Friday, December 24, 2010

RAGADA REVIEW


Film: Ragada
Rating: 3/5
Banner:
 Sri Kamakshi Enterprises
Cast: Nagarjuna, Anushka, Priyamani, Brahmanandam, Pradeep Rawath,
Kota, Dev Gill, Dharmavarapu, Raghu Babu, Tanikella, Supreeth,
Sreelatha, Sana, Master Bharat, Charmee (spl appearance)
Music: Thaman
Editing: Marthand K Venkatesh
Cinematography: Sarvesh Murari
Story, screenplay, dialogues, direction: Veeru Potla
Producer: D Sivaprasad Reddy
Release date: 24/12/2010
Nagarjuna has been trying hard to score a hit since ‘Mass’ and now he arrived with another commercial treat. This is the last of the biggies for 2010.
Story:
Set on the backdrop of Hyderabad, the story begins with GK (Dev Gill) who is keen on taking power from Peddanna (Pradeep Rawath) and waits for the right chance. He finds a possibility with the arrival of Satya (Nagarjuna) who is brave, strong and intelligent. Satya wins GK’s confidence and in this process, even GK’s love interest Sirisha (Anushka) also falls for Satya. Meanwhile, Satya gives asylum to Ashtalakshmi (Priyamani) who has few issues.
However, no one knows who Satya is, from where he came and why he came. All this forms the rest of the story.
Performances:
Nagarjuna looks smashing as ever and he has shouldered the film very well. His looks are outstanding and as usual, he rocks with his screen presence.
Anushka has filled the glamour quotient with her voluptuous appeal and she will be a visual treat to the masses. Performance wise, she did her bit as required.
Priyamani was effective and though she cannot match Anushka in terms of looks or glamour, she made her presence felt in her own way.
Brahmanandam takes off in an interesting manner and gives few laughs. However, his role becomes weak during the second half.
The bunch of villains like Kota, Pradeep Rawath, Dev Gill, Supreeth, Shravan didn’t have much except screaming their lungs out and taking the bashings from the hero. There is no strength in their characterization.
Charmee looks sizzling hot and her moves are sensuous.
Dharmavarapu, Master Bharat were brief and brought few smiles, Sana was standard, Sreelatha was okay, Satya Prakash was standard, the rest did their bit upto the mark.
Highlights:
  • Nagarjuna’s style and looks
  • Glamour quotient of the leading ladies
  • Opening fight sequence of Nag
  • Rich presentation of songs
Drawbacks:
  • Second half slows down and there is a drag
  • Unwanted inclusion of songs
  • Abrupt jerks in editing
  • No depth in the character etching of villains
Analysis:
Overall, the film runs on pure formula of few fights, glamorous songs, a comedy track and one sentimental attachment to the plot.
Primarily, the makers tried to cash in on the star power of Nagarjuna and he has not let them down. While the dialogues at few places were effective, the screenplay was having few hiccups.
Though there were few unexpected twists in the second half, the director was not able to give it that punch. Developing the comedy track would have helped. However, this is a film for Nag fans, B and C centers. The content is weak but it is the presentation which was packed with the right ingredients for a mass masala entertainer.
Bottomline: Pure commercial formula entertainer

Thursday, December 16, 2010

NAAGAVALLI REVIEW


Film: Nagavalli
Rating: 3.25/5
Banner:
 Sri Sai Ganesh Productions Pvt Ltd
Cast: Venkatesh, Anushka, Richa, Kamalini, Shraddha Das, Poonam Kaur, Brahmi, Dharmavarapu, Sarath Babu, Prabha, Raksha, Avinash, Suja, M S Narayana, Sameer etc
Dialogues: Paruchuri Brothers
Music: Guru Kiran
Editing: Marthand K Venkatesh
Cinematography: Sam K Naidu
Screenplay, Direction: P Vasu
Producer: Bellamkonda Suresh
Release date: 16/12/2010
 

Venkatesh played enough of family man roles in soft humor treatment till now. After a long gap he tried something different. He came up with remake film ‘Nagavalli’ packed with huge technical elements. Let us see how the movie faired in first impression.
 
Story:
Ever since the portrait of Chandramukhi (Anushka) comes to a big house, strange things begin to happen to the owners (Sarath Babu, Prabha) and their family comprising of four daughters.

They suspect the presence of a large snake and things get more complicated with the death of a snake charmer (M S).

Then, the family approaches Rajeshwar Siddanthi (Avinash) and he tells them that all this is happening due to the presence of Chandramukhi in their house. He suspects one of the daughters is possessed by Chandramukhi and decides that only one man can resolve this.

He is Dr Vijay (Venkatesh) and as soon as he arrives, he starts doing his investigations. What happens to his enquiries? Who is Chandramukhi? Who is Nagavalli? What exactly is happening in that home? All this forms the rest of the story.


Performances:
Venkatesh rocked with this film in double role. He is good in the shoes of a psychologist as well as in the clad of Maharaja Naga Bhairava. This is the first time Venkatesh played negative role as Naga Bhairava. His debut as villain is marvelous.

Anushka is good as perfectly suited the role in dancer costume. At times, we even recall her most famous role in eth film ‘Arundhati’.

Shradhdha Das is sharp and arrogant. Her mystic performance impresses the audience and she becomes a hook in narration.

Kamalini sucks. Her lean patient-like look is not so impressive in dancer costume. But that suited well for the kind of role she played.

Richa is beautiful and she performed as required. She gets recognition with her role in this film.

Poonam Kour’s role is very short but she made her presence felt with her glamour.

Kannada actress Suja, who appeared in Apta Rakshaka, also appeared here. Her role is also small and not to do much with the main story line.

Sharat Babu and Prabha are ok in their character roles. Brahmanandam’s presence brought only couple of laughs and he was not utilized properly. Dharmavarapu and Raksha are ok.

The best part in the movie is Art Department and Graphics. That has done a fantastic job. Music and background score also functioned very well keeping the adrenaline of the audience on a high through out.

Director P Vasu did well on a whole except Venkatesh’s (with old look) part in 2nd half. 130 year old man doing stunts and dancing in the dilapidated fort on the hill are silly
.

Highlights:
  • Venkatesh in negative role
  • Scenes with Richa
  • Story Line
  • Screenplay
  • Art Direction
  • Sound Effects
  • Music
Draw Backs:
  • Stunt scenes with old Venkatesh in 2nd half are silly
  • Make up of 130 year old Venkatesh is not convincing
Analysis:The movie started with slow pace but picked up at the interval. When the music was released, the songs got average response on a whole. But here in the movie they were canned very impressively. Especially King Song and Kabaddi and Vandanalu songs rock in movie.

First half of the movie is ok and second half movie is good. If you like Chandramukhi movie you may surely like this movie.

Venkatesh needs high commendations for his spellbinding performance in the role of Maharaja Naga Bhairava. He apparently proved that he is on par with Mohan Babu in portraying villainy. He stands as right example for all big heroes who can certainly prove their mettle as real actors. He also shows an alternative way for established heroes to try some villainy and break monotony.

The story line of Chandramukhi that is well known for almost all the Telugu audience continues with ‘Nagavalli’. It’s a perfect sequel that way. It’s more thrilling and suspense filled. Although the treatment resembles something on the lines of Krishna’s old film ‘Ave Kallu’, this proves to be interesting and gripping till the end.

If old Venkatesh’s stunt scenes and dancing bits are trimmed, there wouldn’t be any drop in emotional graph from start to end.

Bottom-Line: Watch it

Friday, December 10, 2010

MANASARA REVIEW


Banner : Moving Images
Cast : Vikram, Sree Divya, Bhanuchander, George Vincent, Ramaraju, Annapurna, Usha Sree, Krishnamohan, Anitha, M S Narayana and Others
Music : Sekhar Chandra
Cinematography : N Sudhakar Reddy
Producer: K Prakash Babu
Director: Ravi Babu
Released Date: December 10, 2010
Watched @ Sensation,Hyderabad
Survi Review: 4/10
With back to back successes like “Anasuya” , “Nachchaavule” and “Amaravathi” Director Ravi Babu is rated as new genre director who always come with novel concepts in the movie.Ravi Babu introduces two new faces Vikram and Diya with this film Manasara.
Story:
A routine romantic tale, the story is about Vikram (vikram) who lives in Hyderabad and he is basically a very chicken hearted guy. His family gets transferred to Rajapalayam in Kerala and this is a small place where ancient customs and traditions are followed. The settlement of issues is usually done by a fight of Kalari, the ancient martial art. Vikram sees Anjali (sree divya) and falls in love with her and soon, she also reciprocates. However, Anjali’s aunt harasses her while her ‘bava’ Rajan Pillai (George) has got a lecherous eye on her. Rajan is also a famous Kalari champion.

Presentation:

Vikram was okay with his performance. Sree Divya did justice to her homely role.Vincet  was impeccable mannerisms and impressive dialogue delivery. Bhanuchander and Annapurna were apt to their roles.Direction wise Ravi Babu Showed his technical Brilliance.A better content would have been rocking.Adroit camerawork (Sudhakar Reddy) and a compelling background score (Shekar Chandra) keep the experience on the right side of relish. Movie relatively drab with not enough to keep you Interested, 1st half and climax are a tad too long – but the presentation bails out the experience.

Overall:
Director Ravibabu put his efforts to get back his image through this movie, but not able to reach. Music and Technical team gave some support to the story. Overall Movie is just ‘OK’.





Tuesday, December 7, 2010

RAJMOULI EEGA STORY







Protagonist (Naani) loves a girl (Samantha). He runs into a fight with a villain (Sudeep). Hero will be killed in a fight by Villian. Now Hero re-borns as a housefly. How this housefly takes the revenge, which doesn’t talk and have strength to kill a man is the story.







ANAGANAGA OKA DHEERUDU TRAILER

Sunday, November 28, 2010

ANUSHKA-MAHESH COMBO ONCE AGAIN




Tall beauty Anushka will reportedly romance Mahesh Babu once again!
According to latest reports, after their combo in Khaleja, Anushka is likely to play the heroine in Mahesh Babu’s future project titled Veta, a Tamil-Telugu bilingual directed by Linguswamy.
Tamil actor Arya will replace Mahesh Babu in the Tamil version. Madhavan and Sameera Reddy are said to be playing key roles in both versions.
The shooting is expected to commence after Mahesh Babu completes his ongoing Dookudu, directed by Srinu Vytla, and parallel with  Telugu remake of 3 Idiots to be directed by Shankar.


PAWAN KALYAN NEXT FILM WITH VISHNU



Here is a good news for Pawan Kalyan fans, Pawan is ambitious to do more and more projects now. He is currently in South Africa for the shooting of his upcoming film with Jayanth C.Paranji. The total movie will be completed by January 20th. Pawan Kalyan will be doing a movie with ‘Tamil Billa’ director Vishnu Vardhan which will start in February. The movie will be presented by Arka Media and produced by Sangamithra Productions.  The movie is a mafia drop film and will be a stylish action entertainer.



PAWAN KALYAN FILM IN APRIL 2011




Power Star Pawan Kalyan’s upcoming movie under the direction of Jayanth C.Paranji is currently being shot in Capetown, South Africa. The shooting will go on there till December 12th. Later, the shooting will continue in Hyderabad. The unit will move to America in January. The post production of the entire movie will take place in abroad. Trisha and Kriti kirbanda are the heroines. The movie is presented by Bade Ravi Kiran. Cinematography: Jaynan VIncent, Co- Producer – Siva Babu, Dialogues – Trivikram



CHARAN MERUPU 2ND SCHEDULE DETAILS





Ram Charan has complted his shooting and dubbing phases of ‘Orange’ and the actor is now getting involved into next film, ‘Merupu’ in the direction of Dharani.

The latest news about this film is that the second schedule is likely to commence from last week of November while the first schedule was shot in Chennai. The most happening actress after ‘Magadheera’, Kajal Agarwal is playing the female lead in the film. 

RamCharan will be seen as a foot-ball player, who fights for Indian team. He makes efforts to bring recognition to the Indian Foot-ball team as it is ranked low in the International arena. Director, Dharani will showcase on the internal politics and match fixings beyond the game.






MAHESH NO MORE COMPRAMISE





 Mahesh Babu who could deliver a flop Khaleja after taking three years gap after Athidhi is said to have realized that gap in his releases  put him in trouble at the box office and he is planning to dump  couple of films in the year 2011. He is coming up with three releases in the year 2011.


As per the latest news, Srinu Vytla directing 'Dhookudu' will be hitting screens in March, 2011 followed by '3 Rascals' which is slated to be the fasted made film in Prince filmy career will release in June or July, 2011. Then comes Tamil Director Lingu Swamy's 'Veta'. It is heard that already heavy script work is under progress and the director is known for completing films faster. So 'Veta' may also hit screens definitely by end of 2011.



PRABAS IN & AS MR.PERFECT


Prabhas after his latest block buster “Darling” has been sincerely working on his upcoming project in the direction of Dasarath of Santosham fame. ‘Mr.Perfect’ is the title confirmed for the movie. Dil Raju is producing this movie under his own banner. Kajal and Tapsee are acting as Heroines opposite Prabhas in Mr.Perfect. The film is expected to hit the theaters for Sankranti 2011. So let’s wish prabhas to get success during the Sankranti Season.

Friday, November 26, 2010

ORANGE REVIEW


Film: Orange
Rating:
 2/5
Cast:
 Ramcharan Tej, Genelia, Shahzahn Padamsee, Prakashraj, Prabhu, Brahmi, Srinivas Avasarala, Madhurima, Manjula, Sanjay, Sameer, Pavitra Lokesh, Vennela Kishore, Sanchita, Naga Babu and others
Music: Harris Jayaraj
Cinematography: Rajasekhar, Kiran
Editor: Marthand K Venkatesh
Story, screenplay, direction: Baskar
Producer: Naga Babu
Release date: 26/11/2010
Ramcharan Tej is coming back after his mega blockbuster ‘Magadheera’ and this time, he is seen in a lover boy image. And Bhaskar, after his Parugu has come up with this ‘Orange’. 
Story: Set on the backdrop of Australia, Ram (Ramcharan) is an youngster who loves graffiti but he doesn’t believe in love for lifetime. He wants to say truth all the while with respect to love life and live with open mind, open thought and open action with his partner.
This leads to a clash of ideology with Jaanu (Genelia) who studies in the same college and what starts out as a romantic tale between them both turns out to be a relationship of confusion and complications.
Ram explains this entire story as his flash back while a police cop (Prakash Raj) asks him as a part of informal interrogation (!)
Jaanu believes in everlasting love but given the thought process of Ram, will they be together? Can they really love each other? All this forms the rest of the story.
Performances:Ramcharan did his best to fit the lover boy tag and he was neat in his dance and dialogue delivery. Two things he must avoid- a clean shave and full body shots while in a group. There was no emotional depth in his character so his body language was average.
Genelia was depressing and disappointing. Her costumes were bizarre, the make up was patchy and her face looked blotted. She has lost the innocence and charm. Perhaps it is age but the blame also goes to the styling and her image etching. Performance wise, she was regular and didn’t have any special acts.
Shahzahn comes like a breath of fresh air and though she was brief, she looks cute and attractive. She has the potential to take lead roles.
Prakashraj was regular, Brahmi’s comedy was not upto the mark, Prabhu and Pavitra Lokesh were alright, Vennela Kishore was wasted, Madhurima was quick but sweet, Naga Babu made his presence felt. The others didn’t have much to offer except filling the screens and rolling out few lines.
Highlights:Songs (although no much variety among each other)
Dances by Ram Charan
Production Values
Disappointments:Theme
Dialogue
Lack of comedy
Lack of emotion quotient
Characterizations 
Analysis: 
The fundamental blunder in the film is that when speaking about love it should be run on emotions and feeling but not on calculation. To make things worse, Baskar tries to explain the calculation with his own narrative style which was rather confusing. He had something noble and different in mind but he could not conceive it in the right manner on the screen. There is no emotion, no romance, no chemistry between the lead pair, no sentiment and above all, no comedy. At one stage, it becomes like a boring mathematics class where the audience have become students and are trying to understand what Professor Bhaskar is trying to explain on the love algorithm. 
The other disappointment is the philosophy on love. While it is nice to have an ocean full of love, it is common sense that love alone is not life. They are two different entities and the essence of life is in striking a balance between both. Fortunately, what Baskar was trying to say ended up confusing many in the theatre but to those who may have understood a fraction of it, this is truly dangerous. On the other hand, there are quite a number of instances where Bhaskar tried to take the route of Gautam Menon but the difference is chalk and cheese. 
The good side of the film is the songs and their picturization which was really impressive and visually appealing. Charan’s efforts in songs were commendable. The fight sequence which involves the spray cans was also creative and colorful. As for his much hyped sky diving stunt, that is not so appealing as expected.  
Overall, the film is good on presentation but very poor in content and completely blotched on narration and concept. While the masses have nothing in it, the class audience will feel like they are in a classroom. And regarding the mega fans…well, it looks like 2010 is just not their year as their favorite heroes seem to be dealing with unconventional characters. 
Bottomline: Sour fruit with seeds of confusion and misdirection
(SiraSri can be reached at sirasri@gmail.com)

Friday, November 19, 2010

GUZAARISH REVIEW


Rating: 3.25/5
Banners:
 SLB Films, UTV Motion Pictures
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai, Aditya Roy Kapur, Monikangana Dutta, Rajit Kapoor, Shernaz Patel, Sanjay Lafont, Nafisa Ali, Suhel Seth, Vijay Crishna, Ash Chandler, Makrand Deshpande, Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal etc
Music: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Cinematography: Sudeep Chatterjee
Editor: Hemal Kothari
Dialogues: Vibhu Puri, Bhavani Iyer

Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Producers: Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ronnie Screwvala
Release Date: November 19, 2010
The colorful movie maker Sanjay Bhansali has come back with a new treat and this time, he has roped in the golden pair of Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Bachchan.
Story
Ethan Mascarenhas (Hrithik) is a world renowned magician but since 14 years, he is a surviving quadriplegic who has become a role model for many. He is aided by his loyal nurse Sophia (Aishwarya) at all times. The story takes a turn when Ethan decides to file a petition in the court requesting euthanasia (mercy killing). He is helped by his good friend Devjani Dutta (Shernaz) In the midst comes the young and enthusiastic Omar (Aditya) who wants to learn magic from Ethan. The legal battle begins for Ethan to decide about his death but will the system approve what he wants? Is there a struggle in living this life? all this forms the rest of the story.
PerformancesHrithik Roshan has come up with yet another riveting performance and he infuses life into the character with his effectiveness. His dialogue delivery and the dance moves were impressive and entertaining.
Aishwarya plays a graceful role this time and though her character is subdued she shows her power in few critical sequences and makes her presence felt strongly. Despite doing a non-glamorous role, her natural beauty and appeal was radiating.
Shernaz Patel is a revelation and one really wonders why she doesn’t take up more projects. She is a face in the crowd but a truly natural performer.
Aditya Roy was fresh and showed enough confidence despite the presence of big stars. He has the cool dude looks and has got potential in his act.
Monikongana Dutta was a vision of beauty but given the hype about her presence in the film, it was not meant to be so as she was there for barely five minutes.
Rajat Kapoor was excellent, Nafisa Ali was neat, Suhel was convincing, Makrand Deshpande made his presence felt. The others contributed in their own way.
AnalysisIt appears that the top league Bollywood stars have followed a new trend. Amitabh went schizophrenic and a victim of Progeria, Aamir Khan became a victim of short term memory loss, Hrithik also did a bit in his super hit movie ‘Koi Mil Gaya’, SRK became a Asperger Syndrome patient. Whether it is the challenge for performance or a new method to attract the crowds, the concept seems to be working but with a select appeal.
Coming to this film, this is meant for the mature crowds and the arthouse audience who believe in realities of life. The strength of the film lies in some exceptionally crafted scenes, captivating performances, mesmerizing technical effects and the melodious background score. There were competent performances from each character and though there is tragic side to it, the will to fight for a right and the commitments shown by each person is inspiring. These are the days of treachery, villainy, backstabbing etc. But to show a deep rooted understanding of a relationship is the master stroke.
At the box office, this may not be a commercial super hit but then it will surely touch the hearts of audience who wish to understand a person’s internal conflict.
Bottomline: Recommended for mature audience not for formula folks
(SiraSri can be reached at sirasri@gmail.com)

Saturday, November 13, 2010


Film: Kalyan Ram Kathi
Rating: 
2.5/5
Banner: NTR Arts
Star:
 Nandamuri Kalyanram, “Kick” Shyam, Saranya Mohan, Sana Khan, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Ajay, Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam, Venu Madhav, Chandramohan, Brahmanandam, Ahuti Prasad, Raghu Babu, Telangana Shakuntala, Jhansi etc.
Dialogues: M Ratnam
Story: Vakkantham Vamsi
Music: Mani Sarma
Fights: Ram Lakshman
Camera: Sarvesh Murari
Editor: Gautam Raju
Producer: Kalyan Ram
Screenplay and Direction: Mallikarjun
Released on: November 12, 2010
Stories based on brother-sister relationship have always fascinated the Telugu film industry. Right from legendary N T Rama Rao to Jr NTR, every hero has done at least one film based on the sister sentiment theme, as if they felt there would be a void in their career if they do not act in such a film. Even heroes like Pavan Kalyan and Mahesh Babu who prefer to do variety roles also could not escape from this sister-sentiment.
So, Kalyan Ram also has been carried away by this sentiment by deciding to make a film based on the “blood relation” theme under the banner named after his grandfather. Having failed to draw success in the industry despite making relentless efforts, Kalyan Ram made yet another attempt to taste the success with this film. All his earlier films had bombed at the box office and let us find out whether his latest “Kathi”  (of course, the title has been hijacked from others) will bring him any luck.
Story:Ramakrishna (Kalyan Ram) dreams of becoming a big soccer player, thereby making India proud. He belongs to a big joint family and his youngest sister Haritha (Saranya Mohan), a naughty girl, always creates troubles for him with her pranks. Since Ramakrishna has a lot of affection towards his sister, he always protects her from incurring the wrath of family elders.
The twist in the story comes in the form of sudden disappearance of Haritha. A few days later, she is spotted being chased by her husband (Kick Shyam), along with his goondas who were attempting to kill her.
Ramakrishna saves his sister and then, he comes to know that Shyam had trapped her into love affair and married her only to take revenge on her for slapping him in the past. Unable to bear the torture from him and his family members, Haritha runs away from them. Ramakrishna does not want to take his sister back to his home, as his family members always find fault with her. So, he wants to prove that her choice was correct; therefore, decides to bring a change in his brother-in-law.
What he does for that and how he restores the family of his sister forms the rest of the story.
PerformancesKalyan Ram has definitely missed the logic, as the films based on this sister sentiment theme were just average runs. And still, he tried to travel on the beaten track. In a way, he failed as an actor as well as producer.
Kick Shyam is comfortable in his role with his single expression; Saranya Mohan has once again proved that she is suitable only for sister roles; and Sana Khan has nothing to do except being an inevitable heroine in the film. Kota Srinivasa Rao has given an excellent performance.
As regards story, there is no substance in it and dialogues of Ratnam lacked punch. Mani Sarma’s music is once again disappointing. As regards director Mallikarjun, the less said the better.
Analysis:
"Kathi" follows the hackneyed formula of providing entertainment in the first half and emotion in the second half. But the formula has not clicked here: the first half is not so entertaining, if not boring and falls flat with the missing of hero’s sister. The football player, who spends time chatting with girl friend Sana Khan and at times bashing the baddies, finds his “goal” when he decides to set right his sister’s disturbed life. But the goal misses the post as the hero chooses the wrong route.
The director has lost the track as to how to take the story forward and one fine morning, reaches a predictable climax.
There is no stuff in the first half and it looks like a patch work of scenes. Some interest is generated as the film reaches interval with the missing of Saranya. But as the film enters the second half, the audience loses interest as the hero chooses rear entry to deal with the villains. He follows the “Dhee” formula, joins the villain gang and starts praising them. Viewers who expect some “sharp” action from “Kathi” are surprised to see him playing a soft and comedy character. And the way “brother-in-law” gets transformed with a couple of emotional scenes, irritates the audience. Amidst all this sentimental drama enters a hardcore villain called Ajay from nowhere, only to be bashed up by the hero.
The sudden turn of events in the drama with the entry of Kota Srinivasa Rao’s old rivals into the scene make the audience realize that the film is reaching the climax. It does not surprise us as we are eagerly waiting for the film to come to an end.
Send your feedback to reviews@greatandhra.com

Saturday, November 6, 2010

ORANGE 'O RANGE' SONG TRAILER


Wednesday, November 3, 2010

ORANGE TRAILER


Friday, October 29, 2010

BAVA REVIEW






Film: Baava
Rating: 2.25/5
Banner:
 Sri Keerthi Combines
Cast: Siddarth, Rajendra Prasad, Pranitha, Ahuti Prasad, Tanikella, Samrat, Sindhu Tolani, Brahmi, Ali, Kasi Viswanath, Bharath Babu, Raghu Babu, Prasad, Venu and others
Dialogues: Veera Pothana
Music: Chakri
Cinematography: Aravind Krishna
Story, screenplay, direction: Rambabu
Producer: M L Kumar Chowdary
Release date: 29/10/2010
 
The handsome Siddarth has been working hard to score success at the box office and this time, he teamed up with the veteran Rajendra Prasad to achieve it.
 
Story
Set on the backdrop of Venkatapuram in the Godavari district, Veera Babu (Siddarth) is the darling son of Sitaram Prasad (Rajendra Prasad). He is a complete brat and causes trouble in the village along with his group of friends (Prasad, Venu and others). He chances upon Varalakshmi (Pranitha), whose father (Ahuti Prasad) is a man of high status and talks to only such people. However, love blossoms between Veera Babu and Varalakshmi as they go a long way back. On the other hand, Sitaram Prasad has got a strong link with Varalakshmi’s family but stays away from them. What is that link? Does Veera Babu succeed in his love story? All this forms the rest of the story.
 
PerformancesSiddarth does his best to infuse life into his character and as usual, he is lively and expressive wherever required. His attempt to speak in the coastal slang must be appreciated. However, he got quite dramatic and artificial in the climax.

Rajendra Prasad was mild. His character was not etched properly and in a way, he was not used to his fullest caliber. He excelled in a bit of mono action in the fields in first half.
 
Pranitha looks homely and at the same time has enough sex appeal. She has shown ease and confidence in front of the camera. That way, she has scored in glamour and performance departments. Her intro scene with ‘Ringa Ringa..’ song is entertaining.

Ahuti Prasad was regular, Tanikella was neat, Samrat was handsome and did a good job, Brahmi and Ali comedy track took off well but fizzled out, Raghu Babu was brief, Prasad, Venu and gang gave many smiles, Kasi Viswanath, Bharath and others were there to fill the screen. The actress who did the role of Siddarth’s mom was decent, Sindhu Tolani was a misfit.
 
AnalysisThe film takes off at a very good level and the entire first half goes breezily with comedy and entertainment. However, things go completely down during the second half and with each passing scene, audience’s patience is tested.
 
The film suffers due to lack of depth during the emotional scenes and for some reason, the last twenty minutes went completely haywire and director lost track of what he wants to do. It was rather different to see audience clapping and whistling at some of the tragedy and emotional sequences which goes to show how the film got dragged and bored the viewer.
 
The storyline is quite routine and one has seen the routine twists before. On the bright side, the technical aspects are good. Cinematography was top notch. Background score was good, two songs were melodious, dialogues were well written, screenplay was okay. Editing was most needed during the second half to cut the drag scenes and melodrama. Locations were eye catching.
 
Overall, the openings for the film will be good due to the Siddarth factor and old loyal fans of Rajendra Prasad but then it is very hard for the film to get into the profit zone at the box office due to the squabbled second half.

Bottom-Line: Good first half- Very Bad second half



By:
greatandhra.com