Friday, October 12, 2007

Tulasi - High dose of violence.



Cast: Venkatesh, Nayana Tara, Sivaji, Ramya Krishna, Asish Vidyardhi, Jaya Prakash Reddy, Rahul Dev, Ravi Babu, Riaz Khan, Tanikella Bharani, Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao, Ali, Raghubabu, Jhansi & Shriya (item song)
Music: Devi Sri Prasad Dialogues: Paruchuri brothers Action: Kanal Kannan & Ram Lakshman Story: Boyapati Seenu & Akula Siva
Producer: SureshScreenplay - direction: Boyapati Seenu
CBFC Rating: U/ARelease date: 12 October 2007

Banner: Suresh Productions (Pvt) Ltd.

Story

Tulasi Ram (Venkatesh) is an architect. He comes from Palnadu - the region of faction feuds. He leads life far from the factionism and he falls in love with a co-tourist Vasundhara (Nayana Tara) in Europe. They like each other and get married. Then it is revealed that Tulasi comes from a family of factionists and he has an irresistible violent streak running in his blood. They bear a child and then Vasundhara keeps Tulasi away for his violent ways. The rest of the story is all about how he reasons out with his wife to get his family back.

Artists Performance

Venkatesh: Venkatesh is pretty good as Tulasi. His comedy timing and accent in the scene in which he imitates Jhansi is hilarious. The way he bites his tongue when is he is angry shows the typical angry expression of Palnadu area. He is very good in action sequences in the second half. However, it is appalling to see such a sensible actor like Venkatesh accepting to act in a climax scene that appears so inhumane (kidnapping a dieing kid).

Others: Nayana Tara did a meaty role where she has scope to display both glamour and histrionics. The kid Atulit is pretty cute. Sivaji did the role of heroine’s brother. Shriya did an item song. Jhansi’s comedy as Kokapeta aunty is good. There are eight villains in the film, but the screen time spared for them is minimal. Asish Vidyardhi succeeded in portraying cruelty. Ramya Krishna did a doctor role. Ali’s comedy is bland. Raghu Babu did a typical comedy sidekick role.

What makes stand out in the film are action sequences..

1. Venkatesh taking up sword to teach a lesson to the baddies who insulted his father
during the Z.P elections is awesome. It is best action episode we have seen in the
recent times.
2. Hospital scene where Venkatesh tells the secret about the child. It is sentiment scene
that makes you moist-eyed.
3. Pre-interval action episode is also good.

Flip Side

1. Too Many villains. Viewers confuse as to who the main villain is.
2. Routine drama
3. Last twenty minutes dragged on.

Sources or Shades of other films

1. The child sentiment and the clash between Venky and Nayan has shades of
Chiranjeevi's Daddy.
2. The romantic scenes on Venky and Nayanatara in foriegn is similar to that of Jayam Manadera

Story - screenplay - direction:

Like all Venkatesh's films, Tulasi too relies more on sentiment and romance. Apart from them, we have good action sequences in this movie. The director could not establish love feelings in the story, but succeeded in creating high voltage action drama in the flashback episode shot in Seema. The director chose to show the softer side in the first half and violent angle in the second half.
Akula Shiva who has written Venkatesh's blockbuster, Lakshmi, has given the basic script for this film. So we can easily spot the similar situations here too. Yet, the director puts all the commercial ingredients at regular intervals and makes the film interesting. Venkatesh makes you cry in some sentiment scenes like in all movies. That's enough for success for his movies.
On the flip side, the last twenty minutes, 'excess drama' kills the pace and makes you get sulking. There are also some glitches too.

Other departments:

The songs of the film are good though each one of them is a rehashed version of Devi Sri Prasad’s own music. Background score in action sequences (‘we will rock you’ bgm coupled with Chatrapati and Stalin kind of hero background music) is good. Cinematography is alright. Dialogues are adequate. The are couple of scenes in this film that appear abrupt due to inadequate editing. Action sequences are well choreographed. The makers tried to blast various vehicles in flashback episode to excite masses.

Analysis:

First half of the film is mediocre. Second half is better. But the climax of the film is inhumane. The plus points of the film are Venkatesh and the seema flashback episode. The negative points of the film are excessive violence in second half and inconsistency in the story narration. The commercial success of the film depends on how masses embrace this film.
Especially in B and C centers, it will make good profits. Venkatesh makes you cry in some sentiment scenes and he also shines in action episodes. That works to the advantage of the film. On the whole the film is paisa vasool.


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Thursday, October 11, 2007

Sobhan Babu, Krishna back again in a film

Sobhan Babu and Krishna reigned over the box office for decades. They acted in several films together like Mundhadugu which churned out money at the box office. Even though Superstar Krishna continued his film career, Sobhan Babu kept himself away from the films for quite sometime. As per the sources, now Sobhan Babu and Krishna will appear in a film together.

This is a surprise element in the film and the makers are tight lipped about it. The wait is not long to catch the two actors on screen. The film is gearing up to release shortly.



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Chiranjeevi to Launch Shelter for 'Handicapped'

Megastar Chiranjeevi has actively been participating in Social Work and Charity work through his Chiranjeevi Charitable Trust. Under this trust, Blood and Eye banks are running and helping the needy.

Now, megastar is planning to begin a shelter or ashram for physically handicapped.
He wants to build a place where they can lead a happy life and have good education. Chiranjeevi revealed this to a media channel.


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Mega Star Chiranjeevi's 149th Movie



It is well known fact that in the combination of V V Vinayak and Mega Star Chiranjeevi the film TAGORE broke the records of Tollywood. It was a sensational hit with a nice message given to the people. After a long gap once again they are coming together to break one more record.


There was anticipation from the people about the Chiranjeevi’s next film after SHANKARDADA ZINDABAD. Moreover there was news that Chiru is going to act in Krishna Vamsi direction.


However, now it is clear that Chiranjeevi has given green signal to V V Vinayak to make one more block buster movie. By this Chiru’s completes his 149th movie. It is known that at present V V Vinayak is making a film with Ravi Teja. After completion of this film Chiru’s film will comes to the sets.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Chirutha- Good Entertainment but Weak Story




Film: Chirutha
Cast: Ram Charan Teja, Neha Sharma, {rakash Raj, Asishi Vidyardhi, Surya, Pragati, Venu Madhav, Ali, and others
Music: Manisharma
Cinematography: Sam K Naidu
Editing: Varma
Action: Vijayan
Art: Chinna
Produced by: C Ashwini Dutt
Banner: Vyjayanthi Movies
Story, Screenplay, dialogues and directed by: Puri Jagannadh
Release Date: September 28, 2007
CBFC Rating: U/A

Story:
Charan’s (Ram Charan) father (Surya) gets killed by a gangster Mattu Bhai (Aashish Vidyarthi) in his childhood. His mother also gets severely injured in the same attack. He happens to go behind bars putting the crime on his head for saving his mother with an expensive surgery. He stays in jail for 12 years and then comes out. He learns that his mother was died when he was in jail. He moves to Thailand with the advice of his uncle. There he joins in a travel agency in Bangkok. He happens to escort a rich girl (Neha), the daughter of a rich man Kartikeya (Prakash Raj). He falls in her love by looks but very soon notices that she is arrogant, proud and adamant. He dilutes all her negatives and fills love in her followed by some action episodes. The climax is very well understood. It’s about how he puts an end to Mattu Bhai and quenches his revenge- and how he wins the rich man’s daughter.
The first question on every mind would be is how Chiru son looked on the screen? And the answer is - Ram Charan passes the muster in his maiden movie. He is good and looked extremely confident in his first film itself. He has screen presence. Like his father, he has scored big way in dances and action sequences. In all the songs, his steps evoke claps from Megastar's fans. For a debutant, this is a big achievement. Ram Charan as hero scores. Charan also has an agile and well-built body that will help him in the future. He is hero to stay. But he also should concentrate on dialogue delivery.

Performances
Apart from, Ram Charan, Neha Sharma also debuts in the movie. She plays the role of a super rich brat and she is shown in mostly mini skirts or minimal clothes. She is sexy but due to her clothes she looks lacking 'heroine material'. Prakash Raj does the role convincingly. Ashish Vidyardhi, Surya, Brhamanadam, Dharmavarapu are okay. Ali as a transvestite brings laugher.
Sam K Naidu's camerawork is eye-catching. The island scenes are panoramic through his camera. With each film, he is giving best quality. Editing is not that neat. Vijayan's action choreography is advantage.
Puri Jagannadh this time also fails in dialogues and his screenplay and direction is anything but praise worthy. Producer Ashwinidutt's production values are rich.

Ram Charan Has:
Good Base Voice
Body language of Pawan Kalyan to 60% , Chiranjeevi up to 30% and 10% of his original
Dances are good with some Chiranjeevi’s grace
Macho look is unique and interesting
Bearing and boldness and more than sufficient
It’s the film that stood on the shoulders of Ram Charan completely, Yes, the reference of Chiranjeevi or Konidela is not all used in the film. But the biggest blemish is story line and screenplay. How Puri could come out with that outdated formula introducing the son of a big hero? There is no twist, no turn and no suspense element. Everything is very much in the anticipation limits of common audiences. The second half is adopted from ‘Kaho Na Pyar Hai’…the island, the love…the same! First half has some good elements with the introduction scene of Ram Charan. The punch in sound, the perfection in digital effects and the expertise in other technical aspects of the film are felt well.
The entertaining aspects in the film are Ali’s comedy and Dharmavarapu’s rib tickling dialogues. MS Narayana also spilled enough laughs while Brahmanandam is not used properly, Venu Madhav has o big role to play. Music is mass appealing and the songs
1. Ososi Rakasi..
2. …Gundello Goli Maro score the top of all songs.
On a whole the film is for the fans and general audience may not relish much as the story point scores less. Puri would have taken better care in story and narration aspect to fill in that gap. The production values are really excellent

Standouts..
The climax fight and songs stand out in the film. Last 15 minutes is an asset. As always for a Puri film, Ali's comedy works out in its favour.

Analysis:
At the outset, the eagerness of the audience is to know about Ram Charan Teja’s performance. Well, there is no Teja in his name. It’s just mentioned ‘Ram Charan’. He did it. He proved that he has that in himself. His dances, his looks, his voice, his fights and over all performance are good. It never appeared that it is the first film of Ram Charan. He has definitely got brightest future.

Bottom-line
Chirutha showcases megastar's son Ram Charan's abilities rightly. He has good screen presence and good at dances and actions. Hence he might win the hearts. Despite weak script and not so innovative taking, Ram Charan gets noticed.

Happy Days- Movie Review



Cast: Sandesh, Nikhil, Vamsi Krishna, Raahul, Tamanna, Gayatri Rao, Sonia, Monali Chowdary and Kamalinee Mukherjee (in a guest role)Music: Mickey J MeyerArt: Kishore ChowksiCamera: Vijay C KumarEditing: Marthand K VankateshExecutive producer: AnishStory, screenplay and directed by: Sekhar Kammula Release date: Sept 28, 2007 (in USA) Oct 2nd (in India)

What's it about!
It is all about laws of attraction. In an Engineering College, a group of youngsters - Chandu and Madhu, Appu and Rajesh, Tyson and Sonali, Sangeeta and Shankar - attract to each other. The film is told in Chandu's point of view but it mostly deals about love, jealous and campus comedy. That's it.
Analysis
Sekhar Kammula is one of the few directors in Tollywood who handle movies very sensibly. He makes films that centre around urban middle class. He treads similar path with Happy Days too. This time he focuses on a gang of college youth and their love stories. Hence the subject is very clichéd. Yet, Happy Days scores largely on three points - the fresh casting (you relate to this young talent), music (Mickey J Meyer has given superb songs) and catchy visuals. Sekhar Kammula brings life to the film post the interval by creating a mood. Dialogues - colloquial and casual - are another advantage.
In fact, the script completely hinges on the dialogues and characterizations of the young leads. You can say it is his version of Dil Chahta Hai. The format is same except the situations and characters. You can also see influence of many films on several scenes.
On the flip side, it is very slow paced and nothing newness in the story. First half is weak.
There are too many mistakes and some of the scenes are very artificial. A Proddutur boy speaking Telangana dialect, Lagaan type cricket match, Srikakulam born boy finally giving speech in English, giving conclusion as a message oriented film - are some of the jarring points in other wise neatly made movie.
Performances
Except Tamanna, all are new faces and the casting has brought freshness. All the actors have done exceedingly good job. Especially the guy who played Rajesh (Nikhil), Tamanna, Rahul who played Tyson role, Gayatri Rao and Sonia excel. They are very likable and are natural in their expressions and performances. The lead hero Sandesh (who played the role of Chandu) has done nothing but mimic hero Siddardh. So, we have Jr Siddardh here! Sekhar's muse Kamlinee Mukharjee too appears in the film as a sexy teacher. She is so glamorous and dubs her own voice.
Technically, it is music director Mickey J Meyer who steals the limelight. His tunes and the recording are excellent. Songs are not in regular style and even the picturisation of songs by the director are praise worthy. Vijay Kumar has brought cool look with his bright color scheme and wide angle shots. His work is great. This is his best work so far.
Sekhar Kammula scores as writer especially in dialogues. But his script is too weak.
Bottom-line
Sekhar Kammula has brought another sensible movie with Happy Days. It might not be totally fresh story but it entertains and scores big way in many departments. Watch it for time pass clean entertainment.

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Sunday, October 7, 2007

Chirutha - 12 crores share in first week

As per sources, Ramcharan's debut film Chiruta collected close to 12 crores share in the first week. It is a rare feat for any debutante. Though Chiruta received average talk, collections at the box office are pouring up. Thanks to the hype and curiosity among Mega fans about Ramcharan.

There was a bit of confusion about the first week shares as the producer of the film, Aswini Dutt, announced the first week share as 8 crores. A day later, he clarified the total share to be approximately 12 crores.



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Puri Jagan - Ravi Teja’s Neninthe

Puri Jagan who delivered three blockbusters Itlu Sravani Subramanyam, Idiot and Amma Nanna O Tamil Ammai with Ravi Teja as hero is all set to direct another film titled ‘Neninthe’. Puri Jagan will also produce this on his Vaishno Academy banner.

The shooting of this film starts once Puri Jagan completes his venture ‘Bujjigadu Made in Chennai’ with Prabhas as hero. Puri Jagan will also produce this on his Vaishno Academy banner.



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