Telugu Movie review - Khaleja

Credits:SaReGaMa rating: 3/5
Punchline: divinity - humanity
Genre: Action
Type: Straight
Banner: Kanakaratna Movies

Cast: Mahesh Babu, Anushka, Prakash Raj, Subbaraju, Brahmanandam, Rao Ramesh, Ali, Sunil, Archana (Veda), Tanikella Bharani, Shafi, Dharmavarapu Subramanyam etc

Music: Mani Sharma
Cinematography: Yash Bhatt
Editing: A Sreekar Prasad
Art (production designer): B Anand Sai
Fights: Peter Heins & Ram - Lakshman
Story - screenplay - dialogues - direction: Trivikram Sreenivas
Producer: Singanamala Ramesh Babu & C Kalyan
Release date: 7 October 2010
Theater watched: Screen 6, Prasads, Hyderabad

Story

The story revolves around a remote village in Andhra Pradesh plauged by a strange disease killing a lot of people. The soothsayer of the village predicts that God would come to their village for rescue. Meanwhile, Raju (Mahesh Babu) a cab driver in Hyderabad goes to Rajasthan to handover an insurance cheque to a man's family who dies in his car. In a strange situation, Raju meets a man from the village and gets to know about their problem. Soon Raju realises he is none other than the God-sent, the soothsayer predicted, and the rest of the story is all about how Raju takes up the responsibility to rescue the village from the clutches of evil.

Artists Performance

Mahesh Babu: Mahesh Babu who amazed everybody with his Uttarandhra dialect in his dialogue delivery in Pokiri this time uttered dialogues in Godavari dialect. He is simply superb in mouthing the dialogues penned by Trivikram. He is also exceptionally good in the action episodes and of course acting. You can see the hardwork he has put in for this movie on the screen. He changes his body language for this movie. His costumes are cool and he used scarf throughout the movie and it helped in Mahesh Babu look different. Mahesh Babu shed a lot of weight and looks extremely handsome in the movie.

Others: Anushka is good in the movie as an ‘iron leg’ lady. She has put on a little bit of weight compared to her recent outings. Prakash Raj is good as villain, but has a limited screen-time and has a conflict with hero only during the climax. Subbaraju is nice. Rao Ramesh is very good in a new get-up of a soothsayer and performed well with a controlled modulation. Shafi is fine. Tanikella Bharani, Dharmavarapu and Raghu Babu are adequte. Brahmanandam, Sunil and Ali entertain. MS Narayana is wasted. Archana did a small role. I fail to understand why Kota Srinivas played such minuscule role.

Technical departments

Story screenplay - direction: Khaleja movie has a divine element in it. Trivikram balanced the divine part of it by saying that there is a God in everybody and all we need is an intent to serve others. The aspect of killing village men by mixing toxins in water seem to have resemblance to that of Sahara (2005) movie. The entire first half of the movie is like a road-film where the hero and heroine bond with each other while traveling. The second half sports the main story of the movie. Trivikram is a terrific dialogue writer and he gave his best dialogues to Mahesh Babu in Khaleja. Trivikram has a class taste while conceiving comedy episodes and he made sure that there are many episodes of such nature in the movie. Direction of the film is good in parts and screenplay should have been more effective. The beginning point and interval bang are good. Trivikram couldn’t justify the second half with right content and tone. Trivikram should have ironed the script better and made it concise/effective. The unbreakable glass episode of the movie seems to have been inspired by Sabrina (1955) movie (especially lady secretaries dancing on the glass to test strength).

Other departments: Dialogues by Trivikram are huge asset to the movie. Music by Mani Sharma is good in three songs (Sadasiva, Taxi and Piliche). Though Yash Bhatt is the official cinematographer, parts of the movie were also shot by KV Guhan (Athadu) and Sunil Patel (Hum Tum). Cinematography is very good and there is a visual theme for the movie. Fights by Peter Heins and Ram Lakshman are excellent (especially the interval fight and pre-climax fight (checkout this trailer)). Editing is adequate. Production values are good.

Analysis: First half of the movie is entertaining though there is no story in it. Second half should have been better. Climax disappoints. Plus points of the movie are Mahesh Babu (terrific dialogue comedy and superb characterization) and Trivikram brand entertainment. On the flipside, the second half plays a spoilsport and movie lacks consistent tone. We have to wait and see how Khaleja works at the box office.

Telugu Movie review - Kalyan Ram Kathi

Credits

SaReGaMa rating: 3/5 Punchline: action-senti flick Genre: Family Drama/Action Type: Straight Banner: NTR Arts Cast: Kalyan Ram Nandamuri, Sana Khan, Shyam, Saranya Mohan, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Ahuti Prasad, Ajay, Sameer, Chandra Mohan, Brahmanandam, Dharmavarapu Subramanyam, Venu Madhav, Ramaraju, Raghu Karumanchi, Telangana Sakuntala, Satya etc. Music: Mani Sharma Cinematography: Sarvesh Murari Editing: Gowtam Raju Dialogues: M Ratnam Fights: Ram - Lakshman Story: Vakkantham Vamsi Screenplay - direction: Mallikharjun Producer: Kalyan Ram Nandamuri Release date: 12 November 2010 Theater watched: Screen 1, Prasads, Hyderabad

Review

Story Rama Krishna (Kalyan Ram Nandamuri) is a football player who aspires to play for national team. He lives in a joint family and bonds over well with his sister Haritha (Saranya Mohan). He protects her all the time. One sudden day she disappears. He searches for her finds out that she is married to a factionist from Rayalaseema. And she is in trouble. The rest of the story is all about how he sacrifices his aim of playing for nation so that he can save from her from her trouble. Artists Performance Kalyan Ram Nandamuri: Kalyan Ram has got two get-ups in the movie. He is normal in the first half and has a special get-up in the second half. Lot of appreciation should go to cinematographer Sarvesh Murari in bringing out starking variations between these two get-ups. Kalyan Ram’s dialogue delivery has improved by miles in this movie. And he is at ease in casual scenes and has impact-making presence in action episodes. Kalyan Ram is an honest actor and you can see his zeal to work hard towards it in this movie. Others: Saranya Mohan suited the role very well and she is a nice actress. Sana Khan is beautiful in looks and she did adequately well. Shyam is nice as a guy with negative streaks. I loved the make-up of Kota, Telangana Sakuntala and Ajay in this movie. Kota is extremely good. Ajay looks menacing with a damaged eye. Raghu Karumanchi is an actor who is good at comedy and you can find him in most of the movies of Surender Reddy and NTR. He entertains with his typical Telangana dialect and funny face in this movie for a brief time. Ahuti Prasad, Chandra Mohan, Dharmavarapu and Telangana Sakuntala are adequate. Brahmanandam entertains in the second half with his cellphone comedy as ‘swathi muthyam’. Technical departments Story - screenplay - direction: It is a sister sentiment movie with ample action elements. The ‘football player - joint family - sacrificing goal for family’ set-up seem to have resemblance to Chiranjeevi’s Vijetha. However, the story provided by Vakkantam Vamsi has a novel point in sister-sentiment thread. Screenplay of the movie is nice in the second half. Direction of the movie is decent though we expect the emotion to be more impact-making in scenes leading upto action episodes. Brahmanandam’s comedy and ‘naa daivam’ photo episodes will give relief in second half which is laden with action and sentiment. Other departments: Cinematography by Sarvesh Murari is excellent (a part of the credit should also go to DI team). Dialogues by M Ratnam are big asset to the movie. Fights by Ram Lakshman are really good and chase episode of a SUV rotating in air is excellently conceived. However, climax scene of sword-piercing look unreal due to the excessive size of the sword. Most of the action sequences (chases and fight in the builder’s home) are good. Music by Mani Sharma is adequate. I liked Natu Kodi koora song (typical orchestration that is used in NBK’s hits like Narasimha Naidu and Samarasimha Reddy). The movie is made with proper care in terms of production values and post production quality. Analysis: First half of the movie is adequate. The movie gets interesting from the kidnap episode. Second half is racy with lots of action episodes. The climax fight is too massy. The plus points of the movie are brand-new Kalyan Ram and technical values (dialogues, camera and fights). This movie is mainly aimed at female crowds (sentiment factor) and masses (action episodes and dialogues). Kathi is an adequate movie and the success will depend on how ladies and masses patronize it.

'Varudu' Review: Missed The Way To Do!

Film: Varudu Rating: 2.25/5Banner: Universal Media Cast: Allu Arjun, Bhanusree Mehra, Arya, Ashish Vidyarthi, Suhasini, Naresh, Vinaya, Nasser, Rao Ramesh, Sayaji Shinde, Ahuti Prasad, Brahmanandam, Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, Anita Chowdary and others Music: Mani Sharma Cinematography: R D Rajasekhar Dialogues: Thota Prasad Editing: Anthony Fights: Stun Siva Story, screenplay, direction: Gunasekhar Producer: D V V Danayya Release date: 31/03/2010 Dynamic director Gunasekhar has finally arrived after the debacle of ‘Sainikudu’ and this time, he took the concept of an authentic Telugu marriage and a mysterious bride, was he successful in appealing to the audience, let us see. Story:Sandeep (Allu Arjun) is a happy go lucky guy who is fun loving but very traditional at heart. He decides to get married in the traditional fashion of five-day events and 16 day celebrations. So much so that he decides not to see the face of the bride until the ‘Jeelakarra Bellam’ time. True to his idealism, even the bride Deepthi (Bhanusri Mehra) sticks to it. Just when they are about to get married, Deepthi gets kidnapped by Diwakar (Arya). Why does Diwakar do that? Does the marriage happen? What happens from there forms the rest of the story. Performances:Allu Arjun, given his highly energetic image, this comes across as a mild character which was etched out poorly so the flair of Allu Arjun is missing. He needs to work on his dialogue delivery as a lot of accent is surfacing. Bhanu Mehra is not worth the mystery. Barring the beauty spot on her chin and expressive eyes, there is not much from her in terms of glamour or performance. Arya has a strong screen presence and powerful eyes but then his role was not drawn properly and he was not used to the fullest potential. However, he brought some life to the movie at few places. Brahmi was waste, so was Ahuti Prasad, the others like Ashish Vidyarthi, Suhasini, Naresh, Vinaya were just for brand value and they didn’t have much to offer. Singeetam Sreenivasa Rao, the senior director did his bit as required. Lavakusha Nagaraju appears in a single frame.  Nasser was natural, Sayaji Shinde was brief, Rao Ramesh came and went. The other bunch of real time families and supporting artistes were there to fill the screen, that’s all. Highlights: CG Work in couple of songs Meaningless Aspects: Fight on twin towers (I visualized them so..somebody said they looked like Nuclear Reactors/ Gas Chambers) Truck carrying away the hero along with bike rubbing against the road with sparks…and hero safe and steady Hero running away with heroine along with Saline bottle in an action episode Analysis It is a laudable thought to come up with a presentation of an authentic Telugu wedding but the difference between a thought and getting it onto the screen is like chalk and cheese which is evident here. Gunasekhar has missed the way to do ‘Varudu’ impressively. The entire episode of 5-day marriage is covered in just one song out of which, the first Charanam appeared no less like an ‘Ammavari Jaathara’ on screen, the second charanam got covered up with computer graphics. Why the hero wants to go in for a pre historic style of marriage? Is it his idealism? Is it just a fantasy? The questions aren’t answered logically. There is forcible preaching with less convincing dialogues. Ultimately, what matters is the purpose the film is made at such exorbitant costs and what is the message it is trying to convey. Gunasekhar failed not just in the narration but also in conveying anything to the audience. His focus to bring about visual appeal looked more but he neglected the fundamentals like a strong script, deep content, and attention towards details. Cinematic liberties were used to the fullest and there were some absolutely ridiculous scenes which perplexed the audience at many points. Gunasekhar has always been revered as a brand and not just a director but it is with regret that he has lost it…and that too big time. The film might have a decent opening due to the hype created but given the budget involved; only ‘no-competition factor’ and the presence of Allu Arjun should save it.  Bottom Line: Could have been made carefully

Sexiest Daughter Of Famous Father

Usually, celebrity kids tend to be quite watchful of their image when in the entertainment circuit but here is someone who knows how to define herself. She is none other than the hot and raunchy sex siren Nandana Sen and this picture is one good example of why we have given those titles. With no holds barred, here is Nandana bending enough to show the deep valley of cleavage and along with that, there is an interesting artwork of Chinese tattoos which give that extra kick. The icing on the cake is the ravishingly red outfit which makes Nandana a rather delicious apple. As it is, her semi nude pictures from the film ‘Rang Rasiya’ have been giving sleepless nights to men and this is no less than an additional dose of Viagra. Nandana is known for her volcanic sex appeal and with this juicy cleavage show of hers, she has reiterated that fact once again.

Tarun's SEX With Hot Heroine

This is the still from the film Chukkalanti Ammayi Chakkanaina Abbayi. This hot still is making round sin internet. Sources say that the steamy sequences were shot in the most erotic manner but the audiences may not have the privilege of watching everything that was shot due to censor issues. This is Tarun and Vimala Raman, acting as if enjoying hot love making on bed. Indeed, sex is the culmination point in love making.

Hot Bomb 'Showing' Her Heart

She may not be a successful heroine but she is definitely a raunchy sex siren. She is Shamita Shetty, sister of the celebrity Shilpa Shetty. Here she is, opening the laces of her see-through top. Already, the tempting navel with juicy curves is making the men thirsty and one can imagine the tsunami if Shamita opens her laces. A deep valley of cleavage showing her jutting assets seems to convey only one message from the nymphet – “Let me open….and put you in the oven”.

Longest Lip Kiss Of Naga Chaitanya

‘Ye Maya Chesave’ is releasing tomorrow. The movie has got good hype as AR Rehman composed music, Goutam Menon directed and Nag’s son Naga Chaitanya playing lead. Another attractive feature in this film is the longest lip kiss was shot on Naga Chaitanya and Samanta and the censor objected it and 50 feet got removed. That is equal to some 2-3 minutes on screen. But still, the hot lip lock is there in the movie and it’s going to be a big treat for youth audience. Get glued to know the impact of that kiss. Nagarjuna said about this lip lock scene and smiled in his own style as a proud father.