Rama Rama Krishna Krishna Movie review

Film: Rama Rama Krishna Krishna

Banner: Sri Venkateswara Creations

Cast: Arjun, Ram, Priya Anand, Bindu Madhavi, Nasser, Banerjee, Sayaji Shinde, Brahmanandam, Srinivas Reddy, Pragathi, Bharath, Gracy Singh and others

Dialogues: M Ratnam

Music: M M Keeravani

Cinematography: Sekhar V Joseph

Editing: Gautham Raju

Story, screenplay, direction: Srivass

Producer: Dil Raju

Release date: 12/05/2010

Handsome hero Ram has teamed up with action king Arjun and has arrived with an interesting title ‘Rama Rama Krishna Krishna’. Ramakrishna (Ram) is a daring guy of the village and rash guy but he respects his father (Nasser) and his ideals. A problem in the family leads him to face the Mumbai don Pawar (Vineeth Kumar)and Ramakrishna discovers the link between Pawar and Ashok Deva (Arjun) who lives in the same village with his sister Priya (Priya). Rama Krishna has a maradalu (Bindu Madhavi) who runs behind him.

Who is Ashok Deva and what does Ramakrishna do to solve the problems, whom does Rama Krishna marry at last forms the rest of the story. Arjun was elegant as usual and he has a composed performance. More than his act, it is his powerful screen presence that always gives an appeal to the audience. He was effective. Ram looks handsome and gave his performance as required. Though he has put his best efforts, he was unable to deliver the voltage during violent scenes. Priya was chirpy and beautiful. She has also shown her oomph factor in the songs and her asset is her eyes. However, she must look at building few extra pounds of flesh to get that real sex appeal. Bindu Madhavi was alright, she didn’t have much of a role but she did her bit providing the visual feast wherever required.

Vineeth Kumar has good expressions and has a streak of comedy face which makes it interesting. Nasser was natural, Banerjee was neat, Brahmanandam’s comedy lacked appeal, Srinivas Reddy was standard, Sayaji was usual, the actor who did the role of Siva got a meaty role which he did well but he needs to work on his dialogue delivery, the rest of the cast added value as required. The film runs on a beaten track and there is nothing new or exciting that it offers. There were instances wherein the audience predicted what happens next. The director has picked few bits from here and there as well.
The killing of Gracy Singh is a scene that was seen in Ab Tak Chappan/ Siddham
Arjun’s flash back has a tinge of ‘Basha’

The scene wherein the swamijis search for hero reminds of ‘Bangaru Bullodu’,
The last action sequence reminds of ‘Magadheera’.

Graphics were inferior, especially in the car chase sequences where they land at any given place they want without a scratch (wish we had such cars in real, it would have solved the traffic problem). The script was stale, the screenplay was weak, background score was good but songs were a disappointment. Cinematography was jarring.

Editing could have been better. The good side of the story is the concept of ‘Rama-Krishna’ amulet and the serene presence of Arjun which gives a grace to the film. If only the makers had focused on strengthening the comedy track and providing some unexpected twists, the film would have created an impact. Otherwise, it is just another ‘run of the mill’ story without any variety.

Okka Kchanam Movie review

Film: Okka Kshanam

Genre: Off Beat

Banner: Seven Hills Television Networks

Cast: Rajeev Kanakala, Kota, Ahuti Prasad, L B Sriram, Vizag Prasad, Jeeva, Narayan Rao, Raksha, Giri Babu, Telangana Sakunthala

Music: Arjun

Dialogues: ShouriEditing: Ramesh

Story, screenplay,

direction: Kodali Venkateswara Rao

Producer: Swathi Balineni

Release date: 07/05/2010

A girl student gets murdered and the news channels gets into action right away. After speaking to the neighbors and residents, it is deduced that the girl was murdered by her scorned lover Kishore. The entire state gets into frenzy thanks to the electronic media commotion and the government decides to appoint a special committee of experts from various fields (Rajeev Kanakala, Kota, Ahuti Prasad, L B Sriram, Vizag Prasad, Jeeva, Narayan Rao, Raksha, Giri Babu, Telangana Sakunthala) and entrusts the decision. Whether they also come to the same conclusion or not forms the rest of the story. Basically, the film maker has attempted to come up with a film that conveys a strong social message, that is to stop getting influenced by external factors and make preconceived notions about a situation.

This is an effort to tell the audience to stop thinking like a goat herd and use their own judgement about any issue. While the concept is appreciable, there is a fine line between conceiving it and getting it on the screen. That was missing here, for instance, the discussions held by the panel and the various analyses they do are not strong enough to prove that the accused is innocent. The screenplay could have been worked upon so that the pace of the movie is maintained. Incidentally, it is difficult for the audience to connect to the key subject as the entire film goes about in a boardroom and no one knows or sees who Kishore is. The plot chosen and the screenplay zeroed in are not strongly convincing to prove the point that Kishore, the unseen convicted is an acquit. In a way, this is not for those who wish to go with their families and it requires a certain level of patience to understand the essence. If the objective of the film maker is to make money out of it then it may not work but if he is keen on spreading the message then the film would require a strong dose of publicity to carry it across. This is an offbeat and out of the box idea with a noble intention, ok for film festivals and art house audience.

Darling movie review

Film: Darling

Cast: Prabhas, Kajal, Shradhdha Das, Mukesh Rishi, Prabhu, Chandra Mhan, Ahuti Prasad, MS Narayana, Sivannarayana, Tulasi, Kota, Srinivas Reddy etc.

Music: GV PrakashFights: Peter Heins

Dialogues: Swamy

Producer: BVSN Prasad

Direction: Karunakar

Release Date: 23rd Apr 2010

‘Darling’ is the word that Prabhas uses to call his close pals. That was made a title now for the movie with him in lead. Let us see how darling it is for audiences. Story:The movie starts with enthusiastic 1980 backdrop in black and white. The college mates disperse after farewell and they keep themselves in contact even after decades. Prabha (Prabhas) is the son of one of those old friends (Prabhu) and Nandini (Kajal) is the daughter of another (Ahuti Prasad). They live in various places. A lady (Shradhdha Das) loves Prabha and proposes him. But he negates. The father of that lady is a goon (Mukesh Rishi) who surrounds Prabha and his friends’ gang for negating his daughter. To escape from that goon Prabha narrates his flash back stating that he has love interest by name Nandini and he met her in Switzerland.

The goon leaves him knowing that. After a while, the old friends wish to have old friends’ reunion with families. They all meet in a village and how Prabha and Nandini meet again (?) and end up with love-union forms rest of the story. Many twists, turns and secrets will be unleashed in narration for the entertainment of audience. Performances:Prabhas is at his best. His gait, his glow, his performance and confidence carried the movie happily. Kajal enticed audiences with her magnetism. Shradhdha Das, although had small role, she made her presence felt. Mukesh Rishi is ok as goon but he has lighter vein characterization. Chandramohan, Ahuti Prasad, Prabhu, Tulasi, MS Narayana are all ok. Sivannarayana performs comedy up to the perfection with his single dialogue ‘tinnaaaraa..!!??”. Kota has no dialogue at all in the film. Music is bad. Background score is poor. If those were good, the movie would have scored well among audience. It is single line story but narrated in three layers. It’s all screenplay technique that which may be liked by many. Analysis:Watching this movie is not like eating an apple or banana but like chewing an orange. You need to spit the seeds and enjoy the rest. It surely entertains but lacks in consistency. It’s good in bits and pieces but cannot be declared ‘wholesome wonder’. The major asset for this movie Prabhas who handled the audience with his great looks and confident performance. Female audiences definitely feel ectopic tintinnabulations in their heart. Action part, generally finds it difficult to get encomiums.

But Peter Heins stood as top entertainer in this movie with his wonderful composition of fights. The best parts of the movie are:PrabhasPeter Hein’s fight compositions‘Kadupu Manta’ scene between Prabhas and Srinivas ReddyInka Edo song picturizationWatching Hyderabad with Switzerland snowfall The director has rightly used the technical elements to make the movie a pleasant feel to watch. The entire movie has got elevated in picture quality due to DI and other effects. Technically on a whole, with editing, cinematography and CG stands great. But the main factor of the movie, the music, is unpleasant. RR is also very weak and failed to bring in right elevation for narration. First half is entertaining but declares to be a fiction by interval (watch it to get clarity). Second half is on beaten track with predictable screenplay. Climax is crisp and closed on lighter note without any extraaaas.

The film has got the muscle to run in theatres for some time with summer factor and bits and pieces of entertainment. Bottom Line: Watch it without big expectations. It will not disappoint you.

Devisri Prasad and charmy

It’s not required to say who these hot lady and popular man are. They are Charmy and Devi Sri. Gossips have been surrounding them from several years. There were rumors that they are getting married. But both of them have been shunning those scuttlebutts. Now, two pics have come out. These are the pics when both Devi and Charmy danced together in a pub in the past. Charmy rocked the floor wearing sari. Devi Sri also joined her. Her chappal was thrown away during the dance. When Charmy was trying to take the chappal, DeviSri is helping her with a lovely touch.

'Varudu' Review

Film: Varudu

Banner: Universal Media

Cast: Allu Arjun, Bhanusree Mehra, Arya, Ashish Vidyarthi, Suhasini, Naresh, Vinaya, Nasser, Rao Ramesh, Sayaji Shinde, Ahuti Prasad, Brahmanandam, Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, Anita Chowdary and others

Music: Mani Sharma

Cinematography: R D Rajasekhar

Dialogues: Thota PrasadEditing: Anthony

Fights: Stun SivaS

tory, screenplay, direction: Gunasekhar

Producer: D V V Danayya

Release date: 31/03/2010

Dynamic director Gunasekhar has finally arrived after the debacle of ‘Sainikudu’ and this time, he took the concept of an authentic Telugu marriage and a mysterious bride, was he successful in appealing to the audience, let us see. Story:Sandeep (Allu Arjun) is a happy go lucky guy who is fun loving but very traditional at heart. He decides to get married in the traditional fashion of five-day events and 16 day celebrations. So much so that he decides not to see the face of the bride until the ‘Jeelakarra Bellam’ time. True to his idealism, even the bride Deepthi (Bhanusri Mehra) sticks to it. Just when they are about to get married, Deepthi gets kidnapped by Diwakar (Arya). Why does Diwakar do that? Does the marriage happen? What happens from there forms the rest of the story.

Performances:Allu Arjun, given his highly energetic image, this comes across as a mild character which was etched out poorly so the flair of Allu Arjun is missing. He needs to work on his dialogue delivery as a lot of accent is surfacing. Bhanu Mehra is not worth the mystery. Barring the beauty spot on her chin and expressive eyes, there is not much from her in terms of glamour or performance. Arya has a strong screen presence and powerful eyes but then his role was not drawn properly and he was not used to the fullest potential. However, he brought some life to the movie at few places. Brahmi was waste, so was Ahuti Prasad, the others like Ashish Vidyarthi, Suhasini, Naresh, Vinaya were just for brand value and they didn’t have much to offer. Singeetam Sreenivasa Rao, the senior director did his bit as required. Lavakusha Nagaraju appears in a single frame. Nasser was natural, Sayaji Shinde was brief, Rao Ramesh came and went. The other bunch of real time families and supporting artistes were there to fill the screen, that’s all.

Highlights:
CG Work in couple of songs
Meaningless Aspects:
Fight on twin towers (I visualized them so..somebody said they looked like Nuclear Reactors/ Gas Chambers)
Truck carrying away the hero along with bike rubbing against the road with sparks…and hero safe and steady
Hero running away with heroine along with Saline bottle in an action episode

Analysis:It is a laudable thought to come up with a presentation of an authentic Telugu wedding but the difference between a thought and getting it onto the screen is like chalk and cheese which is evident here. Gunasekhar has missed the way to do ‘Varudu’ impressively. The entire episode of 5-day marriage is covered in just one song out of which, the first Charanam appeared no less like an ‘Ammavari Jaathara’ on screen, the second charanam got covered up with computer graphics. Why the hero wants to go in for a pre historic style of marriage? Is it his idealism? Is it just a fantasy? The questions aren’t answered logically. There is forcible preaching with less convincing dialogues. Ultimately, what matters is the purpose the film is made at such exorbitant costs and what is the message it is trying to convey. Gunasekhar failed not just in the narration but also in conveying anything to the audience. His focus to bring about visual appeal looked more but he neglected the fundamentals like a strong script, deep content, and attention towards details. Cinematic liberties were used to the fullest and there were some absolutely ridiculous scenes which perplexed the audience at many points. Gunasekhar has always been revered as a brand and not just a director but it is with regret that he has lost it…and that too big time. The film might have a decent opening due to the hype created but given the budget involved; only ‘no-competition factor’ and the presence of Allu Arjun should save it.

'Maro Charitra’ Review

Film: Maro Charitra
Rating: 2.75/5
Banner: Sri Venkateshwara Creations
Cast: Varun Sandesh, Anita, Shraddha Das, Adarsh, Prathap Pothan, Urvashi, Naresh, Kota, Venu,
Music: Mickey J Meyer
Editing: Marthand K Venkatesh
Dialogues: Umerjee Anuradha
Story: K Balachander
Screenplay, direction, cinematography: Ravi Yadav
Producers: Dil Raju, Sirish
Release date: 25th March 2010

Dil Raju has come up with yet another venture and this time, he has teamed up with Varun Sandesh to re-create the yesteryear’s classic hit made by the legendary K Balachander. How successful was he in bringing it to this generation? Is this film worth muscled to create charitra? Let us see.. StorySet on the backdrop of US, Balu (Varun) comes home discontinuing his course at college and chances upon his neighbor girl Swapna (Anita). It is love at first sight for both but trouble is with Balu’s father (Prathap) and Swapna’s mother, America Durga (Urvasi). Anyhow, both of them come to a formal agreement in front of their parents that they will not see, talk, meet each other for one full year to prove their love. What happens in that year, whether they are successful in their love test or not forms the rest of the story.

Performances:Varun Sandesh is energetic as usual and fits the bill of a desi US lad. However, he must put on some flesh to get that manly look and that will help him for the future. He must also control his body language during emotional scenes to show maturity. Anita is sweet looking and has a natural sex appeal in her. She has the potential to grow but she has to change her dubbing artist. Performance and glamour is proportionate to her in this movie but her character was not etched out strongly. Shraddha Das has a meaty role and she has shown the actress inside her unlike the regular sex doll image. She looked elegant and level headed. Adarsh is an apt choice for a negative role, he has the right kind of attitude for such roles. One can see more of him in the coming days. Prathap Pothan was standard, Urvashi did her bit as required but something is not right about her dubbing artist, Thalaivasal Vijay was not used to the fullest, Kota was as usual, Venu was brief, the lady doing Varun’s mother’s role was neat and timing was good. Highlights:CinematographyMusic (although ‘ye teega poovuno..’ and ‘bhale bhale magaadivoy..’ are inferior to original tracks)Heroine (credit goes to make up, costume and camera departments) Disappointments:Mishandling second halfScreenplay hiccups in maintaining emotion graphDubbing given to heroine and Urvasi

Analysis:The movie fails to bring in the emotional depth that is required. The audiences get connected to the scenic beauty on screen and the quality presentation but not to the spirit of content. Certainly, this movie is not for masses. The youth audiences try to connect to some extent but the last few minutes make them laugh at the emotion that is depicted instead of shedding tears. Here are a few scenes those make audience crack jokes and get digressed from the narration. Hero and heroine recognize each other with heart beat. The scene can be used for perfume Ad but not so fitting here. Heroine’s father starts giving a speech when he sees her daughter jumping into Niagara along with her boy friend. After his speech, he starts weeping….(audiences laughed at this scene conception). Shradhdha Das’ character got elevated when she sacrifices her love. Audiences got connected to her grief. But immediately when Babu (Kota Sreenivasa Rao) expresses his feeling with a dramatic liner, the graph has fallen down. On a whole, the first half of the movie sounds normal and second half suffers with many ups and downs in graph. The movie can be watched just for witnessing some quality presentation and well canned songs but not for an emotional ride. Locations in USA are rightly exploited by camera.

'Taj Mahal’ Review

Film: Taj Mahal
Cast: Shivaji, Shruti, Raghu Babu, MS Narayana, Brahmanandam, Venu Madhav, Chitram Seenu, Nazar etc
Story: Chandu
Dialogues: Gangotri Vishwanath
Camera: Srinivas Reddy
Producer: Shivaji Sontineni
Director: Arun Singaraju
Released On: 20th March 2010

Hero Shivaji acted and produced ‘Taj Mahal’, the remake from Kannada with same title. He introduced new heroine Shruthi with this. Let us see how it was dealt. Story:Ajay (Shivaji) is an Engineering College Student who falls in love with a rich girl Shruthi (Shruthi). It happens to be a one-sided love for Ajay as Shruthi already gets attracted to an unseen man, Kumar. He happens to be her phone friend and her father (Nazar) also agrees to the relation of his daughter with Kumar due to a personal reason. What is that reason? How did father agreed for the relation of Kumar with his daughter without seeing his face? What happens to Ajay? That forms the crux of the story.

Performances:Shivaji is ok. He is ok while enacting lighter moments but not gripping with expressiveness as a passionate lover. Dialogues and direction also must be blamed for not extracting the true performance from this actor. (Especially while saying ‘sweet day….’ dialogue during heroine introduction) Shruthi has some attractive features but she has little scope to shine in future in this most competitive field but performance and glamour wise. Arthi Agarwal appeared in a guest appearance for a song..’Mayadaari Maisammo’…Some Telangana-fervor dialogues were projected from her.
Director Srinivas Reddy and Rama Naidu were also appeared in guest roles. Others are ok in their shoes. Comedy is weak. Music is also not so catchy. On a whole, had the dialogue and scene conceiving were powerful, this story would have got justified. Analysis:The first few moments are filled with amateur artistes and the audiences got a feel of watching a B-grade TV serial and a government promotion Ad sort of thing. But eventually, after the first song, the movie got some momentum and took off well till interval.
A few scenes got wasted. The audiences didn’t understand or couldn’t feel the emotion with some scenes. The talent show scene in college conveyed nothing at the end although it has got some build up in the beginning. On a whole, this movie should have started with proper home work. The story requires some emotional platform to narrate. The good part in the movie is revealing the suspense at right time.

'Yagam' Review

Film: Yagam
Cast: Navadeep, Bhoomika, Kim Sharma, Ajay, Harsha Vardhan etcLyrics: Bhaskarabhatla, Ananth Sri RamChoreography: KalyanEditing: Marthand K Venkatesh
Camera: Bharani K Dharani
Music: Mani Sharma
Producer: Raju, Praveen
Director: Arun Prasad
Released On: 20th March 2010

Senior actress Bhoomika and young actor Navadeep appeared promising on the posters of Yagam. Kim Sharma’s glamour dose is another element that pulled a set of audiences to theatres. Let us see the result of this. Story:Santhosh (Navadeep) lives in Bangkok along with a bar girl (Kim Sharma) and he gets so weird dreams. And in those dreams he foresees future. He witnesses the deaths of a business tycoon, an air hostess named Cynthia and a Minister of Thailand. He shares his dreams to his girl friend. Every dream of his becomes true. How that happens? And Nandini (Bhoomika), an air hostess is linked to Santhosh with love.

How is she connected to the ability of Santhosh to foresee deaths? That has to be watched on screen. Performances:Bhoomika is fresh and still looks younger with ample grace. Kim Sharma is for glamour quotient and she fulfilled the requirement. Navadeep is perfect but little scope is left for him to perform as the dialogues are weak and scene conceiving is also amateur. Ajay and Harsha Vardhan tried to spill some humor and they could score well. Others are normal. Rahul Dev appeared in antagonist’s role for sometime. Ali and Brahmanandam appear in two separate weak comedy tracks. Music by Mani Sharma is weak.
Lyrics are mundane. Cinematography is ok and rest is quite normal. Had the director focused on screenplay the film would have worked a bit well. Analysis:It’s a revenge drama that was made on beaten track. Making murder mysteries is a separate art. Director should know where to press the clutch and where to release, where to shift gear and where to keep break. The biggest blunder in this film is revealing the mystery of protagonist’s ability to foresee future.

The tempo has fallen down abruptly. And everything has gone on predictable mode from then onwards. First 30 minutes has very less dialogue and it goes certainly interesting till 2 minutes before interval. The second half proves boring as everything is as expected and audiences walked out from theatres 30 minutes before the completion of the movie. It’s a sign of director’s flaw.

'Sadhyam’ Review

Film: Sadhyam
Banner: KBC Productions
Cast: Jagapathi Babu, Priyamani, Tanikella Bharani, Keerthi Chawla, Kota, Pragathi, Jackie, Munna Venu and others
Music: Chinni Charan
Cinematography: Maro Palini
Editing: Goutham Raju
Director: Karthikeya Gopalakrishna
Producers: Kumar Brothers
Release date: 5th March 2010

The onscreen hot pair of Jagapathi Babu and Priyamani is back and this time, they have promised a very different treat. How different it was and whether it worked or not let us see Suhani (Priyamani) is a timid girl afraid of everything and the reason for that happens to be her past. An incident gets her to save a man (Tanikella) and as a return favor, he gives her his revolver and asks her to go and kill the person that she has hated the most. Suhani goes to kill Anitha (Keerthi) her best friend and fails, then she goes to kill her lover Sandeep (Jagapathi) and fails. Why she wants to kill them, why she fails and whether she kills them or not forms the rest of the story. Jagapathi Babu has done his role as required but nothing different than the regular. He still manages to look handsome and fresh but honestly, his character was shallow and lacked depth. Sad to see a talented actress like Priyamani taking up such roles, her well toned body was used to the fullest by the makers to give a visual feast to the front benchers but no work on her performance aspect. Tanikella has good screen presence though brief and he has got some clear diction in dialogue delivery and elegant performance.

Keerthi Chawla needs to work on her flab and her expressions as well. Though she looks confident, there are other aspects which can give her a better score. Kota was regular, Pragathi was usual, Nalla Venu came and went, same with Jackie and the villain. As such, there is nothing that the others have got to contribute to make this film effective. It’s director’s direct torture from screen. How can he show an innocent and fearful girl in the sexiest way possible with all short dresses? The openings are pretty good and thanks to Priyamani’s posters and Jagapathi Babu’s presence on screen. But a debut director has lost a good opportunity with confused plot and erratic direction. This became evident at the beginning of first song ‘Ayyo Rama…’. There is no lead sequence to that beautiful song. Many expected that hit number will be placed amidst lots of humor. But it has gone in serious track not getting connected to audiences. Too many flash back episodes bewildered the audience.
Songs are good and lyricist Chinni Charan proved that he has mettle in giving contemporary music that soothes the senses of youngsters and music lovers. But the effort became waste. Jagapathi Babu and Priyamani should have thought twice before Okaying this script. Their seniority couldn’t help the novice director. Although dialogues are sensible, they couldn’t get right attention—just like tasty cherries on rotten pastry!!

'Kalavar King’ Review

Film: Kalavar King
Banner: Sai Krishna Productions
Cast: Nikhil Siddarth, Shweta Basu Prasad, Ajay, Ali, Venu Madhav, Raghu Babu, Dharmavarapu, Ahuti Prasad, Suman Shetty, Pragathy, Kasi Viswanath, Anitha (spl song) and others
Music: Anil
Cinematography: Balamurugan
Director: SureshProducer: D S Rao
Release date: 26/02/2010

The young and vibrant Nikhil Siddarth has come up with another solo venture and the title has been quite appealing. His pairing up with the giggly beauty Swetha Basu Prasad is another highlight. Whether it has been impressive or not, let us see.

StoryRajahmundry is the town where all this is happening and here is Rajesh, an intelligent young man who specializes in taking and making loans throughout the area. His father (Kasi Vishwanath) is a school teacher. Things take a turn when Shruti (Swetha) lands up at Rajesh’s place due to a dog chase and in this process, she drops a very important chain by mistake. The chain has a connection with dreaded Narendar Shetty (Ajay). What happens from there forms the rest of the story.

PerformancesNikhil has come up with a high adrenaline performance and he is the soul for the movie. He has shouldered it throughout in a good way and will score the brownie points.
Shweta Basu looks sweet but there is an alarming rate of weight increase in her, she looks chubby and if she doesn’t cut down on that, then her offers also will get cut.
Ajay is tall, he is talented and has those flashes of brilliance in between. He does justice to his role.

Venu Madhav made his presence felt with his regular antics but then it could have been better if his character was given good depth.
Raghu Babu, though his presence was quite brief, gave a good act and generated few laughs from the front benchers.

Kasi Viswanath was standard, Dharmavarapu was okay, Ahuti Prasad was alright, Anitha sizzles with her hot looks but the song could have been made well. The others did their bit as required but nothing significant in terms of contribution from them.

AnalysisThe film runs on a beaten track and though the thought of the makers is good, it was not executed correctly on the screen. Flaws are evident clearly in the direction and the narrative aspects, even cracks in script and screenplay were observed.

If it was not for Nikhil and his energetic performance, the fate of this venture would have been sealed in less than a week. The technical aspects are weak and the production values are low.
So success at the box office is possible only if Nikhil’s performance can pull in some more crowds.

'Ye Maya Chesaave’ review

Film: Ye Maya Chesaave

Rating: 3.5/5

Banner: Indira Productions

Cast: Naga Chaitanya, Samantha, Krishnudu, Tanya, Surekha Vani, Sanjay Swarup, Devan, Lakshmi, Puri Jagannadh, Trisha Alex and others

Music: A R Rahman

Cinematography: Manoj Paramahamsa

Editing: Anthony

Story, screenplay, direction: Gautham Menon

Producers: Manjula, Sanjay Swarup

Release date: 26/02/2010

Oscar winning music director and India’s pride AR Rehman scored for a Telugu movie after a very long time. Goutam Vasudev Menon, a class director who makes movies with his heart has come up with an interesting title ‘Ye Maya Chesaave’. When looked at its Tamil title ‘Vinnathandi Varuvaya’, I understood it means ‘vennela daati vastaava’…sounded something interesting. At the same time I understood it’s a movie just for a set of audiences but not for everyone.

I entered the theatre carrying the same opinion and also doubted a bit if I fall in that ‘set of audience those may like this flick’. I was looking the blank white screen in front of me and the censor certificate appeared. Yes, the movie started. The titles started rolling…but in a very different fashion where I haven’t seen so far. The taste of director is understood for showing creativity even in that minute detail. And I didn’t carry away with that. I have many experiences of watching many bad movies those started with interesting things…After 10-15 minutes, I understood that I’m getting disconnected from the narration. I didn’t understand what I was watching. Was that a documentary on interstate love? Or a video on Kerala Tourism? Or a Malayalam learning class? I also heard some murmurs from back seats. The Re-Recording didn’t appeal at all. It sounded like a 10 year old TV serial. Every aspect started appearing disappointing and erratic for me.

But don’t know what magic worked, I have forgotten myself after a while. It’s a saga into nostalgia. It’s a journey into feel. It’s an odyssey into a passionate pleasure of life. Verdant Kerala, vibrant songs, jubilant age, vigilant father, elegant heroine, radiant hero and latent mood started dancing in symphony holding my heart strings. That was a blissful moment from then.
Samanta…!! The gal is like a madrigal. She is gifted with poetic features and she has very bright future. Goutam Menon placed her on right platform. Her poetic eyes, expressive lips, impressive looks and every aspect of her histrionics proved that she is a beauty with talent.
Naga Chaitanya deserves very good commendations for his portrayal. He has shown maturity just in his second movie…Still he needs to grow, but for the role of a hero who is two year younger than heroine, he did right justice and none other would have grooved in the role so well. However, he must flex his face muscles to show the pain and emotion in romantic sequences in his future flicks. His dialogue delivery is good and he has a positive body language. This is a mature performance from him.

Krishnudu did his bit as required, Surekha Vani was standard, Sanjay Swarup was okay, Devan didn’t have much to do, Puri Jagannadh was natural, the others contributed effectively with their performances.

Dialogues by Anuradha are very natural and clear. There is no drama but truth in every word penned by her. She too has bright future as scrip writer.
Well, Naga Chitanya plays the role of Karthik and Samanta plays Jessie.
Karthik (Chaitu) is an engineering pass out whose aim is to become a movie maker. His life takes a turn with the arrival of Jesse (Samantha), the Christian girl of the landlord Joseph (Devan). It is love at first sight for Karthik and despite the age gap and other barriers, he is blindly after her. A game of touch me not happens and Jesse says yes to him. But what lies in store for Karthik is unexpected and how his life takes a turn after that forms the rest of the story.

AR Rehman clean bowled every one with his songs. Goutam Menon did real ‘maya’!!
This is the movie that should be watched not with eyes but with nostalgia. This is the movie that should be understood not with brains but with hearts. Purely, this movie appeals those who have crossed their Graduate studies, Engineering studies, MBBS, MCAs and MBAs. This master piece pulls the senses of audiences with its magic despite they sit with resistance to get lured. It’s the film for class audience those are in the age group 25 ++. The second half is better than first half and the magic worked till the last. The last 15 minutes is very predictable for Telugu audience but still captivating. The closing of the film is very convincing and creative. Appearance of Trisha and Simbu in last scene attracts attention and boosts up interest.

It’s a very genuine script and honest attempt. Goutam is so lucky to find producers for making a film of this sort without demanding for so-called commercial elements which have been the part of cine-religion…high voltage fights, exposing heroines and vulgar dialogues. This movie gives strength for new writers those pen scripts with honesty deep from their hearts.
‘Ye Maya Chesaave’ is an example for a standard of a movie when it goes on to screen directly from heart without any adulteration.

Inkosari’ Review

Banner: Bay MoviesC
ast: Raja, Manjari Phadnis, Richa, Vennela Kishore, Ravi Varma, Sandeep, Harish, Rao Ramesh, Gollapudi Maruthi Rao, Bhargavi, Sayali Bhagat and others
Music: Mahesh Shankar
Dialogues: Gandham Nagaraju
Editing: K V Krishna Reddy
Cinematography: Gogineni Ranganath
Director: Suman Pathuri
Producer: Kalyan Palla
Release date: 26/02/2010

The multiplex hero Raja who has been trying hard for a hit has arrived with a new venture and the ‘Nuvve Kavali’ fame Richa Pallod also makes her comeback. How did the movie work for both of them and of course the others, let us see.

StorySix friends Ajay (Raja), Shruti (Manjari), Bala (Kishore), Vicky (Saandip), Sudhakar (Ravi), Deepti (Richa) and their 7th friend Pavan (Harish) complete their college and till then life has been full of fun and frolic. They meet up for one last time and decide to meet on the same day next year. However, that doesn’t happen as everyone gets busy. After seven years, Ajay is back from US and he decides to have a week long vacation with all his friends. He gets in touch with the rest of the gang and finally all of them agree. What happens from there and how each person’s life has taken turns forms the rest of the story.

PerformancesRaja is just ok. He needs to show something different in his performance. The same old phenomenon may not work for him.
Manjari looks pretty as ever and though she was unable to do well in the anger or emotional scenes, her screen presence is sweet.

Richa is a laid back character for her and she has done her bit with energy and contributed.
Vennela Kishore is the life and soul for the movie, witty dialogues and energetic performance, he is the show-stealer.

Harish added his bit of humor and he showed confidence (his ‘aapa ra Hindi’ comedy video has been the most popular on youtube). He is the real comedy actor who deserves more opportunities.

Sandeep has delivered a decent performance and has got handsome looks. If he could work on adding few emotional expressions then it would work. He has got potential.
Gollapudi Maruti Rao was general, Saira Bhanu looks seductive, Sayali’s song could have been better. Rao Ramesh was brief.

Ravi Varma did very well and up to the mark. He made his screen presence felt.
Highlights:Vennela Kishore, the real hook for the film‘Gamyam’ fame Nagaraju’s Dialogues, carried enthusiasm

Disappointments:Mild pace Technical values
AnalysisThe film runs on a good concept but then it is the presentation and narrative that have spoiled the spirit. There are two reasons why the film works – the exceptional performance of Vennela Kishore and some strong and witty dialogues from Gandham Nagaraju.
Otherwise, the background score was non-situational at few scenes, songs were just okay, cinematography was weak, costumes were neat and art department was alright. The film also suffered due to lack of pace and few directorial flaws were clearly evident.
Raja-Manjari romance didn’t gel well.

The first five minutes is quite shaky as though we are already past 20 minutes but later on, it settles and goes smoothly. If the makers had worked on the technical values and gave it a good visual appeal adding it with speed, the impact would have been much better. This is film for the urban audience and the youth audience, nothing in it for the masses.
Real credit goes to Vennela Kishore as he shouldered the movie in a very entertaining manner.
If the budget is not too high for the film, it could make decent returns at the box office. It goes well with class audiences but masses will be a doubt.

'Leader' Review

Film: LeaderRating: 3.25/5

Banner: AVM

Cast: Daggubati Rana, Richa Gangopadhyaya, Priya Anand, Subba Raju, Harshavardhan, Kota Sreenivasa Rao, Ahuti Prasad, Tanikella Bharani, Suhasini, Suman, Udaya Bhanu etc

Cinematography: Vijay C Kumar

Editing: Marthand K Venkatesh

Music: Mickey J Mayor

Producers: M Saravanan and MS Guhan

Direction: Sekhar KammulaReleased On: 19th Feb 2010

The much awaited film of Sekhar Kammula has released today. The tall actor with promising looks, Rana, debuted with this. The expectations are indeed high and let us see how far things got in tune with those expectations.

Story:Chief Minister Sanjeevayya (Suman) gets killed in a landmine blast. His son Arjun Prasad (Rana) descends as next CM but after a series of political games with his opponents and power greedy Dhanunjay (Subba Raju). Arjun’s paternal uncle (Kota) also moves against Arjun.
Arjun is idealistic in nature and wishes to change the rules of political system in the state. How far is he successful? What is the method he has chosen to make that change? How people react to that? Who helped him in his cause? How enemies try to put an end for him? All that forms the story.

Performances:Rana deserves right encomiums for his portrayal. He has underplayed the role as per the requirement. His voice and diction are good. If he concentrates better on working out expressions, he will be a promising actor.

Richa Gangopadhyaya is like a sheer poetry in some scenes. The credit goes to costumes department and also cinematographer.
Priya Anand looks good but her role is not fitting into the narration.
Subba Raju, the antagonist, played histrionics very well and up to the mark. Harshavardhan is perfectly in tune in his role as protagonist’s yes-man. Rao Ramesh made his presence felt even with his small role. Kota Sreenivasa Rao is serious. Director would have used him better with some satirical and humorous dialogues, as audience expect in general. Udaya Bhanu arrested the eyes of audience with her item number. Others are ok.
Cinematography is good. Music and RR are marvelous. It’s really the RR (Re-Recording) that brought emotional grip to narration.

Highlights:Take off with landmine attack on CMUdayabhanu’s glamour dose in item numberIn first song, where Rana visits every slum and every corner to understand the society, is good. A scene where Rana leaves a cloth for a woman through water, reminds a bit from Attenborough’s ‘Gandhi’.Rana’s dialogue about his willingness to die after dealing with Rs 1 Lakh crore scheme brought claps in theaters.Old man’s dialogue with Chief Minister about his daughter
Memorable Dialogues Those Attracted Claps And Whistles:Tanikella: “Ivaala nijayiteega pani cheyyadamantene tyagam chesinattu anukuntunnaaru”Rana with Gollapudi: “Meeku 70-80 yellu undochchu. Meeru gandhini taaki undochchu. Nehruni ee kallatho choosi undochchu. Mee anubhavam, chaduvu antaa avineetiki dhaaraposaaru. Postunaaru….meeru unte entha ..oodithey entha??”Old Man with Rana: Aadapillaki nyaayam cheyyaleni CM unte entha oodithey entha?

Disappointments:Priya Anand’s character seemed to be waste. The film would have run better without her character.DI problems were seen here and there those marred the clarity of picture on screenSuhasini’s death and funeral scenes are very weak
Analysis:It’s a sincere effort by the director to sketch the present political scenario in independent India. He has chosen the theme of corruption by politicians as main curse to system. Many films have come on corruption. And it’s a different version.
The film also delivers some idealistic ideas of smoking out black money from public to avoid making the state indebted to World Bank et al.
Everything is fine. But in this drama where there are many political technicalities are involved, there are chances that the director may lose mass audience, although he impresses the audiences those think.

The director has taken many cinematic liberties; those make audience look at each other’s face for finding lack of conviction. And some clearly evident mistakes:
When Chief Minister dies, only men come to visit his dead body. When Chief Minister’s wife dies, only women come to visit her funeral!! Howzzat??!! What’s that gender discrimination?
The son of CM walks on roads and no one identifies him in today’s world where media is so rampant. Can anyone imagine YS Jagan or Lokesh walking on roads and none identifying them? That’s not convincing. Director would have shown that the son of CM is going into masses in disguise.
Leader minus heroines’ track would have been the best product. Director would have told better things those go with the main theme in the minutes wasted for so-called romance track. With little care, the film would have become something in the standards of ‘Sarkar’!!
There are many moments in the film where the director touches the hearts of audiences and pulls tears from eyes.

First half of the film catches up pace since the beginning scene and gives a captivating feel by interval. Audiences found themselves meditatively pulled towards the screen. That’s the magic created by the director. And that magic leaves the audiences expecting something great in second half. The pace goes with ups and downs but something promising appears immediately after old man scene.

The scenes run faster from then and culminate into climax in idealistic tone. It’s a sincere effort by director with his understanding. Audiences connect to it connecting the movie to the present political conditions.

The film certainly pulls huge crowds due to the image procured by the director with his previous film ‘Happy Days’. The content in the movie appeals for B and C center audiences as well, if they connect that to present political conditions and watch. On a whole it’s a sincere and good product.