Movie: Villian
My Rating: 2.5/5
Banner: Madras Talkies, Reliance Big Pictures.
Music: AR Rahman
Cinematography: Santosh Sivan, V. Manikandan
Choreography: Ganesh Acharya, Brinda, Shobana, Astad Deboo
Audiography: Tapas
Editing: Sreekar Prasad
Producers: Mani Ratnam, Sharada
Screenplay & Direction : Kodi Rama Krishna
Cast: Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Prithviraj, Karthik, Priyamani etc
Release Date: 18th Jun 2010

Review

Story

Mani Rathnam’s romanticism becomes villain for this movie. The only soothing effect is that Mani Rathnam released the audience in right duration but didn’t rubbed the heads with his narration for 3 long hours. The movie publicized with huge hype and it’s even said that it got 3-4 times of investment much before its release. Big star cast right from Aishwarya Rai, Vikram, Prithviraj, Karteek and Prabhu increased expectations. And even the news about the presence of Ranjitha (Nityananda sex scandal fame) also made many heads turn towards this film.

But as the movie starts and goes, audience kept on distracting from the narrative. There is no lighter moment, no gripping sequence, no in-depth characterization and above all a wrongly made modern Ramayan. Lord Rama is depicted in police officer Prithviraj who even kills Vibheeshana’s replica.

Lord Rama in this film is more work oriented than showing love towards his wife. He never sheds tears after listening to the news that his wife got kidnapped. And on the other hand Raavan’s replica (Vikram) is shown as hero. He is good at heart and respects woman!! What a Raavan is he? Soorpanaka (Priyamani) gets raped by police officers those come along with main protagonist Prithvi Raj. So who is villain in Mani Rathnam’s perspective? Lord Ram or Raavan?? This blasphemy makes the audience take deep breathe and forget about the flick.

No audience can watch it for second time even though an announcement of dinner with Aishwarya Rai is made. It’s a boring journey. Entire movie runs in deep valleys, misty hills, verdant greenery and wet lands. Cinematography scores great. It’s worth spent on this faculty. Music is pretty bad.

Police Cop (Prithivi Raj) makes a futile attempt to arrest the criminal (Vikram). But in the process the police catches hold of his sister (Priyamani) and rapes her. She commits suicide with the insult. Then her brother kidnaps the Cop’s wife (Aishwarya Rai) to take revenge. The Cop goes in search of her and on the way he meets a suspended forest office employee (Karteek) who helps in quest for Cop’s wife. Finally they trace out the place and the Cop gets his wife back. But there is a surprise climax that cannot be revealed here.

Prithvi Raj is ok and Vikram steals the show. Aishwarya Rai is marvelous in her chudis, lecherous in sleeveless and angelic on a whole. Karteek is ok as Hanuman. Prabhu is ok as Kumbhkarna. Ranjitha has a brief presence.

To sum up, it’s the movie for patient audience but not for regular audience those tend to become patients watching this. It’s all much ado about nothing.

VERDICT : Not Upto 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