'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.

Jenelia KATHA Movie Review

Film: Katha

Banner: Just Yellow Media pvt ltd

Cast: Arun Adit, Genelia, Prakashraj, Shafi, Raghubabu, Tulasi, Jayalalitha, Ravikiran Babu, Praneeth, Srilatha, C M Kalyan and others

Dialogues: Gunnam Gangaraju

Lyrics: Anantha Sriram

Music: S K Balachandran

Cinematography: I AndrewEditing: Marthand K VenkateshStory, Screenplay, Director: Srinivas Raaga

Producer: Gunnam Gangaraju

Release date: Dec 12 2009

Slated to be a romantic thriller and that too with the bubbly beauty Genelia in the lead, the film ‘Katha’ was meant to be an interesting treat. Whether it is really interesting or not, let us go into details.

Essense:Chitra (Genelia) is a school teacher who comes to Araku to teach school students. Krishna (arun) is an aspiring director who comes along with his team to make a movie at the same place. Soon, their paths meet and Krishna falls for her. However, there is a flashback for Chitra that is revealed later and to add to it, Chitra says she has witnessed a murder as well. Was it really true or a hallucination? What is the real ‘Katha’? All this forms the essence.

Artistes:The bubbly beauty Genelia has given her best efforts to do justice to the film but then her role was not given that depth and portrayed correctly. However, her chirpy looks and cute smiles make up for the score.

Arun Adit has shown confidence in front of the screen but then he is raw. There are a few things he has to work on like his expressions, posture, body language etc if he is looking at making a career in film industry.

Prakashraj has given another decent performance, though he plays a crucial role and a brief one, he made his presence felt whenever required. No complaints on that one.
The entire film revolves pretty much around Genelia so it must be said that the stand out act has been that of Raghu Babu who spreads good laughter with his witty dialogues and expressions. Shafi was not used to the fullest, Tulasi was standard and so was Jayalalitha, Ravikiran Babu was alright, C M Kalyan was usual, they were regular and contributed as required.

Sign-Out Lines:The film came out with an interesting concept but then it was caught between two genres – romance and thriller. That led to a lot of confusion and it must be said that there is a major flaw in the direction. The storyline was appealing but the narrative was very weak, presentation was good in many places. Dialogues were mild, the script lacked the spine, screenplay was erratic. Another flaw in the film is the background score which was overenthusiastic in every scene. To create an impact in a thriller, silence at the right time works best and the music director is busy giving a sentimental tune which is a major turn off. Editing was not crisp. Songs were not good either barring one which was a bit melodious. Cinematography was professional and the locations were good in few scenes.

The film runs on a very slow pace and given the lack of depth in the plot, it is quite boring. While the first half revolves around the lighter elements, the second half tries to get serious and there are one or two scenes where the audience interest is engaged. But soon, it loses its grip and gets back to a monotonous tune. The lack of comedy is another drawback and despite the presence of highly talented stars like Prakashraj, Genelia, Shafi, the director could not pull a good one. There is nothing for the mass audience, family audience might come for Genelia but lose interest in no time, and youth don’t have much to talk about it either. The film is mostly ending up as a dud at the box office.

Jagapathi Babu, Priyamani PRAVARAKHYUDU Movie Review

Film: Pravarakhyudu

Banner: Tolly 2 Holly Films

Cast: Jagapathi Babu, Priyamani, Hamsa Nandini, Brahmanandam, Sunil, Ali, Chalapathi Rao, Dharmavarapu, Rajyalakshmi and others

Music: M M Keeravani

Cinematography: Surender ReddyE

diting: M R VarmaDirector: Madan

Producer: Ganesh Indukuri

Prime star Jagapathi Babu and Priyamani are being known as the ideal pair of Tollywood and here they are with a new movie that is meant to be a different love story and an entertainer. Let us see if it was impressive or not.

Story: Sasi Kumar (Jagapathi) and Shailaja (Priyamani) study in the same college and though they are of opposite natures Shailaja gets attracted to Sasi. However, he doesn’t believe in love and Shailaja is disgusted with him. They get into their lives separately.

Years pass and Sasi becomes a noted name in his field of Zoological studies. He leaves Harvard job and comes to join a girl’s college as a lecturer. The principal of that college is Shailaja.
Why did he come to this college? Will their love rekindle? Will ‘no love’ factor transforms to ‘full love’? All this forms the rest of the story.

Performances: Jagapathi Babu:He has carried out his role with ease and the scenes where he is shown as a student, he looked too puffed up. Performance wise, it was a normal walk in the park so not much to be said.

Priyamani She has done her job perfectly in terms of glamour and performance department, though she looks more sensuous in the Indian outfits, Priyamani was seen in all varieties. Two emotional scenes were good from her.

Hamsa Nandini She has a brief presence and looks hot. As is the custom, she was given with a song and she has not disappointed.
SunilThough his role was small, he managed to come up with good laughter from the audience.
OthersBrahmanandam was regular, Dharmavarapu was effective, Ali failed to impress. Chalapathi Rao, Rajyalakshmi and other senior actors came up with the standard performances to add value to the film.

Highlights:
Content in plot
Music
Cinematography
Picturization of songs

Limitations:
Jagapathi Babu touching the tummies of young girls while teaching music is not convincing but confusing and appeared ‘extra’!
Girls’ getting carried away by charms of Jagapathi Babu is repetitive
Lion episode is not well-fitting although pictured with good technique
Ali’s comedy turned mere waste
The climax scene where students and staff hold placards recommending love was ridiculous.
Analysis: The director has come up with a simple tale of relationships and with a message that each has their own outlook depending on their experiences. The dialogues were simple but they could have added more depth, script was okay and screenplay was good during the first half. Comedy was not that much and editing was neat.

Costumes and art department made their presence felt. Full marks to cinematography and background score. The songs were captured really sensuous and though they were not situational, the picturization made up for it.

There were few silly things that the director could have avoided to make things look mature. Overall, the film relied heavily on the screenplay and due to that, the first half went smoothly without much complaint. However, the second half fizzled out and got dragged with unwanted songs and weak comedy. The climax should have been etched out with more impact to drive the message. The mass will like the songs and the family audience might find the narrative appealing barring a few elements of erratic script.

Manchu Vishnu, Ileana SALEEM Movie review

Film: Saleem

Banner: Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures

Cast: Vishnu, Ileana, Mohan Babu, Kaveri Jha, Jaya Prakash Reddy, Tanikella Bharani, Hema, MS Narayana, Ali, Raghubabu, Venkat etc

Music: Sandeep Chowta

Art: Anand SaiFights: Vijay, Kanal Kannan

Camera: Ram PrasadProduction: Padmasri Mohan

, Screenplay Direction: YVS Choudary

Release Date: 12th Dec 2009

Manchu Vishnu’s ‘Saleem’ released today after a long wait. Ileana, the heroine in demand paired up with him. Mohan Babu also played a key role in the film and that attracted the audiences, obviously. Walk into the details to know more…

Essence:The movie starts with Satyawati (Ileana) and her story in a village backdrop. She is the daughter of Singamanaidu (Napolean), a respectable villager. She comes to the village for a brief vacation and lives amidst all lovable relatives recalling the movies Murari, Athadu, Ninne Pelladatha etc etc (sorry for taking the comparison. This film has no glory close to an iota of those master pieces)!! Like in many other films the hero (Vishnu with character name Munna) arrives in that village and stays along with the family in the disguise of orphan. The story runs with insipid dialogues, stupid screenplay and energy less narration till the interval. And the interval bang has got a twist that rotates the heads of audiences to 360 degrees. I cannot reveal that here as that is the only ‘suspense factor’ in it. And the post interval period is another hard nut to bite. Mohan Babu plays the mafia don OJO (an acronym for Ogirala Joginatham) and he has a duet with Kaveri Jha. The twist in the interval narrates rest of the story line with all confusion and cacophony. Who is Saleem is another part of the story that unwraps in second half. What happened for about 150 minutes will be in question mark at the conclusion of the movie.
Artistes:Mohan Babu wouldn’t have played this role OJO at all. He has shown a teacher as source of eroticism. The artiste of his age shouldn’t have encouraged the director to demean a female teacher that way. It’s a head-down for entire female teacher community. I feel the teachers in Mohan Babu’s school ‘Sree Vidya Niketan’ would keep their heads down if they identify themselves in Kaveri Jha’s character and their master Mohan Babu in the role he played.

Vishnu has picked up considerably. He is really looking smart with lean look. His face is also showing some glow and young charisma. Dances are also impressive. But he needs to do exercise in voice modulation. He should take a few leaves from his father’s experience for next film.
Ileana is restricted to enticing male crowds through songs. YVS Choudary seems to have crossed the caliber of K Raghavendra Rao in igniting screen to flame with female glamour. But Ileana’s over action while delivering some dialogues is horrible. Kaveri Jha is also used for the glamour factor. But her role is disgusting.

Ali looked promising when he entered the screen as choreographer Gafar Khan. But his rotten country comedy makes decent crowds inconvenient.
Technically the movie is good. The sound effects, action part and cinematography are dealt up to perfection. Music is below average. And the main spirit of the movie is missed by director with erratic screenplay and punch less dialogues.

Underlines:
Poolu Gusagusaladenani, the old from 1973 ‘Sreevaru Mavaru’ is remixed here and canned on Mohan Babu and Kaveri Jha Ramya Sree, the actress known for playing vamp, servant maid and college lecturer in different films appeared in a serious deglamorised role in it!

Sign-Out Lines: This is the nastiest movie that I have ever seen. Rotten comedy, over exposing heroines, non-piercing dialogues, and senseless screenplay- everything is worth forgetting. I’ve been a filmophile but happened to review this film for the first time. It swallowed my patience completely but I’ve got no other way than reviewing this since I promised the admin.

To sign out on lighter note, Saleem boils the heads of audiences like ‘Haleem’!