Uu Kodathara... Ulikki Padatara

UKUP is making news for the multi star cast. Balakrishna and Manchu Manoj together in a project which was proclaimed by the lead actor as his dream project only raised the hype. Manchu Lakshmi makes her debut as a producer in her home banner. Let's see what this movie is about.

Film: UKUP
Cast: Nandamuri Balakrishna, Manchu Manoj, Deeksha Seth, Manchu Lakshmi, Sonu Sood, Prabhu, Suhasini, Bhanu Chander, Sai Kumar etc.
Music: Bobo Sashi
Director: Sekhar Raja
Producer: Manchu Productions
Release Date: July 27th, 2012
My Rating: 2/5

What's It About: 

Manoj is a dishelved, hippie looking guy who lands at Gandarva Mahal, a palatial bungalow which has been sublet to tenants by its owner Rayudu(Prabhu). He teaches all the pesky tenants a lesson with a cooked up story about his past and gets them to mend their ways. He helps Rayudu in the marriage of his elder daughter Vishala and falls in love with his younger daughter Jagadamba (Deeksha). Manoj is haunted by the spirit of Narasimha Rayudu (Balakrishna) Rayudu's father. What is Narasimha's story? Why is he haunting Manoj? What does Manoj have to do with the Rayudu's? All these points are tied up in the second half.

Artist Performances: 

Manoj looks bad. He performs well in the comedy scenes and the action sequences which he apparently choreographed himself. Deeksha Seth needs a lot of grooming and acting/dance lessons before she can consider herself an actor. She is expressionless and has no grace in the romantic scenes/songs. Balakrishna is the best thing in this movie and he must be appreciated for blindly following the director's senseless storyline. Veteran actors like Suhasini, Bhanu Chander, Sai Kumar and Prabhu are wasted in cameo roles which are not properly etched. Comic relief in the form of Dharmavarapu Subramanyam, Raghu Babu etc brought a few laughs. Sonu Sood and Ajay were miscast in unbaked roles. Lakshmi Manchu, my sincere suggestion to you is to please go back to doing sitcoms like Las Vegas, your wooden expressions and anglicised accent is better off in Hollywood. Please stick to talk shows and production.

This & That: 

Manoj said that this project is a dream of this. Well, it felt like a nightmare. Insipid and slow first half, followed by a long drawn out illogical second half makes me wonder if the three years that they took for pre-production really make sense? Story/Screenplay are very bad and dialogues and editing make it worse. No seamless flow of scenes and the interval point is plain abrupt. Music by Bobo Shashi is good in places. My picks would be Anuraagame Harathulaye and Adi ani Idi ani. Choreography is not up to par. I guess the producers were aiming at a grand film in the likes of Chandramukhi and Arundathi. While they had the actors, the sets and the budget they goofed up on the story and the treatment. The climax felt like it was a platform for Ms. Manchu to showcase her acting abilities. People were starting to fidget in their seats. I overheard some one say "Chandramukhi teeyalunukunte, Nagavalli ayyindi" I guess you can read between the lines.

Did I Enjoy It?

No, It was really difficult to sit through the second half.

The Final Word:
The 30 crores, big budgeted dream movie has turned into a nightmare!

2012 So Far - A Half Yearly Report

It's June! 6 months into 2012 already. I though it might be a good idea to put together a post of the movies in the first half of 2012 and see how they fared. Here's what I thought!

Film: The Business Man
Cast: Mahesh Babu, Kajal Agarwal
Director: Puri Jagannath
My Review: 3.75/5
Here

Film: Bodyguard
Cast: Venkatesh, Trisha, Saloni
Director: Gopichand Malineni
My Review: 3/5

What's Hot:

Songs by Thaman. Venkatesh's acting in the sentimental and romantic scenes. Comedy is good in Places.

What's Not:

No novelty factor as the story has been remade to death. Dragging screenplay in the second half. No story-line in the first half and a slow climax.

Film: Love Failure
Cast: Siddharth, Amala Paul
Director: Balaji Mohan
My Review: 3.5/5

What's Hot:

Good cast, Dialogues, Screenplay. The changes made to the story to adapt from a short film to a full fledged one.

What's Not:

Music could have been better. Very Urbane so does not sit well with audience who have a commercial frame of mind.

Film: Nippu
Cast: Ravi Teja, Deeksha Seth
Director: Guna Sekhar
My Review: 2/5

What's Hot:
Music in parts. Ravi Teja's acting.

What's Not:

Comedy, Deeksha Seth, outdated storyline and a sloooow screenplay.

Film: Ishq
Cast: Nitin, Nitya Menon
Director: Vikram Kumar
My Review: 3.25/5

What's Hot:

Nithin, Nithya Menon and Ajay's acting. Music by Anoop Ruebens. Cinematography by P.C. Sreeram.

What's Not:
Lack of Comedy, Slow paced film and an abrupt Climax

Film: Poolarangadu
Cast: Sunil, Isha Chawla
Director: Veerabhadram
My Review: 3/5

What's Hot:
Sunil's six pack abs, dances and fights. A few songs, comedy.

What's Not:

Deja-vu feeling in the storyline. Especially the Maryada Ramanna feel. No sync between scenes. Underplaying the villains by showing them in a comical light. Sunil's makeup in the climax fight.

Film: Mr. Nokayya
Cast: Manchu Manoj, Sana Khan
Director: Anil Kanneganti
My Rating: 2.25/5

What's Hot:

Manchu Manoj's acting. Climax, Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja.

What's Not:

No Story or cohesion in the first half. Slow paced 2nd half. Editing in places.

Film: Naa Istham
Cast: Rana, Genelia D' Souza
Director: Prakash Toleti
My Rating: N/A

What's Hot:
Pairing up Rana and Genelia.

What's Not:

Story, screenplay, music by Chakri, acting, you get the point. Everything.

Film: Raccha
Cast: Ram Charan, Tamannah
Director: Sampath Nandi
My Review:1/5
Here

Film: Dammu
Cast: N.T.R., Trisha, Karthika
Director: Boyapati Sreenu
My Review: 3/5
Here

Film: Gabbar Singh
Cast: Pawan Kalyan, Shruti Haasan
Director: Harish Shankar
My Review: 3.25/5
Here

Film: Daruvu
Cast: Ravi Teja, Taapsee
Director: Siva
My Review: 2/5
Here

My Picks for 2012 so far are The Businessman, Love Failure, Ishq & Gabbar Singh.

Bindaas

I have watched Bindaas a couple of weeks back but never got around to posting it. I had read earlier that the movie was a good watch and a complete entertainer and I was curious to see it. Here's what I thought!


Film: Bindaas
Cast: Manchu Manoj, Sheena, Bramhanandam, Jaya Prakash Reddy, Ahuti Prasad, Subba Raju & Others.
Music: Bobo Shashi
Producer: Sunkara Ramabramham
Director: Veeru Potla
Release Date: February 5th, 2010
My Rating: 3.5/5


What's It About: 

Mahendra Naidu( Ahuti Prasad) & Bhupati Naidu( J.P Reddy) are warring families. They both vie for a MP seat from the same party. For 25 years they keep rotating the seats and they want Mahendra to continue his post due to public support. In the chaos the follows this decision, Bhupati's brother- in-law is killed by Mahendra's family. Fearing a threat to his family members, Mahendra gathers them at his house. Ajay(Manoj) is Mahendra's brother's son whom everyone hates due to his jovial, fun loving nature. Ajay falls in love with Girija(Sheena) his maradalu. He learns of the feud between the two families and hatches a plan to unite them. How he proceeds in solving the problem forms the rest of the story.

Artist Performance:

Manchu Manoj always goes for a variety in his scripts and I like that about him. He is full of energy in the movies and has a fantastic comedy timing. He performs his own stunts and must be applauded for that. I had a feeling that he tends to imitate his father in dialogue delivery. Sheena is like a little girl and as the norms of the Telugu film  industry has nothing to do. Master Bharat & Vennala Kishore are hilarious. J.P and Ahuti Prasad are adequate. Bramhi, Sunil, Raghu Babu are nice.

This & That:

The story is not novel but the taking is. The film moves in a fun manner and there is comedy in 80% of the movie and that is what works for it. The humor is fresh and the actors play it well. I especially liked "muddu krishna pedda yedava" & "short skirt" scenes. Music by Bobo Shashi is nice and my picks are Girija, Entamma,Bindaas. Choreography is nice and Manoj does a good job in dances. The pre-interval part is very good but post interval it's very similar to Ready & Dhee movies. Climax is very cinematic and it could have been better. I was reading somewhere that this is Manoj's first sucess and he deserves it.

Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, It is a fun film to watch. You won't be disappointed.