of life drama in Maharshi. Given the fact that Mahesh has been unable to crack the code of following up a hit and delivering a disaster right after, the talk for Maharshi looked like the writing was on the wall for the film. The film itself was pretty underwhelming and offered nothing new and had disaster talk from the audience and worst movie ever talk from the Telugu American audience. Yet somehow, the film defied all the odds and from a disaster emerged a hit and it grossed over 100 crores share, becoming Mahesh’s highest grosser as a result. If that isn’t superstardom, then I don’t know what is.
13) Best Song- Sye Raa title song (Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy): A very tough choice once again, but this song was simply goosebumps inducing stuff and the powerful vocals of Sunidhi Chauhan and Shreya Ghoshal made this song a winner. The lyrics speak of Narasimha Reddy’s valour and greatness made for a very emotional and powerful song that is sure to make a cat turn into a lion. The picturization was also superb on screen complemented by Tamannah and Nayantara’s screen presence and Ratanvelu’s visuals.
Special Mention: Samajavaragamana (Ala Vaikuntapuramlo), Kadallale (Dear Comrade), Spirit of Jersey (Jersey)
Best Singer - Sid Sriram: Once again 2019 was the year of Sid Sriram. With two contenders for song of the year in Samajavaragamana and Kadallale and many more solid songs like Intthena Inthena, Yemo Yemo, Nee Parichayumatho, and Ninnu Choose Anandamlo. Sid once again solidifies himself as the most popular singer in Telugu cinema.
Best Singer - Chinmayi: The dubbing artist and singer had another solid year with Priyathama Priyathama from Majili and Naalona from Manmadhudu 2 being the memorable songs along with a few more nice songs like Oh Kathala Kalala from Dear Comrade.
Worst Movie - Vineya Vidheya Rama and Saaho: It was really difficult for me to choose between the two movies but each of them were so bad and so many similarities before the release that it’s hard to differentiate between the two. For both stars Ram Charan and Prabhas, they were coming off industry hits in Rangasthalam and Baahubali 2 and naturally, the expectations were sky high for their next movies. And both of them required you to use zandu balm after, maybe even more than one container. From jumping on trains and going from Bihar to Gujurat in two minutes, sexually harassing heroines, vultures flying away with heads and using a shotgun to get them back, jumping off cliffs shirtless and catching parachutes with CGI six pack abs, a fat man outrunning 4 horses to send a signal to his brother to come rescue him, animals such as ostriches, black panthers just being around for no reason, and snakes biting humans and snakes dying as a result, falling from 3000 feet in the sky right into a conveniently placed body of water, both Vineya Vidheya Rama and Saaho took our intelligence for granted and were epic disasters rightfully so and tie for the award of worst movie of 2019 with their illogical sequences, insipid stories, and atrocious scene and performances. In the wise words of Angry Rantman: THERE WAS NO STORY, THERE WAS NO ENTERTAINMENT, THERE WAS NO ART OF REALITY, THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN THESE F****ING FILMS.
Worst Director- Boyapati Sreenu (Vineya Vidheya Rama): The fact that this man even has a brand tells you how dumb Telugu movie fans are. The expectations on VVR were high due to Rangasthalam but we didn’t have many expectations knowing that it’s Boya. VVR is Boya’s masterpiece but a masterpiece of how bad a film is. I honestly don’t know what drugs Boyapati was taking or what script he wrote for the movie because there was none and nobody in the film unit actually watched the output because if they did, then they would have boycotted the movie from day 1 itself. Basically with an age old story, worst comedy, heroine introduction featuring her breasts and sexualizing her body, bad songs, and outrageously laughable sequences, Boyapati has come full circle with his madness and delivers the most entertaining bad movie of the decade. The train scene, vulture head catching scene, and the snake scene were the highlights. The fact that he thought he could take the audience for granted and make such a ridiculous movie shows how far we have fallen as an industry. There are not one but two flashbacks in the movie. Why are there two flashbacks? And was Prashanth actually around in the first half? What is the present and what is the past? A film like Inception can make you wonder what is real and what is not. But when a film like Vineya Vidheya Rama makes you question what is going on, that's when you know you have messed up royally. Not only the narrative but the actors expressions are also atrocious. The film is nothing but a series of illogical and violent sequences that come one after the other with no proper correlation or emotion. And the action sequences only add to the pain. They're nonsense and way too over the top. The 2nd half is the funniest 2nd half I've ever seen in a movie in a long, long time. It's unintentionally hilarious and will provide the trolls with unlimited content for years to come. We should seriously consider banning him from the industry and boycotting his films as a whole. There’s nowhere to hide from this one.
Recap: As mentioned before, this is probably the worst year for Telugu cinema this decade. Other than Jersey, Brochevaruevarura, Agent Sai Srinivas Athreya, and Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, there weren’t many movies that made an impact in 2019. We can hope that the industry can be saved from the might of Amazon Prime and Netflix and hopefully producers start waking up and realizing that they’re killing their own industry by consistently selling their movies to them.
Lastly, some movies to look forward to in 2020:
RRR (SS Rajamouli- Ram Charan-Jr.NTR- Alia Bhatt- Ajay Devgan- MM Keeravani- DVV Danayya)
KGF Part 2 (Yash- Sanjay Dutt-Srinidhi Shetty- Prashanth Neel- Ravi Basrur)
Sarileru Neekevvaru (Mahesh Babu-Rashmika-Vijayshanti-Anil Ravupudi- DSP)
Ala Vaikuntapuramlo (Allu Arjun-Pooja Hegde-Sushanth-Tabu-Trivikram-Thaman S)
Darbar (Rajinikanth-Nayantara-Suniel Shetty-AR Murugadoss)
Allu Arjun 20 (Allu Arjun-Rashmika-Sukumar-DSP)
Jaan (Prabhas-Pooja Hedge- Radhakrishna-UV Creations)
V (Nani-Sudheer Babu-Aditi Rao Hydari-Nivetha Thomas-Mohankrishna Indraganti-Amit Trivedi)
Thalapathy64 (Vijay-Vijay Sethupathi- Malavika Mohanan- Lokesh Kanagaraj- Anirudh Ravichander)
Rating: 8/10 (Goosebumps Inducing Patriotic Entertainer)
Cast: Chiranjeevi, Amitabh Bachchan, Jagapathi Babu, Nayanthara, Kiccha Sudeep, Vijay Sethupathi, Tamannaah, Niharika, Anushka Shetty, Raghubabu, Pruthvi, Brahmaji, Ravi Kishan
Story: Parachuri Brothers
Screenplay-Direction: Surender Reddy
Producer: Ram Charan
Banner: Konidela Productions
Music: Amit Trivedi
Background music: Julius Packiam
Cinematography: Rathnavelu
Action: Greg Powell, Lee Whittaker & Ram-Laxman
Lyrics: Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry, Chandrabose & Anantha Sriram
Production Designer: Rajeevan Nambiar
Costumes: Sushmita Konidela, Anju Modi, Utthara Menon
Editor: A. Sreekar Prasad
Dialogues: Sai Madhav Burra
Chiranjeevi made a grand return in Khaidi No. 150 and scored a blockbuster on his comeback. Now he's back with his dream project, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, a story that rumors say has been in Tollywood for almost 13 years. With a massive star cast and produced on a massive budget of 270 crores, he entrusted his son Ram Charan to bring this movie to life and appointed Surender Reddy to execute it. Is this patriotic entertainer worth the hype? Let's find out in this review
Plot: Touted as the first freedom fighter of India, Sye Raa traces the journey and valour of Majjari Narasimha Reddy (Chiranjeevi) and the courage he instilled in people's heart in the fight for independence against the British in 1847.
Performances: It's safe to say that this is one of the best performances of Chiranjeevi's career. He is mesmeric as Narasimha Reddy and his eyes do half the work in this film. He is fierce, compassionate, and ruthless and he portrays all of the various shades needed for the character with the utmost conviction. His look seems odd at first but then we get used to it by the end of the movie. His performance in the climax is outstanding. As in every Chiranjeevi movie, it's about him through and through and Sye Raa is no different. Chiranjeevi shines bright and carries Sye Raa and delivers a performance that will be remembered for a long time in this genre. He is simply world class.
Amitabh Bachchan as Gosayyi Venkanna gets a decent role and makes the most it. It's a feast for movie lovers to see him and Chiru in the same frame. Two legends and class acts. Kiccha Sudeep gets a character with negative shades and delivers a very smooth and composed performance. He is one of the cooler characters in Sye Raa and is pretty much a badass. You wish there were more scenes between him and Chiru in the end.
The real surprise of the film is Tamannah as Lakshmi. She is excellent. Her role brings the required emotions and she does an outstanding job. She oozes elegance and her radiant beauty is on full display in Sye Raa. Watch out for her dance in the title song. She is breathtaking. The scenes between her and Chiru do look odd, but both of them are great performers that it covers up the age gap.
Vijay Sethupathi only comes in the 2nd half and one feels that his presence is merely there for the Tamil audience attraction. Otherwise, he is wasted with a total of 3 scenes, 2 of which feature dialogue.
Jagapathi Babu is very impressive as Veera Reddy and is responsible for the more emotional scenes towards the climax.
Ravi Kishan is ok as Basi Reddy.
Nayantara is good in her role and looks beautiful. The characterization is a bit off in the very beginning and seems silly, but comes full circle in the end. Her costumes are also outstanding.
Direction: The biggest doubt before the film was that if Surender Reddy would be able to handle the transition from stylish action movies to an epic type movie. And it's safe to say he passes with flying colors for the most part. The direction of the film is very good barring a few scenes here and there. He is able to effectively bring to life the story by the Parachuri Brothers. The action sequences are excellent and this probably stems from his past experience with action movies. He gets a solid output from his massive star cast and delivers some serious goosebumps moments throughout the film. Another massive thing for any movie to click are the emotions. And the emotions are bang on in this movie. You will probably feel hatred for the Britishers, sympathy for the farmers, and root for Sye Raa. It's a movie where you have a solid lead character and you want him to do well unlike a movie like Saaho where the characterization was very poor and you didn't care. The flaws would probably be over dramatization of the farmers scenes at times and towards the end, the film feels dragged and one feels it should have been more crisp. Overall, Surender Reddy does a fine job and aided by the amazing performance of Chiranjeevi and well handled portions throughout, it makes for solid viewing experience.
Technicalities: Music by Amit Trivedi is good. The title song is outstanding on screen. Perhaps the real hero of the film is Cinematographer Rathavelu garu. His work is OUTSTANDING in this movie. The visuals are too good to be true and each and every scene is so rich and grand. His visuals alone make the film worth a watch. This is perhaps the best work of his entire career. BGM by Julius Packham is phenomenal. The BGM is responsible for half of the movies goosebumps moments. You can feel the emotion behind the scene in each composition. Dialogues by Sai Madhav Burra are excellent. Luckily they are not in olden Telugu and can be understood by commoners and overseas audience as well. Editing by Sreekar Prasad is decent. The film drags in places but the movie never makes you feel bored or restless. Production Design by Rajeevan is World Class. The sets are impeccable and bring that grand and epic feel to the movie. Kudos to him for adding to the wonderful visual experience that we get. Costumes by Sushmitha Konidela, Anju Modi and Utthara Menon are amazing and really good keeping in mind the period of the film. Particularly the ones for Tamannah and Nayantara. The jewelry and saris chosen are excellent. Action Sequences by Greg Powell, Lee Whittaker & Ram-Laxman are very good. The fights add to the emotion and are integral to the plot as well. They are new to us in a way and despite their violent nature, the way Chiru pulls them off is effortless. Lastly, Production Values by Ram Charan are magnificent. Unlike Saaho, you can actually see the money spent on screen and Sye Raa is one of the most visually stunning movies that's ever been made in India.
Positives:
+ Chiranjeevi
+ Performances
+ Cinematography
+ Direction
+ Action Sequences
+ Music and BGM
Negatives:
- Over Dramatization at times
- Dragged End
- Britishers Telugu
Analysis and Final Take: It's safe to say that 2019 has been one of the worst years of this decade for Telugu movies in general. Barring F2 to an extent and Jersey, the year has not featured big films and haven't delivered at all. From Petta to Saaho, every single big film this year has been underwhelming.
At one point, Saaho seemed like a sureshot hit and SYe Raa seemed like a flop. About 1 month later, the situation is the opposite. Sye Raa got the chance to re-instill faith in big films that they can actually be good. And for the most part, it gets the job done and ends up being one of the better movies of the year and among the best.
The film starts off with the introduction of a famous Telugu actress whose name I won't spoil and she tells the deeds of Narasimha Reddy, the man who started the rebellion 10 years. Contrary to what the other review sites have said, the first half did not seem slow at all. It seems in the name of character building and story telling, that anything where a commercial element is not being shown, it seems boring to people which is quite bizarre. There's a farmers scene that is sure to induce goosebumps and all of these sequences leading upto the interval are goosebumps stuff and another level. The pre-interval fight is probably the best sequence of the film and the emotion and impact that it has is simply amazing.
The 2nd half starts to rev up things and gears into motion with Sye Raa's rebellion and plan. Tamannah has a sequence which is highly emotional and it works well. The film starts to drag and could be tighter towards the end in terms of twists. The climax is over the top yet emotional. But you wish it could have ended quicker and in a better manner.
The film does have it's flaws. The first would be all the scenes involving farmers. You will feel either one of two ways. You will either feel its artificial or you will connect with them. SInce independence movies always seem to have that one over the top uninhabited white racist character, Sye Raa has not 1, but two of them in Officers Jackson and Chochran, both serving as the antagonist for each half. It's also amazing that each and every British officers voice is covered up with Telugu dubbing for the sake of the audience. Now while we wish that Britishers were so fluent in Telugu, sometimes you wish just for logics sake, they would speak in English. I guess that's a cinematic liberty that every maker takes nowadays when making a movie like this. Lastly, the whole cinematic liberty of commercializing and glorifying Narasimha Reddy and showing him like a king is up for the individual to decide how they feel about that liberty as well. It varies from person to person.
Mainly, if the emotions connect, then you will like this movie. That's really how it goes for most movies. Despite the flaws tho, the movie works and makes for an entertaining watch.
Overall, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy is a goosebumps inducing patriotic entertainer. Chiranjeevi's mesmeric performance and screen presence, world class cinematography and production design, a riveting background score, amazing action sequences, and core emotions that are well directed makes Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy one of the best Telugu movies of the year. If you are a die hard of Chiranjeevi, this movie is feast for you and it's still worth a watch for the common audience to watch the Megastar at his best and this patriotic story about the first freedom fighter.
Published by Teja Rao in Telugu
Rating: 7.5/10 (Majestic Action Thriller)
Cast: Yash, Srinidhi Shetty, Ayyapa, B Suresh, Srinivas Murthy, Archana Jois, Roopa Rayappa, Master Anmol, Ananth Nag, Tamanna, Mouni Roy, Malavika, Achut Kumar, Naga Bharana, Dinesh Mangalur, Harish roi, Ninasam Ashwath, Avinash, Ram, Lucky, Vinay, Puneeth Rudranag
Music: Ravi Basrur
Cinematographer: Bhuvan Gowda
Production Design: Shivakumar
Lyrics: Ramajogayya Sastry & Madhura Kavi
Fights: Anbariv-Venkat
Editor: Srikanth
Story-Screenplay-Direction:Prashanth Neel
Producer: Vijay Kiragandur
Format Watched: Amazon Prime (Kannada Version)
On December 21st 2018, a film called KGF released. Led by the stunning trailers and grandeur, the film became an India wide sensation and the Kannada film industry took the nation by storm. Starring Rocking Star Yash in the lead role, KGF Chapter 1 is directed by Prashanth Neel. Why was the film such a sensation? Let's find out in this review.
Plot: Rocky (Yash) promises his mother that he will become rich and powerful. The rest of the story is why he enters KGF and the power struggle that ensues.
Performances: Rocking Star Yash is apt for the lead role and looks incredible as the rowdy Rocky Bhai. The beard and whole look compliment the character very well.
Heroine Srinidhi Shetty doesn't have much a role. Famous Kannada actor Ananthnag garu gets a crucial role as the narrator of the story and is he excellent as always.
The rest of the actors are all new and from the Kannada film industry and they are all well casted.
Direction: Prashanth Neel, take a bow. KGF is simply stunning and one of the most beautifully shot movies to ever come out of India. The visuals in the movie are simply world class and on par with any big budget movie anywhere in the world. The story of the film is simple. It's about a young man's quest for power and his hunt and journey of achieving it. It seems routine and you need emotions for the story to connect. And Neel succeeds mightily in that. The mother sentiment os heart touching and goosebumps inducing stuff. Literally every scene in the movie is grandly shot and is goosebumps inducing. The whole visual style of the narrative is amazing and shows how talented he is. The villain intro in particular is another highlight scene in the movie. Overall, KGF proves that you can have an average story, but it's the execution and narrative story telling technique that matters at the end of the day and Prashanth Neel succeeds in that regard and is easily one of India's most exciting young directors.
Technicalities: As mentioned before KGF is just a stunning movie overall. Not only is the story told brilliantly, but the technical aspects are just another level. Music and BGM by Ravi Basrur is WORLD CLASS. The BGM is the lifeline of the movie and easily one of the best background scores in the history of world cinema. Each and every scene is complemented by the incredible score. Cinematography by Bhuvan Gowda is also WORLD CLASS. Literally each and every scene in the movie is an elevation scene. There are some 500+ elevations scenes in the movie and each and every frame is grand and goosebump inducing to the viewer. The look and feel of the movie gives this rustic and gritty feel to the movie with constant green and brown color palettes. This is some next level stuff from the cameraman and here's hoping that he gets many more huge projects in the future. Simply outstanding. Dialogues are good. The best one is there is no better guardian than a mother in the bread scene. Goosebumps scene. Production Design is outstanding. The KGF set is incredible and the attention to detail needs to be commended. Costumes and Styling are very good. All the other technical departments are excellent. Production Values by Hombale Films are Mesmeric. It's amazing to see such a quality film with world class visuals coming from the Kannada film industry and here's hoping that they keep making bigger and better films for years to come.
Positives:
+ Yash
+ Background Score
+ Direction
+ Cinematography
+ Grand Visual Narrative and Scale
Negatives:
- Too Many Bearded Villains
- Overdose of Elevations
Analysis and Final Take: KGF was hyped since day 1 with these trailers that gave us this epic feel and grand visuals. The movie wasn't expected to make any headlines outside of Karnataka. But the result is another Indian film that we can all be proud of. Simply put, KGF is a scintillating film. Not only is the story told well, but it's well made film in all components.
The first starts off in stunning fashion with a flashback. Yash's introduction scene is amazing and then Salaam Rocky Bhai is goosebumps inducing stuff. The first half is very good. The real story really starts at the interval when Rocky enters KGF and the emotions are excellent during this period and carry the film. The climax is outstanding with one particular scene involving Garuda in a pool. The shot there is simply iconic. The film ends with a bang and makes you restless for the 2nd part very similar to Baahubali.
However, this film does have its flaws. There are way too many villains and people in this movie needs a shave ASAP. Every single villain has a damn beard and there are too many villains and too many names thrown around and it's hard to pay attention to who is who. Also despite the background score and cinematography being world class, there are way too elevation scenes which eventually get boring and tiresome to some viewers. The right amount of elevations in doses is fine, but constant ones do tend to leave you exhausted.
Nevertheless, due it's grand scale and solid direction, KGF is a solid movie in the end.
Overall, KGF is a majestic action thriller from Prashanth Neel and Yash. The story, emotions, world class background score and cinematography make KGF a scintillating viewing experience for anybody. Definitely worth a watch for the moves South India is making as a whole. Massive steps towards huge respect from the entire country.
Rating: 7/10 (Hilarious Entertainer)
Cast: Venkatesh, Varun Tej, Tamannaah Bhatia, Mehreen Pirzada, Rajendra Prasad, Prakash Raj, Jhansi, Vennela Kishore, Priyadarshi Pullikonda, Raghu Babu, Srinivasa Reddy, Pragathi, Pradeep, Pruthvi, Hari Teja, Annapoorna, Y. Vijaya, Nassar and others
Story-Screenplay-Dialogues-Direction: Anil Ravipudi
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Producer: Dil Raju
Banner: Sri Venkateswara Creations
Format Watched: Theater (Empire Cinemas Columbia Park)
This is a review that has been in the cans for 10 months and only coming just now. I watched F2 way back in January and just never got around to it. The film was a blockbuster and made about 80 crores at the box office during Sankranthi. Starring Venkatesh, Varun Tej, Tamannah and Mehreen in the lead roles, F2 was directed by Anil Ravipudi.
Plot: Venky (Venkatesh) and Varun (Varun Tej) narrate the stories of why they escaped their houses and came to Prague during a police interrogation. What ensues is a hilarious turn of events and that forms the rest of the F2.
Performances: After Nuvvu Naaku Nachav and Malliswari, the audience has been missing a vintage entertainer from Venkatesh. And in this movie, he is incredible. His classic comic timing and expressions are impeccable and Venky does an outstanding job and makes you sympathize with him throughout the movie. The scene where he explain his situation to a dog is outright hilarious. Overall, this movie is Venky's show from start to finish and he is back after a long gap with a universal entertainer that will please everyone.
Varun Tej is apt and shows impressive comic timing as Venkatesh's partner in crime. His Telangana accent is definitely a bit odd but this film serves extra mileage for Varun's talents as an actor. He does a surprisingly good job.
After 12 years in the industry, Tamannah probably has her career best look and delivers a solid performance as a cunning wife. She is simply sensational in Girra Girra and will make the frontbenchers go crazy. Credit to her team as she looks ravishing throughout the entire film.
Mehreen overacts and her characters get on your nerves. Yet the actress delivers her best performance of her career and proves with the right director, she can pull off a decent role.
Raghubabu as a local MLA is hilarious. Rajendra Prasad is equally as funny though his Fasak track with Hariteja is in bad taste.
Prakash Raj is alright. Srinivas Reddy is hilarious in his awkward role. Pragathi, Annapurna, and the other elderly woman who plays the other grandma are all hilarious.
Nasser gets a good cameo though the message appears forced.
Vennela Kishore is also hilarious in his cameo as John Stro, King of the North.
The real highlight of the movie is the guy who plays Tamannah's father and just says Anthega Anthega the ENTIRE movie. Kudos to Anil Ravipudi for designing such a funny character.
All the other actors do a great job especially Brahmaji who also has a hilarious cameo.
Direction: This is Anil Ravipudi's 5th movie. It's safe to say the director doesn't have much when it comes it to creativity in terms of storyline. The story is once again routine. But the way he differentiates himself is coming up with creative comedy. All of his movies are hilarious and F2 might be the funniest of them all, if not one of them. the situations he creates through Venky's character are so funny and talks about double standards of women in society. Most of the stuff is relatable as a guy and if you are married then you can relate to it even more. Everything in the first half will make you laugh so hard. The problem lies within the 2nd half as the core point of the men leaving their wives seems illogical and unconvincing. Which results in a disjointed and superficial 2nd half. While the comedy is hilarious in the 1st half, it's pretty much just the same situations repeated between Varun and Venky from Pellichoopulu scenes to the romantic scenes and everything else. The banter between Venky and the in laws is very funny too. Overall, F2 doesn't have much of a story and has a very average 2nd half where nothing makes sense, but for the overall entertainment value and hilarity of the narrative, Ravipudi succeeds in that manner and delivers one of the funniest movies in recent times.
Technicalities: Music and BGM by Devi Sri Prasad is ok. Girra Girra stands out from the rest of the songs with it's raucous picturization. Cinematography by Sameer Reddy is good. The visuals look rich throughout the movie. Dialogues by Anil Ravipudi are a laugh riot. My favorite one was you can make two enemies friends, but you can never get two women to agree in a saree shop. Costumes and Styling needs a mention because the lead actors look superb throughout the movie. Production Design by AS Prakash is flawless as usual. The house sets in both halves are grand. Editing by Tammiraju is ok. Movie feels slightly dragged. Production Values by Dil Raju are extravagant. The movie looks rich and vibrant throughout and the money spent can clearly be seen.
Positives:
+ Venkatesh
+ Varun Tej
+ 1st Half comedy
Negatives:
- Routine Story
- Superficial 2nd Half
- Forced Message
Analysis and Final Take: If you're reading this review, then you've probably seen F2 by now. In some magical land or by chance you haven't, then I can assure you this movie is funny as hell. COmbined with all the other movies around it flopping and the content actually connecting and entertaining people, F2 gets the job done. It is a laugh riot from start to finish if you can excuse the 2nd half.
The film starts off with hilarious episodes and continues to the interval despite repetition of scenes and dialogues. The interval is unconvincing and Prakash Raj's track in the 2nd half seems forced and unbelievable. Hence the overall impact feel slighted. Despite this tho, F2 has something for everyone.
The basic theme of the film is all about time commitment and how to treat and respect women. The message in the end feels very forced and unnecessary.
Anil Ravipudi is one director who knows what he's going for and doesn't try too hard to be unique or creative. It's fine for now but when you have a film with Mahesh Babu in the pipeline, then taking care of the weaknesses becomes a necessity. His ability to generate comedy is unprecedented in this day and age and he succeeds in all his movies by having a hilarious hook line which audiences will remember at the end of the day.
He extracts a superb performance from Venkatesh and the actor is back with a bang and carries the movie from start to finish and it's so nice to see him back in that type of form and range after a very long gap.
Overall, F2 is a hilarious entertainer that is powered by Venkatesh's amazing performance and comic timing. The performances, funny comedy, and decent music are the plus points of this Pongal movie. If you can excuse the superficial 2nd half, then this movie is definitely a fun ride.
Published by Teja Rao in Telugu
Rating: 3/10 (Thalanoppi)
Cast: Ravi Teja, Ileana, Sunil, Vennala Kishore, Satya, Ravi Prakash, Tarun Arora, Aditya Menon, Abhimamyu Singh, Vikramjit, Rajveer Singh, Shiyaji Shinde, Subhalekha Sudhakar, Laya and others
Story: Sreenu Vaitla and Vamsi Rajesh Kondaveeti
Screenplay-Dialogues-Direction: Sreenu Vaitla
Music: SS Thaman
Producers: Naveen Yerneni, Y. Ravi Shankar and Mohan Cherukuri
Banner: Mythri Movie Makers
Format Watched: Amazon Prime
I watched Amar Akbar Anthony on Prime sometime back. The movie was a colossal disaster and thought Sreenu Vaitla couldn't get any worse with his outings. Despite the attempt at a new story, Amar Akbar Anthony fails miserably. Let's find out why in this review.
Plot: A man suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder has to take revenge against four businessmen for the murder of his family while his past confronts him in the form of his childhood love (Source IMDB).
Performances: Raviteja plays 3 different roles and unfortunately he looks clueless in all of them. We all know he's a fantastic performer but the characterizations honestly give him nothing to work with. His comic timing is impeccable as always but when a film is bad, not even his trademark entertainment can save the movie. He's not even a saving grace to attempt to watch the movie.
Ileana makes a comeback and her looks are evergreen but unfortunately she's out of shape and can't give much to the character in terms of performance. Her own dubbing is good though.
Other than the leads, it's only comedian Sathya that really registered as a spoof on KA Paul. His obnoxious expressions and unorthodox dialogue delivery will make you laugh. But his character doesn't have the scope to make you laugh throughout.
All the regular cast members of a Sreenu Vaitla movie are there but Sunil, Sayaji Shinde, and others are all criminally wasted and are just there as props.
The highlight of the movie is Abhimanyu Singh who plays a special officer of the movie. His role is just something else. So unbelievably dumb.
Direction: It's often hard to find your groove when you're under pressure and even harder to deliver on top of that. Sreenu Vaitla has been forgotten by the Telugu audiences with 3 consecutive rods and this is the 3rd attempt at a comeback. He falls flat on his face once again. On paper, this film plays out like a solid psychological thriller much like Aparichitudu. But in classic Vaitla style, he introduces way too many characters who add nothing to the plot and very stale and outdated comedy. The Akbar character speaks in olden Hindi and its tough to understand what he's saying. And the execution is horrendous. There are so many logical errors in the movie. The biggest must be the representation of the NYPD in the movie. They make them look useless. ANd the so called spoofs on Telugu associations are terrible either. The action doesn't register and the screenplay is very poor. You barely laugh at any moment and the film drags on and and on. The movie is definitely better than Mister because even though it's illogical, the set up and taking seems realistic as compared to a fictional Sword of the Stone kingdom in Bangalore. Overall, Sreenu Vaitla does a terrible job in the direction department once again and makes this movie unbearable at times.
Technicalities: Music and BGM by Thaman SS is very good. The combo of Raviteja and Thaman rarely disappoints and AAA passes in that regard. Cinematography by Venkat C Dileep is excellent. He shows the beauty of New York City in it's fullest form throughout the visuals. Editing by MR Varma is bad. The film is too long for its own good and has way too many pointless scenes. Production Design by AS Prakash is flawless as usual. Dialogues by Sreenu Vaitla are decent. There's nothing memorable like previous films in the past. But that was more due to Gopimohan and Kona Venkat. Fights are useless in the overall scheme of things. Production Values by Mythri Movie Makers are extravagant. They never compromise on the look of their movies irrespective of the content.
Positives:
+ Cinematography
Negatives:
- Story
- Screenplay
- Direction
- Comedy
- No Logic
- Everything else
Analysis and Final Take: Both actor Raviteja and Sreenu Vaitla are going though a rough phase and its quite surprising that Raviteja chose his old friend who is completely out of form to give him a solid hit. He must be regretting his decision after watching the output. To put it simply, Amar Akbar Anthony is a massive disappointment and continues the sorrow for Sreenu Vaitla due to the terrible writing and execution.
The film actually has a very interesting premise that makes for a solid psychological action thriller. But Vaitla's insistence on comedy into the narrative kills the movies prospects from the get go. It starts off with a murder in Long Island and then the story flashes forward to the present. We see the hero and heroine who are Telugu Americans with American accents in the beginning.
The story then keeps going and Raviteja keeps murdering people one after the other and we don't know why. The villains just keep coming and going dressed in fancy suits and they add no value to the plot.
At the same time you have a spoof of NATA with VATA and this results in ridiculously bad and stale comedy. Sathya as KA Paul might make you laugh but the comedy sidetracks the story and way too many subplots involving it are there.
There's another one with Raghubabu and co whether encounter Akbar, a Telugu Muslim who speaks in olden Hindi and they're a bunch of gambling. He is always spewing a bunch on nonsense and we don't know why. Or how Amar become Akbar.
Then Ileana is introduced and it was nice to see her back on the screen but frankly she's wasted. Only after the interval does the flashback get revealed but by then the story is so overdrawn that you probably don't care or have any empathy.
There's another subplot involving Sunil as a thief and if you expect anything like Dubai Seenu level comedy, you're in for a disappointment. If anything it only adds to the headache this movie gives you.
The biggest joke in the film is the portrayal of the New York Police Department aka the NYPD. They're shown as complete fools the entire movie and then work with the FBI and appoint an Indian officer of all people to handle the case in Abhimanyu Singh. Such nonsensical logic.
Why the hell would the NYPD drop the case and hand it over to some random Indian dude who's base isn't even American soil. And then to add to your woes, he takes a stick and beats up some comedians in an interrogation room and this is supposed to comedy in this day and age. His dubbing artist also sucks big time as he does a terrible job.
Further, if the child artists for Raviteja and Ileana are American, how come they both have Indian accents when they're older? Did they travel back to India and live there again to have the accent? Such careless things go in the direction department. There should at least be some sense in it.
Lastly, Raviteja's Anthony character says "I am strong, you are strong, Relax!". He says this about 20-30 times throughout the movie. But by then your patience has run thin and your head is probably spinning.
Overall, Amar Akbar Anthony is a headache inducing movie. Illogical writing, terrible comedy, bad direction, and useless characters cannot save this movie which is a wasted opportunity in the end. I wouldn't even recommend it if you are a die hard fan of Raviteja. Rewatching his old comedy scenes in Venky and Dubai Seenu are far better than this shite.
Published by Teja Rao in Telugu
Rating: 6/10 (Hilarious and Touching Buddy Comedy)
Cast: Tejus Kancharla, Tej Kurapati, Abhinav Madhisetty, Dinesh Tej, Priya Vadlamani, Rahul Ramakrishna, Fish Venkat and others
Story-Screenplay-Dialogues-Direction: Shree Harsha Konuganti
Music: Sunny MR and Radhan
Producers: Bekkam Venugopal
Banner: Lucky Media
Format Watched: Amazon Prime
I watched Hushaaru long back in March and this a review that's been in the cans for a long time. The film stars newcomers and it's a story on friendship. The film ended up becoming a super hit due to the low budget back in December 2018.
Plot: The experiences of 4 friends and Raj Bollam (Rahul Ramakrishna) and how one incident brings them together is what Hushaaru is all about.
Performances: Tejus Kancharla is apt as Aarya. Dinesh Tej has a good physique and the looks to have a long career in Telugu movie. He is natural. Abhinav is good and endearing with his performance.
The highlight though is Tej Kurapati who plays Bunty. He brings the house down with his hilarious antics and dialogues.
Lastly, Rahul Ramakrishna is hilarious as Raj Bollam and carries the movie till the end in the 2nd half.
Priya Vadlamani as one of the heroines is good. The rest of the cast is all adequate.
Direction: Sree Harsha Konuganti picks an old theme for this debut movie in friendship. However films prove that you can make the same story over and over again if the execution is different and right. He has the ability to write good comedic situations as some the episodes throughout the movie are a laugh riots in regards to the friends. The characterizations for each hero is apt and never at any point does one dominate the other as it should be in a friend group. The emotional twist seems a little artificial given the context of things and the plot wanders in the 2nd half until Rahul Ramakrishna comes and saves it. Overall, Hushaaru is a decent debut for the direction and he does an adequate job in making it appealing to this target audience which is the youth.
Technicalities: Music and BGM by Radhan and Sunny MR is alright. Cinematography by Raj Thota is adequate. Dialogues by Sree Harsha Konuganti are very good and modern. They are very relatable to today's youth. Editing is ok. Since the movie is made on a very tight budget, most of the Production Values are very substandard.
Positives:
+ Performances
+ Comedy
+ Rahul Ramakrishna
Negatives:
- Emotional Angle
- Adult Scenes and Jokes at times
Analysis and Final Take: Hushaaru is a movie that knows its audience and doesn't try too hard at doing anything else. And it succeeds in that goal. The film is pretty funny overall and there's not much to complain about other than some things here and there.
One thing is that this is definitely not a family friendly movie and there are definitely some scenes and jokes that are only meant for a solo viewing.
The first half is fun with some solid comedy and hilarious situations. The 2nd half drags a bit until Rahul Ramakrishna's episode which is a complete laugh riot.
The film ends on a happy note. It's a movie to remember and celebrate all the dumb things that you did or still do with your friends. It appeals more to males than females in the end.
Overall, Hushaaru is a hilarious and touching buddy movie about friendship. Celebrate the behavior and enjoy. Watch it if you like friendship movies or buddy movies.
Published by Teja Rao in Telugu
Rating: 6/10 (Samantha all the way)
Cast: Samantha Akkineni, Rajendra Prasad, Rao Ramesh, Lakshmi, Naga Shourya, Pragathi, Teja Sajja, Snigdha, Jagapathi Babu
Screenplay-Direction: Nandini Reddy
Based on: Miss Granny (Remake)
Music: Mickey J Meyer
Producer: D Suresh Babu, Sunitha Tati, TG Viswa Prasad & Hyunwoo Thomas Kim
Banner: Suresh Productions, People's Media Factory, Guru Films & Kross Pictures
Format Watched: Netflix
Samantha is back with her latest movie Oh Baby. Making waves for its unique concept and bubbly trailer, the film is directed by Nandini Reddy. An official remake of Korean movie Miss Granny, the film also features senior actress Lakshmi garu, Naga Shourya, Nata Kireeti Rajendra Prasad garu, and Rao Ramesh in important roles. Released on July 12th, the film went onto to become a blockbuster and I finally got a chance to watch it. Let's check it out in today's review.
Plot: A 70 year old woman named Baby (Lakshmi) who runs a canteen visits with her friend Chanti (Rajendra Prasad) is transformed into her 24 year old self (Samantha) after visiting a photo booth at a fair. What happens next forms the rest of Oh Baby.
Performances: It's Samantha's show all the way. She is excellent, lively and cheerful the entire movie. From the moment she enters the screen till the last frames, she is ball of energy and delivers a knockout performance. The role requires someone with a lot of expertise and acting prowess to pull off an elderly person's body language as a young person. And Samantha does it effortlessly. She is the soul of this movie.
If Samantha is the soul, then Lakshmi garu is the heart. She is phenomenal as the older baby and delivers a very moving performance in the first 30 mins and puts a smile on your face in the very last frame when she returns.
Rajendra Prasad garu is hilarious and shows his versatility once again as Chanti. His legendary comic timing and natural flair bring out the best in him and he is equally adept in the emotional scenes.
Rao Ramesh as Baby's son also shows his versatility as well and gets ample scope to perform in some emotional scenes. He's superb in particular in the sentimental climax scene.
Naga Shourya is decent and makes his presence felt. There's not much to talk about on the performance front.
Child artist Teja Sajja makes his big screen debut as Baby's grandson and he's good.
Pragathi is convincing as the daughter in law who doesn't like Baby.
Direction: Nandini Reddy is back after a long gap and is given the task to remake a famous Korean movie. Given the fact that the producers are the ones who made the original, the pressure probably mounted on her. In all, she does a decent job. Maybe it just me or the type of movie or the hype that people were saying about the movie, but the direction never felt as good or as convincing as people were saying. She is definitely one director who knows how to extract good performances from her cast and is good at handling emotional scenes, which are the highlights of Oh Baby. The comedy is very hit or miss and depending on your tastes you will enjoy it. There are definitely a lot of flaws, but Samantha's performance probably covers up 75%. She alone makes it a one time watch and reduces Nandini's job in half. Overall, Nandini Reddy does an adequate job and tries to make Oh Baby an enjoyable family fare for the most part.
Technicalities: Music and BGM by Mickey J Meyer is adequate. Unfortunately it is one of the films liabilities. Cinematography by Richard Prasad is rich and vibrant. Production Design by Vithal K is excellent. Dialogues by Lakshmi Bhupala are good. Editing by Junaid Siddiqui is not good. The film is too long for its own good and dragged. Costumes and Styling are good. Production Values are grand and solid for a film like this. Since it's co produced by the company that made the original Korean movie, they made sure it looks nice on screen and the money shows.
Positives:
+ Performances
+ Cinematography
+ Unique Concept and Story
+ Fun Moments
Negatives
- Length
- Music
- Forced Comedy
Analysis and Final Take: Oh Baby was a massive success given the budget and Samantha's popularity. But for some reason, this film just felt underwhelming and average at best. Maybe it was due to the over praising that it received in the USA audience or the appreciation it got from all quarters. But in short, Oh Baby was a decent movie in my opinion.
I guess my biggest problem was with the direction. It felt half baked from Nandini Reddy. The film definitely has some good performances from the cast and fun moments, but they felt few and far between. There were definitely some very cringeworthy moments and I was shocked that most people gave it a pass in regards to acting and in the name of comedy. Despite Samantha's performance, I found it hard to connect with the film emotionally on any level.
The first half is definitely fun and sets up the stage nicely. The 2nd half is dragged and has a lot of themes such as sacrifice and familial love. The climax scene in particular is heart touching. But this is a movie that is definitely divise in my opinion.
Overall, Oh Baby makes for a decent family entertainer that rides on Samantha's performance. How much you like this movie depends on how much of a sucker you are for family movies or how close you are with your grandparents. I personally didn't connect to the film like many others hence what many would call a low rating. Watch it only if you're a hardcore fan of Samantha or love family movies.
Published by Teja Rao in Telugu
Rating: 7.5/10 (Pulsating Suspense Thriller)
Cast: Adivi Sesh. Regina Cassandra, Naveen Chandra, Murali Sharma, Pavitra Lokesh
Adapted Screenplay-Direction: Venkat Ramji
Dialogues: Abburi Ravi
Music: Sricharan Pakala
Producer: Pearl and Param V Potluri
Banner: PVP Cinema
Format Watched: Amazon Prime
After delivering two sensational blockbusters in Kshanam and Goodachari, actor Adivi Sesh is back with his latest movie Evaru. Evaru is the official Telugu adaption of the Spanish film The Invisible Guest which was remade in Hindi as Badla earlier this year with Amitabh Bachchan and Tapsee Pannu. The film ended up becoming a blockbuster when released on August 15th. Let's find out why in this review.
Plot: A police officer Vikram Vasudev (Adivi Sesh) interrogates Vaishnavi (Regina Cassandra) about an alleged rape case between her and an officer Ashok Krishna (Naveen Chandra). Through a series of conversations, Vasudev finds out there's more than meets the eye. What actually happened? This forms the rest of Evaru.
Performances: Adivi Sesh is natural and excellent as a corrupt cop. His screen presence is getting better with every film.
Regina Cassandra makes a comeback after a long gap in Telugu and she is fabulous in her role. The crying might be a bit too much at times, but nevertheless she is convincing in a role with grey shades.
Naveen Chandra is fantastic as well as a cop with anger issues.
Murali Sharma gets a very important role and does well in what he is given.
Lastly, Pavitra Lokesh garu gives an emotional performance and her friendly screen presence always makes her a joy to watch.
All the other actors who are cast are competent for their respective roles.
Direction: This is Venkat Ramji's debut film. And in each of his movies, it seems Sesh and the director sit down and make the required changes in the pre production phase which results in a thrilling experience every time. The basic concept of the Invisible Guest is the story of woman who twists the truth and tries to take advantage of the situation by creating a fake story for everybody else to believe. Having not seen Badla, I can't make the comparison but all I can say is that the film does work in Telugu. The screenplay proceeds with a lot of backstories and versions of each incident. At times it gets a big much, but in the end everything comes full circle. The first 20 mins is quite slow but after Sesh's case is introduced all the way till the climax, the film is nail biting and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The required nativity changes are evident and Ramji directs them effectively. There are many twists in the film. But it's the suspense revealed in the last 20 minutes of the film that elevates it and leaves you with a goosebumps inducing feeling. Overall, Venkat Ramji does a fine job in adapting Evaru to the Telugu audiences sensitibilites and the result is a gripping thriller in the end.
Technicalities: Music and BGM by Sricharan Pakala is outstanding. Similar to Goodachari, the BGM plays a pivotal role in elevating other routine scenes and makes their impact even greater. The climax BGM deserves a special mention as it's probably going to give you goosebumps. Cinematography by Venkat Patchipulusu is good given the tight budget and the limited locations the film is shot in. Production Design by Avinash Kolla is fine. Dialogues by Abburi Ravi are solid and contemporary. Production Values by PVP Cinemas are extravagant and rich. They are another production house that never compromises on quality given the content.
Positives:
+ Adivi Sesh
+ Twists and Turns
+ Last 20 mins
+ Screenplay
+ BGM
Negatives:
- First 20 mins
- Rape Scene one too many times
- Adarsh Character
Analysis and Final Verdict: Sesh has been delivering solid suspense movies and thrillers albeit some inspiration since 2016 in Kshanam. Evaru is a pure suspense thriller and it needs the right screenplay and twists to succeed. And Evaru succeeds big time and results in a very good viewing experience.
The film starts off in a stunning way but then the conversations and Regina's recalling of the event gets a little tedious with a constant reshowing of a sexual assault incident. The film really gets interesting when Sesh starts narrating his story about a case he's working on. The interval reveals a huge twist and sets up the 2nd half nicely. From there on the film takes off and there are so many twists and turns. But the icing on the cake is the last 20 mins which features a massive climax twist that is sure to leave you speechless. The way that everything comes together shows the brilliance of Venkat Ramji and Sesh once again.
The film's one flaw is probably with the one character of a so called Adarsh. If I say anymore then it's a spoiler, but the director could have added some family drama to make it seem more realistic and not just a plot device. This is more so because the young man who plays Adarsh is outstanding. If you've seen the original or Badla, then you probably know what to expect. But if you haven't then Evaru is probably going to be a riveting experience.
Overall, Evaru makes for a pulsating suspense thriller. Solid performances from the cast, loads of twists and turns in the screenplay, and the climax are the highlights of this movie. Sesh is gaining a good name with film to name as an intelligent writer and Evaru solidifies his position among the best in the Telugu film industry. If you like suspense thrillers or like Adivi Sesh, then Evaru is a must watch.
Published by Teja Rao in Telugu
Rating: 6.5/10 (Fun Ride)
Cast: Nani, Priyanka Arul Mohan, Karthikeya, Lakshmi, Saranya Ponvannan, Vennela Kishore, Sathya, Anish Kuruvilla,
Story-Screenplay-Dialogues-Direction: Vikram K Kumar
Music: Anirudh Ravichander
Producer: Ravi Shankar, Naveen Yerneni, CVM Mohan
Banner: Mythri Movie Makers
Format Watched: Theater (Cinepolis Parsippany)
After the scintillating film that was Jersey, Natural Star Nani is back with his latest movie Gang Leader. Taking inspiration from the iconic Chiranjeevi classic, this film also has RX100 Karthikeya as the villain and newcomer Priyanka Arul Mohan as the female lead. Directed by Vikram Kumar whose last film Hello was incredibly underwhelming, can the director bounce back and give himself and Nani another hit? Let's find out in this review.
Plot: A plagiarism author who specializes in writing revenge novels named Pencil Parthasarathy (Nani) is tasked with helping 5 women take revenge on the man who killed their relatives.
Performances: After moving us with award worthy performance in Jersey, Nani is back to his roots and is outstanding as Pencil Parthasarathy. His effervescent charm and impeccable comic timing coupled with his magnetic screen presence carry the movie from start to finish. He's also responsible for most of the comedy in the movie and he pulls it off effortless. If you're going to watch this movie, it's because of Nani.
Lakshmi garu is very good as the grandma who acts as the catalyst for the revenge motive. It's nice to see her back in the industry again after a long gap. Saranya Ponvannan is equally as good as the mother figure of the group. She brings her trademark innocence to the role. Newcomer Priyanka Arul Mohan has great screen presence and does well in her debut. It also helps that she is a Telugu girl and hope she goes a long way in the industry in the future. The actresses who play the little girl and the college student also perform well and do their parts as required.
Karthikeya as the villain is fabulous. He's introduced only at the interval and gets a solid role in the 2nd half and maximum screen time to shine. His performance definitely makes you consider that his career trajectory path would be better suited as a villain than a hero.
Vennela Kishore is hilarious as Santoor Sennakayala. This is probably the first mainstream Telugu movie to feature a homosexual character and Kishore pulls it off with his world class comic timing and hilarious expressions.
Lastly, Anish Kuruvilla as the cop and Sathya as a hospital employee are adequate.
Direction: After Hello, one could say that this is a return to form for director Vikram Kumar. Gang Leader's biggest advantage is that it's a fun film throughout. The film is also never overly seriously despite it featuring a revenge angle. It's layered with loads of comedy and interesting twists, but like many films these days some of them land and some of them don't. The script for the most part is good and the direction is adequate at best. The screenplay has some loopholes such as the reason for the robbery and some logical aspects in the narrative. Another issue would definitely be Dev's characterization. His motives are pretty unconvincing and seem artificial due to the writing. Also he's introduced as the top F1 racer and there's nobody else on the track but him. Karthikeya tries to make the most of it and succeeds but one does feel better justice should have been done. There's the attempt to showcase female empowerment and the theme of family between Pencil and the women and that succeeds. The emotional scenes work and that was arguably the biggest problem in Hello. Lastly, the twists toward the end of the film work but the grip seems to have been lost at that point. The pre climax and climax sequences seem very rushed and the movie sort of ends abruptly. In the end, there's nothing mind blowing or outstanding about the narrative. Perhaps that's the films biggest problem in the end. It runs on a plain graph with the good comedy and the whodunit mystery which is predictable yet entertaining. But it gets the job done at the end of the day. Overall, Vikram Kumar does an adequate job by layering the film with good comedy and moves it at a good pace which never makes you feel bored and extracts a superb performance from Nani which makes Gang Leader a fun time at the cinema.
Technicalities: Music and BGM by Anirudh Ravichander is excellent as always. The various beats are beautifully used as background scores to reflect the emotions in scenes. The songs are also integrated into the narrative much like Jersey. Except here they seem like speed breakers. Hoyna Hoyna is good on screen tho. CInematography by Miroslaw Kuba Brozek is excellent. The film features a dark color palette using blue and black colors which is nice to see. Production Design by Rajeevan is fabulous especially for the house set and the garage set. Editing by Naveen Nooli is decent. One feels the movie is a tad long and dragged in the end. Dialogues by Vikram Kumar are fun and well written. Costumes are ok. But Karthikeya's stylist deserves a mention as he looks very good throughout the movie. The climax fight is well choreographed with wrenches and crowbars. Production Values by Mythri Movie Makers are extravagant. They never compromise on the look of the film despite the content.
Positives:
+ Nani
+ Comedy
+ Ladies Gang
+ Twists towards the end
Negatives
- Villain Characterization
- Cinematic liberties at times
- Hurried Penultimate Sequences
Analysis and Final Verdict: Gang Leader, despite borrowing from Chiranjeevi's iconic hit, is very different from the that movie.
Despite the outrage of Mega fans, one could say the title is justified after watching the movie. Gang Leader does exactly what was promised in the trailer. Clean family entertainment at the cinema.
After Jersey, this is a perfect popcorn entertainer for Nani and will appeal to most the urban audiences. Unfortunately it's not universal entertainer like Bhale Bhale but it's still fun for the most part.
The first half is lively with a lot of comedy and the ladies gang creating a lot of fun in the narrative.
The interval packs an expected twist and the 2nd half is like a whirlwind towards the end. It juggles multiples themes such as female empowerment, revenge, family, mystery, and a lot of other things and succeeds in concluding maybe half of them.
There are two massive twists towards the end of the movie explaining the motive behind the robbery and why the entire thing was planned.
One seems artificial and the other might be convincing depending on your tastes. The comedy with Vennela Kishore and Nani is too funny. Only these two and their chemistry probably could have pulled it off and made it look so believable.
But at the same time, the cinematic liberties, logical loopholes, and abrupt finish also work against the movie.
Nevertheless, Nani and gang make the movie worth watching. Mainly Nani himself who's in full form and brings his classic charm to the movie in each and every frame.
Overall, Gang Leader makes for fun ride at the cinema. Nani's excellent performance, clean comedy sprinkled throughout the narrative, and some interesting twists makes Gang Leader an entertaining watch. If you're looking for a good time at the movies with no message, no social service, and just want some good old fashioned entertainment, definitely go watch this movie.
Published by Teja Rao in Telugu