Dream: Get a Load Of This

Dream attempts to tell the story of a man suffering with delusional disorders while dreaming and with whatever means it has got, the film does an exceptional job at narrating the story. Here is one film that is not different just for the sake of it and does not resort to any unnecessary gimmicks to aid in the narrative. Bhavani Shanker hardly hits a wrong note during the film’s entire run time and this is no mean feat considering the offbeat subject he came up with. It is a pity that this film did not have a bigger release or a better PR campaign.

One of the major pitfalls that offbeat films in Tollywood never work after a point is that they run out of steam because they do not have a story to tell but Dream walks head held high among these because of the tight screenplay and hitherto unseen(in Tollywood again) treatment to the sequences. The shots are laboriously conceptualized and executed with finesse and an eye for detail while Rajendra Prasad owns the character and comes up with a winning performance. He may not always be comfortable in the attires the director chose for him but he brings forth all his experience and versatility in portraying a role that was totally unprecedented. This is not a tailor-made role for him but you can not imagine any other actor playing this role with such consummate ease

The idea probably could have been for a short film but it was commendably developed into a feature length without too many indulgences or unwanted songs. A bit of exposition is thrown every now and then into the narrative that might offend the purists but it would have been difficult to follow the story without it. The soundtrack has original records from a few Pop Singers and the background music is minimal but decent. Composition, framing and shot division by the director deserve a special mention for the efficient usage of film reel if not for anything else. In fact the success of this film might be a first step in making the directors moving away from the random, unnecessary cuts that are not at all pleasing on the eye but somehow have become a trend. The producers deserve a huge applause for their belief in a script that was not an instant money churner and their conviction in executing the film as per the director’s vision. Bravo!!!

Dream is a must watch for all the skeptics who never miss a chance to crib about the run of the mill stuff and lack of variety in Telugu Cinema. It is a story well researched and well told that deserves to be seen and seen quickly since it does not have much time at the theatres if the number of people who turned out today is anything to go by. This is totally worth your tickets, popcorn, parking fees and the additional service charge that the ticket vending websites might levied on you.

Dhenikina Ready: No DHEE. This

Dhenikina Ready is that sort of film that wonders what went wrong despite having all the ingredients in the earlier blockbuster in the same genre. True, the leads are not the most charming ones around but that cannot be the reason for a film to go wrong despite having almost the entire comedy clan in it.  A simple tale with easily resolvable complications and characters only too willing to change their hearts that have never budged for 22 years to accommodate love and relationships with generous amounts of comedy, the mandatory song, dance and fight sequence thrown in for good measure. That in a nutshell is Dhenikina Ready for you and as you have read this one is nothing new.

100% entertainment guaranteed is what the posters and the makers claim this film is going to give you but the entertainment unfortunately comes along with immaturely treated melodrama and badly placed songs. The director’s skill comes across as wanting in the way he treats the story as filler between humorous situations. Also, there are a good number of underwritten characters hogging ample screen time (Vennela Kishore, Subba Raju, Kota to name a few) adding little or no value to the overall experience of watching the film.

Vishnu is earnest in his performance and is confident throughout the film but unfortunately there were too many things that were out of his control. Hansika plays the arm candy with not much to do except, well nothing really. It is the acting in the film in general that acts as a saving grace, as everyone knows their act only too well. All the comedians are competent and seem to be having a gala time shooting the film and they even elicit a few laughs here and there. It would be anybody’s guess who walks away with honors at the end of the film. The screenplay credited to Gopi Mohan and Kona Venkat was just like every other film they have dished out till date. Marudhuri Raja’s dialogues still reek of EVV left overs and they even have a medley to spoof hit songs in probably a tribute to the master of this genre.

Music, stunts and choreography are nothing to write home about. They are just there to make the film comply with the length of a regular commercial Telugu film. There isn’t any production design to talk about since the entire movie was shot in less than 5 locations including the songs.

You can watch Dhenikina Ready if you don’t complain that it didn’t tickle your ribs enough.

Chittagong: Wrapped Up in Haste

Chittagong is that rare film which makes you feel that it needed a longer duration than what it contents itself with. For uninformed people like me, this film is a lesson on history and an important one at that about the uprising in Chittagong in 1929-1931 mastered by Suraiya Sen. Everyone calls him Master-da but nothing was made known about what he did or does in the film except calling shots and making plans in the revolt. Which should suit the narrative fine but there always will be some questions that need answers and we just cannot digest someone revolting against the British with a group of underage youngsters with no strong motive. True, there doesn’t have to be a reason to fight for freedom but we could have used a back-story.

The cast consists mostly of GOW (it was an AKPFL film alright) ensemble with Dibyendu Bhattacharya joining them in a delightful comeback and none of them can be accused of putting in a wrong note anywhere. However dialogues credited to Piyush Mishra weren’t as sharp as they were with AK films. Nothing stings a viewer like the film that does not realize its true potential and Chittagong has immense potential and ample scope for drama to make it a longer film but one cannot understand the haste with which everything was wrapped up. It was as if Bedabrata Pain was instructed strictly to make a 90-minute film while the events that enfolded during the period demanded more screen time and a grander canvas.  Shankar Ehsaan Loy also make a comeback as music directors and it felt good to listen Shankar Mahadevan lending depth in his inimitable voice to the situations the lead characters have to go through in their journey.

Pain’s screenplay was so economic that there was no possibility for a non-event but ironically it was not racy either. Things happen and we shift between timelines so quickly that it makes it so difficult to empathize or relate to any particular character. Bajpayee gets more screen time than others but his role was not written to arouse and the subtlety he lends to the character does not help either. The Queen’s men were the regular stereotypes we usually find in patriotic films of yore and have nothing much to offer apart from menacing looks.  

Despite it’s obvious flaws Chittagong is worth a watch for its credible performance s and the story it has to tell about the first farmer uprising in Bengal in 1945, which it claims to be the final nail in the coffin for the British Rule in India. It is not the rousing patriotic film that you have expected especially after tagging it to Anurag Kashyap but it is still a story well told with whatever the director has got to deal with.