MIRCHI....TOO HOT TO SWALLOW

A state of comatose has taken over this blog for a certain period of time. In this brief period movie that can be defined as neo noir stepped into telugu world (Ko ante koti) movie with satire on social issues (matru bijlee ka mandola, krishnam vande jagdgurum) movie recalling a heist of 1987(special 26) movie that sent chills with a eatery(pizza) movie that was unnecessarily a centre of controversy(viswarupam) demanded a review from this blog but time definitely provided little room to execute a thought provoking review.Occupied with my work and problems I chose only particular movies which quenched my thirst and relaxed me at the required time. In this way I am completely away from a lot of Telugu movies and definitely missed our flavour.

My good gods seem to have a taken a pity on me  and yesterday i  got an opportunity to watch Mirchi which is already a block buster. As the movie progressed I saw the protagonist transforming from a lover boy preaching the message of love- to a reformer who reforms bad guys -to a family man who understands a mother's agony-to a sword wielding angry young man and then came the interval. In the second half a flashback reveals transformation of the protagonist from a software engineer to blood thirsty  factionist to a son who abides by his father's words. As the flash back ends the protagonist asks the antagonist to stop blood shed by killing him. The goons and their leader thrash the protagonist black and blue and he slips on to the ground unconscious. On a simple provocation our hero raises up from the ground and in a whisker of a second  grounds all the goons and lays the sword on the neck of their leader and then preaches him the virtues of non violence and love. 

There is a common feature in all the movie i watched this year. The protagonist is one among us. He fears like us. He behaves like us. In special 26 Akshay kumar and his team fear after every robbery.In Ko ante Koti Sharwanand  loses the game to Sri hari. In matru Bijilee ka mandola Imran loses his battle to rain. In pizza the hero ends up in the house where his fears can become true. In Viswarupa a helpless Kamalhasan watches in guilt a hanging for which he is the cause.Even a dynamic cop like Bajpai  in Special 26 behaves like us. There was a huge consistency in the characters in these movies.   

 It pains us to see our protagonist like us. Hence we need an impossible hero. We need one who can preach and kill, one who can love and hate, one who can remember and forget, one who can earn and donate, one who can dance to an item song despite heart wrenching tragedy in his life, one who can be smooth and hard  one whom we can never see in our entire life. We are habituated to see our hero in this mould. 

The actress in special 26 carry a sense of dignity. The heroine fears about her future and finally does whatever she wants. The heroine is viswarupam is an nuclear oncologist and considering a divorce from the hero. The heroine in matru bijilee ka mandola  is conscious of the society she lives in. The heroine in pizza is an author whose line of interest is horror fiction.The heroine in Ko ante koti is a social activist. The heroine in Krishnam vande jagadgurum is a social conscious TV reporter .( both these films were huge flops).   In English Vinglish Sridevi reminds us the pain of an neglected house wife in a very defined manner. Even in a regressive film like Dabaang Sonakshi Sinha as well as Dimple Kapadia come up with better characterizations and personality

The actress in Mirchi (save the protagonist's mother who seemed a marriage event host) cannot speak against their male partners. One heroine has done MS in ..... but still in a state of confusion over her life. Another one a village belly was head over heels over the looks of the protagonist. They have no other work than romantic escapades. Other women represent a medieval culture.

These days we see a lot of awakening among the women in India. Voices are tough and lot of anger is vented out against injustice meted out to them. I don't know what happens to these voices when such degrading portrayal of women takes place in our  movies. 

Another funny aspect i observed in our faction movies was the antagonist and his family despite belonging to the same class of the protagonist  are dark skinned and very unclean. On the contrary the family members of the protagonist are fair and very neat. All the members of family were dressed in the traditional attire where as our heroine dons all the collection of Manish Malhotra and Ritu Beri. .

We have abundant treasure of literature. Ranging from Nanniah to yandamuri we have been bestowed with as lot of fiction which can offer any film maker a food for thought. Telugu poetry prose and drama are no less to any reputed master piece. Our history presents us with facts which are very stranger than fiction . We are a part of a legacy of thousand of heroic tales. When other states are busy filming  classics based on their history and literature we still lie in the blankets of a monotonous imaginary faction tales. When the protagonist s of other states are very near to real life and inspiring stuff our hero still wilds sword and romances in the break. 

There's no wrong in action movies. In fact i am  a die hard fan of Die Hard movie series. . John Mcclane needed a film time to conquer the antagonist. He was tired. He was injured. And as the film nears end he was completely down and we want him to get up and bash the goons.  Yet he takes time, searches for a weapon  and ends the movie in style and make you believe everything is real.   

But our faction hero's  are great than John Mcclane. In fact they will definitely laugh over the travails of John Mcclane Had it been them they should have utilized the time to romance, dance, fashion lessons and what not. John Mcclane has only one agenda. Our agenda is multipurpose. And Violence in die hard movies will be at shame watching our faction movies. And it pains me here to compare my favourite Die hard movies with our stale action capers. I am just making my point. Action movie doesn't mean  rotten dish served in a neat plate.

Our hero's never die hard. They make us die  hard in the theatre . 

cameraman ganga to rambabu.......A POSITIVE THOUGHT LINE

Tell me one movie in recent past where you witnessed a powerful climax without a drop of blood. YES WITHOUT A DROP OF BLOOD. The Pawan-Puri combo delivers a power packed climax that shakes you and wakes you up. The last 25 min of the movie involves you into the film in such a way that you forget all the trauma of the rest of the movie. Never ever a films climax touched the hearts of millions in this way. The films ultimate strength lies in those moments where the protagonist makes you realize how silly the system we are living in functions. 

Its pawan kalyans movie.The protagonist underplays his role to perfection. His intensity when he utters his powerful dialogues and his silence in the other moments establishes  a rare uniqueness. This uniqueness brings out the so called power and charm for which pawan kalyan has been famous. Right throughout the movie he remains with a common expression. He displays a unique seriousness and emotions when in conversation with the antagonist. And the way he addresses the state in the finality is simple yet very powerful. Puri displays how simple can be effective and powerful. And for the climax rush to the theatre to feel the power of the star who with his simple eye movement mesmerizes the  public.  Its a honour to be a contemporary of a star with some social sense. 

Making a mockery of news and politics the director comes out with winning moments in the 130 min long movie. Puri jagannath should be commended for taking a direct dig at Raj Thackeray and his politics of division. The way he asks " is telugu talli displaying the same animosity towards tamil talli" is commendable. The entire episode of "telugu talli" "tamil talli" "marati talli" is really thought provoking. The way he makes us realize the way news is fabricated is commendable.

Prakash raj delivers another commendable performance. Particularly the way he whips the emotions by evoking the telugu sentiment and the scene that follows are one of the best scenes in the movie. The way he displays the evil sense with eyes is awesome.

The regular fan elements are there. Two heroines make the things run. The ordinary-extraordinary     comparison is hilarious and intelligent insertion. Regular comedy line, regular fights and regulars are throughout out the movie. The music is a feast for fans. The last song seems to be a tribute to "nenu saitam" and well picturised. 

AND DEAR PURI -PAWAN , 

In a madness to appease fans you lost the deal. Such a story -such dialogues-such satire should have been a masterpiece if not you have lost to mad comedy, mad love scenes and  mass appeals. Everything seemed to perfect in this story. But imperfections that are inserted to make fans happy resulted in the dilution of the perfection. If your objective is to wake youth from deep slumber, do it sincerely. Dialogues don't make a movie. A social conscious star like pawan alone cannot sustain the credibility. A movie shines when every one in the movie has a role that elevates the theme, not the star. As i said it is the moment s that elevated the movie. Dear puri, how many days you will depend on moments? Yet again a movie last to star power.

For most of the time the protagonist(pawan) remains silent in the movie. Its during his powerful dialogues and   dynamic movements the movie comes to life. During the last twenty five min  the protagonist uses silence and dialogues that rattle the audience and pull them into the movement he heads. You will feel difficult to leave the proceedings. 

SADLY THE DIRECTOR SEEMED TO BE IN TOUCH WITH HIS CRAFT DURING THE LAST TWENTY FIVE MIN.

RELIGION: IT MAKES YOU HELPLESS OR IT MAKES YOU A TERRORIST

MY SIMPLE VERDICT: WATCH OH MY GOD FOR YOUR OWN GOOD. GO FOR IT NOW 

Few cinema's dare to make a point straight to the heart. Oh my god is a rare movie that comes out with a message that requires guts. On behalf of my blog i congratulate and appreciate this director for his effort. I dont want to analyze or write any comments on this movie. 

Cinema with RK salutes this director for making a point that can change the very foundations of a god fearing society. You may ask me who cares? I simply conclude: why should i bother?

The director made his point. Its crystal clear. For this he has not resorted himself to cheap gimmicks or tricks. He has not made mockery of religion or he has not made him a victim of graphics and technology. His lead actor comes out with an awesome portrayal. 

What amazed me is the directors God. Simple and friendly. He seldom performs miracles except in the penultimate scenes.He calls his devotee his friend. He declares he is nature himself. 

In one of the scenes god declares 

"i always give you means; its up to you to use them for good or bad"

well said director. thumbs up

films you should not miss

One of my students recently visited my house when i am away. Knowing my absence he asked my wife: " ye cinemaki vellaru( which movie he is watching today). My wife felt very sad and she even imagined that entire circle of mine is imagining me as a cinema maniac or i am suffering from a habituation of cinema. As such she expressed her concern to me in a very serious tone the same night. 

This definitely influenced me and i thought there's no point in writing reviews and opinions that finally make you look like a person suffering from obsession towards cinema. At a point it appeared to me my inclination towards cinema made people make fun of me behind me. for a while I DISTANCED MYSELF FROM WRITING OPINIONS AND REVIEWS. The objective behind my writing is to keep a record of good movies. 

For me is cinema is a passion. It's a great pleasure to watch characters move before you with different motivations and intentions. Its an enthralling experience to watch some one do the impossible. Its awesome experience to see the protagonist perform uphill tasks with ease. 

For me cinema is a tool that can have a telling impact on society. I can cite hundreds of examples that changed the world for ever. For example nuvve kavali changed the very premise of relations between girls and boys in Andhra Pradesh. I saw a lot of parents introspecting themselves after bommarillu.  My mother says Sankarbharanm re infused life of classical music in Andhra pradesh.

No. cinema will never change a society.  Yet it can influence culture. It can bring rapid changes in the attitude as well as personality in a youngster. Most of the freedom movements across the  world used art to spread the fervour. 

What ever I just want to keep a record of the good movies i watched in recent times.

A) The gangs of Wasseypur( I and II): In simple words if this is our official entry to oscar we will definitely win it.

B) Barfi: sweet and a ver postive movie. What if certain scenes are plagiarized  its a treat to watch. Ranbir kapoors performance is awesome.

C) Avunu: A very good thriller and the way ravi babu used  automated lights to scare is remarkable. 

JULAYI

SCENE 1:

A father criticizes wayward living style of his son and makes fun of his theories of money making. Irritated the son declares given few thousands  he will make them lakhs in two hours.Infuriated, the fathers throws money on him and asks him to do the same. The son steps out and his mind is clear. He wants to invest the money i n cricket betting  to multiply the money his father had given him. 

SCENE 2:

A heavy rain makes him(the son) to wait at a place where a stranger is waiting for his pick up. The stranger is a thief and on his way to loot a bank  and waiting for his accomplices to pick him up. A vehicle approaches to pick up the the stranger. The son who is unaware of the robbery plan requests the stranger to drop him at the betting club.

SCENE  3:

A witty conversation takes place between both the lead characters...the son and the stranger. The stranger comes to know the mind of the son. How ever the son discovers the plan of the stranger after he gets down. In order to escape a possible arrest after a raid of the police on the betting  club the son offers the police a chance to catch the bigger culprits so that he can be free. 

SCENE 4:

The police catch  the stranger, (who looted the bank in the style of THE JOKER of The Dark Knight). In the process the stranger's brother gets killed. The stranger gets to know the reality behind the sudden police attack on them. He vows to kill the son. The police arrange an alternative hideout for him. 

Director Trivikram presents the above four scenes laced with witty humour and good music in a grand style in the first twenty odd minutes of the movie JULAYI.. Of course he is  "heavily"  inspired from English movies from  which he constructed certain sequences in this movie. You are pushed into a  belief that you are going to be a part of a nail biting thriller. You hope for a powerful conflict between the two ..the son and the thief. For the first time i thought some thing new is being offered on the screen after a long while.

To his credit Trivikram srinivas has written great lines(which he always does)   and shot certain scenes very brilliantly...in particular the  thread of father and sons duel on easy money. In fact the director cleverly links the argument between father and son in the opening of the movie where son questions and father remains silent. And   the father answers them in the second half where the protagonist discovers the ills of easy money. Really heart touching. And the subtle humour is always there in Trivikram movies.This one is no different. A healthy comic subplots are interwoven through out the movie. All the technical departments have done well. In fact there's no complaint here regarding the technical phase.

So you may ask me me; a good story line... great dialogues..great music... IS THERE ANYTHING TO COMPLAIN? 

Definitely a lot. 

Without an iota of doubt i conclude Trivikram has lost to the star power again.  He spoiled the entire story and a great deal of technical work including his in his raw madness to elevate the star. He is no Rajamouli who can make an  illogical fare with awesome inputs of heroism to elevate the hero. 

For example the hero is spoil  brat only for the first twenty minutes. After that he is a part of the police investigation team. If the idea is to show a way ward hero transforming him into a responsible guy, the hero is very much a responsible guy within the first 30 min. Can you call a guy a spoil brat who is assisting police to nab a great criminal?

Further the basic premise of the story..easy money is not at all perfectly dealt. The argument between the father and son definitely offers  a wide platform of thoughts to be discussed as an entire society today looks up to easy ways without recognizing the evil behind. Very sadly the point is pushed back and its really unconvincing when the father preaches the son about ills of easy money in the penultimate scenes. The son never falls for the loot amount at any stage even though he knows the money is hidden in a garbage.How come for a character who is obsessed with a desire of easy money to leave some thousands of crores? Never the hero is shown in that mood. 

The heroine is needed for the hero. So she is shown in the most unconvincing manner. The entire romance seems forced and its a part of the the story to pop up some good laughs.Its great  idea to make us and heroine to believe a shower  caused by a water tank  as rain. What happened to you Trivikram?

The hero and the villain can read each other mind ( a lift from the Sherlock Holmes: game of shadows ). Even Sherlock Holmes has to attend the classes of professor Moriarty to understand his methods. Then the  protagonist and antagonist in this movie  are definitely a class apart from Sherlock  Holmes and  Moriarty.

In finality you make a khichidi of some English movies......write some illustrious.lines .....add comic subplots......pump in a energetic beat and write everything to elevate the hero and then name it in some attractive manner. This is how the Telugu cinema is running these days.. 

People may enjoy the stuff. But to make such stuff we don't need a Trivikram. And as far as his lines are concerned  let me assure all the readers direction and writing are two different departments. Both should be neatly combined to make a good or great film.

The movie would have been a great film if the son ventured out to prove his father wrong,,,,got involved in a serious heist,,,,ran through a series of problems........got help from some ......and finally returns home where his father is ready with the answers for his questions.

Trivikram.....you again lost to a hero.

ఊ కొడతారా ఉలిక్కి పడతారా...UNCOVERING THE 26TH PRACTICE

The last edition of Harry Potter starts with the sentence" these are dark times......."


I never believed any black magic formats. How ever my reading habits always provided a lot of info. Particularly Yendamuri's novels like Tulasi dalam, Tulasi, Asthavakra etc.,

It is believed that there are 25 occult practices. It is also believed there are no more real sorcerers who can use these on their enemies. Ranging from chetabadi to banamati , patalla kuuti to kutti saitan the occult practices are now a part of  assumptions and stories. The reality remains uncovered so far. It is widely believed that  Kashmora is the sixteenth of the practices and mastery over this is no more. The last one ksith is very powerful and its origins are not exactly known. All the above practices are only a part of myth and fantasy. Moreover they are used profitably by cheaters to exploit the superstitious society.

All these books on occult amused and thrilled me in my degree days. But i never believed such things exist. 

How ever now i believe the sorcery and its harmful effects. Yesterday i found out a new form of occult which damages our sanity with in a time of 2hours 20 min .It simply sucks you into a new world where you will forget reason and region. It simply makes you laugh on your helplessness. It leads you to new world where you meet souls possessing other bodies at free will. You cry over the pain that emanates from the suffering of the people trying to make believe you that this kind of wold exists.You feel the hundreds years of life consumed in a period of 120 minutes. Of course you will get a small gap of ten min in middle to escape and become normal.  But If you cannot dare at that point to escape you are pulled back into the chaos. You will be forced to repent over your past
. You will beg god ..."given a chance you will not repeat any of the evil thing you have done". Souls fly besides you. A time will come when you feel your body is possessed. You are thrown out . You realize your punishment is over. You will run madly to escape the souls and witches. 

The effects slowly subside after the said time duration. You will realize  and cry over the sins you have committed. You now know how fortunate you are to survive the ordeal. Your life change forever. 

So the new form of occult requires a lot of patience  to learn and impart. Its rare and will be available in specified places for only a few days. If you want to take revenge on your dearest enemy, if you want to mend the ways of your children or any cause rush to the theatre where ఊ కొడతారా ఉలిక్కి పడతారా is played. An awesome sorcery. Better than Kashmora's and any other black magic.    Providing you the vital images that will really terrorize you

I am not uploading trailers with the fear of chaos on net


Yes these are dark times.

EEGA........A PROUD MOMENT FOR TELUGU CINEMA

" He walked straight into the man,who turned his eyes to him ; the eyes were gray and calm; the boy knew suddenly that they felt the same thing, and he could speak as he would not speak to  a stranger anywhere else.

"That isn't real, isn't it?" the boy asked, pointing down.

"Why, yes, it is now," the man answered.

"It's not a movie set or trick of some kind?"

 ":No. It's summer resort. It's just been completed. It will be opened in a few weeks. "

"Who built it?"

"I did:"

"Whats your name?"

"Howard Roark"

"Thank you," said the boy. He knew that the steady eyes looking at him understood everything these two words had to cover.  

........ Roark did not know that he had given someone the courage to face a life time.

                                                                         

                                                                                             Ayn Rand from  THE FOUNTAINHEAD

Thank you Raja Mouli,

These are the dark hours of Andhra Pradesh. Development is all time low. Leaders are much concerned with their bank balances and property accumulation. Youngsters adapted to a living style that suits malls and parties.Parents are busy accumulating funds to see to that their children sail in life without any difficulty. Morality hit an all time low. Temples busy with materialistic devotion.Hard work and determination are slowly becoming  reference words. In these dark times where nothing seemed positive and encouraging,  "EEGA"  proved what  excellence is all about.In these turbulent times "EEGA" showed what can be done with a positive set of mind. In these spend thrift times "EEGA" showed what economics  is all about. In  these dark times "EEGA" showcased how to fight against tough times and emerge victorious. "EEGA" brought back the spirit which gives us the thrust to do that thing which we stopped fearing failure.

This is one of the finest hours of Telugu cinema.Wake up. Its time to celebrate. Finally it took a fly to  crown Telugu Cinema in the realms of Indian Movie land. Before you read any of the following paragraphs, go for this magnum opus , watch it on the big screen and celebrate the vision of a director who worked tirelessly for    the past two years to entertain us. Every frame of EEGA  showcases the brilliance of Rajamouli. This is his hour. In fact this entire journey of EEGA opened new vistas in film marketing. 

Its quite unnecessary to discuss story and music of EEGA here as the innovative marketing strategy of the director revealed everything at the initiation of project itself. The entire team designed the movie in a never seen before way. The photography is awesome. In fact it is the main strength of the movie. All the ways thumbs up for the graphics team as well as the designer of the fly.The dialogues are minimum and well written .The editing of the movie helps the pace of the movie.

Being a visual drama for most of the time the music department has a lot of responsibility and Keeravani comes out with flying colours. The reincarnation loop made the crowds go  berserk in the theatres.The songs are situational and never interrupt the story. The BGM is a treat and the best in the recent movies.

All said and done its the vision of the director that makes this film a lot different from its predecessors. In fact the much hyped Robo fails to match up with technical standards of his film. In every perspective this movie is  the  first of its kind in India. The premise itself is addicting. The director never resorts to a cinematic liberty though he has a lot of scope. He framed the story within the limitations of a fly  and he worked out wonder with his Graphics team. 

He detailed the movie in a impeccable manner. The sequences which lead the fly to discover its previous birth are very effective and intelligent. The way the fly designs its schemes to torment the villain tells a lot about the hard work done behind the scenes. With in no time you root for the fly to emerge victorious in the tough battle it undertakes to avenge its murder in previous birth. The training sequences are worth a watch for every kid in this country. The heroine being a micro artist and one who understands the sign language signifies the future course between her and the fly. 

I never loved any of Rajamouli's films. Its certain scenes in  the films.....like the interval sequence in Simhadri, the  brutal atack on the kid and aftermath in Chatrapathi, The entire flashback episode in Vikramakudu, the duel between Yama and the thief in Yamadonga .....that defined his mastery over the medium. Perhaps the commercial overtones of telugu cinema made him compromise at every level. Its maryadaramana that presented us a different Rajamouli. He made wonders in that movie. But with EEGA he showed his craft. His mastery over the medium, his hard work in detailing, his respect for the technicians   and his down to earth attitude are unique in a ego driven field. All credit to the man who made my dream of  a movie which stands  on  par with Hollywood  come true.

Its of first of its kind movie in India.  Completely original and highly creative this fly makes inroads into the areas where Telugu's films never traversed. Its brings the glory to the field which never was able to show case the talents it groomed. Its a tribute to all those greats whose talent never crossed the state. For this raja mouli should be congratulated with pure happiness.

Please don't search for mistakes. There will be such in every frame. But its time to savour the dish rather than complaining about the colour of the plate.

Its a sin to watch this movie on TV. Some one gave you a chance in these Vulgar times to celebrate a pleasant two hour 30 minutes with your family. Some one offered a joy of watching an Indian designed animation of highest quality to your kids. Some one has made the telugu people feel great about their own race. Go. celebrate and smile to your heart full at the end of movie as the thief flies to dubai.

In the movie the villain opens the window and the air gushes out the tormenting fly on to the roads. The fly watches helplessly the speeding car on the way to exploit his lady love in his previous birth. All of a sudden a convoy of a leader shows up.A police inspector asks the villain to slow his car till the convoy passes. The fly watches this, turns back, finds the approaching vehicles and  flies in a planned manner to reach the top of the first vehicle of the convoy and then the chase begins. Its a treat  to watch the eega jump from the vehicle to the villains car.After a long time i watched a movie with awe and admiration alike. 

once again thank you...RAJAMOULI.