Friday, February 27, 2009

Actor Allu Arjun’s next from 21 March

Shooting of Allu Arjun’s next film in the direction of Guna Sekhar will start on 21 March in a set erected in Ramoji Film City. A new heroine will be introduced through this film. Mani Sharma composes music. Shooting of the film will be complete by August. DVV Danayya produces this film on Universal Media banner.

Tollywood Summer Movies

This summer season will kick start with Prabhas'a Billa release on 27 March. Bala Krishna's Mitrudu will release in April. Ravi Teja's Kick will be released on 1st May. Ram Charan Teja's Magadheera will release in the month of May. Allu Arjun'a Arya II and Naga Chaitanya's debut film (Josh is the title under consideration) will be releasing in June. NTR's Adurs and Siddhardh's Oy will also release during this summer.

Sushanth's Current talkie part complete

Talkie part of Sushant's latest film Current is complete now. Action part of the film is currently being shot by Kanal Kannan. Sneha Ullal is doing female lead. Devi Sri Prasad composes music. Surya Pratap makes his debut as director with this film. Chintalapudi Srinivs and Naga Suseela produce this film. Current will be releasing for this summer.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam Movie Review

Movie Credits
Banner: Lakshmi Narasimha Productions
Cast: Siddhardh, Tamanna, Prakash Raj, Ramya Krishna, Nassar, Samrat, Karuna, Sudha, Brahmanandam, Venu Madhav, Hema, Surekha
Music: Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Background music: Mani Sharma
Lyrics: Sirivennela, Chandrabose, Ramajogayya Sastri
Cinematography: Vijay C Chakravarthy
Dialogues: Abburi Ravi
Editing: Srikar Prasad
Screenplay: Vikram Siri - Deepak Raj
Story - direction: Kishore Kumar Parthasani
Producer: Nallamalupu Srinivas (Bujji)
Release date: 5 February 2009

Plot

Siddhardh is a playful youngster with no emotions. His parents get separated in his childhood and he stays with his mother. He falls in love with Geeta (Tamanna) who comes to Hyderabad from a village. When she introduces him to her father (Nassar) he says the he would give the hand of his daughter to him if Siddhardh unites his parents. The rest of the story is all about how Siddhardh unites his parents (Ramya Krishna and Prakash Raj).

Artists Performance

Siddhardh is lovable in the role of a youngster. His emotions in the drinking scene are nice. His costumes suited him well. Tamanna is good as the girl who is torn between her father and her lover. Prakash Raj got lot of dignity to the role of father character he portrayed. He is excellent. There is a scene in which he acts like Robert Di Nero by saying ‘Aren’t you proud of me?’ three times (There is a famous ‘are you talking to me?’ episode in Taxi Driver film). Nassar is fair. Ramya Krishna is just ok in the role of doting mother with an attitude. Karuna and Samrat are adequate as buddies. Brahmanandam is good in most of the scenes (especially when he listens to ‘yeem’ in phone during Geetanjali spoof episode). Venu Madhav is good though his comedy is of mass type.

Technical Departments

Story: Story of the film is nicely divided into two parts. The first half is about two youngsters falling it love and hence it is targeted to the youth. The interval block is about heroine’s father putting a condition. The second half is about the couple uniting the parents of hero which is targeted towards the family crowds. The whole film is based on the point that Prakash Raj and Ramya Krishna are separated. The reasons for the separation are not effectively established in the film. Hence the basic foundation of the entire film appears flimsy.

Screenplay – Direction

Screenplay of the film is adequate. Direction of the film is good in parts. The narration is very slow. The director did well in second half while handling emotional scenes. But he could not get it right when it comes to the romance aspect in the first half. He should be commended the way he integrated the songs into the film. The thread of ‘crossing marks on the people you dislike’ (‘flushing the photo in toilet’ from Jab We Met?) is interesting. Vankai curry thread is also good. The characterizations should have been more consistent. Both Siddhardh and Tamanna characters in second half behave little amateurish from the scene when they quarrel about Geeta’s surname.

Other departments

Songs scored by Shankar Ehsaan Loy are excellent and they are picturized well and placement is perfect. Songs are so good that they dominated the story narration in the film. Lyrics by Sirivennela and Chandrabose are good. Mani Sharma’s background score is nice in the second half. Cinematography by Vijay C Chakravarthy is excellent. Dialogues by Abburi Ravi are neat in the second half. There are sentiment-oriented dialogues like ‘Evarikaina problem vaste amma nanna daggaraku veltaru. Amma nanne problem aithe?’ and Trivikramish lines like ‘nenu kaalu tho break veyyaledu, jaalitho break vesa’ (Brahmanandam). Editing by Srikar Prasad is adequate. Producer Nallamalupu Bujji should be commended for trusting his technicians and making this film with high technical standards.

Final Word

First half of the film is average. Second half has got emotional content. The plus points are excellent songs and emotions in second half. The negative point of the film is slow-paced narration (2:50 hours runtime). The scenes towards climax appear prolonged. On a whole, KIKK is an okay film that is targeted towards family crowds. KIKK is not a film for the morning show crowds. It is more targeted towards second show crowds (family crowds).
Source:idlebrain.com

Friday, January 16, 2009

Arundhati Movie Review

Movie Crew

Banner:Mallemala Entertainments
Cast: Anushka, Sonu Sood, Deepak, Manorama, Sayaji Shinde, Kaikala Satyanarayana, Ahuti Prasad, AnnapurnaMusic: Koti 
Dialogues: Chintapally Ramana
Cinematography: Senthil Kumar 
Visual effects: Rahul Nambiar 
Editing: Marthand K Venkatesh 
Story – screenplay: Mallemala unit 
Direction: Kodi Rama Krishna
Producer: M Shyam Prasad Reddy 
Release date: 16 January 2009

Plot

Arundhati (Anushka) belongs to Gadwal samsthanam in 1920’s. She is known for her bravery in saving the Samstanam by killing Pasupathi (Sonu Sood) an evildoer who creates ruckus in that place. She is praised as Jejemma (named after the famous Goddess in that area). But the spirit of Pasupathi haunts that place. Another girl is born in the same lineage after 3 generations and she is named as Arundhati. The spirit of Pasupati is after Arundhati to take the revenge. The rest of the story is all about how Arundhati puts an end to the evil spirit of Pasupathi.

Artists Performance

Anushka: This is Anushka’s first performance oriented film and she is simply amazing in two roles. There are many shots in the film where the scenes from the present time will dissolve into to flashback and vice versa. These scenes are done on Anushka are crucial in the film. She has to show the variations between the old Arundhati and new Arundhati. She did exceptionally well with subtle yet impact creating performance. Shilpa and Sowmya dubbed the voices of old and new characters respectively.

Others: Sonu Sood looks deadly in the role of Aghora. His performance is excellent. A special mention should be given to P Ravi Shankar who dubbed the voice of Sonu Sood. It is a great opportunity for any dubbing artists to get a role like this. The way he pronounces ‘ninnu vadalaa … vasta .. vasta’ is extremely good. Sayaji Shinde got a beautiful role ‘Talla Sayibu’ in this film. He is completely believable in that role. Manorama is very good. Deepak is nice. Satyanarayana and others are good. All other artists are appropriately cast in their roles. 

Story - Screenplay - Direction
Story of the film is good. Screenplay is very good. The beauty of this screenplay is about revealing the story and information in parts. There is always something to look forward to with anticipation in the film. It possesses one of the best screenplays in the recent times. Direction by Kodi Rama Krishna is very good. However, there are a couple of violent scenes that are disturbing to the family crowds. You can see a few Hollywood inspirations like Lord of the Rings, House of Flying Daggers (dum dance), Final Destination 1 (car - train episode). A couple of episodes (the thread of drum dance by the guru & establishing Arundhati as the warrior) should have been more effectively established. 

Other departments

Visual effects and graphics done by Rahul Nambiar are extraordinary. Cinematography by Senthil Kumar is excellent. Background music and rerecording by Koti is brilliant. The songs in the film go with the flow of narration. Art direction by Anand Sai is first-rate. Make-up work is good. Editing is smooth. Digital Ingredient (color grading) is very good. Production values of this film are extravagant.

Analysis

First half of the film is excellent and the second half is good. The plus points of the film are performances, screenplay, technical values and grandeur. The only negative point I see in this film is violence (got an A certificate from censors), which is very much required for the film to be effective. After a long time, I watched a Telugu film that has both content and technology rightly mixed to give a vibrant output. Arundhati is a film which you can proudly show it as a Telugu film to all your non-Telugu friends. And it will live up to the adjective of ‘Magnum Opus’. Two thumbs up to Shyam Prasad Reddy for making a brilliant film. Don’t watch it on internet or pirated DVDs. Arundhati is a film that must be watched in a good theater with nice sound/projection system.
Review Source:idlebrain.com

Maska Movie Review

Movie Crew

Banner: Sri Sumanth Arts
Cast: Ram, Hansika Motwani, Sheela, Sunil, Mukesh Rushi, Pradeep Rawat, Naresh, Brahmanandam, Paruchuri Gopala Krishna, Dharmavarapu Subramanyam, Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao, Ali, Krishna Bhagawan (single scene?), Ali (single scene?), Gundu Hanmantha Rao, Telangana Sakuntala, Seeta
Music: Chakri
Cinematography: Sekhar V Joseph
Editing: Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao
Lyrics: Kandikonda
Fights: Ram Lakshman
Story: Surya
Direction: B Gopal
Screenplay - Producer: MS Raju
Release date: 14 January 2009

Plot

Krish Jagarlamudi (not the Gamyam director, but hero Ram) is a spoilt brat who looks for shortcuts to earn fame and money. Unable to clear his graduation and get a job, Krish plans to love and marry a rich girl Manju (Sheela) who is going to USA. In the process he meets another girl Meenu (Hansika Motwani) and really falls in love with her. The rest of the story is all about when both these girls come to know about the cheating nature of Krish. There is also a political twist to the story.

Artists Performance

Ram: After Devdas, this film gives an oppurtunity to Ram to portray the entire gamut of emotions. His dances are amazing in Hare Hare Rama (1st song) and Bagdad Gajadonga (last song). He moves his body like a spring in those songs. He handles comedy department exceptionally well with the right dialogue delivery and diction. However, we do notice an uncanny resemblance to the body language of Pawan Kalyan in Ram’s performance. 

Heroines: Hansika Motwani did a traditional character in this film. She is pretty good. The fans of Hansika will have a whale of time in ‘Kalloki Dilloki’ song where she wore a micro mini skirt (with a low angle camera). Sheela who looks pretty traditional did the role of temptress in this film. And she is extremely glamorous with liberal exposure of her dusky skin.

Other actors: Sunil did a full-length role in this film after a long gap. He is extremely good and provides lot of entertainment. After doing Kokapeta Aunty in Tulasi, Jhansi has done another entertaining role that speaks in Nellore slang. Brahmanandam did the role of a kidnapped doc and he is just average. Introduction scene of Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao is good. One does not understand what Krishna Bhagawan is doing in this film. He has one insignificant scene with a single dialogue. Ali is also wasted. Mukesh Rushi, Pradeep Rawat, Naresh, Dharmavarapu and Telangana Sakuntala are adequate.

Story - Screenplay - Direction
Story of the film is provided by Surya. He judiciously mixed a triangular love story with an action backdrop. Screenplay of the film is considerably good. MS Raju borrowed the Vaali screenplay where hero shows a photo of a girl to tell the story to heroine and the girl in photo meet hero in real. The thread of conversing in numbers has got good commercial payoff in the second half. The direction by B Gopal is decent in the first half. There is a bit of lag in pre-climax scenes. The hero shifting his love from Sheela and Hansika should have been shot more efficiently. The villains are projected as the most dreaded till climax and they are shown in the positive light at end. Hence there is no commercial payoff for the action/mass part of the film. 

Other departments: Music by Chakri is good. The picturization of the songs is excellent. But the director could not place these songs effectively into the film. The choreography for 1st song (Hare Hare) and last song (Bagdad Gajadonga) by Prem Rakshit is pretty cool. Cinematography is nice. The locations in 'Kalaganna' song are good. Dialogues by Paruchuri brothers are good. They wrote nice comedy one-liners as well as good mass dialogues. Production values by MS Raju are grand. 

Analysis
First half of the film is handled well and provides entertainment. You can see B Gopal kind of mass elements in the second half. The movie goes slow towards the climax of the film. The plus points of the film are Ram and first half. On the flip side, there is a bit of lag in the last half an hour of the film and more clarity is needed in love triangle. On a whole, Maska has got entertainment elements that might work at box office.
Review Source:idlebrain.com

Fitting Master Movie Review


Movie crew
Banner: EVV Cinema
Music: S Chinna
Cinematography: Prasad Babu
Fights: Ram Lakshma, Vijay
Story, Screenplay, Production, Direction: EVV Satyanarayana
Cast: Allari Naresh, Madalasa Sarma, Shayaji Shinde, Sudha, Chandramohan, Saira Banu etc
Release Date: 14th Jan 2009

Story

Sampath (Allari Naresh) is an orphan who works in a gym center. He hates love between a young man and young girl and keeps on opposing that in public. This catches the attention of an arrogant rich girl Meghna (Madalasa Sharma) who challenges her friends that she could pull him in love and make him a puppet around her. Her attempts fail all the while. Then she falls in his love in real. But still he denies her. Then Meghna takes the help of her brother to convince Sampath. In a surprising incident when Meghna's brother approaches Sampath, latter kills the former. Why he killed? What are his motives? That forms the rest of the story. It ended up as an age old revenge drama.

Artists Performance

Allari Naresh didn't leave his trade mark style of dialogue delivery and instant punches but since the film happened to be a serious flick, the scope for humor is less. But Naresh got a scope to portray seriousness and revenge this time.

Madalasa Sharma is like any other Mumbai girl. She has delivered average performance. She is there for glamour in full dose indeed.

Chandra Mohan and Sudha are there for melodrama and Saira Banu is there for a long pathetic episode. Sayaji Shinde maintained mannerism of singing songs from old films as per situation.

Others are just ok. Music is above average a couple of songs 'Tappusodara..', 'Vennelavo..' really pleased the ears.

Dialogues by Tadi Balaram and Satish Vegesna are apt and rightly grooved in.

Appearance of lyricist Vanamali before a song in his real-time character is interesting.

EVV has chosen an outdated narration, although the subject is universal.

Analysis

It's like tasting sour in the name of sweet. The title 'Fitting Master' with Allari Naresh in it would obviously give an impression that it is an out and out comedy entertainer. But it is not so. It's blended with melodrama, weeps, shouts, fights and all sorts of ingredients that a serious film possesses. Although the maker of the movie attempted to give a message to today's youth those are falling in love and marrying without the consent of parents, the title and expectation didn't match. It is true that audiences those love to laugh on the occasion of festival will walk into theatres to watch this film. But they will be disappointed for watching a serious movie with scattered comedy.

And it is not a film for Allari Naresh, at this juncture. Although EVV tried to bring an image make over for Naresh, this film didn't serve the purpose as it's made with obsolete content.

The film may get some initial mileage in B, C centers but on a whole it cannot be considered a wholesome entertainer.