"TAKKARI" Movie Review
First things first. Takkari is a better movie than Amma Rajashekar's previous venture, Khatarnak. It is an old rich girl-poor boy format, predominantly a love story and a tit-for-tat rivalry between the girl's lover and brother (similar to the director's debut Ranam). The first half is good, and fortunately this time the second half is strong too. Nitin and Sada make a good pair, cast again after their combined debut in Jayam and look totally glam. The music is not bad, while the dialogue delivery, lip sync and background score could have been better.
Plot Tirupathi wants to start a business, but his father won't give him any money to invest. He falls in love with Priya, who is business magnate Guru's highly protected sister. Guru strikes a bargain with Tirupathi-leave his sister in return for money. Tirupathi agrees, and what happens to this love story is the rest of the movie.Story, Screenplay and Direction So Tirupathi agrees to take the money. That is partly surprising, but then it becomes predictable. To give the movie due credit, even if it is predictable, it remains entertaining. The direction and Nitin's performance improve as the movie picks up pace. Two songs, and Nitin's highly rehearsed steps and Sada's makeover is good.
Outsmarting the opponent is a really old theme, and all the tricks and gimmicks have been done to death. Yet Takkari retains some amount of freshness and it turns out to be a good youthful love story in spite of itself. Editing, dubbing and re-recording in the second half is not up to the mark. The beginning is shoddy. While striking the bargain, Nitin's dialogues are long and dragged unnecessarily.
Some interesting scenes are: when Tirupathi sells his father's land to Guru for a huge profit, Ali's role as a petty thief, when Priya finally returns Tirupathi's love, the scene where Tirupathi and Guru strike the bargain and the IT raid scene. Basically, these are the scenes which glue the movie together and make it worth watching.
Performances Nitin has gotten rid of his chocolate boy looks, and the makeover is good but not complete. Performance-wise, the director has extracted only some of his potential and he gives a repeat performance after Dil (which has a similar theme again). Skinny Sada shows a lot of skin, wears super glam outfits and pouts prettily. Sayaji Shinde is good and the timing Nitin and Shinde have together is good. Raghubabu as Shinde's secretary and Satyam Rajesh and others as Nitin's friends have been cast right.Music and Dance The songs are really loud and all of them are fast-paced dance numbers.
Last Word It's an enjoyable movie, with Nitin outsmarting Sayaji instead of Prakashraj this time. It has some new ideas and that adds freshness to an old theme.
End Credits
Starring:Nitin, Sada, Sayaji Shinde, Chandramohan, Sudha, Raghubabu, Satyam Rajesh, Ali, Venumadhav and Others.
Action: 'Gilli' Sekhar.
Art: AS Prakash.
Cinematography: Santosh RSV.
Dialogues: Marudhuri Raja.
Editing: Goutham Raju.
Music: Chakri.
Story, Screenplay & Direction: Amma Rajashekar.
Producer: Paruchuri Sivarama Prasad.
Presenter: Paruchuri Kireeti.
Banner: United Movies.
Release Date: 23rd November, 2007.
Labels: ali, chandramohan, nitin, raghubabu, sada, sayaji shinde, sudha, takkari, venumadhav
Plot Vijay (Suneel) wants to be a mimicry artiste, Prasad (Akash) is studying for IAS and Rohit wants to make it as a singer. All of them are living together in a room when Ganesh (Tarun) joins them. Ganesh comes to the city from the same village looking for his uncle and her daughter 'Ammu' whom he was to marry. His uncle's rejection disheartens him and he leaves without looking at his now grown-up Ammu. Meanwhile, he works hard to make money to fulfill his friends' dreams. He also makes other friends-Anjali (Priyamani) and Ankita. Anjali is in fact his very own Ammu but he doesn't know it. He and his friends work hard to reach their goals, and Ganesh selflessly helps them. How they become successful and whether or not he gets his love is the rest of the plot.
Performances Suneel's 'mimicry' is not convincing, because it has been obviously dubbed and not his own. But he still manages to hold the plot along with Tarun. Tarun arrived with a bang, like a rocket-but fizzled out exactly the same way. In no way is he any less talented than any of the other 'younger lot' but he needs good roles and characters. Akash remains stiff after his hiatus and Rohit suits his role and justifies his character. Priyamani stands out among the two female leads, stealing the show under Ankita's nose. Kota Srinivasa Rao does a good job portraying a cynic.
Reincarnation. The 70s Hindi film industry, with it's drama, the garish sets and costumes, the hamming, the romance and all the idiosyncrasies of that era. A junior artiste and his love for that era's 'Dreamy girl'. Cut to present. The rich, spoiled star son, a star himself, who suddenly remembers his past life. That's two Oms, and one Shanti for you. Om Shanti Om. Plus three complete 'Paisa Vasool' Songs. Total entertainment, and who cares if it's mindless.
Performances SRK enjoys himself. No other word for it. He has a great time, showing off all his skills, and I don't mean just acting. Everything-with a brand new six-pack abs, two different characters to play, and a lot to cry about. Plus, there's loads of music and dance. So he entertains, and how. Deepika Padukone does what is required of her, looks absolutely pretty and smiles to light up the set. Sheryas Talpade and Kirron Kher are very good in the first half, and their make-up cheats them in the second. It could have been better. Jawed Sheikh is rightly cast. Arjun Rampal does a good job (finally!).
Saawariya is based on Dostoevsky's short story 'White Nights' and is the launch pad of two star kids-Ranbir Raj Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor. Sanjay Leela Bhansali shows his technical expertise again, but little else. There are good things about Saawariya. The music, a good new find a.k.a. Ranbir and its short length. Yeah, that's about it.
Performances Ranbir Kapoor is very good for a first-timer. His voice, for some reason, sounds a little like Hrithik Roshan's and his laugh is like his inimitable father's. He dances well and performs with ease, but the director seemed to have asked for a lot of exuberance-which gets a little artificial at times. Sonam's role or character have not been worked on that much. It is limited and stifled, but she has ample grace and expressive eyes. Rani Mukherjee never disappoints. Salman Khan in a brief role suits his character. Zohra Segal is good.
Plot Nandini falls in love with Vamsi, a hair stylist, after he saves her from some eve-teasers. He rejects her but later falls for her when he sees how attached she is to her family. He stays with her family, consisting of her brother, sister-in-law and grandmother, trying to win her brother's approval. He is a leader in the Rayalseema district and people look up to him. Meanwhile, Vamsi's father is a 'resigned' justice-loving judge who spends two years selecting four girls for Vamsi. The two families seem impossible to convince, but how love wins them over is what the movie is about.
Performances Srihari looks well-groomed, confident and has amazing screen presence. He is one actor who has shown tremendous improvement as a performer. From entering movies as a trained gymnast to showing his caliber as an artiste, he has come a long way.
After a blockbuster Pokiri and a dismal Sainikudu, Mahesh's latest movie is Athidi. This is Surender Reddy's third flick after Athanokkade and Ashok. While the former seems to favor single word titles and the latter titles that begin with 'A', Athidi is better than both the actor and director's previous movies, i.e., Sainikudu and Ashok respectively. The first half is gripping and the second half has a lot of violence and twists.
Performances Mahesh is very good-controlled and consistent. He has obviously worked on the character, and that becomes a plus point for the movie. He has come a long way from his debut, and his voice modulation and body language show that. Credit must be given to the writer for creating a consistent character too, and for not entrusting him with too many dialogues.
Laaga Chunari Mein Daag is director Pradeep Sarkar’s second venture, after the successful Parineeta. Parineeta was a known story, but the performances, screenplay, art, music and the lead pair worked for the movie. Laaga...is a new script, but it’s an old story, and just too predictable. Parineeta was a Vidhu Vinod Chopra production, and this one is Yash Raj-somehow the difference becomes evident, with the same director’s taking being different in each movie.
Performances Rani and Konkona are the reason one manages to sit through the movie. They light up the screen and make the best of the shaky script. Abhishek Bachchan’s cameo is dumb, no other word for it. Kunal Kapoor is natural. Anupam Kher hams. Tinnu Anand and Sushant Singh have badly written characters to portray. Harsh Chayya and Murali Sharma are good. Tarana, Ninad Kamat and Suchitra Pillai do justice to their roles. Hema Malini’s special appearance is alright.
Tulasi is Venkatesh's latest release after two hits-Laxmi and Adavari Matalaku Ardale Verule. Laxmi has a feminine name, but it is one of the few movies of Venkatesh which has an ample dose of action. In that movie, Laxmi leads a sort of double life, where he can be violent and bash up the baddies, and then be a silent and strong boss. Tulasi is again a feminine name, a strong character, a double life of sorts. The screenplay in both the movies uncovers some twists at sudden junctures.
Performances Venkatesh has the film on his toned shoulders, and does a good job. Nayanatara and Venkatesh share a good chemistry on camera. The little kid is good enough, thankfully without trying to act too cute. Ashish Vidyardhi and Subbaraju do a good job. Ali is okay, Narsing and Uttej justify their roles and Ramya Krishna is convincing as Dr Surekha. Jhansi is a laugh roit.
Pellaindi Kani is EVV Satyanarayana's latest release, starring Naresh, Kamilini Mukherjee and Harish, re-entering after a long gap. Contrary to EVV's usual laugh a minute Aesop's fables, Pellaindi Kani is full of sentiment, mush and some more mush. There are a few one-liners and some light moments, but this is more like EVV's Ammo Okato Tariku than hits like Aa Okkati Addaku or his recent Kitakitalu. It's not bad, but that's the best that can be said about it.
Performances Naresh is inconsistent in the first half, but more convincing in the second. He gets into the skin of the character by that time. Harish is okay, and Kamilini is subtle. Bhanupriya is good, Kota and Krishna Bhagwan and their respective wives are typical. Sunil plays a well-written character after a long time. Harshavardan is good, making a spoof out of his own crime show.
Plot Jagan lands up in Kadapa at his police inspector uncle's (Ashish Vidyarthi) place, having to sign at the police station under some minor offence. He falls in love with Malathi (Priyamani), but to avoid him she tells him she is in love with the murderous Mallanna's younger brother (Ajay). The goon gets to know about it, and harasses the girl and interrupts her studies. Jagan plays savior and it's a fight to the finish.
Performances Vishal is consistent, but does nothing different from his previous flicks. Priyamani and Vishal do not look right together, and she has a role that requires her to do nothing but cry/dance. Ajay gives a good and convincing performance. Devaraj as Mallanna and Ashish Vidyarthi in a surprisingly positive role justify their roles.
The expectations and the hype surrounding Chiranjeevi's son Ram Charan and his debut flick Chirutha are phenomenal. After the blockbuster Pokiri and the highly successful Desamuduru, Puri Jagan is back with Chirutha. It's a revenge drama with a love story angle. The movie is average, with a done to death approach. Ram Charan does reasonably well for a newcomer.
Performances: Ram Charan's efforts have borne fruit. The expectations with which he has arrived are unfair, though his opportunities are obviously ample. He has made use of those opportunities-one cannot compare him to Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan or even cousin Allu Arjun. For a debutant, he has done well. His fights are excellent, though his dances are stiff even if he pulls off all the complicated steps. He doesn't look totally like his star father, and his mannerisms or style will need a few more movies to actually develop.