Praveen Sattaru's Guntur Talkies

First things first. The promos are all wrong, there is not much of Rashmi Gautam in Guntur Talkies as the promos would have led you to believe, which is not necessarily a bad thing in itself, given how her character pans out. Secondly, there is a lot of filth you have to sit through, but you wouldn’t hold that against the film since the experience is generally rewarding for about 3/4ths of the plot.

Praveen Sattaru has truly come of age with Guntur Talkies and this is by far his most confident outing. The screenplay by Siddhu Jonnalagadda along with Praveen is smartly written and the acting is perfect by the lead pair Naresh and Siddhu. They share a great chemistry and for once the senior pro does seem to know what he is doing, and brings in a lot of expertise to the deliciously written role. It is a rewarding role for an actor at this stage of his career and Naresh pitches the character perfectly, the twitching eye and all.

The first half of the film celebrates its rawness with its richly detailed and tenderly nuanced portrayals of its protagonists. The day in their lives, the trials and tribulations and the works are notched up perfectly and the actors, as said earlier, revel in their roles. There are no unwanted songs and the background music does not intrude into the experience. The film takes its own sweet time getting into the plot, but no one complains since it is not everyday we see such charming self indulgence in Telugu Cinema, and it does have a story to tell too. Who would have thought?

Things get a bit down when the other players’ paths converge into that of the protagonists and the film feels like a, for the lack of better word, “film”. The other actors like Raghubabu, Tagubotu Ramesh, Mahesh Manjrekar, Shraddha Das, fine actors they are, seem too theatrical and out of place in this world.  The nuances and detailing go for a toss as a result, which is still fine, and even the second half does have its moments too, but they don’t all add up and the film falls flat on its face in a climax that can only be called unpardonable. Praveen Sattaru creates an intricate plot, but probably got too confused in his own creation, and chose to Mexican Standoff his way out of it all, which is a really really bad way to end what was otherwise, and until then, a very smart and good looking film.

Guntur Talkies warrants a stronger recommendation than what it gets now, which can only be attributed to its terrible ending, but it still remains the best film to come out of Tollywood this year so far.

Nag Ashwin's Yevade Subrahmanyam

I watched Yevade Subrahmanyam last night, and I can’t get it out of my head. 

On most days, I would have been a snob about the film and dismissed it straight away as being too predictable and clichéd, but I can’t seem to do that today. It has done something a lot of films that I liked immensely couldn’t do – to make me think, retrospect, ruminate, sulk, and become restless in general. Mind you, it has nothing to do with the film, or its acting, cinematography, editing, screenplay et al, in fact none of them impressed me, the film is not about any of them, nor is it about any life changing incidents or heart-tugging emotions, in fact the conscience, or the presence, of the film is felt much later. Long after I got away from the theater, I can’t shake off the discomfort clouding over me whenever I walk alone or have a moment with myself. I can’t seem to stop thinking about the movie, and the questions it raises. 

Subrahmanyam, the man reluctant to go on the journey of his life, is one of us who paid a lot of good money watching the film. He talks a lot of sense when he admonishes his friend about shedding responsibilities, choosing to be a nomad, helps a poor girl to his best of his abilities while ensuring that his new car doesn’t get spoiled, does not seem to do anything illegal or unethical in his plans to acquire the Ramayya company. Yet, he was constantly put in his place, talked down for being practical, calculating and ambitious, but when the big moment of his life kicks in, a chance conversation with a foreigner, everything changes for him. What exactly he has changed himself to is vague, something even the director seems to have no clue about, or left for our imagination. 

Frankly, it rings quite true, for anyone who is facing a midlife crisis will tell you that there are no easy answers for any of the questions your mind conjures up after watching Yevade Subrahmanyam. The film, as said earlier, takes a convenient route of a loveless marriage and a sparking love story, but the larger issues of existential dilemma are left for each of us to sort ourselves out. In that sense, the epilogue is more important than any of the incidents in the film, coz the real film starts the moment the actual one ends. Nag Ashwin can’t write it for us. We have to do it ourselves. 

I recommend Yevade Subramanyam to everyone for the sheer power of the film and the potential of what it may do to you, but be warned that once you watch it, you can’t unwatch it, how much ever you wish to do so.

Seetamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu: Preserve This

In many ways the Telugu Audiences deserved and earned Seetamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu with their belief and allegiance to Telugu Cinema. It seems like they are rewarded with one, which is just that. A proper and true Telugu Cinema. Not just because it is a multi-starrer. Oh, it is just an icing on a delicious cake.

SVSC offers rich and detailed insights into a middle class joint family in a village headed by a compassionate father, a dutiful mother and two brothers who could not be more opposite to each other than the two poles. However, it is the love for each other that binds the family together though no one is very vocal or dramatic about it. It is with the simple moments of this family’s journey through their quirks and inflated egos, Srikanth Addala delivers his message that humanity thrives on its inherent benevolence and the differences we have with each other in our daily lives should not stop us from helping each other in need.

Its ensemble with their stellar performances and belief in the director’s vision help the film hugely. Venkatesh brings in a lot of credibility and respectability to his underwritten role, which requires him only to sit and grimace for extended periods of time but when it matters boy, does he deliver. The scenes of his bonding with Mahesh and the camaraderie they share are likely to be etched in our minds for a long time. Anjali gets a meaty role and to her credit does not ham despite her rough edges. Jayasudha is a natural and her performance is a given but it is Prakash Raj who sticks out as a sore thumb. He is just not Tu-Go-Ji’ish enough to pull off this one. Samantha plays the girl friend and she appears star struck in the role and befittingly wins her trophy man towards the end.

But, the film most certainly belongs to Mahesh Babu who puts in one of the best performances by a leading man in Telugu Cinema off late. He has mastered the dialect and understands the demands of his role while appearing to be supremely confident with the material he is given to work with. Words fail and awe does not suffice in praise of his portrayal of the younger brother who stares at, reasons with and goads Venky (elder brother), flirts with Samantha (girl friend), acts playful with Rohini Hattangadi (Grandmother) and completely honest with Jayasudha (Mother). He is totally effortless with his one-liners speaking of which, they seem to have written a 1000 of them and decided to use the top 999 in the film. They added the last one too as an afterthought.

Anyone versed with Srikanth’s characters would know that he deals with people whom we can easily identify or run into in our lives. Here we face them in form of relatives, who try to know what you are up to without any real interest in it, a devious uncle and his son to scorn at your lack of wealth, kids trying to act more than their age to garner and the regular good-man to complete the experience.  In short the village atmosphere is created most authentically with a loving eye towards the paraphernalia. 

All of this is not to say that it is a perfect film, but it certainly is one that gives you something to carry home with. The flaws are mainly with its duration and the second half in particular which seems to be a repetition of all we saw in the first half. In it’s attempts to be simple, it comes across as naïve case in point being the Google Interview faced by Mahesh Babu where the panel asks him to smile from his heart.  A couple of unfortunate songs pop up which may test the patience of the audience and the music is not particularly great either.  Another minor squabble I had with the film is that all the women in it are surprisingly willing to be taken for granted by the men and seem to be enjoying it, but it is all done in good spirit.

A great endorsement of family values for our future generations. A Must Watch. 

Naayak: Formulaic

What does (a+b)² mean to you? Well, that’s Nayak for you. There goes one spoiler. Damn.

Even if I give away the entire plot with all the twists, chances are that you will still go ahead and watch the film. You might even come out enjoying it because the story is not the point at all. It is about how the whole works as a package and how faithfully Vinayak adheres to the success formula, which he had created himself. Going by the number of times he manages to tickle the ribs, one should say he has done well.

Nayak should not be judged on its intelligence because it is to miss the point completely. CCTV cameras record videos in HD, CBI officers drink on their duty and none of them have ever heard of any terms like DNA or fingerprints and the works. Its agenda is to make you laugh, laugh more and laugh harder. The film can boast of great performances by the support cast in eliciting guffaws through out its entire runtime. For a change it is Posani that spearheads the comedy track, Brahmanandam is his usual self and JP continues what he has done in Krishna. Together they make the film a fun-ride, one that you won’t mind despite its dangerous obsession with chopped limbs and severed legs. 

Ram Charan has done only four films prior to this but unfortunately he doesn’t have to do anything he has not done before. Kajal Agarwal and Amala Paul together have lesser screen time than Fish Venkat that is excluding the songs. If you include them, they come close. That does not seem a bad idea at all given how poorly their characters are written (or not written at all).

V V Vinayak looks uninterested in directing the action sequences but he gets his act right with the generous amount of comedy. The visuals are surprisingly tacky for such a high budgeted film and they could have certainly gone easy on that fish eye lens. Production design in Kolkata episodes is awful. All the songs are bad with special criticism reserved for Thaman’s Subhalekha Rasukunna, which is a brutal, terrible, Tarantinoesque murder of Ilaiya Raja’s classic.  

All in all a film which is targeted at the masses and plays it up to the galleries with numerous references to other stars in the family. There is not much to dislike and the film itself does not have any illusions of greatness.

Nothing to write home about. Ahh..well. 

Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum: Krish Can Do Better

Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum does not travel that extra mile to become the kind of cinema it deserved to be and contents itself with being a regular potboiler.  It is indeed a pity to see a story having immense potential go down as another run of the mill good vs evil with none of the evil forces matching the hero’s strengths, literally and otherwise. Considering there was no lack of resources in its execution and conceptualization, the output is hugely underwhelming.

Krish had vast and important material at his disposal but for some reason instead of working with it he choses to play it up to the galleries with unnecessary item songs, Brahmanandam and a hackneyed climax which does not serve any purpose other than allowing it’s lead to flex his chiseled body. Of what use to a cinema are all those brilliantly written dialogues if the happenings on screen have little or nothing to do with them. Even as a tribute to the Telugu Theatre and Surabhi Company this seems to be an incomplete film as it focuses too much on the irrational urge to avenge the baddies.  Towards the end of the film, there is a scene where Rana who plays Babu, the grandson of Surabhi Veteran feels that he does not deserve to be playing the eponymous drama Krishnam Vande Jagadugurum. But immediately after another dialogue (a brilliant one again, make no mistake) he transforms himself and changes his mind. Even to a stupid software engineer like me, this is not done. Sir.

All of this is not to say that KVJ is a bad film. In fact it is one of the better films that have been made this year and without a doubt a thought provoking one. But it is out of sheer frustration that Krish has robbed us all off a greater film, one that only he could have made. Krish the screenwriter has definitely let down Krish the director and Krish the dialogue writer.

Mani Sharma comes out with a thumping background score challenging the director to come up with equally powerful visuals and establishes himself all over again. Honors are also due to LB Sriram who captivates us with sheer understanding of his role. Here is an actor, who knows what was required of him and demands his attention from the viewers and the director as well, something which was found wanting in the protagonist, despite having a longer screen time.  

Krish has an interesting tendency to follow his leads in their journey tahrough the wakes of life to study their transformations, something that he has done brilliantly in Gamyam and reasonably well in Vedam with some of his characters. He follows the same pattern in KVJ with RaNa but his transformation looks more as inevitability rather than an effect of a cause.

KVJ ultimately is a film, which will be remembered for what it could have been rather than what it has become and that is a reasonable allegation.