Movie: Yamudu (2010)
Rating:3/5
Cast : Surya & Anushka
Music : Devi Sri Prasad (DSP)
Director : HariProducer : K E Gnanavel

Story:

A typical masala treat, the story is set on the backdrop of Rajolu town in the East Godavari district. Here lives the family of Narasimha (suriya). He wants to run his family business of provision store and make it a big supermarket. However, Simha's father (radha ravi) has other plans and he dreams of seeing his son as a cop. Narasimha fulfills his dad's wishes and becomes an SI. He is tough, honest and straightforward. Story takes a turn with the arrival of Purushottam (prakashraj) and his brother Vaikuntam (aadhi) from Vizag. A sequence of events makes Purushottam to sign at Rajolu PS everyday. This gets him to Narasimha and the rift begins. There is also Kavya (anushka) the love of Narasimha. What happens from there forms the rest of the story.

Presentation:

The director has come up with a typical formula tale and both the presentation and narrative are effective. The dialogues were punch filled, the script was well written and the screenplay was excellent. Background score added to the moods and two songs were good. Cinematography captured the speed well and editing was crisp. Costumes were apt and the art department was natural. Suriya was the complete show stealer again with his looks and body language, he is unbeatable. Anushka was awesome hot and she made her presence felt strongly despite Suriya's invasion. Radha Ravi was apt, Prakashraj was fabulous, Aadhi was okay, Vivek delivered the required humor, Nasser was natural, Vijaykumar was standard, the others did their bit as required.

Conclusion:

The film doesn't offer any variety or experiment but then it manages to engage the audience despite following a beaten track. This is due to the combination of very good technical values along with power packed performances. While the first half is about the elements of romance, comedy and sentiment, the second half is filled with action and the racy climax. Overall, this would appeal to the masses in a very big way and it will be a commercial success at the box office.

Verdict: Pure masala treat, racy and entertaining for commercial audience

Rating : 2.5/5
Punchline: I appreciate you
Genre: Romance/Music
Type: Straight
Banner: Sri Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures

Cast: Manoj Manchu, Tapsee, Mohan Babu, Suman, Brahmanandam, MS Narayana, Ali, Dharmavarapu, Ahuti Prasad, Tanikella Bharani, Sudha, Aishwarya, Pragati etc

Music: MM Keeravani
Cinematography: S Gopal Reddy
Editing: Marthand K Venkatesh
Art: Raghu Kulkarni
Base Story: Bhupati Raja
Story - screenplay: Gopi Mohan - BVS Ravi
Dialogues: Rajasimha
Direction: K Raghavendra Rao
Producer: Lakshmi Manchu
Release date: 1 July 2010
Theater watched: Screen 1, Prasads

Review

Story

Jhummandi Balu (Manoj Manchu) has only one mission in his life - to become a great playback singer like SP Balu. He challenges a landlord in his village and comes to Hyderabad to become a singer. Captain Rao (Mohan Babu) stays in the opposite house. He is an old-fashioned man who hates the lifestyle of new generation. Sravya (Tapsee) is an NRI girl who stays in her father’s friend Captain Rao’s house. She is in India to do documentary on traditional Telugu music. Balu acts as a local guide to her and in the process, they fall in love. Captain Rao doesn’t like them fall in love. The rest of the story is all about Captain Rao’s restrictions and how the lovers emerge unscathed.

Artists Performance

jhummandi naadam Manoj Manchu: Manoj Manchu comes up with another rocking performance in this movie. His styling and dialogue delivery is more like of those characters we see in comic books and video games that are developing using comic books. His performance in the confrontation scene leading to interval is good. He matched the screen presense and comedy timing of Mohan Babu in the scenes involving both of them.

Tapsee: K Raghavendra Rao gives Telugu film industry another commercial heroine in the form of Tapsee. She has good camera friendly looks and reminded me of Rambha in many ways. She is effervescent and bubbly. She is good at acting too. It is no wonder that she grabbed many projects before the release of her first movie. She is going to be a good glamorous heroine in Telugu. It is up to her to choose right projects to make herself a performing actress too.

Other: Mohan Babu plays the third most important character in the film. It is nice of Mohan Babu to allow others (including comedians) to have satires on him (especially ‘I appreciate you’ dialogue). He is comical most of the time and performed with extreme passion in intense scenes. Brahmanandam entertains though his comedy is of old-fashioned type. Ali is humorous as ‘naa name ranjith. Naa game encounter’. MS Narayana is extremely funny as the sidekick of Mohan Babu. Suman, Dharmavarapu, Apoorva, Sudha, Ahuti Prasad and Aishwarya are adequate. Tanikella Bharani is powerful in a small role.

Technical departments

Story - screenplay - direction: The basic story given by Bhupati Raja is simple. K Raghavendra Rao handled this simple story in a simplistic way by including adequate commercial elements so that it reaches everybody. Screenplay of the movie is adequate. K Raghavendra Rao proves that there is no retirement for creativity and age never becomes a disadvantage while dealing with romantic subjects. He has shown the heroine Tapsee in the most glamorous way. He also made sure that there is something in the film for A/B/C center audiences. There are a few old-fashioned scenes for the sake of commercial elements. But they are minimal and they don’t disturb the flow of the narration. There is trademark of K Raghavendra Rao in songs picturization of the movie.

Other departments: Music by MM Keeravani is good and background music is also handled well. I rate the 3rd song (shot in Kerala) as the best song in the movie. The last song (desamante Mattikadoi) is the life of the movie. All songs are picturized colourfully. Cinematography by S Gopal Reddy is very good. However, he should have shot stunt sequences in a better way. Dialogues by Rajasimha are good. Editing by Marthand K Venkatesh is smooth. Art direction by Raghu is neat. Production values by debutant producer Lakshmi Manchu are very good with rich visuals.

Analysis: First half of the movie is nice. Tempo goes down in the second half a bit. The climax song makes it up for all. Plus points of the film are main leads (Manoj’s comedy and Tapsee’s glamour) and K Raghavendra Rao’s commercial elements coupled with attractive music/visuals. On the flip side, old-fashioned story might not be liked by urbane crowds. On a whole, Jhummandi Naadam is a film that has something for every kind of audience (A, B or C). It is a K Raghavendra Rao's masala entertainer that has all ingredients do well at box office.

Verdict : Below Average not up to the mark

Movie: Vedam
My Rating: 3/5
Banner: Arca Media
Music: M M Keeravani
Cinematography: Gnanakumar
Editing: Shravan
Producers: Devineni Prasad, Yarlagadda Shobu
Story,Screenplay & Direction: Krish
Cast: Allu Arjun, Manchu Manoj, Anushka, Manoj Bajpai, Ramulu, Lekha Washington, Deeksha Seth, Seiya, Raghu Babu, Satyam Rajesh, Brahmanandam etc
Release Date: 04th June 2010

Review

Story

The talented and intellectual director Krish who gave us ‘Gamyam’ has arrived with yet another venture and this time on a larger scale.

Cable Raju (Allu Arjun) is in love with a rich girl (Deeksha) and he pretends to be a rich guy though he is from a slum and is a cable operator, Vivek (Manoj) wants to become a rockstar while his mother wants him to get into army, Saroja (Anushka) is a prostitute who decides to escape to Hyderabad for better business, Raheem (Manoj Bajpai) is a victim of misunderstanding as a terrorist, Nagaiah (Ramulu) is a victim of poverty and decides to donate his daughter in law’s kidney for the grandson’s education. What fate has in store for each form the rest of the story.

Allu Arjun has come up with a decent act and his role was a mix of comedy and seriousness. The character was etched very well and it is a message oriented one.

Manchu Manoj does hit bit with ease and though he plays a subdued character, he makes his presence felt. One fails to understand why his title credit has been given as ‘Guest appearance’ while he has done a full length role.

Anushka looks seductive and sensuous. However, it doesn’t live up to the hype that has been created. It is a different role for her and she did justice to it.

Manoj Bajpai is a powerhouse of talent but it must be said that his skills were hardly utilized. Telugu Movie Reviews

Ramulu was at ease in front of the camera and he made it look real.

Deeksha was luscious and appealing, Lekha was brief, Saranya was standard, Raghu Babu was regular, Satyam Rajesh gave few smiles. The actor doing the cop’s role was effective while the actor who did the role of ‘Karpuram’ made his presence felt.

Guest appearances of Brahmanandam, Posani and Krish are meaningful.

Good things about ‘Vedam’:

There is a message for ambitious youth if they wish to take..

* 'Never aim at something very far and do mischief to attain that. Listen to your conscience if you are doing wrong that time' (Allu Arjun- Nagayya episode)
* ‘Never assume that there are many people to help those are in needy, and you are not one among them. You too may need help and you may find a true helper from the man who you troubled’ (Sardarjee-Manoj episode)
* ‘Never brand anyone with religion’ (Manoj Bajpai-inspector episode)
* ‘Look at sex workers with different perspective. After all, prostitution is the oldest profession which is still continuing in every part of the world’ (Anushka-Karpooram episode)
* ‘Look at the poorest of the poor in the society those are getting their basic needs by selling their body parts’ (Nagayya episode)

Final Analysis:

The film arrives with a lot of expectations given the names associated with it. But, this is not a formula movie that entertains everyone. This movie is for sensible audiences who can melt their hearts for sensitive aspects of society.

It is basically a narration of various characters with different backdrops and challenges in life. While the depiction of that aspect is good, it is always essential to develop content on that. The makers have come up with a good attempt to portray the elements of good and evil.

Dialogues were impressive at few places, background score was impact creating and songs are also good both for eyes and ears. The real show stealer was the cinematography. Script was okay.

The storyline is routine but the difference is there are multiple characters and how they are brought together is the variety. While the first half and second half are engaging and different tracks are handled well, the climax loses momentum and gets a bit dragging. Someone with a caliber of Krish could have portrayed a different backdrop for it. On a whole, Krish proved to be a director with material in him.

The key is for the audience to connect to any one of the characters and that didn’t happen here. Overall, the film can be credited for the attempt to give a realistic outlook on life and the choices individuals make at a particular moment. Still, it could have been much impact creating if content was deep.

On a whole, the movie brings tears in a couple of scenes and Allu Arjun excelled in them. Manchu Manoj was stated to be in guest appearance, but he has a full length role. The message is ulterior but it is a sincere movie with idealistic idea portraying darker side of 5 lives.

Bottom Line: Except climax rest is heart touching

VERDICT : Good

Movie: Golimaar
My Rating: 2.5/5
Banner: Sri Sai Ganesh Productions
Music: Chakri
Cinematography: Shyam K Naidu
Editing: Marthand K Venkatesh
Producer: Bellamkonda Suresh
Story, Dialogues, Screenplay, Direction: Puri Jagannadh
Cast: Gopichand, Priyamani, Kelly Dorjee, Nasser, Roja, Ali, Mukhtar Khan, MS Narayana, Shawar Ali, Jeeva etc
Release Date: 27th May 2010

Review

Story

Gangaram (Gopi) fulfills his childhood ambition of becoming a police officer and in no time, DIG Bharath (Nasser) promotes him to an encounter specialist. He tells Gangaram to wipe away the gangs of Khaleel (Kelly Dorjee) and Saleem (Shavar Khan). Gangaram begins his clean up task and in this process; he also gets to meet Pavitra (Priyamani). However, there is a twist which awaits him and what happens from there forms the rest of the story.

Gopichand has done his bit as required and he is only saving grace in the movie. He looks rather mild this time. But then, he has done a decent job.

Priyamani is not good and she looked with over dosed layers of make up that made her unattractive.

Kelly Dorjee has sharp looks but as usual, the characterization of the villain is not that strong. Being a powerful don, he ends up behaving like a small time ring leader in a slum. Telugu Movie Reviews

Nasser was natural, Roja was disgusting, Ali was not required, Mukhtar Khan was just around, M S Narayana was average, Jeeva, Shawar Khan and others filled the screen space.

Here are a few vital points that the director should understand:

* Comedy should be dosed well for this genre of films
* Care should be taken at the placement of songs
* How may times the story of Dayanayak will be recycled? People have watched Ab Tak Chappan and Sidhdham
* Heroine should be glamorous and lovable but not irritable

Final Analysis:

The film is said to have been inspired by the life of Daya Naik, the famous encounter specialist. However, one can see traces of top cops like Walter Devaram (Tamil nadu), Pradeep Sharma (Mumbai), Aftab Ahmed Khan etc. But then, this is a serious domain that deals with hardcore criminals and life threatening situations.

And Puri ended up treating it like a filmy affair. Movies like ‘Ab Tak Chappan’ always stand as benchmarks for such genre of movies. The intensity was missing here, dialogues were regular and were good at very few places, the script was not engaging. Above all, Puri is known for his master stroke and unfortunately, there is no flash of brilliance seen in the film that makes you think that yes, it is indeed a film by him. He tried to bring in some twists but they weren’t presented with required depth.

The technical values were okay and there is absolutely no comedy track. This is not to compare the film with ‘Pokiri’ but for a man who has given us a marvel like that, ‘Golimaar’ is definitely not a flick of his caliber.

VERDICT : Average

Movie: Awara
My Rating: 2.5/5
Banner: Thirupathi Brothers
Music: Yuan Shankar Raja
Cinematography: Mathi
Editing: Anthony
Producer: Subhash Chandra Bose
Story,Screenplay & Direction: Linguswamy
Cast: Karthi, Tamanna, Milind Soman etc
Release Date: 21st May 2010

Review

Story

Shiva (Karthi) is a carefree guy who no goal in life. He falls in love with a girl called Charu Latha (Tamanna) at first sight. He acts as a cab driver in order to get to know her. She is in trouble and he needs to save her from the goons sent by her bad father who wants to forcibly marry her off. Shiva likes the idea of spending some time with her in cab while saving her from goons. She asks him to take her to Mumbai and his past in that city catches up with him as he reaches Mumbai. The rest of the story is all about how Shiva attracts the attention of Charu and wins her love in the middle of chases and fights.

Artists Performance:

Karthi shed some weight compared to his debut film Yuganiki Okkadu. He has unique sweetness and innocence his face though he looks rough. He should be appreciated more because he has taken pains to learn Telugu and dub his own voice. For a first timer he has done reasonably good job with dubbing and he will improve his diction and flow as he do more movies. He is a decent actor. Tamanna is endearing as a girl in trouble. Sonia (Happy Days fame) did the role of one of friends of hero and she is good (she didn’t dub her voice). Milind Soman is alright as the villain. All other actors are of non-Telugu origin. Telugu Movie Reviews

Technical Departments:

Basically it is a road movie where hero who is in love with heroine goes to any extent to be in presence of her. He does everything to protect her from all evil forces and there by winning her love. Films of this nature are extremely difficult to narrate because they have single thread and they don’t afford the luxuries of typical Telugu/Tamil commercial paddings. Director Linguswamy comes up with an engaging first half, but runs out of ideas in second half where he had to fill it up with continuous fights. Screenplay of the movie is very good except for the latter portion of the movie.

Other Departments: Music by Yuan Shankar Raja is nice. Most of the songs in this film are situational with montage shots. Cinematography by Mathi is good. Dialogues are laced with humor. Editing by Anthony is adequate. Fights are well choreographed.

Fianl Analysis:

First half of the movie is entertaining. Second half is little heavy with continuous fights. The plus points of the movie are engaging storytelling and the lead pair. On the flip side, the story line might prove to be too thin for a film of 2 and half hours of runtime. On a whole, Awara is a decent road movie with adequate entertainment.

VERDICT : Average

Movie: Andari Bandhuvaya
My Rating: 3.75/5
Banner: Utopia Entertainers
Music: Anup Rubens
Cinematography: Gummadi Jayakrishna
Written By: Balabhadrapatruni Ramani
Producer: RK, Chandra Siddartha
Direction: Chandra Siddartha
Cast: Sharwanand, Padmapriya, Naresh, RK, M S Narayana, Krishna Bhagawan, Vijay Sai, Pragathi, Jeeva etc
Release Date: 14th May 2010

Review

Story

Nandu (Sharwanand) hails from a village and he comes to the city. He has a helpful nature and doesn’t hesitate to go out of his way to help others. His colleague Paddu (Padmapriya) is stingy to the core and believes in money saving. A situation leads Nandu to take a portion for rent in the home of Paddu and on another instance, he rushes to see his father (Naresh) in the village. Paddu accompanies him and it is here she experiences the human values and touch. New issues crop up and how Nandu and Paddu face them forms the rest of the story.

Artists Performance:

Sharwanand has been evolving as an actor with each passing movie. After his commendable performance in ‘Prasthanam’ this is yet another valuable performance in his career. He is getting better and better. He performed with great élan in many scenes and portrayed emotions wonderfully.

Padmapriya is a vision of beauty and though her low economic character makes her poor, the natural beauty still glows at all possible sequences. She has proved her mettle in the acting department as well. She appeared like senior Suhasini in some scenes. Telugu Movie News

Naresh has come up with one of his best performances in the recent past. He fits the bill well and there are few touching moments he gives.

Krishna Bhagawan was outright hilarious. His timing and his style of dialogue delivery gives splits of laughter. He is proving to be one of the most reliable comedians for the Telugu audience and is simply ‘unbeatable’.

The others were quite impressive. Especially RK, the TV artiste who plays the role of Padmapriya’s sister wearing sari, the NRI groom, they have given an impressive performance. Pragathi was natural and others were okay.

Final Analysis:

It’s a joy to watch a good movie 48 hours before the world watches it, in a premiere show. It’s a movie made by the director of ‘Aa Naluguru’. I starting watching the movie with closed mind-set at the outset. For my eyes those have watched grandeur of artificial settings on screen in many films, initially, it sounded dull and low. I looked at the hero in this film as ‘perfectionist material’ who may bring boredom through out the movie. But slowly, something captivated me and I was drowned in the bliss of humanity. I could see a Utopian Village, Utopian hero and Utopian thought…! It went on as a pleasant journey on the waters of humanity.

Any audience watches a movie connecting himself to the hero on screen. He enjoys the bliss of watching something that hero does, which he cannot do in real life. That has been the success of any cinema since 77 years in India. That has been the connection between the screen hero and common audience. If that were the case, in stead of getting connected to the violent and vulgar elements in a hero, it sounds certainly better to connect with the humanity, sacrifice and service motive in him that can be practiced in daily life.

‘Andari Bandhuvaya’ is one such movie which happens very seldom on Telugu screen. Such films should reach every eye and then surely it reaches its heart. Indeed, it’s a movie that culminates the essence of humanity with eyes and heart. One needs to look at the world with the eyes of this protagonist and need to speak with the heart of the same.

It’s a practical Vedanta, the movie showcases. ‘Live for others to enjoy the true nectar of life’ is the epitome of this film. Many dialogues and scenes in this film cut the heart deep and groove-in a pure form of thought. Writer Balabhadrapaatruni Ramani deserves right mention here.

“Pakshulaki konchem dhanyam, pasuvulaki konchem ghraasam, manishiki konchem saayam- ade jeevitam”- What a quotable dialogue?!

“Bathakadame kaadu, chaavadam kooda costly ye”- What a reality if we look at the present expensive last days on Corporate Hospital beds?!

“Nee Daggara koorchuni kaasepu edavochchaa?!”- What a human angle?! The scene between Padmapriya and Sharwanand is indeed moving.

The film is a feel good treat and it gives a strong message of how a positive outlook in life is required in today’s commercial and materialistic world. It might be too unrealistic to expect the viewers to transform once they see the film but even if one implements or demonstrates atleast 5% of the kindness then the world will be a much better place to live in. This is a clean family entertainer with its own element of humor, sentiment, drama and attachment. The dialogues are the major highlight of the movie while the script is very strong and intense. Screenplay was effective and it was supported well with the background score. Though two songs were non situational, they were well taken and quite melodious. Lyrics by Chaitanya Prasad are sensible and filled with good poetry. Editing was smooth. Costumes were suitable to the backdrop and the art department was realistic. The film has enough substance to make it big in film festival or bag few awards. All it takes is some gentle effort by the makers to promote it in the right manner. This is suitable for all genre of audience and everyone will have a point or two to take back home and use it in their life. Credit must be given to Chandra Siddartha for coming up with a thoughtful venture.

Youngsters should watch it and parents should make their children watch it to cultivate human values.

VERDICT : Good Movie Watchable

Movie: Rama Rama Krishna Krishna
My Rating: 2.5/5
Banner: Sri Venkateswara Creations
Music: M M Keeravani
Cinematography: Sekhar V Joseph
Editing: Gautham Raju
Dialogues: M Ratnam
Art: AS Prakash
Producer: Dil Raju
Story,Screenplay & Direction: Srivass
Cast: Arjun, Ram, Priya Anand, Bindu Madhavi, Nasser, Banerjee, Sayaji Shinde, Brahmanandam, Srinivas Reddy, Pragathi, Bharath, Gracy Singh etc
Release Date: 12th May 2010

Review

Story

Rama Krishna (Ram) is the son of a Gandhipuram village president (Nassar). His father is a strict disciplinarian and wants Rama Krishna to be perfect. Rama Krishna is a funny youngster who pretends to be good in the presence of his father but does a lot of mischief on his back. Ashok (Arjun) is a mafia don in Mumbai and he goes into a sabbatical after the death of his his wife. Ashok along with his two sisters settles in Gandhipuram. Rama Krishna unfortunately gets in to the bad books of Ashok. Meanwhile,. Ashok’s past catches up. The rest of the story is all about how Rama Krishna uses his intelligence and muscle power to achieve the good will of both his father and Ashok. Telugu Movie Reviews

Artists Performance:

Ram comes up with yet another energetic performance. His dialogue delivery in Godavari dialect is nice. NTR gave the voiceover to the introducing of hero character.

Arjun suited the role well and he dubbed his own voice. Priya Anand is alright as female lead.
Bindu Madhavi’s role is pretty much limited. Naseer is extremely good. Brahmanandam’s character doesn’t offer required level of comedy.

Pruthvi and Bharat are entertaining. Srinivas Reddy is one of the most promising comedians who can generate laughter with his dialogues like Ali and Krishna Bhagawan. He is good in this movie. Gracy Singh did a small role as Arjun’s wife. Sekhar’s (Chatrapati fame) performance is odd in the first half.

Technical Departments:

Story of the movie is little formulaic with inspirations from films like Basha (Arjun’s character) and Bangaru Bullodu (villains searching for hero in villages). Unlike earlier movies, the director preferred straight narration where the mafia don’s role is revealed in the first scene of the movie. Srivas penned a commercially viable screenplay by mixing sentiment and action. The aspect of interval where the thread of hero converges with the thread of Arjun is the best point of the movie. Direction of the movie is okay in parts.

Title song and Sankranthi song (2nd song) in this movie are nice. Tugo Jilla comes at the right time. All other songs are not effective. The song bits (mostly rap style) are interesting. Cinematography by Sekhar V Joseph is just okay. But the producer didn’t seem to have taken proper care in post-production of the movie. There is no DI (color grading). Most of the CG work is okay (chase sequences and blasting of vehicles), but it’s hazy in some of the vital parts (especially hero’s intro scene). Dialogues by M Ratnam are good in parts. Production values are good by Dil Raju.

Final Analysis:

First half of the movie is alright. Interval episode is good. Second half becomes predictable. Climax should have been better. The plus points of this movie are Ram, Arjun and commercial elements. This movie suffers from predictability and lack of freshness in second half. On a whole, RRKK is a commercial film that is intended to cater to families and masses. We have to wait and see if this movie clicks with the target audiences or not.

VERDICT : Average

Movie: Prasthaanam
My Rating: 3/5
Banner: V R C Media and Entertainments
Music: Mahesh Shankar
Cinematography: Shyam Dutt
Editing: Dharmendra Kakarala
Producer: Vallabhaneni Ravi
Direction, Story & Screenplay: Deva Katta
Cast: Sharwanand, Sandeep, Sai Kumar, Ruby Parihar, Jeeva, Jayaprakash Reddy, Vennela Kishore, Surekha Vani, Reshma, Ghosh, master Atulith etc
Release Date: 16th Apr 2010

Review

Story

Lokanath (Saikumar) is very active in politics and is a key person to a party. A sequence of events gets his leader killed and he ends up marrying the leader’s wife and looks after their family.

Deceased leader’s son Mitra (Sharwanand) follows Loki’s footsteps and grows as a leader. However, Loki has his own son Chinna (Sandeep) who is keen on entering politics but is disregarded.

He turns against everyone and that creates a major chaos in the family. What happens after that forms the rest of the story. telugu-film-reviews.blogspot.com

Artists Performance:

Sharwanand has got a key role to play but then the first half sees him rather subdued, it is during the second half one gets to see his potential. Given the powerful character, Sharwanand should have worked on his dialogue delivery at few places. Overall, he did a good job.

Sandeep is a revelation. Despite his fresh attempt, he has shown phenomenal confidence in front of the camera and has scored the brownie points. His performance leaves an impact and he has got a bright future.

Sai Kumar is apt for the role and shows the required maturity and composure. Few of his dialogues were intense and deep but only the dialogue king can give that punch to it. He should start focusing on bagging more roles on the silver screen and utilize his potential to the fullest.

Jeeva was the best bet as contractor Basireddy and he shows enough venom, Jayaprakash Reddy was hilarious, Vennela Kishore failed to impress, Ghosh as inspector made his presence felt, he is one to look out for in the future, Ruby was there for songs, Surekha Vani was standard, Reshma looks ravishingly beautiful, more focus should be kept on her. The other artistes who hail from the ‘Chakravaakam’ serial have done a fabulous job.

Final Analysis:

The film is ideally a political thriller but it is merely a backdrop that depicts the various shades of human emotions and how man can resort to extremities in life purely out of greed. The dialogues were mind blowing but a few could go above the head for the mass audience, the script was strong and the screenplay was effective. Background score was awesome and all the songs were good. Full marks to cinematography and art department, editing was crisp. The real strength of the film is the dialogues and the storyline.

On the flip side, two songs during the second half were unnecessary and they have dragged the film to an extent. The film is quite serious and there is a strong dose of philosophy despite the scenarios.

Content wise the movie has got it all but in a layman sense, there are places when the mass audience will find it hard to connect. The first half goes of breezily but the second half gets dragged to an extent.

Not much of a thing for family audience. Overall, this is a hard hitting treat and deals with complex human emotions so those who like such stuff will relish it.

VERDICT : First Half is Execellent and Second Half OK

Movie: Betting Bangarraju
My Rating: 3/5
Banner: Usha Kiron Movies
Music: Sekhar Chandra
Cinematography: Karuna Murthy
Editing: Gautham Raju
Dialogues: Gandham Nagaraju
Producer: Ramoji Rao
Direction & Screenplay: E Satti Babu
Cast: Allari Naresh, Nidhi, Kota, Raghu Babu, Amit, Samrat, Sri Akshay, Pilla Prasad, Vijay Sai, Krishna Bhagawan, L B Sriram, Chalapathi Rao, Surekha Vani, Sana, Kalyani etc
Release Date: 9th Apr 2010

Review

Story

Bangarraju (Naresh) is known for his betting activities and he is destined with a golden spoon of luck, what we call ‘Sudi’. His life takes a turn when he decides to marry a city girl and chances upon Divya (Nidhi) when he reaches the city. He proposes to her and is surprised to know there are three others (Amit, Samrat, Sri Akshay) in the race. Divya invites all of them for a test. Who wins the test forms the rest of the story. Telugu Movie Reviews

Artists Performance:

Allari Naresh, as usual was at his best but this time, there was not much punch or satire in his dialogues, otherwise he shouldered the film well.

Nidhi has beautiful eyes and very sweet expressions but then she may not be the heroine material so it could be that she might have a small innings, otherwise her performance is good.

Amit looks handsome and his dialogue delivery is also strong. He fits the role very well and he can take up few meatier roles and for a change anything with positive traits will do him good.

Samrat is tall and handsome but has a strained body language. If he can pump some confidence in his body language then it could work well

Sri Akshay have good looks and also performed satisfactorily well with his dialogue delivery and other aspects of acting.

Raghu Babu has a busy day and he entertains to a great extent, Krishna Bhagawan was witty, Kota was standard, the ladies did their bit as required. Pilla Prasad, Vijay Sai were okay. The character of ‘Savam’ was hilarious. Chalapathi Rao, L B, Venu, Duvvasi did their bit as required and added value.

Final Analysis:

The film is basically a comedy treat and enough attempts have been made to keep the smile intact on the faces of the audience. The dialogues were witty at few places, but the script was lengthy and the screenplay was above average.

Cinematography was neat, background score was okay and one song is worth taking home. Editing was required at key points. The film suffers mainly due to three different backdrops (Gribabu episode, Krishna Bhagawan episode and village episode) so connecting to the scenes takes time.

Also, the pace of the film was mild and if there was speed in it, the impact would have been much stronger. But still, with some interesting sequences and involved performances, Bangarraju has it all score profits in the box office. Perhaps the producer should have opened his purse and spend a little of his money on bringing in more branded artists to give that crowd pulling factor.
VERDICT : Entertainer

Movie: Varudu
My Rating: 2.5/5
Banner: Universal Media
Music: Mani Sharma
Cinematography: R D Rajasekhar
Editing: Anthony
Dialogues: Thota Prasad
Producer: D V V Danayya
Direction, Story & Screenplay: Gunasekhar
Cast: Allu Arjun, Bhanusree Mehra, Arya, Ashish Vidyarthi, Suhasini, Naresh, Vinaya, Nasser, Rao Ramesh, Sayaji Shinde, Ahuti Prasad, Brahmanandam, Singeetam Srinivasa Rao etc
Release Date: 31st Mar 2010

Review

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. Telugu Movie Reviews

Artists Performance:

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

Final 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.

VERDICT : Average Tale