Daruvu

Daruvu starring Ravi Teja & Taapsee is releasing today with no hype. The actors need a hit to salvage their sagging career graphs. This movie has been postponed umpteen number of times and the music hasn't appealed the audience. Here's how the movie fared.

Film: Daruvu
Cast: Ravi Teja, Taapsee, Bramhi, Gollapudi Maruti Rao, Jayasudha, Sayaji Shinde, "Vennela" Kishore,  Raghu Babu, Sushant Singh etc.
Music: Vijay Anthony
Director: Siva
Producer: Burugupalli Sivarama Krishna
Release Date: March 25th, 2012
My Rating: 2/5

What's It About: 

"Bullet Raja" (Ravi Teja) is a small time goon in Chennai, with a sidekick Khaja (Kishore). He crashes the engagement of Shweta (Taapsee) and her bava Harbor Babu (Sushant Singh). He falls for her and tries to catch her attention by joining in her dance class run by Vidya Balan (Bramhi); as with every story  the girl falls for him. Meanwhile, in Naralokam, Yama (Kaikala Satyanarayana) is growing old and appoints his son Yuva Yama (Prabhu) in his place. Chitragupta (M.S. Narayana) dislikes being held back in duty by Yuva Yama; plots to get Raja killed unjustly and tries to teach him a lesson. To make amends for his mistake, Raja is sent back to earth by Yama as Ravindra; home minister of A.P. who is a corrupt politician and also his look alike. Does Raja succeed as Ravindra? Will he marry Shweta?  All these threads are linked into the second half.

Artist Performances: 

"Mass Maharaja" Ravi Teja is extremely good in his characteristic comedy, dialogue delivery and acting. He performs well in the role that was given to him. Taapsee does not know how to emote, which in this case is unnecessary as she is merely a prop whose presence is required solely for songs. Bramhi is good as Vidya Balan. Raghu Babu is hilarious as Pavitrananda. Srinivas Reddy and "Vennela" Kishore are good as hero's sidekicks. Jayasudha, Sayaji Shinde, Sushant Singh are adequate. Prabhu looks bloated as Yama. Kaikala Satyanarayana's and Gollapudi's age is catching up on them.

This & That:

The major flaw of Daruvu is the story. The director had ample scope of turning the script he had into something different but he chose the off beaten track in this case. Outdated story lines, scenes and insipid sequences don't sit well with the audience today. The people sitting next to me were predicting dialogues and the next scenes. That being said, there were some very good comedy sequences and dialogues in the movie, especially the first half. Dhinka Chika, Yamalokam, Nimmakaya scenes are hilarious.  The overdose of sentiment in the second half spoils the tempo. Was calling Bramhi's sidekick "Nitya Menon" a jab at the actress for refusing this movie? Music is average at best. No song holds your attention and the placement a big mistake. They should have gone with Ravi Teja's favorite Thaman instead of Vijay Anthony. The climax is cliched. I liked the montage of all the old Yama movies. Ravi Teja should stop giving chances to second heroines in his earlier movies. It's not beneficial for him, they are second heroines for a reason.

Did I Enjoy It?

Yes & No, I liked the first half, there is humor but the second half killed it for me.

Last Word:
Ee Daruvu ki Sound Takkuva, sodhi ekkuva.

Vastaadu Naa Raju

Here goes my first review of 2011. Although the first movie I saw this year was Mirapakaya, I am posting this one first. Manchu Vishnu who has not received box office acclaim post Dhee has come up with a new venture. This movie has been produced by 24 Frames Factory which is Vishnu's own banner. How did the film shape up? My analysis follows.

Film: Vastaadu Naa Raju

Cast: Manchu Vishnu, Taapsee Pannu, Prakash Raj, Shiyaji Shinde, Bramhanandam, Ajay, Tanikella Bharani & Others.

Music: Mani Sharma

Director: Hemanth Madhukar

Producer: Manchu Vishnu

Release Date: February 11th, 2011

My Rating: 2.75/5

What's It About:

Venkattapa Naidu A.K.A Venky(Vishnu) is a wannabe kick boxer. Narasimha( Prakash Raj) is a local goom with political aspirations. He wants to contest for a M.L.A seat with the help of the Home Minister (Shiyaji). Ajay(Ajay), the home minister's son falls in love with Pooja(Taapsee) who is Narasimha's sister. Using the marriage of his son with Pooja as a bait for the M.L.A seat, the home minister fixes the alliance. In a series of misunderstandings, Narasimha and Venky's parents assume that Venky and Pooja are in love and Narasimha vandalizes Venky's house, breaks his sister's engagement and thrashes his kick boxing dreams. A furious Venky wants to take revenge and kidnaps Pooja. What happens next? Will Venky & Pooja fall in love? What does Narasimha do forms the rest of the story.

Artist Performances:

After a disaster called Saleem, Vishnu apparently took a long time in finalizing the next movie and I must say this movie is one of his better ones. He worked on his lisp and tried to better his performance. Yet, he needs to work further on his emotions especially in the action and romantic scenes. Taapsee is cute, has nothing much to do like all heroines in Telugu movies and there is nothing to write about her as far as acting performance is concerned. Prakash Raj, Shiyaji, Tanikella are adequate in the roles that they might have played time and again in all of their movies. Bramhi is hilarious, Satya Krishnan & Surekha Vani are nice. Ajay has nothing much to do, Ali's cameo does not add much to the climax.

This & That:

Hemanth Madhukar did a neat job for a debut movie. Story is not novel and neither is the taking but the humor somewhat makes up for it. Anjali Papa sequence is good. Satya Krishnan's track is another positive point in the second half. Music is by Mani Sharma and a couple of songs are nice. I liked the Sademiya & Hello Everybody. Choreography is ok. Vishnu tried to incorporate some new moves and I felt he lacks the energy for the steps. Climax is cliched. The first half was dragged in places and could have been edited differently. The film released with Gaganam, starring Nagarjuna. It's future depends on how well that movie performs at the box office. Hopefully it be an above average grosser and Vishnu might just get the success he is so desperately looking for.

Did I Enjoy It?

Yes, In places. Watch it with no expectations and you might just like the second half!