అప్పట్లో ఒకడుండేవాడు---You are a prisoner of circumstances

Circumstances are the real game changers. We behave according to the set conditions by the prevailing time and circumstances. Those circumstances make you a villain or a hero. You never have a chance when a certainty commands you to follow the line. Then you do what the existing circumstances dictate. You turn a deaf ear to your heart as well as mind. The chaos in which you operate will not even let you pause for a while. After the ruckus when you look back, you are left with nothing but pain to carry over.

This is the essence of the entire emotional drama of Appatlo Okadundevaadu that unfolds over two hours on the screen 

The last twenty minutes of Appatlo Okadunde vaadu is the best I have seen in a Telugu movie after a long long time. The penultimate scenes absorb you into the proceedings in such a way that you don't want the movie to end. The busy lives that we are made of comes to halt in these minutes and for a while we join the drama that unfolds slowly yet sweetly on the silver screen. The power of cinema is on full throttle during these minutes. The director creates such a world without any special effects that you want such sweetness around you. When was the last time you wanted the movie to go on ....that  too a Telugu movie? 

Sagar.K.Chandra's directorial venture ayyare showed a lot of promise but the director was not seen anywhere. After three years he comes up with a movie that has a premise, conflict and purpose. After a long time Telugu movie comes up with a story. The greatness of the movie lies in the script  in which where the hero ages up and this is where the director moved away from the commercial formula.

THE MOVIE

A journalist comes to Hyderabad in search of a cricketer. She contacts his acquaintances who reveal the tragic story of the cricketer.  The aspiring cricketer turns into a ruthless criminal when a police officer makes his life hell suspecting his links with Maoists. The nineties Hyderabad is created with great detailing. The director takes his time to establish the characters and slowly brings the conflict between the leads in a astounding way. As the knots slowly are untied we head towards a heart touching finale. 

      

This movies moves on the power of dialogues and acting potential. The dialogues are first rate. Both Nara Rohith and Vishnu come with laudable performances. Brahmaji steals the show.  All other departments have done their part. Special credit should go to the art team and photography team for the authenticity they have shown in creating the nineties.

EPILOGUE

Few months back I dearly  wanted to write about Jyo Achyutananda. If not for a busy schedule this blog may have published a review on the sweetest movie of the year. The tragedy lies in the fact that the movie never got the appreciation it truly deserves. The new gen fails to understand the sensitivity of  relations and movies that come with such story lines take severe blunt at the ticket window. Even this film fails to attract the new gen. 

Few directors are trying to reinvent Telugu cinema on par with their Tamil and Malayalam contemporaries. We talk great about Premam in malayalam and Kakaa  muttai  in Tamil. How come we fail to recognise the immense potential of directors like Avasarla Srinivas, Ravi Babu and Sagar K Chandra,.etc.,.  The main reason may be our serious slavery to the star. And a kind of obsession to a certain genres. 

At one point the protagonist is helpless with everything happening  without his liking. He pours his heart out to his friend and then proceeds with his work. You identify with him instantly.And such moments are many in the movie with the finale standing out on its own. The movie is not without flaws. But they can be easily ignored in the genuine emotion the director carves out.

Watch this to appreciate an able directors effort.