Ramayya Vastavayya

I have been waiting to watch this movie ever since the promos released and the songs have been playing non-stop in my car. NTR's new look, Harish Shankar's imminent hat trick, Samantha's golden leg along with Thaman's music all added to the expectations. Did the movie hold up to the expectations? The review follows.


Film: Ramayya Vastavayya
Cast: NTR, Samantha, Shruti Haasan, Rao Ramesh, Rohini Hattangadi, Tanikella Bharani etc
Music: Thaman
Director: Harish Shankar
Producer: Dil Raju
Release Date: October 11th, 2013
My Rating: 3/5

What's It About: 
Nandu(NTR) is a happy go lucky guy who happens to come across Akarsha (Samantha) and it's love at first sight. He follows her around, teases her and even gets close to her grandmother Baby Shamili (Rohini Hattangadi) to woo her. He finally impresses her and attends her sister's wedding. Her father (Mukesh Rishi) is a powerful man who faces a death threat. He promises to save him. What happens next? Will he be successful? All these questions are answered in the second half.

Artist Performances: 
I must say that NTR has lost oodles of weight and he looks very fresh and fit in this movie. He has been renowned for heavy/hard hitting roles but he is surprisingly very good as a tapori youth. His scenes with Samantha and his dialogue delivery make the movie much more interesting. Samantha looks great but doesn't really have much scope to perform apart from the songs. Shruti Haasan's cameo is good. Saikumar's brother Ravi acted well as an antagonist. Rohini Hattangadi was hilarious and so was Vidyulekha. I have to mention that there are no comedians in this film. Harish Shankar had once said that he doesn't need character artists to bring humor in his movies and must say that he has been successful in that front.

This & That: 
The dialogues are punchy and the songs are catchy! My picks would be O Laila & Nenepudaina for both their music and picturization. My favorites scenes are the diary sequence, the interval bang and NTR's scenes with Shruti Haasan. NTR has some good dance moves in this movie. The film looks very promising all the way up to the interval bang. Infact, even after the interval, NTR's scenes with Rao Ramesh are also worth mentioning. However, the movie goes downhill from that point. The flashback episode and the climax are cliched and you have a deja-vu effect. Harish Shankar had so much potential and so many factors working from him but he could not ulitize them to a maximum potential. The climax was a routine fare. Production values by Dil Raju were good.

Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, I enjoyed the first half and the comedy/punch dialogues in the second half. I felt restless during the tail end of the movie.

The Final Word:
Ramayya comes with an average fare. The holiday season might work in it's favor. Go watch it once, time pass flick.

Attharintiki Daaredi

I am sure telugu movie audience all over the globe have heard the news about the first 90 mins of the movie's pirated version being released over the internet.  There has been a tremendous pre-release buzz around this film as it repeats the super hit combo of Pawan Kalyan and Trivikram. How did the movie fare? My review follows:


Film: Attarintiki Daaredi
Cast: Pawan Kalyan, Samantha, Pranitha, Nadia, Bramhanandam, Ali, Rao Ramesh, Boman Irani etc.
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Director: Trivikram Srinivas
Producer: BVSN Prasad
Release Date: September 27th, 2013
My Rating: 3.25/5

What's It About:
Gautam Nanda (Pawan Kalyan) is the scion of the super rich Nanda family. His grandfather Raghu (Boman Irani) is pining for his daughter Sunanda(Nadia). She was disowned by him for marrying Shekhar(Rao Ramesh) a middle class lawyer against his wishes. He wants to re-unite with his stubborn daughter and pleads Gautam to go to India and persuade his aunt to forgive them. Gautam joins his aunt's house as a driver and meets her daughters Pramila (Pranitha) and Sashi(Samantha). What happens next? Will his family re-unite? Or will they throw him out o knowing his facade? These questions are answered in the second half.

Artist Performances:
Pawan Kalyan's mannerisms are fully supported by Trivikram's razor sharp dialogues. His comedy timing is top notch and he is aptly backed up by the support cast of ali and M.S. Narayana. His best pairing though is with Bramhi who entertains as "Bhaskar". Samantha performs well in a role that mixes innocence with humor. Pranitha is beautiful. Nadia is very graceful. I personally like Boman Irani's performance when he tries to convince his son that his pining for his daughter is justified.

This & That:
Trivikram's movies are known for their witty, rhyming punch dialogues and he is in full form in this flick. Pawan Kalyan's entry scene is good and the title song's flashback concept was unique.I loved the kevvu keka comedy track as well as the Gautam-Ahalya drama scene. I also enjoyed the scenes with Pawan Kalyan and his assistants who try to solve all of his problems with money. Music by Devi Sri Prasad didn't impress me much when I listened to the audio but they do grow on you once you watch them on screen. My picks would be the title song and bapu gari bomma. There is no novelty in the storyline, it is a simple story of re-uniting estranged family. However, the treatment, screenplay and the comedy track elevate the movie and entertain you. I've always felt that Trivikram's forte is his ability to handle emotions in a subtle format and the mild interval bang is an example of this. The film looks stylish and the producer must be appreciated for the rich production values.

Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, only because of the non-stop entertainment provided by the comic situations in the movie.

The Final Word:
The producer will walk to the bank smiling, the movie will do good business.

Eega

Undoubtedly one of the most awaited movies of 2012, Rajamouli's Eega has had nothing but positive buzz surrounding it (no pun intended!). Rajamouli has had an astonishing 100% success rate so far. He has teamed up with Nani, who is riding high as well as Samantha who also has a very tollywood innings. "Kiccha" Sudeep, a very popular Kannada actor makes his debut as a villain with Eega. Here's my review. 

Film: Eega
Cast: Nani, Samantha, Sudeep
Music: M.M. Keeravani
Director: S.S. Rajamouli
Producer: Sai
Release Date: July 6th, 2012
My Rating: 3.75/5


What's It About: 

Nani (Nani) loves Bindu who loves him back but does not reveal her feelings to him. Sudeep (Sudeep) chances upon Bindu while she requests some donation for her goodwill cause. Sudeep is shown to be a womanizer who kills his own wife for money. When Bindu does not fall for his charms, Sudeep kills Nani out of jealousy. Nani's soul enters a housefly (eega) and remembers his death caused by Sudeep. He is out to kill him and take revenge. How does Nani in the form of Eega kill Sudeep? Will Bindu ever find out about his re-incarnation? What happens next forms the rest of the story.

Artist Performances: 

First of all the star of the movie is Eega. Everyone else comes second. Nani has a cameo in this movie and he completely owns his character. I was wishing for some more screen time for him. Samantha is adequately cast and her chemistry with Nani is very good. Looking forward to their pairing in Yeto vellipoyindi Manasu. Kiccha Sudeep is marvelous as the villain and it looks like he dubbed for himself which adds to his characterization.The supporting actors were well cast especially Shekhar (The guy who plays Prabhas' friend in Chatrapathi) as Tandra.

This & That: 

Rajamouli is brave enough to reveal the story line of all oh his movies before they release, this one is no exception. Despite that fact, the movie needs to be watched to see the magic unfold in front of your eyes.The scenes where Nani reveals  that he is Eega to Bindu and how she helps him out in her own way are unique and well thought of. Special effects are on par with hollywood standards which elevates the movie on many levels. The background music by Keeravani adds tempo to the film. The logical explanation of the problems that Eega faces and how it overcomes it by using brains and Bindu's help have been nicely explained. The scenes where Sudeep is traumatized by Eega and his behavior in his client meetings are hilarious. The interval bang is solid and the climax is more solid.  The title song's picturization is a masterpiece. Rajamouli has been developing a knack for making his end titles song worth remembrance, the remixed track in this one too, does not disappoint. Nani should be commended for taking up this cameo, it will only elevate his position. Rajamouli should be given all the credit for taking a hollywood style animation movie and blending it with commercial elements and Indian nativity to suit the audience. I am sure that he will not be disappointed with the outcome. 

Did I Enjoy It?
Absolutely, I was rooting for Eega all the way!


The Final Word:
This "Eega"rly awaited movie is going to create a "buzz" at the box office!