Govindudu Andarivadele

Film: Govindudu Andarivadele
Cast: Ram Charan, Kajal, Prakash Raj, Sreekanth, Jayasudha, Kamilini Mukherjee, Rahman, etc.
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Director: Krishna Vamsi
Producer: Parameshwara Art Pictures
Release Date: October 1st, 2014
My Rating: 2.25/5

What's It About: 
Abhiram (RCT) lives in London with his doctor dad (Rahman) who is estranged from his parents Bullabai (Prakash Raj) and Babyamma (Jayasudha) He refuses to stay back in his village and moves abroad which causes friction between the father and son.Abhi plans to unite the family and travels to their village where he meets Bangari(Srikanth) his babai and Satya(Kajal) his maradalu. How he accomplishes his mission is the rest of the story

Artist Performances: 
Ram Charan looks funny with his pony tail and in scenes where he cries. This is a complete soft role for him ala Mahesh in Murari, NTR in Brundavanam. Kajal has put on a lot of weight and is limited to songs. Sreekanth emotes well in a grayish character with a funny shade. Prakash Raj and Jayasudha are excellent. Kamilini is adequate. There are no major comedians in this film and Krishna amsi's perennial favorite Ahuti Prasad is missing from the cast. Rao Ramesh and Kota are wasted.

This & That: 
The story is an age old one. K3G mixed with a dash of brundavanam and all the other family dramas that the telugu audience has seen over the years. The scenes were super predictable and to be honest it contained all the cliched story lines that people have made fun of. People in the theaters were walking up to smoke when songs were played and the tunes were outdated. That being said the film has some plus points too. The production values are rich and there hasn't been a Krishna Vamsi style family in films for a long time. While I am tired of seeing comedians being used and abused to create comedy in movies, the lack of comedy in the movie is striking.

Did I Enjoy It?
No, I was bored and the film did not hold my interest.

The final word:
Govindudu andarini copy kotti, audience andariki headache teppistadu.

Aagadu

Mahesh & Seenu Vytla are back after the stupendous success of Dookudu. I for one am one of the many who have had high hopes on this flick. How does it fare? Details below.


Film: Aagadu
Cast: Mahesh Babu, Tamannah, Rajendra Prasad, Sonu Sood, Nasser, M S Narayana, Bramhi and others
Music: Thaman
Director: Sreenu Vytla
Producer: 14 Reels Factory
Release Date: September 19th, 2014
My Rating: 2.75/5

What's It About: 
Shankar(Mahesh) is an orphan who uses his intelligence and aids a policeman(Rajendra Prasad) in nabbing some criminals. The policeman take him under his wing and educates him along with his older son. Due to some misunderstandings, they part ways and Shankar grows up to be a Circle Inspector who specializes in encounters. He is assigned on a mission to free the town of Bokkapatnam, from the crook Damodar(Sonu Sood) and he happens to meet Saroja(Tamannah) and falls in love with her.What happens next? The story is revealed in the movie.

Artist Performances: 
Mahesh tries another different accent in a role full of punch dialogues and brain games. He is brilliant in his comedy timing and looks amazing. He performs well in a light role. Tamannah has nothing much to do except provide some relief in the form of songs. She does not look good on screen and her makeup was garish. Rajendra Prasad is wasted in a minuscule role. Sonu Sood and Vennala Kishore do what they have done a million times in many movies. The same goes for Bramhi. Nasser and M S Narayana perform well and bring a lot of laughs.

This & That: 
The story is what you come to expect from a Sreenu Vytla movie. Hero tries to take revenge by using people and circumstances around him with the help of a scapegoat, which is mostly Bramhi. This formula can only be rehashed a certain number of times before it gets monotonous. What was one time considered Sreenu Vytla's strength has turned out to be his biggest bane and he needs to come out of it if he wants to continue to make successful movies. That being said, the film has its moments, Mahesh Babu using his own movie story lines to trick the bad guys into revealing their secrets was a clever idea. The whole game show scene with Posani was rib tickling. The ads used by Tamannah's family to publize their store were funny. The second half felt heavy and even the ever trustworthy Bramhi couldn't save the show, especially the dance medley in the climax which is best described as tasteless. The Deja vu feeling continues with the telefilm concept ala the game show in Dookudu. Music by Thaman is also a minus point. My picks would be Nari Nari and Bhel Puri, in which Mahesh tries some novel steps. The dialogue writer/s should be appreciated as they were full of punches and witty. However, too much of anything is always bad and the punches were so common throughout the movie that they lacked the impact. The item song by Shruti Hassan was average at best. The climax and interval back lack the much needed jolt and felt abrupt.

Did I Enjoy It?
Yes and No, The first half was good, the second half not so much.

Final Word: 
I wish that aagi different cinema teesunte aagadu inks bavundedi.

Tunes on Tuesday

A couple of weeks ago, I met up with a few of my friends and caught up on old times. While driving around town, we quickly got bored of listening to the latest chartbusters and started playing the evergreen favorites - 90's hits. I really believe that the 90's were the golden era of music for our generation. (No offense to the other decades). Maybe because that was the age when I was a child and I had a better memory. All things aside, here are my ten tunes for this week.

• Zara sa Jhoom Loon Mein; Movie: DDLJ; Language: Hindi
• Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast; Movie: Mohra; Language: Hindi
• Mohabbat Ki Nahin Jaati; Movie: Hero No. 1; Language: Hindi
• Gum Gumayinchu; Movie: Kodama Simham; Language: Telugu
• Prema Geema Tassadiyya; Movie: Rowdy Alludu; Language: Telugu
• Kuch to Bata; Movie: Phir Bhi Dil Hain Hindustani; Language: Hindi
• Indira Mandira; Movie: Govinda Govinda; Language: Telugu
• Mila Mila Merisenu; Movie: Nirnayam; Language: Telugu
• Priya Priyatama; Movie: Killer; Language: Telugu
• Tu Mere Saamne; Movie: Darr; Language: Hindi

These are my picks for this week. Until next week, Happy Listening!