"ARUNDATHI" Movie Review
Pasupati (Sonu Sood) is a tormented soul, stabbed, locked up in a room built over him with absolutely no space for air to move in. He is the nephew to the King of Gadwal and is married to the king's eldest daughter. A man of vices he indulges in a gruesome rape and murder of a blind dancer who comes to teach his young sister-in-law Anushka. Anushka watches the crime and orders his killing when her sister commits suicide unable to live with him. Pasupati is buried alive in the palace and his soul craves for freedom.
AnushkaYears later Arundati (Anushka) arrives in Gadwal for her wedding and an old lady in the house narrates the entire story of Jaijamma (Anushka) whose portrait now is hung on the wall. Arundati is the only female born after many generations and it is now believed that she is born to kill the soul which has escaped from the grave.
Pasupati's soul now fully armed with magical powers makes a re-entry strangely again at the time of her wedding and it's Arundati's turn to seek help from a Fakir played Sayaji Shinde. The director makes the film memorable by interplaying elements back and forth and Anushka is stunning, does justice to both roles as the courageous Jejamma and as the helpless Arundati.
The drama is etched perfectly, building the suspense, underlying the tension and grabs you right from the start. The intensity is such that you'd feel suffocated like the soul in captivity and even feel connected to a character as gullible as Arundati who arrives for her wedding, only to know that the onus is on her to kill Pasupati's atma. Her helplessness, her denial and all other expressions are a delight to watch.
Anushka & Sonu SoodSayaji Shinde is spell binding, he is spectacular and for once you don't seem, it is the character that involves you. Sonu Sood shows his prowess as an actor. A credible piece of work from everyone. The script is so well written, so ingeniously handled and the costumes are in tune. The background score, the drum dance, the photography, the graphics or the dialogues …all are taut and gripping. It doesn't drag, and by the time the end credits roll…you leave the theatre gratified having read and seen a contemporary socio-fantasy. Thumbs up for MS Reddy.
End Credits :
Starring : Anushka, Deepak. Sonu Sood, Shiyaji Shinde, Satyanarayana, Annapurna, Manorama, Vadivukkarasi and Others.
Cinematography: Senthil Kumar.
Dialogues: Chintapally Ramana.
Editing: Marthand K. Venkatesh.
Music: Koti.
Story & Screenplay: Mallemala Unit.
Producer: M. Shyam Prasad Reddy.
Visual Effects & Creative Director: Rahul Nambiar.
Director: Kodi Rama Krishna.
Banner: Mallemala Entertainments.
Release Date: 16th January, 2009.
Labels: Annapurna, anushka, Deepak. Sonu Sood, Satyanarayana, Shiyaji Shinde, tollywood
The first half of the film opens with Naresh moving to a new town and bumping into the heroine. He is serious, angry, unromantic, focused, matured and is willing to reel off heavy sentimental dialogues at the drop of a hat to anyone whom he accidentally bumps into or seeks his help. He is a walking talking moral science text book who finds fault in the rise of price of onions to young girls wearing scanty clothes to college in a bus. Strangely despite his wise counsel, the heroine who is seen gaping at his wisdom never changes into a half saree or a saree or even a salwar kameez in the next scene or even in the dream sequences.
The film has a nice ending with Naresh declining to marry Madalasa Sharma and he gives a sensible reason to do so. Visuals are bright and beautiful, the director takes you to Bangkok his favourite destination once more and gives his son striped shirts to wear and also some weird costumes for the first time heroine. She does a good job and can go a long way provided she works on her expressions a little more. Music is okay. The film attempts to be another Aame but ends up as being a little more than a documentary and less than a feature film. Parents will like it but might think twice before gifting their girls with a cell phone.
The plot is obsolete, nothing new or shocking. It is one of those third grade novels you would find hawkers selling on the cart in the railway platform. If the posters were created to arouse curiosity, the story explains from scene one why Posani dresses up in wierd costumes, why he behaves like a child, then why he turns into a torturous husband suspecting his wife always and then an explanation that he is not a gay. A clichéd turn to glorify himself as a real hero.
We are made to believe that Posani was trying to show that being gay is not a sin but here he meanders more than once and there is often lack of clarity. There is no apathy on part of the mother towards Posani too so that makes the plot more confusing but just before the climax, when Satya is slippering him, he arrives and says stop it, he is a Man. Ranganath who plays his father gives you the clichéd reason that he had sacrificed for the family and had feigned to look impotent.