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S/O Satyamurthy (2015)
An Emotional Drama
Story : Story is about a son, Viraj Anand (Allu Arjun), who takes up the responsibilities of his family after the sudden death of his virtuous father Satyamurthy (Prakash Raj). Why Anand was forced to take up the responsibilities and what happens to him form the story.
Performances : Allu Arjun underplayed his character a lot in this film unlike his previous films. He is cool and settled. He is super stylish as always. In few scenes, his performance is top notch. It is truly refreshing to see him calm and composed. Apart from Allu Arjun, the true pillars for this movie are Rajendra Prasad and Upendra. Rajendra Prasad delivers one more superb performance and proves again, why he is considered one of the most versatile actors in Telugu Film Industry. Upendra is just awesome. He is menacing as well as sensible. His role could've been more. Samantha is good but her low-neck dresses appear little awkward on screen sometimes. Nitya Menen is nice. Adah Sharma has nothing to do. Rao Ramesh and MS Narayana get tailor made roles and they just cake walked through the roles. Ali entertains while Brahmanandam evokes few laughs.
Story - Screenplay - Dialogues - Direction : Story of the film is really nice. While most films now are selling on immoral and unethical heroes, this film shows the hero as moral, ethical and virtuous who cares a lot about his family and father in particular. But screenplay couldn't do enough justice to the point taken. Many times, the movie appears to be dragging. Trivikram who is known as a terrific dialogue writer comes up with another excellent work in dialogues department. Unlike his recent outings, the dialogues in this film are more sensible and blend well with movie. Direction is good, especially in climax.
Music - Background Score : Music by Devi Sri Prasad is mediocre. Not even one song is likable. He just recycled all his previous songs. But he covers it up with superb Background Score. It is uplifting.
Other Departments : Photography, Art work, Costumes are good. Editing could've been better.
Final Piece : This film talks about a person who is moral, ethical and virtuous who wants to keep his father's name high. It is a great point considering the present characterizations of heroes in the movies. I really liked the way Trivikram connected Rajendra Prasad's conflict point with Prakash Raj's actual intention, in the climax. It is very touching. There is one major comment on the film - Dialogues are not of Trivikram's standards and they doesn't have that Trivikram's stamp/mark in them. I feel it is completely wrong. A truly good dialogue writer always gives dialogues which suit the film and Trivikram just did that. He never went overboard. Take Attarintiki Daaredi for example. It is full of redundant and unnecessary dialogues. This film unlike Attarintiki Daaredi has more sensible and true to the subject dialogues. Plus points are Allu Arjun's screen presence and performance, Rajendra Prasad and Upendra's performances, nice story, superb dialogues, excellent climax and good background score. Negative points are bad music and ineffective screenplay. I would've given 9/10 if not for these negative points.
When it was released, it received mixed responses from both critics and audience (fans). But later when family crowds started coming to the theaters, it picked up pace and finally ended up as one of the biggest hits in the year 2015 by collecting more than 55 crores. It is a must watch for every one who likes in sensible and touching films.
Cameraman Gangatho Rambabu (2012)
A gripping Political drama
Story : There is no story in this movie. It is all about how a common man reacts & questions the current political scenario.
Performances : Pawan kalyan is amazing in this movie. He has given a power packed performance. Especially in the pre-climax episodes, where he delivers a solid speech to all the youngsters, his performance is just excellent. Only an actor with so much conviction could pull of this role. Kota Srinivasa Rao and Prakash Raj are excellent. Especially Prakash Raj did a superb job. Nasser was under-utilized. Tamannah goes overboard many times. Brahmanandam and Ali entertain with their impeccable comedy timing.
Story-Screenplay-Direction-Dialogues : Story is okay. Screenplay is good. Direction is superb. Puri Jagan should be commended for daringly attempting this script as it has many references to politicians and political scenarios (For example, Nasser's character resembles Ex-AP CM Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy a lot). Dialogues are just extraordinary. It needs lot of conviction to write such intense dialogues. Hatsoff to Puri Jagannadh.
Music & Background Score : Music by Manisharma is bad but the Background Score is just terrific. Manisharma has given some really powerful music for many scenes (especially in pre climax scenes).
Other Departments : Cinematography, editing, artwork e.t.c are good.
Final Piece : The plus points of the film are extra ordinary performances by Pawan Kalyan, Kota, Prakash Raj, excellent dialogues, gripping narration and pre climax scenes. On the flip side, Tamannah's characterization is poor. Also, it has many references to real time political incidents indirectly (For example Viceroy Hotel incident). I just loved it.
Hrudaya Kaleyam (2014)
The Best Black-comedy ever in Telugu
Story : If you have watched a few Telugu mass masala commercial entertainers, you might find that the story is no different. But that is acceptable here, because this is a kind of spoof thrown at typical Telugu movies.
Performances : The biggest asset for this movie is its superb casting. Everyone had performed superbly. But it is ultimately "Burning Star" Sampoornesh Babu who steals the show. He is the perfect one for the lead role. He did full justice to his role. Kaththi Mahesh who played the police officer, has acted extremely well. The subordinate of Mahesh has also acted well. The guy who played the role of 'Black Mamba' is extremely good.
Story-Screenplay-Dialogues-Direction : Story is for typical commercial potboilers. Screenplay is excellent, because you won't find a single dull moment. Dialogues is the best part about the movie. They are so good. Every dialogue has a rhyming indirectly mocking the dialogues pattern in typical Telugu movie. Round of Applause for Sai Rajesh for his excellent work in dialogues. Direction is also good.
Music : Music by R.K is adequate while the background score is excellent.
Other Departments : Artwork, Cinematography and Editing are nice. Production values are adequate.
Final Piece : My advice is don't watch this thinking this might be some serious movie. No. Its not. This is a black comedy (also known as Dark comedy). In Hollywood, we have many black comedies, but in India, this genre is not a frequent one. In Telugu there are hardly any Dark comedies and this proves to be one of its kind. Sampoornesh Babu and Sai Rajesh rocked. This film on a whole is a laugh riot. The way climax scenes were dealt deserves special appreciation. Watch it for Sampoo and Steven Shankar a.k.a Sai Rajesh.
Kadal (2013)
Good vs Evil
Story : It is an atypical "Good vs Evil" story told in Maniratnam's perception.
Performances : The casting is superb. Everyone acted well but Aravind Swamy and Arjun shine in their roles. Gautham Karthik makes a fine debut.
Story-Screenplay-Direction : Story is nice with some interesting twists thrown in. Screenplay is little dragging. It is absolutely dull in the scenes following Sam's conviction. The concept of hero joining Bergman is unconvincingly told. I thought hero is avenging. Direction is nice. The scenes like Thomas taking the newly born baby into his hands and looking at Jesus Christ's idol are excellently shot and they show the class of Maniratnam.
Music & Background Score : Music by A.R.Rahman is godly. It is divine, sweet, eclectic, soul stirring and adjectives are insufficient. Every song is a gem. This is easily the best album from Mani-ARR combo since "Alaipayuthey". Background Score is excellent again. Rahman has bought in the global music feel to the background score. The orchestration is superb. In short, the music and background score out shines the movie itself.
Other Departments : Cinematography by Rajeev Menon is topnotch effort. Watch the climax and know how good the cinematography of this film is. Editing is okay. Artwork is excellent.
Final Piece : This is typical Maniratnam movie. It is dark, silent and has little commercial elements. But Maniratnam's fans like me may like this film. I liked it. Plus points are some extraordinary scenes, excellent music, performances by Arjun and Aravind and world class cinematography. Minus points are over all slow pace of the movie, unconvincing told concept of hero joining Bergman and lack of universal appeal. Watch it with academic interest.
Happy Days (2007)
Nice Portrayal of Friendships-Confusion-Love
Story : Story is wafer thin. It is just a compilation of some incidents faced by a group of friends in their college life.
Performances : All the actors except Tamannah are new and everyone acted well. More than their performances, the characters suit them as all are young, fresh looking and tender.
Story-Screenplay-Direction-Dialogues : There is no significant story to keep you hooked but Screenplay did the magic. Sekhar Kammula's narration is absolutely superb. There are only few dull moments in the entire film. His direction is nearly flawless. But following points are little unconvincing, 1) Kamalini Mukherjee's episode -> This is really the baddest part of the movie.
2) Scientific techniques used by Tyson -> Unconvincing. If you take it for fun purpose, it is okay. But some critical incidents in the movie happen due to these Techniques.
3) Little far from reality -> It is best to be viewed as fantasy than a realistic one. Because, apart from some ragging incidents, most of the scenes are less likely to happen in real engineering life. But the movie as a whole is a beautiful fantasized version of college life.
Music & Background Score : Music is the heart and soul of this film. This is easily one of the best soundtracks I heard in my life. Mickey J Meyer's music is both melodious and foot tapping. Background Score is an extension to the songs. Parts of songs are nicely incorporated into background score for some vital scenes and that is great. In a way, the soundtrack makes this film a wonderful musical experience.
Other Departments : Editing, Photography and Art work are superb.
Final Piece : Watch this film only for its Refreshing entertainment, excellent dialogues and awesome music. But do not expect your college life to be like this. College days are definitely the happiest days of one's life but the incidents shown in the movie are little fantasized and some cinematic liberties were taken. On a whole, it is a beautiful feel good film.
Varalaaru (2006)
Nice movie
Story : Ajith is an effeminate. Due to this, his wife insults him on their wedding day. Avenging that, Ajith rapes her and so she becomes pregnant and gives birth to twins. Ajith takes care of one while the other grows up under his mother. While one becomes a spoiled brat, the other becomes a psychopath as a result of the situations he faced in his childhood. He seeks to take revenge of his father. He plans to murder him twice. Now, what happens ?? will he succeed in doing so ?? What happens to the spoiled Ajith ?? forms the story.
Performances : Ajith is the whole and sole of this movie. He is just excellent in all the three roles he portrayed. He is perfect when it comes to dancing scenes. It seems, he did a lot of homework to act like an effeminate and all his efforts paid off. This is easily one of his best performances. To put it simply, this is a one man show by Ajith. Heroines and other cast have nothing to do as I said earlier, the whole film has only 3 major actors - Ajith, Ajith and Ajith.
Story-Screenplay-Direction : As it is evident, the story is an old- fashioned one. But the screenplay given to this makes difference. Direction is fine.
Music : Music by Maestro A.R.Rahman is slightly a mixed bag. The soundtrack is partly superb and partly underwhelming. While Innisai (all three versions), Katril Oru Varthai & Theeyil Vizhundha are excellent compositions, Ilamai, Thottapuram & Kamma Karaiyil are below average songs strictly meant for Ajith fans. In a way, Rahman has failed to deliver a fully good album. But, as I mentioned earlier half of the songs are awesome. The soundtrack is worth listening for those alone. Background Score is again excellent. It elevates the film to a new level.
Other Departments : Artwork, Cinematography and editing is fine.
Final Piece : This film solely depends on one strength called - Ajith. His fan-base is huge. Acting wise, he is excellent in all the scenes. He just steals the show. If you admire Ajith, you would like this. Otherwise, you may just get irritated. You have to make a choice. I chose the first one and really enjoyed this film.
Ye Maaya Chesave (2010)
A Beautiful Romantic Tale - CLASSIC
Plot - It is about a complex relationship between a girl and boy, which explores the complexity of girls' attitude.
Performances - Naga Chaitanya is the best among the current lot when it comes to acting in romantic movies. May be, that quality is inherited by him from his father (Nagarjuna) and his grand father (Nageswara Rao) who are known as the best actors for romantic roles in their respective times. His cool attitude and underlying arrogance is just fabulous. He carried the role with élan. Samantha makes a fine debut. All other actors like Krishnudu, Sanjay Swaroop, Devan, Surekha Vani, Sudheer Babu,Lakshmy Ramakrishnan did well in their respective roles. Director Puri Jagannadh, Trisha Krishnan and Simbu shine in their brief cameos.
Story, Screenplay & Direction - Story is wafer thin though a refreshing one. Screenplay is what makes this thin story-line workout. It is outstanding. Direction by Gautam is superb.
Music & Background Score - Music by A.R.Rahman is just out of the world. It so melodious, intricate, intriguing, captivating, serene... Well words fall short to describe his genius. This is easily his best work for straight Telugu films. And the Background Score is equally extraordinary. Each and every emotion undergone by the lead couple has his backing. In a way, he carried the entire film on his able shoulders. This again proves a point that, what a great music composer can do to a subject which has scope for good music.
Dialogues - Dialogues by Umarjee Anuradha are classy.
Other technical Departments - Photography by Manoj Paramahamsa is just extraordinary. Editing is good. Art work is nice. Production values are excellent.
Finally - This is a beautiful Lovestory and is shot beautifully & aesthetically. Don't go looking for some cheesy commercial elements. This is not for you if you anticipate a few laughs and larger than life fights. Thumbs up for Naga Chaitanya's acting, A.R.Rahman's music, Gautam Menon's direction and Manoj Paramahamsa's photography. Thumbs down for a (little) slow second half. Classic movie.
Happy (2006)
Cute Lovestory
Story - Story is somewhat similar to Maniratnam's classic "Mounaragam". In the sense, both movies are based on the point that when you got to spend some nice time with a person, whom you actually hate, you'll fall in love with him/her. Just some romantic moments are needed. While "Mounaraagam" goes on a serious note and has a subplot (Karthik- Revathy story), this goes on lighter note without any subplots.
Performances - Allu Arjun is adequate in his role. He does go overboard many times, but still he is decent on a whole. Genelia is superb. She got a role which demands lot of emotions and Genelia comes out with flying colors. Manoj Bajpai is good in his little cameo. Kishore as the revenge seeking police officer is nice. Deepak Shirke is fine as heroine's father. Tanikella Bharani, Brahmandam and hero's friends gang acted well.
Story-Screenplay-Direction - Story is nice though it slightly resembles "Mounaraagam". Screenplay is what made the difference. It is very gripping. Direction is superb except for the last scene. Karunakaran's strengths have always been cute romantic scenes, sweet nothings, nice montages and light heartedness and he sticks to his strengths even in this film and the output is just superb.
Music & Background Score - Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja is okay. "Egire Mabbulalona" is fantastic. All other songs are just about okay. But he covers it up with excellent background score. He takes the film to a whole new level with his exceptional background score. This is easily one of his best works in scoring department.
Others - Cinematography is nice. Editing is fine. Dialogues are nice.
Finally this is a nice romantic comedy you'd definitely love to watch. The plus points of this film are lighter vein nature, background score, Genelia's performance and feel good moments. This is a film that oozes positivity. Minus point is bad climax. If you could excuse the climax, you can enjoy this clean entertainer.
Govindudu Andari Vaadele (2014)
Partly Entertaining
Story - If you are an avid fan of Telugu movies, you might have watched "Seetharamayya gari Manavaraalu" (Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Meena and Rohini Hattangadi) by now. Same story, except that here it is going to be "Manavadu".
Performances - Ram Charan tried a different role, at-least different to his territory. He sported a different look. And, he also tried to act, which is where all his efforts went futile some what. He did only partial justice to his role. He didn't emote well in the climax. Kajal is restricted to skin show and she hardly gets any chance to sparkle. Prakash Raj gets a vital role and he is just perfect. He performed extremely well in climax. Performances by Jayasudha and Srikanth are spot-on. Rest are fine.
Music - Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja, though not so good as stand alone pieces, gels well with movie. His background score is very nice, as usual.
Other Departments - Cinematography must get the highest score among the technical crew. Every frame looks like a painting. Editing is not up-to the mark. Art work is excellent. Dialogues are nice. Producer, Bandla Ganesh must be appreciated for high production values, as every frame appears rich and colorful.
Story, Screenplay & Direction - Krishna Vamsi is notorious for choosing nice script, spoiling it by cheap first half (Over exposing by heroine) and then bouncing back with extraordinary narration in second half. But here, neither the script is interesting/novel nor the second half is extraordinary. As usual, his picturisation of songs acts as a barrier between family crowds and the theater. Direction is good.
On a whole, this is NOT a kind of movie, you would expect from a director of Krishna Vamsi's standard. It doesn't match the brilliance of "Murari" even, forget about comparing with "Ninne Pelladatha" (which is still considered his best movie). It is only partly entertaining. There is a thin line between romance and vulgarity and I'm afraid, Krishna Vamsi always lands up in the latter one. How could families watch if there is so much of exposing and vulgarity ??? Directors must always stick to the plot. If you want to make a family movie... Make one sans over exposing and double meaning dialogues. But not of this kind. Anyway, watch it only if 1) you are a fan of Ram Charan and Krishna Vamsi (or) 2) you have not watched "Seetharamayya gari Manavaraalu", which is a classic by the way.
Oka Laila Kosam (2014)
Very nice romantic entertainer
Punch line - A Karunakaran Story..
Yeah that's what I felt. From the beginning, heroine hates hero owing to some misunderstandings till climax, but then everything takes U-turn. This quite resembles Karunakaran's movies like Happy, Ullasanga Uthsahanga e.t.c..
Nevertheless, "OLK" is a nice family entertainer. Definitely deserves to be watched at least once, if not twice or thrice. Pre- climax twist is just superb. It creates a lot of sympathy on hero's character and that is what actually needed for romantic/drama films.
And regarding the criticism, that after doing some classic stuffs like YMC and Manam, Naga Chaitanya should have gone choosy than doing a regular Rom-Com, what I feel is, you cannot always get Classics... They just happen...
Coming to the performances, lead cast share some very nice moments, Naga Chaitanya sparkles in his role and delivers a commendable performance. But he needs to work a little bit on comedy timing. Other than that, everything about Naga Chaitanya is fine. His screen presence is very good, he carries the role with aplomb. Pooja Hegde gets a vital role and she also acts well, apart from having pretty looks. Rest others are fine... Ali's comedy is good. He really nailed it..
Story is routine but the treatment given by director deserves appreciation. Many scenes are nicely canned. Screenplay should have been more tighter in second half, while it is gripping in first half.. Direction is alright. "Oka Laila Kosam" primarily suffers with inconsistency. While 75% of the scenes are very good, the rest are not upto the mark.
Music is good. All songs are melodious. But, "Oka Laila Kosam - Remix" stands out. It is highly energetic and doesn't spoil the original flavor. Background score is nice too. Camera work by Andrew is just amazing. Every frame looks like a painting. Production values by Annapurna Studios are superb. The film looks rich, despite the low budget.
Few dialogs need special appreciation like - "Premademundi uncle e- mail unna prathi vadu premisthadu. Preminchabadadamey goppa.."
On a whole, I liked the movie. I would have given 9/10 if not for the inconsistency in the merit of scenes. It has some very nice moments. Though there are some lags, the overall feel good nature covers them. Also, it is a clean family entertainer. You can watch it with your family and enjoy heartily.
Loukyam (2014)
One time watch
Story - Old wine in new bottle..
Performances - Gopichand is so desperate for scoring a hit, and one can easily sense it. He went to an extent, where he graciously allowed side characters to have major pie. He is the hero, for namesake. Within his limits, he did well. So does Rakul Preeth. Chandramohan gets a nice role and he did perfectly well. Brahmanandam entertains, despite some routine comedy written for him. However, the show stealer is Boiling star Babloo a.k.a 30 years Prudhvi. He has got a meaty role and he excels in it. Hamsa Nndini plays an extended cameo.
Music - Music by Anup Rubense is okay though not as good as "Manam".
Other Technical Departments - Story is routine. Screenplay is even more clichéd. Dalogues are fine.
Direction - Seems like, Sreevas (the director) had only one thing in his mind - that is to entertain people. He is partly successful in doing so. Comedy clicks in most of the scenes while, goes completely in a predictable pattern in the rest. Direction is thus just okay.
Final piece - Watch it without having any expectations, you'll be entertained. And for quality movie lovers, give a skip as this is an extremely routine movie with some very clichéd scenes and offers nothing new.
Gaganam (2011)
Slick Thriller
Story - It is a Hijack drama. What happens to hijacked passengers, are they rescued, forms the story.
Performances - The major strength of this movie is its casting. Nagarjuna is extremely good in this movie. He is charming and delivers an outstanding performance. Some scenes written for Nagarjuna where his role "Ravindra" displays his cool in tough times, are just mind-blowing. Prakash Raj nicely complements Nagarjuna. Brahmanandam's comedy is superb. Other actors like Chams, Manobala, Sana khan, Prdhvi raj, Ravi e.t.c are excellent in their respective roles. Special appreciation must be given to the guy who did the role of "Yusuf Khan".
Music - Background Score by A.R.Rahman's assistant Pravin Mani is nice, though not very gripping enough.
Other Department - Art work and Photography are excellent. Editing is also superb.
Story, Screenplay & Direction - There is no story. The premise is new to Telugu audience. Screenplay is racy. Direction is fantastic. These following threads are just superb - 1) Hero-Fan thread, 2) Terrorist-Child Thread. The scenes between Nagarjuna and Harshavardhan are extremely good.
Final Piece - If you like slick thrillers, this is the one for you. It will not be on a serious note. There is a lot of entertainment in this movie. Two persons must be appreciated - 1) Nagarjuna, for not not giving any damn to the commercial elements, 2) Prakash Raj, for producing such a nice movie.
Shirdi Sai (2012)
Not on par with Annamayya and Sri Ramadasu
Story - It is the compilation of some life events of Shirdi Saibaba.
Performances - Firstly, Nagarjuna excels in the role of Saibaba. He has got very little to do till climax, but then he carries the whole climax on his able shoulders. His performance in those (climax) scenes is just terrific. Watch out for these scenes - 1) Saibaba tells to his followers and devotees that, he's got a call from the Almighty, he has to go and he would return in a couple of days. In this scene, Nagarjuna's performance is superb. 2) The entire climax. Nagarjuna is just outstanding. His maturity and versatility come into picture in these scenes. These scenes depict why he is the only best choice for devotional movies. Another best part about him is, he did not imitate Vijaya Chander. Rather he did it in his own style with his own interpretations about his character. Others like Srikanth, Rujutha Desmukh, Sharath Babu and Kamalini Mukherjee did their job nicely. Comedy by Shayaji Shinde, Ali and Dharmavarapu tests your patience. Sri Hari is irritating.
Music - Music by M.M.Keeravani is good but he could not repeat the magic of Annamayya and Sri Ramadasu, though.
Other Departments - Art work, Photography are fine. Editing is good though there few lags in second half.
Dialogues - Dialogues written by Paruchuri Brothers are sometimes very good and sometimes inappropriate.
Story & Screenplay - Story is nothing but the compilation of some life events of Saibaba. Screenplay is not fluid.
Direction - Direction is the worst part of this movie. It is not engaging enough. The connectivity between two scenes/incidents is missing, many times. Hence there wouldn't be a smooth transition or flow in Shirdi Sai, unlike in the cases of Annamayya and Sri Ramadasu. Hence this might appear like more of a documentary than a feature film. His tendency to insert poorly written cheap comedies in devotional movies is again visible.
Final Piece - "Shirdi Sai" is definitely not on par with "Annamayya" and "Sri Ramadasu". Keeravani couldn't come up with an enthralling score, but his work is good though. Raghavendra Rao's direction is best to be forgotten. The only person who could give the same output as "Annamayya" and "Sri Ramadasu" is Akkineni Nagarjuna. He just steals the show, especially in the climax episodes. Watch it for him, without expecting another "Annamayya" and "Sri Ramadasu".
Rabhasa (2014)
Please Wake-up NTR
Story - Is there a story ?? I wonder !! Pretty Routine..
Performances - NTR has nothing to do. Even his strengths, like dances, are also not well utilized. He is okay. Samantha and Pranitha have no significant roles. They're adequate. Brahmanandam is nicely utilized. But again, it is a routine role for him. Others are okay.
Music - Music by Thaman is not nice. Only one song, sung by NTR, is good on ears. Background score is poor.
Other Departments - Art work, Cinematography are nice. Editing is okay.
Story, Screenplay, Dialogues & Direction - Story is full of clichés. It is an extremely routine plot. Screenplay and treatment given are poor. Director made a mess in second half. He unnecessarily made it complex there. Direction is partly good.
Final Piece - Story is a routine revenge drama. Screenplay is a mess. Comedy is only partly successful. NTR has not been well utilized. I wanted Santosh Srinivas to taste huge success with this film, from the moment he told what happened to him and how NTR supported him, in the audio function. But, a director who comes out of that situation would strike back with a powerful script. But Santosh has chosen a weak one. He couldn't come up with an engaging screenplay either and NTR's poor show at the box-office continues. Watch it if you don't mind clichéd scripts.
Aagadu (2014)
A Routine Attempt
Story - A Routine one, unworthy of discussing about.
Performances - The whole and sole of this movie is Mahesh. He is made to utter dialogues in different accents and that attempt is slightly back fired as he is only partly successful. His performance in some emotional scenes is good, though. Tamannah's role is more of a cameo, than heroine. Rajendra Prasad is wasted. Brahmanandam's comedy is extremely routine and evokes not even a smile most of the times (forget about laughing). Sonu Sood is okay. M.S.Narayana and Satyam Rajesh are nice. Brahmaji is used to give interval bang and he is successful in doing so.
Music - A couple of songs by Thaman are nice. Background score is good in parts.
Technical Departments - Art work and Photography are good. Editing is not up to the mark, especially in second half.
Story, Screenplay, Dialogues & Direction - Story is routine one which can sometimes be played to the galleries with good treatment and screenplay. But these are missing. Treatment and Screenplay given follow typical Screenu Vaitla pattern, which at least I'm fed up with. They no longer appear intriguing. Direction is adequate in parts. Now coming to dialogues.... Dialogues look forced. Unnecessary rhymings are used in every single dialogue, due to which one might feel the redundancy of dialogues. Dialogues are sometimes of too much length.
Final Piece - First half is only partly good. Second half doesn't evoke any interest due to poor writing. You might feel that you're watching "Dookudu - 2" instead of "Aagadu". It is that repetitive. Sentiment doesn't work out. Comedy fails to evoke laughter many times. Dialogues are redundant. Many characters are given no importance. Watch it if you are a Die hard fan of Mahesh. Otherwise, please don't waste your valuable money and time. Give it a skip.
Baadshah (2013)
Pale Entertainer
Story - Before you watch this movie, first watch these films - Don (SRK), Dookudu and King. The story is a mishmash of all the above mentioned movies.
Performances - Jr.NTR looked awkward in Badshah getup. He's got nothing great to perform in that role except to utter some dialogues, wearing a cold face. But it is the NTR in wedding planner's role, that wins you over. He is extremely spontaneous in that role. He's uttered dialogues in Telangana accent with utmost ease (Even better than Mahesh in Dookudu). Kajal looks artificial, but she did her role nicely. Nasser is wasted. It is not appropriate to cast an actor of his stature in this kind of roles which are confined to comedy. M.S.Naryana is excellent as "Revenge" Nageswara Rao (Pun thrown at a popular Telugu director who also works in Bollywood). His mannerisms and dialogues are very nice, though his character lasts only for a few scenes. Brahmanandam's comedy is good, but is becoming a regular stuff slowly. Navadeep and Siddharth did their jobs perfectly. All others are fine.
Music - A couple of songs scored by Thaman are nice. However, his background score is not good. It is poor actually. The Theme music given to Baadshah role in this film, strongly resembles the tune of "Dee daba do daba.." from the movie Shadow (Venkatesh).
Other Departments - Art work, Cinematography are very nice. Editing is okay. Many scenes are there to be trimmed, especially in first half.
Story, Screenplay, Dialogues & Direction - Story is a mishmash of several hit movies, which includes Srinu Vaitla's own movies. Screenplay is nice, but an old fashioned one. Dialogues are written with a sole purpose of evoking a punch or a rhyming in every single word uttered by actors. Hence, they look forced and inappropriate. Direction is adequate. It is high time for Srinu Vaitla, to come out of his regular format.
Final Piece - This film offers nothing new or different from "Dookudu". The story is a very routine one and comedy is even more routine, with forced punch/rhyming dialogues. This is NOT a bad film. It is in fact a watchable film, provided if you have not watched "Dookudu" and "King". But if you have previous experiences of watching those movies, this appears like a pale carbon copy to those movies. Strictly "Okay" film.
Sitaramaraju (1999)
A Good Faction Drama
Story - There is a rivalry between two villages, owing to the personal rivalry between village heads. What happens to the village heads, forms the story.
Performances - Nagarjuna is very charming and did his job very well. Harikrishna makes his comeback in lead roles, with this film. He is adequate. Kota Srinivasa Rao steals the show with his typical comedy-villain mannerisms. Satyaprakash is superb as psychotic brother of Kota Srinivasa Rao. Popular actor Raviteja, who was not an established hero then, acted in one of the important roles and did his job perfectly. Heroines are okay.
Music - Music by M.M.Keeravani is a huge asset to this movie. All songs gel well with the movie. "Changure" is the best one. Re- recording and Background score done by Keeravani are excellent. Watch out how nicely Keervani's background score elevates many scenes.
Lyrics - Lyrics by Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry are excellent, especially in "Vuylala" song.
Other Departments - Cinematography, Editing, Art work and production values are fine.
Story, Screenplay and Direction - Story is not a new one. But, the treatment given by Y.V.S.Chowdary is nice. He's beautifully raised tempo in confrontation between village heads scenes. The way in which brother sentiment is blended into this faction drama deserves appreciation.
Final Piece - The story is an old fashioned one. But it is handled well by the director. Plus points are Nagarjuna, Kota Srinivasa Rao and Music. Watch it, if you want to see Nagarjuna in a faction film.
Power (2014)
Old Wine in New Bottle
Since the film is still running in the theaters, I'm not gonna reveal the story (Of course, there is nothing so innovative about the story).
Lets get into analysis...
Performances - Raviteja is one of the very few Telugu actors who's got tremendous ease and impeccable timing in comedy. But mostly, his talent is wasted. He's confined only to a set of roles. But, in reality he can perform wide range of characters. Coming to this movie, he did full justice to his role(s). But, the roles do nothing significantly to his acting repertoire. It is the same old Raviteja, we've been seeing all these days. Heroines have nothing to do. Brhamandam did very well. He has been nicely utilized by the director. Saptagiri is slowly turning into a reliable comedian. All others are fine in their respective roles.
Music - Music by Thaman is nice, though there are some ample evidences of plagiarism in his work. He's composed what exactly is required for a masala entertainer. His Background score gels well with the film.
Other Departments - Art work, Cinematography, Production values and Editing are fine. The nicely compliment the film.
Story, Screenplay & Direction - Story is very predictable. Screenplay has some nice twists (Only a few). Direction is adequate. It doesn't require great directorial skills to handle this plot.
Final Piece - First of all, I've awarded 5 points for comedy, Brahmandam and Raviteja. It is not away from the truth, that this plot has been beaten to death by our directors for 'N' no. of times. We've been watching this kind of stories since the days of Sr.NTR. Still, directors rely on it, I don't understand why. This year, especially, has witnessed some brilliant works in Tollywood like "Manam", "Oohalu Gusagusalade", "Minugurulu" e.t.c. But still directors are not coming out that age old formula. I wonder, when our directors will come out of this frame. And Raviteja, you're an extremely talented guy. Please don't mis-utilize it. You may taste success today, bu remember it is not ever lasting. People tend remember only path breaking films.
Ninne Pelladatha (1996)
The Best Family Entertainer
Story - It is a typical story of Bava-Maradalu. They fall in love and their parents oppose, owing to some previous family rivalries. What happens to the love pair forms the story.
Performances - Nagarjuna looks very charming and did an excellent job. Tabu is nice. Among others, Chapathi Rao, Lakshmi, Chandramohan, Uttej, Brahmaji, Kavitha, Rama Prabha get nice roles and they did very well . The Chemistry between all these actors is so good that many times you may feel that you're actually watching a real family. Rest others are fine.
Music - Music by Nagarjuna's best friend, Sandeep Chowta is excellent. All songs gel well with the film. The Background score is superb too. Wish more people encouraged Sandeep Chowta..!!
Technical Departments - Photography, Editing, Art Work and Dialogues deserve special appreciation. All of them nicely compliment the film.
Story, Direction - Story is nothing new. But, the direction by Krishna Vamsy is fantastic. He brought out right emotions at right moments. His taking is classy. He has a special talent in generating situational humor and he used it to the maximum extent in this film. Except for two romantic tracks, all other songs are canned very well too.
Final Piece - This film sets a bench mark in family entertainers. It has no over melodrama and nonsense heroism. Instead, it is a very realistic one. 80% of the film is filled with funny situations, family gatherings, sweet nothings and nice melodious songs. Literally, the film is like a picnic and a joyful ride. This is one of its kind in Telugu Cinema. Nagarjuna must be appreciated for believing in the story and producing it. His passion for quality movies reflects in the kind of backdrops taken in this movie. It is a must watch for all who love nice family entertainers.
Hello Brother (1994)
A Classic Entertainer
Story - Two twin brothers are separated in their childhood and they come across each other after some 25 years. What happens then, forms the story. Oh by the way, both have love interests and a common villain too..!!
Performances - Nagarjuna once again proves his versatility. Be it, the petty thief, "Deva" or the rockstar, "Ravi Varma", Nagarjuna did a fabulous job. Nagarjuna gets two contrasting characters and he excels in both. He's showed a lot of variations in both the characters. Mass comedies are not new for Nagarjuna, but what makes this different from others is the concept of "twins and the reflexes between them". You have to watch the film to know, what I mean by the word "Reflexes". Among others, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Brahmanandam, Mallikarjuna Rao, Babu Mohan, Giri Babu get major share and they excel in their roles. Ali's role is very nice, though only lasts for a couple of scenes. Heroines don't contribute significantly to the plot. Napolean as the baddie, did very well.
Music - Music by Raj-Koti is superb. "Kanne Pettaro", "Priya Ragale" are still popular. Background score is very nice.
Other Technical Departments - Cinematography and Editing are fine. Art work is nice.
Dialogues - Dialogues by L.B.Sriram are very good. He oozed comedy in most of the dialogues. The Godavari-accent dialogues written for Nagarjuna are superb.
Story, Screenplay & Direction - Story is taken from Hong Kong comedy, "Twin Dragons" starring Jackie Chan and modified according to Telugu nativity. Direction is good. E.V.V.Satyanarayana made sure that there is ample humor in most of the scenes. His screenplay is interesting. There are totally 3 pairs in this movie, 3 leads and 1 sidekick to each of them. Nagarjuna-Brahmanandam, Kota Srinivasa Rao-Mallikarjuna Rao, Giribabu-Babu Mohan are the pairs and the comedy is nicely generated within the pairs. It is a nice approach for comedy movies.
Final Piece - First half is good and the second half is equally nice. The only minus points are few double meaning dialogues (only few) and pre-climax scenes. Apart from these minus points, the film is a full laugh riot. There is a lot of comedy in the movie due to which it has a terrific repeat value. You can watch it 'N' number of times, without getting bored. Superb Entertainer.
Manmadhudu (2002)
The Best Romantic Comedy in Telugu
Rom-Coms are a rarity in Telugu. There are quite a few, but all of them share the same kind of story. This is where "Manmadhudu" scores. It defies the regular Romantic comedy movie pattern and instead sets one on its own.
Story - Abhiram is a manager in his ad agency. He despises women and feels that all women are traitors. Abhiram's uncle , who is the chairman of the ad agency, appoints Harika as the assistant manager. Though Abhiram does not like a girl joining his company, he has to live with it as the appointment is made by his uncle. He starts mistreating her. Harika, vexed by Abhiram's acts, submits her resignation to his uncle, who then narrates Abhiram's past to Harika. What is Abhiram's past ?? Why does he hates women ?? What happens to Harika forms the story.
Performances - After a highly acclaimed performance in "Santosham", Nagarjuna comes up with another fabulous performance in this film. He sets a new trend in uttering punch dialogs. His comedy timing is impeccable. He shares some very nice romantic moments with Sonali Bendre and some extremely hilarious episodes with Brahmandam. The first half (comedians come in second half) is carried single-handedly by Nagarjuna. Sonali Bendre did very well. Anshu is okay. Brahmanandam is extremely funny. There some very nice one- liners for him. Sunil is equally good as Bunk Seenu. Tanikella Bharani is very good as Nagarjuna's uncle. All others performed well.
Technical Departments - Cinematography and Art Work are just superb. Editing is fine.
Story & Dialogues - Like I said earlier, the story is a bench mark in romantic comedies. It has something in it for every set of audience. Dialogues by Trivikram are excellent.
Music - Devi Sri Prasad gave some of his career best, if not the best, tunes for this film. His music is soothing. I really miss that Devi Sri Prasad, who used to raise expectations on a film single handedly by his chart busting songs. Now a days, what he is giving is nothing in- front of what he used to give in those days. For proof, listen to Manmadhudu. Such an extra-ordinary soundtrack it is..!! Even the background score is terrific.
Direction - Direction by Vijayabhaskar is superb, but for last song, which is abrupt. He knows the sensibilities very well and handled them deftly.
Overall, "Manmadhudu" is a superb romantic comedy. No.. it is not a comedy movie... It has some very beautiful romantic moments which will be missing in regular comedy movies. It also has some very nice clean comedy. That's why I'd say this is the best romantic comedy in Telugu, till date, which balances romance and comedy in right proportions. Watch it, without hesitation. Its a clean Entertainer.
Santosham (2002)
A Nice Tale about Family and Relationships
Story - An NRI who feels guilty for eloping with a girl, whose family loves her so much, is entangled in another similar kind of situation where he finds himself in a dilemma.. Whether to repeat the same thing or not..!!
Performances - Nagarjuna steals the show. Be it a vibrant IT genius Kartikeya or the matured NRI Kartikeya, he does full justice to his role. His role has a lot of scope & depth and Nagarjuna comes up with a nuanced performance. Watch out for the following scenes in which his performance is just brilliant : 1) In the scene in which Padmavathi dies. 2) In the scene in which Kartik convinces Bhanu, by saying he couldn't repeat the same mistake again. Gracy Singh is well cast. Shriya tries hard to emote but was only partly successful. But considering the fact that, she was only a two-film old then, she did a nice job, we must say. Rest others, including Prabhudeva, are fine in their roles.
Other Technical Departments - Photography is neat. Editing should've been more crisp. Art work is fine.
Music - R.P.Patnaik's score compliments the film very well. Be it songs or Background score, R.P.Patnaik gave his best to this film.
Story, Screenplay, Dialogues and Direction - Story has the shades of "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" (Even a scene is directly borrowed from that movie). Screenplay is good, though lagging at few places. Dialogues form the heart of this film. There are many sensible and thought provoking dialogues in this film which depict the essence of human relationships. Direction is fine.
Final Piece - The film has set a bench mark for family stories in Telugu. It was released under only moderate expectations (As Nagarjuna was at his all time low. None of his previous movies fared well.) and tasted a huge success. This film has a tremendous repeat value. Nagarjuna, R.P.Patanaik and Dialogues are huge plus points for this film while snail paced narration is a minus. Watch it with your family without hesitation. You'll be entertained for sure. It is a clean entertainer.
Govindha Govindha (1993)
A Gripping Heist Film
Story - Jewellery belonging to Lord Venkateswara will be robbed and hero's father will be falsely implicated for it. How the hero manages to bring back the robbed jewelry forms the story.
Performances - Nagarjuna shines in his role. It is a cake-walk for him, actually. Sridevi did her role well. Rest others are fine, but Paresh Rawal and Kota Srinivasa Rao stand out.
Music - Music by Raj-Koti is very nice. The background score is good too.
Other Technical Departments - Photography is simply superb. Editing is excellent and dialogues are very good. I don't know whether the original Tirupati temple was directly used or a set was built for it, but it is very very good.
Story, Direction - The story is a very unusual one in Telugu movies. It is a heist drama, primarily, but what makes it an interesting one is its gripping direction. Ram Gopal Varma's direction is just superb. His screenplay is also very good. There isn't a single dull moment in the film, except perhaps for the songs which act as speed breakers. Full marks to RGV.
Final Piece - This film has nothing to do with spirituality or divinity. It uses divinity to a certain extent. But it is actually a nail biting thriller which has a small fantasy element towards its climax. You must watch it to know the nuances in quality film making. Sadly it attracted several controversies at that time and was a box-office failure. But, it is a must watch for all Nagarjuna fans and Telugu film lovers.
Nirnayam (1991)
A Nice Crime-Comedy
First of all, it must be noted that this film is a remake of 1987 Hollywood movie "Stake Out".
Story - An ex-professor, now a bloody criminal, seeks to take revenge on the antagonist. Whether he succeeded in it or not ?? forms the story.
Performances - It is a Nagarjuna's show all the way. He is extremely good as the cop, in one of his best charming performances. His character is so adorable. Watch out for his antics and attempts to woo Amala. Amala acted well. Muralimohan gets a pivotal role and he fits the bill. Sharat Saxena is very good in the baddie role. Subhalekha Sudhakar entertains well.
Technical Departments - Cinematography is superb. Dialogues are alright. Editing is a bit incoherent. The whole story happens only in the last 45 minutes and rest 2 hours contributes nothing significantly to the story.
Music - Music by Ilaiyaraaja is very good. But it is his background score that takes the cake.
Story, Direction - Story is taken from "Stake Out" and modified according to Telugu nativity. Priyadarshan did a nice job in handling the entertainment part but could not repeat the same in last 45 minutes, where the actual story unfolds. But still, his direction is nice.
On a whole, this is a perfect crime-comedy. Don't know why it was an average hit at the box-office. But if you want enjoy a nice entertaining thriller, this is the one for you and this is a must watch for Nagarjuna fans as he literally shines in his role.
Legend (2014)
Inconsistent Entertainer
Balakrishna is one among the most celebrated heroes in Telugu, of all time. But he is seen facing big setbacks post 2000s. Most of his ventures failed to taste success, with exceptions like "Laksmi Narasimha" (To some extent) and "Simha". Simha was a big relief for Balayya and again none of his movies which released post "Simha" became successful. So again Balayya joined hands with Simha director Boyapati Seenu for another Action entertainer.
The story is pretty routine. Screenplay is nice though. Direction by Boyapati Seenu is excellent in few scenes and average in rest. He conceived sentiment scenes and buildup scenes nicely and failed in repeating the same in fillers. First half is not up-to the mark while the Second half is partly good. Climax is the biggest drawback. Though there is some buildup provided for Jagapathi babu from the beginning, he is seen not counter attacking in the climax. His character graph goes down substantially in the Climax.
Music by Devi Sri Prasad is POOR. Except for the title song (which is a recycled version of many songs) NO song is good on ears. Background score is okay in few buildup scenes but is again poor in others. Devi Sri Prasad has to shed his own limitations and experiment at least a bit, or else he'll be forgotten in near future.
Dialogues are adequate. Locations are nice and photography is neat.
Coming to the performances, Balayya is nice in "Jaidev" role and looks artificial in "Krishna" role. He did utter some powerful dialogs to satisfy his fans. Balakrishna should refuse doing characters like "Krishna", which are definitely not his forte. Even he looks old in that young role. Jagapathi Babu is terrific. His white beard, dialog delivery, careless attitude in his eyes all combinedly create a fantastic impact on viewers. But his character is made extremely weak in the climax. The director might have given some scope and elevation to Jagapathi Babu's character in the climax. Others are just okay. Comedy is pathetic.
On a whole, "Legend" has some strong points like Balakrishna, Jagapathi Babu, nice hero buildup scenes and good sentimental scenes but it has its own share of drawbacks too. Climax comes and goes off in a blink. You don't even feel/realize that the movie is over. Watch it for Balakrishna and Jagapathi Babu.