Buzzing Movies

A guy living the life of an orphan. But with a background, a flashback, a history, whatever. Then comes outsmarting the villain. That's Vijayadasami. Now if you think you've heard this story before, then you must have. It is the case of old wine, new (?) bottle. The first half falls flat on its face, but the second half picks up pace. The movie has all the elements of a Masala potboiler, but lacks freshness. And the heavy Tamil influence is evident in the movie, which is a remake of the Tamil movie Sivakasi starring Vijay and Asin.

Plot Sivakasi lives alone, bashes up random goondas and runs a welding shop. He and Devi fall in love, but Devi's family wants a guy with a family for her. He reveals to them that he is in fact from a seemly background, and sets out to his ancestral home. As a child, a mischief that his elder brother did cost someone their life-and he had to take the blame for that. Banished from his household, he sets foot in his village 15 years later to a drastically different situation.

Story, Screenplay and Direction The first half and the 'romance' between Sivakasi and Devi is ridiculous. Moral of first half: If a guy tells a girl that she needs to cover herself up with a Langa Voni, then she will fall in love with him. If he is rude to her, and she comes to his house with a bridal attire to 'give' herself to him, he will fall for her. Points noted.

Now after this inane angle comes the brief flashback. This too doesn't comply perfectly with logical arguments, but then we wait for the second half. A long line of recent flicks have the second half on similar lines: from Gudumba Shankar, Aata (which is secretly a remake of Gudumba Shankar) and several others.

The second half has some entertaining parts to it. Some of the instances are there for the sake of the movie's progress and negate reason. The female lead's part is badly written and ignored for the most part. Saikumar is a villain, who generates some laughs whenever he is outsmarted.

Performances Kalyanram is a promising talent, no doubt. With 'Athanokkade', he arrived. And after that, the only improvement is in his dancing, but he's still a little stiff. Good energy, good looks-needs good roles. Saikumar makes a good villain. He dominates in the second half. Vedika is pretty, dances well and does a good job in the little screen time she gets. Jayasudha and Suman suit their roles as does Mounika as their daughter. Lakshmipathi as the MLA's stooge is good. Rajan P. Dev as Saikumar's father-in-law is typical.

Song and Dance The background score vibrates with energy, but is a little too loud. The first song 'Raara Raara' and the last song 'Are Kalyana' are peppy. Simran's special song [Cine Tara] is good.

Last Word Many movies have come out in this format. On its own, the movie lacks any special appeal. The first half is bad. The second half has some entertaining parts. Overall, old wine in a rather rusty old bottle.

End credits
starring: Kalyanram, Vedika, Saikumar, Jayasudha, Suman, Paruchuri Gopalakrishna, Srinivasa Reddy, Rajan P. Dev, Brahmanandam, Suman Shetty and Others.
Action: Stun Shiva.
Art: Nagendra.
Cinematography: C. Ramprasad.
Dialogues: Paruchuri Brothers.
Editing: Nandamuri Hari.
Music: Srikanth Deva.
Story: Perarasu.
Screenplay & Director: V. Samudra.
Producer: Edara Rangarao.
Banner: Sai Sarvajit Movies.
Release Date: 21st September, 2007.

Labels: kalyanram, review, saikumar, tollywood, vedika, vijayadasami

Posted by Raj at 6:47 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Hello Premistara is a love story with many twists and turns. It is directed by Rajkumar, produced by Puri Jagannath and stars his younger brother, Sairam Shankar in the main lead.

Plot Arvind and Nandini, a TV anchor, meet by chance and fall for each other. Her parents give the nod for the wedding, and all is well with the world. Except one thing-Nandini repeatedly meets Arjun, Arvind's unstable but identical half-brother and thinks him to be Arvind. Arjun falls for Nandini too, and will go to any means to get her for himself.

Story, Screenplay and Direction This is Shankar's third movie after 143 and Danger. It has reasonably good screenplay and for a first attempt, the direction is passable. Some characters like Arvind's absent-minded sister, his fun-loving friend (Suneel), Nandini's deaf father who, apart from providing some laughs, push the movie forward and are used well in the plot. The two contrasting characters, Arvind and Arjun, are well written.

What the direction-editing needed was some tautness. There is only one song that is both catchy and its picturization is good. And finally, Shankar could have done a better job, especially towards the end. Dubbing is out of sync is several places, mostly in the first half and in two songs.

The thing with movies like this-once we figure the story out, we know what's going to happen in the end. So the second half has to be strong. And Hello Premistara doesn't disappoint here. It doesn't drag, on the contrary, it runs, as though the director was afraid to let it drag even a little. With a hasty conclusion and a dash of humor, the movie ends with a signature feel-good appeal.

Performances Sairam Shankar manages to juggle two roles with some effort, and as Arvind, he suits the part very well. But he undeniably has a long way to go. Shiela is raw too, and does whatever is required of her. Chandramohan, Sana, Sudha as the parents are pros now as is Sudeepa as a comic little sister. Suneel gets to humor the viewers a lot, a task in which the dialogues help him immensely. Vijayakumar as a hapless grandfather is convincing.

Music and Dance 'Ninna Monna' is sure to top charts. The rest are mediocre to the core.

Last Word The movie certainly would have felt interesting in the scripting level. If the direction and main lead was better/with bigger names, then it would have been very appealing. But unfortunately, bigger names don't tackle subjects like this, which is a shame. They should. For now, this movie is watchable. A well-woven plot, average performances and middling music-nothing more or less.

End credits
starring: Sairam Shankar, Shiela, Chandramohan, Sudha, Sada, Vijayakumar, MS Narayana, Mallikarjuna Rao, Chiram Srinu, Suneel, Brahmanandam, Dharmavarapu, Srinivas Reddy, Ali, Gundu, Kallu Chidambaram, Bhuvaneswari, Sudeepa and Others.
Action: Ram-Laxman.
Art: Chinna.
Choreography: Raju Sundaram-Pradeep Anthony.
Cinematography: MS Bharani.
Dialogues: Rajasimha.
Editing: Marthand K. Venkatesh.
Music: Chakri.
Lyrics: Kandikonda.
Story, Screenplay & Director: Rajkumar.
Producer(s): Puri Jagannath.
Presenter: Dil Raju.
Executive Producer: Vaishno Krishna.
Banner: Vaishno Academy.
Release Date: 14th September, 2007.

Labels: hello premistara, sairam shankar, shiela

Posted by Raj at 6:42 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

For those who like comedy films, Dhamaal is a treat. If you've liked earlier Indra Kumar funny flicks like Masti, then Dhamaal is for you. It is also for a family audience, unlike Masti, which was full of double meaning mastis. Dhamaal, on the other hand, is a straight forward adventure comedy and stays that way from the beginning to the end. It has very few women characters, and no female lead! It is not an outstanding comedy, but it will pass almost 3 hours of your time easily.

Plot A gangster dies in a car crash, but not before revealing where he kept his money, to four unemployed youth. The inspector on his case is also after the money, and many people get involved in the 10 crore treasure hunt. And the adventure begins.

Story, Screenplay and Direction Dhamaal is inspired from movies like Rat Race and Road Trip. It is pacy, never drags, and the editing is slick. The characters, especially Javed Jaffrey with his lisp and the Parsi father-son duo, are fun to watch. The movie moves quickly enough and never loses focus-and therein lies its best point. There are no subplots that are unrelated to the main plot. Apart from a few duds like Raja, Indra Kumar has always managed give us decent movies that might not end up as blockbusters, but are definitely worth a watch.

Javed Jaffrey and Ritesh Deshmukh steal the show together with people like Arshad Warsi and Sanjay Dutt shouldering the movie. The script is strong, the comedy makes you laugh and the screenplay never drags. What more could one want from a comic flick? It does what it promises to do. It is illogical at times, but since it is more focused on the treasure hunt, it's not mindless slapstick.

There are many incidents which evoke laughter. A lot of them are on the promos. With many one-liners, comic characters and funny sequences, the situational comedy in the movie clicks. The scene in which the gangster dies, the air traffic controller played by Vijay Raaz and the scene where the little boy asks for all the money are among the highlights. One good thing about this movie is that there is no vulgarity, so families can watch it safely without squirming in their seats.

Performances Sanjay Dutt is consistent as is Arshad Warsi. Javed Jaffrey does Dhamaal here, after a long time (Salaam Namaste was the last). Ritesh Deshmukh is good, and his imitation of Sanjeev Kapoor is fabulous. Aashish Chaudhary is okay; his comedy is still raw compared to the others who steal the thunder under his nose. Vijay Raaz is fantastic as is Asrani.

Music and Dance Both the songs, one in the beginning and the other at the end, are not bad.

Last Word It's a forgettable movie, but one that you will enjoy throughout the screen time. Total Paisa Vasool.

End credits
starring: Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Javed Jaffrey, Ritesh Deshmukh, Aashish Chaudhary, Asrani, Tiku Talsania, Sohail Khan, Murli Sharma, Prem Chopra, Vijay Raaz and Others.
Action: P. Kumar.
Art: Bijan Das Gupta.
Audiography: Chiranjeevi Nanda.
Choreography: Ganesh Acharya.
Cinematography: Vijay Arora.
Dialogues: Bunty Rathore.
Editing: Sanjay Sankia.
Lyrics: Sameer.
Music: Adnan Sami.
Screenplay: Paritosh Painter-Balwinder Suri.
Director: Indra Kumar.
Producer(s): Indra Kumar-Ashok Thakeria.
Banner: Maruti International.
Release Date: 7th September, 2007.

Labels: arshad warsi, dhamaal, ritesh deshmuk, sanjay dutt

Posted by Raj at 6:35 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Darling is RGV's latest venture, starring Fardeen Khan, Esha Deol and Isha Koppikar. It is a strange mix of horror and comedy. The horror does not chill or thrill, but it has a ghost hovering around nonetheless. The comedy is not forced, and is more situational than anything else. RGV's forte lies in a few things-like framing a shot, bringing out the characters and introducing new characters as opposed to the regular stereotype.

For those who saw RGV Ki Aag and vowed never to watch an RGV movie again (or in fact, never to watch any movie again), here's breaking news: the maverick maker was 'experimenting', some things work, some don't. He hasn't really lost it, i.e., he hasn't lost his touch. Darling does not bring back the magic of his earlier movies, but it has brought back a trace, a shadow, a ghost of his unique style. Pun intended.

Plot Aditya is married to Aswini and has a son. He also has a girlfriend at work, Geeta, to whom he makes promises of marriage. When Geeta tells him she is pregnant, they fight and in a freak accident, he kills her unintentionally. She comes back and hell begins for him.

Story, Screenplay and Direction Geeta is not your regular ghost. It is not the usual in-your-face horror flick. Geeta the Ghost looks the same, talks the same and is as opaque as she was when alive. Manjeet in Bhoot and Geeta in Darling could not be more different. Whereas in Bhoot, Manjeet goes from righteous anger to blazing rage, Geeta starts off with a crazed temper and ends with a softer attitude. The climax is not clichéd.

The difference and the slight unpredictability of the screenplay work in the favor of the movie. The background score and the editing are pluses. The cinematography is good, and the dark tone is consistent in the movie.

Best Scenes: The scene where Aditya, his wife and Geeta are visiting Sameer in the hospital, Aditya's anniversary scene, Geeta's father coming to Aditya's house and all the scenes with the police investigating Aditya among others. Geeta's corpse is the scariest part of the movie, and the rest of the movie was not designed to scare.

The characters of Bhasker Reddy, a crime investigator and his unblinking assistant Malathi are superb. Sameer, Aditya's friend, again, is one more character that works. Kota Srinivas Rao cast in the role of a psychiatrist is just okay. But Reddy and his assistant, Sameer and of course, Geeta the Ghost make the movie.

Performances Fardeen Khan has a great role and a director who extracts performances out of his actors. He is really good in some scenes, while some places a better actor could have done wonders. That being said, he just justice to the role and fits the role of Aditya well. Esha Deol has finally bagged a role that she could do, and she does something with it. The character, the scenes and the timing seem challenging, yet Esha pulls it off like a pro. This could be the beginning of a new phase for her as an actor, but let's hope she hasn't peaked too early. Isha Koppikar has strong screen presence and is convincing as a housewife in the dark about her husband's meandering ways. Upyendra Limaye as a crime branch officer and his unnerving assistant Malati are fabulous. The same goes for Zakir Hussain who plays Aditya's friend Sameer.

Music and Dance 'Aa Khushi Se Khud Khushi Kar Le' is silly and the situation is unnecessary too. 'Tadap Tadap' is already topping charts.

Last Word This is not one of Ramu's best, but it is Paisa Vasool. Don't go expecting a Raat or Bhoot, as it's not a thrilling horror tale. But still, it has some good moments and is watchable.

End credits
starring: Fardeen Khan, Esha Deol, Isha Koppikar, Zakir Hussain, Kota Srinivasan Rao, Upyendra Limaye, Pubali Sanyal, Mukesh Bhatt, Shishir Sharma, Nisha Kothari, Promodini, Raghvendra Sharda and Others.
Action: Parvez Khan-PK Swain.
Art: Aparna Sud.
Background Music: Prasana Shekhar.
Choreography: Remo, Harshall & Vitthal.
Cinematography: Amit Roy.
Costumes: Shaheed Aamir, Falguni Thakore, Komal Shahani & Raghuveer Shetty.
Dialogues: Kusum Punjabi.
Editing: Amit Parmar-Nipun Ashok Gupta.
Lyrics: Sameer.
Music: Pritam.
Singers: Himesh Reshammiya, Tulsi Kumar, Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Adnan Sami & Priyad.
Sound: Kunal Mehta.
Special Composition: Himesh Reshammiya.
Story & Screenplay: Prawaal Raman-Kusum Punjabi.
Director: Ram Gopal Varma.
Presenter: Gulshan Kumar.
Producer(s): Bhushan Kumar-Krishan Kumar.
Banner: T-Series.
Release Date: 7th September, 2007.

Labels: darling, esha deol, fardeen khan, isha gopikar

Posted by Raj at 6:29 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Chandamama stars Navdeep, Sivabalaji, Kajal and Sindhu Menon-all of them relatively new, with little star value. It is directed by Krishna Vamsi, who has given huge hits and is one of the few directors who can draw audiences to the theatre on his name. Chandamama is one of those 'family entertainers', meaning it is clean, wholesome and has dashes of everything-humor, love, sentiment, characters and music. It is in the same boat as Murari or even his earlier blockbuster, Ninne Pelladatha. But it is on a smaller scale, meaning there is lesser star value, good but not record breaking music, sentiment but no extra doses of melodrama.

Plot Ranga Rao's (Nagababu) daughter Mahalaxmi (Kajal) finishes her studies in the city and comes back to her village. Her wedding is fixed, and the groom is Dora Babu (Sivabalaji), son of Ramalingeswara Rao (Ahuti Prasad). She confesses to him about falling in love with Kishore (Navdeep), a guy in the city, who apparently 'cheats' her. Dora Babu goes to the city to seek Kishore out and teach him a lesson. What he ends up doing is getting him to his village. A quadrangle involving these three and Rani (Sindhu Menon), Mahalaxmi's cousin is formed, and the confusion begins.

Story, Screenplay and Direction The story is quite simple; and very predictable after a point, especially the climax. The movie passes most of its screen time in some light humor, father-daughter relationship is in focus, Kishore's happy-go-lucky nature which creates most of the moments in the movie. You prepare yourself for a blast of melodrama during the climax, but it never comes. Remember NP or Murari? The climax has a lot of crying, screaming, shouting, sweat and blood. Here, none of that appears.

It's an old storyline and the conflict is seen in too many movies before. So many aspects of Murari are used here, including the village set up and characters. Sivabalaji's father, played by Ahuti Prasad and Kishore played by Navdeep are trademark Krishna Vamsi characters and hence fun to watch. The two lead pairs have done well and that's a plus for the movie.

The scene in the hospital with Sivabalaji and family, the first fight between Navdeep and Sivabalaji and Navdeep's constant stalking of Kajal when they first meet is entertaining. The incessant screaming (with glee) that both the girls do is off-putting, but then most of the heroines in Krishna Vamsi's movies do that (Tabu in NP). What all those foreigners are doing in a small village is anyone's guess.

Performances Ahuti Prasad's character and performance stands out in the movie. Nagababu is adequate, and it's possibly one of his better performances. Navdeep is convincing and is definitely one of the better actors in the younger gen. Sivabalaji is good, and plays his part well. Kajal is good and the rawness visible in her first flick has vanished. Sindhu Menon dances well and suits her role. Radha Kumari as Sivabalaji's grandmother is cast in a typical role and does a good job as does Uttej, as a singing wanderer in the village.

Music and Dance The music by KM Radhakrishnan is not disappointing and the picturization of three of the songs is good.

Last Word Nothing much really happens, and the two love stories and the slight conflict is dealt easily in the end, without too much hungama. The movie is simple, sweet and feel-good.

End credits
Cast: Navdeep, Sivabalaji, Kajal, Sindhu Menon, Nagababu, Ahuti Prasad, Uttej, Radha Kumari, Rajesh and Others.
Art: Srinivasa Raju.
Cinematography: Prasad Murella.
Dialogues: Lakshmi Bhupal.
Music: KM Radhakrishnan.
Story, Screenplay & Director: Krishna Vamsi.
Producer(s): C. Kalyan & S. Vijayanand.
Presenter: Rekha Combines.
Banner: Teja Cinema.
Release Date: 6th September, 2007.

Labels: chandamama, kajal, krishna vamsi, navadeep, shiva balaji, sindhu

Posted by Raj at 4:46 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Director Gautham is very good at moulding police subjects on the celluloid. He is also well-known among the Telugu audiences as he had directed 'Gharshana' with Victory Venkatesh as hero. It is no exaggeration to say that whenever the Tamil and Malayalam producers plan a police subject, the first to be consulted to direct the film would be Gautham and he had directed many top stars in Tamil and Malayalam.

Keeping all this in view that the director and Padma Shri Kamal Hassan are well-known figures in Telugu, KVV Satyanarayana and Sakhamuri Panduranga Rao thought of remaking a Tamil film 'Vettiyadu Velayadu'. In fact, the film is a typical investigative drama.

Another interesting feature is that over 90 per cent of the film was shot in New York. In view of the difficulties in obtaining permission from the authorities abroad and the financial difficulties, they had decided to dub the film and the film was released in Telugu on the name of the hero 'Raghavan'.

Raghavan (Kamal Hassan) is a sincere cop. Anand Raj (Prakashraj) was his senior and his best friend. Raghavan falls in love with Meenakshi (Kamalini) and some local goons kill her due to professional rivalry. Anand Raj helps Raghavan in taking revenge officially through encounters.

Later, Anand Raj seeks Raghavan's help in tracing his kidnapped daughter Rani. Raghavan investigates and finds that she was murdered. Later, Anand Raj and his wife leave for New York, where they also get executed. Raghavan goes abroad to collect their bodies and also investigate into the murder on behalf of India. He finds similar murders and continues his investigation with the help of a detective. Meanwhile, Raghavan comes across a girl called Aradhana (Jyothika) who was a divorcee and falls in love with her. During his investigation Raghavan finds that there two killers and could also find their names as Aditya and Sankar, who were medicos by profession.

They turn psychopaths and used to rape and kill gullible people. When Raghavan raids their house, they attack him and thinking that Raghavan would die, Sankar confesses everything about murders. Raghavan somehow regains his life. Fearing that the police would catch them, they both return to India and Raghavan also returns to India and eliminates both the killers.

Performance:

Kamal Hassan: There is no need for a special mention about Kamal Hassan's acting capability. He brings a sharp idiom to the role of a DCP who has to hunt to some faceless killers. He will always reach the expectations kept on him by the audiences. However, in the beginning of the film a little care was taken to show him glamorously but after an hour or so, the director did not take special care in his make up. He looked a little older just before the climax. However, he continued to show good ease in action scenes and other regular scenes.

Jyothika: Though there are two heroines, Jyothika had got a little more footage than Kamaline Mukherjee. She played the role of a divorcee. Her body language, performance and ease in showing the expressions on the face were undoubtedly superb. Like 'Chandramukhi', she had got a lot of scope to perform in this movie. Though the audiences get a doubt as to why she was introduced, they would realise that her assistance was needed in the climax to eliminate the villains.

Prakash Raj, Kamalini Mukherjee and others did complete justice to their roles.

Technical:

Camera, editing: The highlight in the film is the camera work by Ravi Varman. He gave a different flavour and feel to the movie. The angles are novel and keep you interested all through. It is technically superior, the edges are pared down to give a steely, glassy and yankee feel. The lighting is moody and menacing in turns, just the backdrop for an urban thriller. Another major plus point in the film is the superb editing. Editor Antony made the film quite interesting in easy and effective links.

Music: Harris Jayaraj scored nice tunes to the songs and they were equally good even in the Telugu dubbed version. At the same time, during re-recording, he took very good care while providing music to elevate the mood in an investigative police story.

Direction: Gautham's directorial abilities in exploring New York is really amazing. The film is slick and shiny all through with all the pauses and poise that such a script requires. The entire first half runs with a kind of typical detective subject. But in the second half, the director lost grip after the interval only to regain before the climax, i.e, for about 20 minutes. But for the boring 20 minutes the film is okay to watch. The director ensured the movement of the story in a novel way and in a 'Bond' kind of investigative film. The action scenes are quite stylish.

End credits

producers :	Sakhamuri Panduranga Rao and KVV Satyanarayana
Story, screenplay and direction:	Gautham Vasudeva Menon
Music :	Harris Jayaraj
Lyrics :	Veturi -Vennelakanti
Action :	Stun Siva
Editing:	Antony
Camera:	Ravi Varman
Dialogues:	Dasarath

Labels: jyothika, Kamal hasan, kamalini mukharjee, prakash raj, Raghavan

Posted by Raj at 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag is Ram Gopal Varma's interpretation of the biggest Indian Blockbuster ever-Sholay. His interpretation is dull, drab and dark. Repetitive value of Sholay is optimum, while enduring RGV's so-called 'interpretation' is different. Even if you don't compare it to Sholay, as a separate movie, Aag.. sucks.

Plot D-uh.

Story, Screenplay and Direction

Comparison with Sholay on basic levels: What stands out in Sholay are all the characters, dialogues, friendship between Jai and Veeru, intensity of the enmity between Thakur and Gabbar, background music for each specific character…the list goes on. Aag has badly written characters, bad casting, camera 'mad angles' direct from Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers, loud noises (background music) and no proper establishment of the plot or characters.

The basic plot is the same, with some changes. Ramgarh is now Kaliganj in Mumbai, with Babban instead of Gabbar. The title credit says 'Introducing Amitabh Bachchan' and Abhishek plays an unnecessary cameo. Rambha Bhai (Rajpal Yadav) and his 'Darling' in the first half is bearable, while Ajay Devgan with his 'Yes', Nisha Kothari with her 'Too much' is a bit too much.

Life comes a full circle for AB, who reached starry heights playing Jai, is now playing the most famous villain in India, Gabbar. When Amjad Khan played Gabbar Singh, it was his first major role and he cast a huge impression on the audience. After Gabbar, Shakaal and Mogambo, the only villain who will be remembered is Bhiku Matre (RGV's Satya). In that sense, AB is passable. His laugh, the soft growl, his gestures et al fail to make an impression post the first half.

RGV has a vision for the movie, and he sticks to this vision from the beginning to the end. Unfortunately, this vision is blurred and obscure. The forte of RGV is that he creates characters and makes many memorable moments in his movies-which Aag totally lacks.

Performances The whole focus is on Babban, played by AB. Compare him to Gabbar, Babban is a gimmicky villain. Look at Babban alone, AB is passable, which is sad, given that he has delivered some great performances recently. Mohanlal is good in whatever he does, except the Malayalam accent.

Ajay Devgan, for some reason, is doing one bad movie after another ( Cash) and one hamming act after another. Prashant Raj is surprisingly okay, but hardly has any visibility. Sushmita Sen has good presence but hams a little and takes herself too seriously. Sushant Singh as Tambhe is convincing as is Rajpal Yadav. Nisha Kothari, the less said the better. She gets a lot of screen space, and is intolerable. Ajay-Nisha pairing is bad.

Music and Dance Painful.

Last Word Hype, publicity, promotion, RGV's name and AB as Gabbar/Babban will get the crowds to the theatre. Tolerance, patience and anger management is necessary to endure this torture called RGV Ki Aag.

End credits
starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Mohanlal, Ajay Devgan, Prashant Raj, Nisha Kothari, Sushmita Sen, Suchitra Krishnamoorthi, JD Chekravarthy, Sushant Singh, Jeeva, Rajpal Yadav, Virendra Saxena, Gaurav Kapoor, Rasika Joshi, Anand Mishra, Sanjay Narvekar, Ravi Kale and Others.
Action: Pradyuman Kumar.
Art: Tina Dharamsey.
Background Music: Amar Mohile.
Choreography: Shabina Khan, Harshall, Vitthal, Ganesh Hegde & Justinn Bhatt.
Cinematography: Amit Roy.
Dialogues: Sajid-Farhad.
Editing: Amit Parmar-Nipun Ashok Gupta.
Lyrics: Shabbir Ahmed, Sajid, Farhad, Sarim Momin & Nitin Raikwar.
Music: Ganesh Hegde, Amar Mohile, Prasanna Sekhar & Nitin Raikwar.
Screenplay: Rahil Qazi.
Producer-Director: Ram Gopal Varma.
Banner: Adlabs Films Ltd.
Release Date: 31st August, 2007

Labels: Aag, ajay devaghan, Amitabh, ram gopal varma

Posted by Raj at 4:07 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

After Yamadonga, it's the turn of Yamagola Malli Modalaindhi, starring Srikanth and Venu. Smaller stars, less hype, more vulgarity and of lesser quality than its recent predecessor, Yamagola doesn't impress. It stretches Hindu myth and creates Yama Dharmaraju's grandson and Chitragupta's grandson, who are both friends. Their adventure on Earth is Yamagola.

Plot So Lord Yama's grandson and Chitragupta's grandson are entrusted the task of bringing a saintly young girl to Heaven/Hell. Yama junior falls in love with her and instead of taking her life, keeps saving her from fatalities. Gupta junior meanwhile wants himself and Yama junior to do their duties, so he plots to make her remove her rudraksha, her only protection.

Story, Screenplay and Direction It's the writer's own interpretation of mythology. Except it's filmy, vulgar and crass. All the celestial beings are ridiculed to an extent that all the previous myth movies could not reach. Sage Narada, previously called a 'meddler' is brutally reduced to being titled a 'broker'. There are perverse sequences involving him and a skimpily clad maid, perverted jokes on Indra and Lord Yama.

In Yamadonga (comparisons are inevitable), Lord Yama is shown seeking revenge, which itself defies his very character of being the epitome of justice. Creative liberties. Fine. In Yamagola, however, it's all down to a 'Tamasha' format, with all kinds of sexually laden, double meaning dialogues. The graphics are just okay, but Yama Lokam again looks the same since it's been seen in movies from 1932. There is one more common thing in both these movies-a powerful and holy protective locket. Inspiration might have been taken from Bruce Almighty and Matrix too.

In this one too, there are loads of gimmicks, but none of them really impress. Maybe it's because we see some repeat performances-NTR singing, along with Kamal Hassan's 'Indian' act, Allu Ramalingaiah in a Yama Lokam laptop device-you know, the works. Srikanth makes his hero-worship of Chiranjeevi clear. The fight sequences and Reema Sen's deaf parents' confusion gets a few laughs. These clichéd routines along with the dirty comedy complete Yamagola. Yama's soldiers speak in Telangana-why? Editing is jerky and the costumes are garish.

Performances Srikanth and Venu fit their roles and look convincing. Meera Jasmine is bubbly and bright. Reema Sen is okay. Krishna Bhagawan as Narada gets to mouth all the dirty lines, which he does so with much gusto. One wonders what Rajeev Kanakala's character was written for-he's wasted in the movie.


Music and Dance Songs keep popping up out of the blue and in the second half, they are really tiring.

Last word New characters and new concepts are novel but unconvincing. They don't stick to their own logic and their characters lack clarity. Narada, a scholar and a sage in Hindu myth, has been shown in worse light than ever. There's some dirty comedy, clichéd sequences. The comedy seems forced.

End Credits
Starring :Srikanth, Venu, Meera Jasmine, Reema Sen, Naresh, Kaikala Satyanarayana, Krishna Bhagawan, AVS, Chalapati Rao, Sivajiraja, Hema and Others.
Cinematography: Prasad K.
Dialogues: Satyanand-Dasari Brahmam.
Editing: V. Nagi Reddy.
Lyrics: Bhaskarabhatla.
Music: Jeevan Thomas.
Story: Srinivas Reddy & Frames Entertainments Unit.
Screenplay & Director: Srinivas Reddy.
Producer(s): Amar, Rajasekhar & Satish.
Banner: Frames Entertainments.
Release Date: 23rd August, 2007.

Labels: meera jasmine, reema sen, srikanth, venu, yamagola

Posted by Raj at 3:27 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post