Blowing Woods

PARASITE...Why it's a great Movie?

2020-04-13T15:42:00.000-07:00

What made Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite so great?

Oscar Nominations for best picture 2020.

This is a record at 92^nd Oscars Academy awards to declare a foreign movie with “Best Picutre” of the year 2020. Also, bagged other awards of best director, best editing, best original screenplay amongst other. So far in the history of Oscars 10 foreign films have been nominated under this category including my favourite “Life is Beautiful”.

I believe most of you have already watched this movie as this write up will rip the story apart and throw tons of spoilers your way. If you haven’t watched the movie, stop reading it now and come back later.

What….? go watch and come back here 

This is a movie about haves and havenots and life of 3 families.

Kim’s family Parks’s Family Moon-gwang Couple

Parks’s family who is living in a architecturally designed house on the elevated grounds with sprawling space and huge windows with abundant sun light infusing into their lives.

Kim’s family living in basement half way undergound struggling to get connected to free wifi with small windows at the ground level with limited view of external work and sunlight.

Moon-gwang’s husband living under the basement with out natural light and limited food while his wife serving Park’s fmily upstairs.

That’s the setup.

Though the movie starts with comedy zonre it evolves into many other before we walk out of theatre.

If you observe the scenes involving rich Park’s family are visually represented with stairs, high elevated grounds and huge spaces. Whereas as Kim’s family is represented with conjusted lanes and low ground shots…depicting have’s live above while havenot’s live underneath.

So let’s walk into the key aspects of why this movie is great though it looks like any other common thriller movie.

1. Montage : Montage is what manipulates time and helps to skip time to convey the message in less shots. Read somewhere that Alfred Hitchcok is known to be the master of montage in his movies. The moments from hatching the plan to execution of it is such a beauty in shortest span of time with brilliant camers shots.

2. Loop : Ketchup on the pizza while hatching a plan to spraying same ketchup on a napkin in dustbin indicating the successful execution of plan of replacing servants.

3. Referencing : Most of the scens are reference well back and forth. Few instances which highligh this phenomena.

a. In the beginning of the film when Kim’s family sit together for drinks the window view of outside is that of a person peeing outside. Later in the movie after they successfully hatch their plan and remove all existing servants they enjoy drinks together at the Park’s house. This time the window view shows the sprawling lawn with showers. Kind of false sense of achievement.

b. Immediately after few minutes the same rain havoc their lives and house resulting them to run for shelter and used clothes. Next day Park’s family feel thankful for the rain pour which resulted in less dust in the city…Perspective!

c. Immediately after park’s family comes back from the camping abrupty the Kim’s family had to hide below the centre table while the rich couple sleeping on the couch looking at their kid’s USA made tent, through the window. Visual representation of where does Kim’s family belong to…underneath.

d. The way Kim’s family comes back to their own house that rainy night is all about downfall and getting dirty from there…represented beautifully by huge set of downward stairs and slope and water flow everywhere.

e. Also the over flown toilet that night to the next day’s bloodbath are true referencing points of what’s coming our way.

f. All the characters so well weaved into the story that each one of them have their own arc including

i. The house - Representing the status

ii. Rain - Depicting the prespectives

iii. Flickering light - Leaves a great hope at the end

iv. Stair cases - Raise n Fall of Kim’s family

v. The body odor - Not so important untill the end twist

vi. Stone - Gift from a friend but not a gift

4. Enough Hints :

a. Old housekeeper cuts off camera wires to get into the house in the middle of the movie at that moment she unconsciously helped Kim to get away after the party at the end.

b. While drunk on the couch Kim (daughter) scoffs that Kim (dad) needs to focus on her & not the Park’s family. This scene foreshadows the killing at the end when Kim (dad) has two options: focus on his dying daughter or the demand of his rich employer to get the son to the hospital.

c. WIFI connectivity issues at the beginning to the last scene where the connectivity loss between dad and son….

d. Daughter is stabbed the same way as the rich house owner

Parasite that is embedded within a host will kill the host eventually…

…. & That’s PARASITE movie for you.

Your's...Venky

రీ "మేకు" లు

2020-04-12T14:46:00.001-07:00

రీ "మేకు" లు

హాయ్ ఫ్రెండ్స్ హోప్ అల్ అర్ డూయింగ్ వెల్ అండ్ ఎంజొయింగ్ మచ్ డెసెర్వ్డ్ ఫామిలీ టైం. ఈ ఎపిసోడ్ లో లెట్స్ డిస్కస్, హిట్ రీమేక్ మూవీస్ పర భాషలో ఎందుకు ఫెయిల్ అవుతున్నాయి. ఈ కోవలో ఉన్న రీసెంట్ మూవీస్ ...

ధడ్కన్ రీమేక్ ఫ్రొం మరాఠీ క్రిటికెల్లి అండ్ కమర్సియాలీ ఆక్క్లయిమేడ్ మూవీ సైరాత్, ఇందులో శ్రీదేవి కూతురు జాహ్నవి డెబ్యూ చేసిన్ది.

అల్లు శిరీష్ ఏబీసీడీ మూవీ ఫ్రొం మలయాళం ఏబీసీడీ,

ఫలక్నుమా దాస్ ఫ్రొం మలయాళం అంగమలై డైరీస్, విశ్వక్ సేన్ ఐస్ హీరో, రైటర్..... రైటర్ ఆఆ అస్ ఇట్ ఐస్ దింపేసారుగా ..మే బి డైలాగు రైటర్.... నేటివిటీ కి అనుగుణంగా తీర్చి దిద్దిన క్రెడిటో మరి ఓకే ఓకే, సో ఎనీ వేస్ హి ఐస్ రైటర్ ఆక్టర్ డైరెక్టర్ అండ్ ప్రొడ్యూసర్ ఈ తెలుగు వెర్సిఒన్స్ కి.

సమంత'స్ ఓహ్ బేబీ ఫ్రొం కొరియన్ మిస్ గ్రాన్నీ,

గడ్డలకొండ గణేష్ ఫ్రమ్ జిగర్ తాండ, ఈ మూవీ మూల కథ మాత్రమే తమిళ్. ఇక్కడ తెలుగు లో అంత మార్చేసారుగా... మిర్చి మసాలా తో. హీరో వర్షిప్ మరి.

బెల్లంకొండ శ్రీను'స్ రాక్షషుడు ఫ్రమ్ తమిళ్ రాత్సాన్, ఇందులో కొన్ని తమిళ్ వెర్షన్ లో వాడిన సీన్స్ ని కొరియర్ లో తెప్పించు కొని తెలుగులో అంటించేశారన్నమాట

నిఖిల్'స్ అర్జున్ సురవరం ఫ్రమ్ తమిళ్ హిట్ అథర్వ'స్ కనితన్. అథర్వా ఎవరు, గడ్డలకొండ గణేష్ లో రిపోర్టర్ గ చేసిన క్యారెక్టర్.

సో, ఇందులో కొన్ని హిట్ కొన్ని ఫట్. ఎప్పటినుంచో నా లిస్ట్ లో ఉన్న వరుత్తపడతా వాలిబార్ సంఘం సినిమా చూసా. ఈ మూవీ శివ కార్తికేయన్ కెరీర్ ని టర్న్ చేసిన మూవీ. చూస్తున్నంత సేపు స్మైల్ మీ పేస్ ని వదిలి వెళ్ళదు. అఫ్ కోర్స్ మధ్యలో మీరు తీసుకున్న సెల్ ఫోన్ బ్రేక్స్ లో తప్ప. సినిమా చూస్తే సినిమా చూడండి లేకపోతే సోషల్ మీడియా చెక్ చేసుకోండి కానీ కాంబినేషన్ అఫ్ బోథ్ అర్ లైక్ హైదేరాబద్ లో అమ్ముతున్న చికెన్-సాంబారు-రైస్. ఏది అర్ధం కాదు ఏది ఎంజాయ్ చెయ్యలేం.

కమింగ్ బ్యాక్ టు థిస్ మూవీ, ఈ మూవీ ని తెలుగు లో రీమేక్ చెయ్యడం జరిగింది. ఆ మూవీ ని కరెంటు తీగ "హై వోల్టేజ్ " అని నామకరణం చేశారు. మంచు మనోజ్ 10 ఎర్స్ ఇన్ ఇండస్ట్రీ మూవీ ఇది.

ఫస్ట్ తమిళ్ వెర్షన్ మాట్లాడుకొని తరువాత హై వోల్టేజ్ షాక్ గురించి మాట్లాడదాం.

సమాజం గౌరవం పెద్దరికం లాంటివి నమ్మే ఓ ఫాదర్ సత్యరాజ్ తన కూతుర్ని చంపేస్తాడు ఎందుకంటే ఊరిలో వున్నా ఓ జులాయి వెధవని ప్రేమించింది అని. పోలీస్ ఇన్వెస్టిగేషన్ లో నిజం ఫ్లాష్ బ్యాక్ లో తేలుతుంది. ఇదే స్టోరీ లైన్. ఎన్ని సినిమాలు చూడలేదు ఈ కాన్సెప్ట్ తో... కానీ వాట్ మేక్స్ థిస్ మూవీ ఇంటరెస్టింగ్.

1. ఇన్నోసెన్స్ ఇన్ కేరెక్టర్స్జె

2. జెన్యూన్ ఆర్క్

3. నమ్మబిలిటీ ....అదే బిలీవబిలిటీ.

హీరో శివ కార్తికేయ అండ్ హిస్ ఫ్రెండ్ సూరి కెమిస్ట్రీ

హీరో ఫస్ట్ లవ్ విత్ టీచర్ బిందు మాధవి ... తెలుగు లో అంత అందం గ ఎప్పుడు మనోళ్లు చూపియ్యలే

సత్యరాజ్ అండ్ హిస్ ఫేమస్ 4 ఫ్రెండ్స్ బ్యాచ్ కాంబినేషన్

హీరో శివ కార్తీయేయ హిస్ ఫ్రెండ్ సూరి అండ్ "వరుత్తపడతా వాలిబార్ సంఘం" మధ్య ఉన్న కెమిస్ట్రీ. ఇక్కడ సంఘం కూడా ఓ క్యారెక్టరే.

దెన్

హీరో అండ్ హీరోయిన్ శ్రీ దివ్య కెమిస్ట్రీ. శ్రీ దివ్య బెస్ట్ డెబ్యూట్. ఇంటర్మీడియట్ 1స్ట్ ఇయర్ బై. పి. సి చదువుతున్న అమ్మాయిని ఎలా చూపించాలి ఇక్కడ నేర్చుకోవాలి. ఇదే తెలుగు లో రాకుల్ ప్రీత్ ఇంట్రో సీన్ పిక్కలపైనా పుట్టు మచ్చ నుంచి స్టార్ట్ అయ్యి అదర్ ఒబివియస్ పార్ట్శ్ ని పరిచయం చేస్తూ పేస్ రెవీల్ చేస్తారు. నిజాయితీ లోపించింది లేదా ఇంటెన్షన్ మారింది. తెలుగు వెర్షన్ లో డీటెయిల్స్ మాటాడుదాం.

ఈ సినిమా సక్సెస్ హాఫ్ అఛీవ్ద్ విత్ టైటిల్ అండ్ జుస్టిఫయింగ్ ది టైటిల్ టిల్ ది ఎండ్. లిటరల్ ఇంగ్లీష్ ట్రాన్సలేషన్ అఫ్ దిస్ టైటిల్ ఐస్ హ్యాపీ గో లక్కీ. హీరో ఫౌండర్ ప్రెసిడెంట్ అండ్ అండ్ హిస్ ష్ఫ్రెండ్ సెక్రటరీ అని మనకి మెసేజ్ క్లియర్ గ ఉంటుంది. వాళ్ళు ఏదైనా విషయం లో సీరియస్ అంటే అది ఈ సంఘమేనని.

నౌ ముందు అనుకున్న 3 విషయాలు గురించి చర్చిద్దాం తెలుగు వెర్షన్ లో....

1. ఇన్నోసెన్స్ ఇన్ కేరెక్టర్స్ :

తమిళ్ లో హీరో ఫస్ట్ లవ్ విత్ టీచర్. మనకి ఇంకో హీరోయిన్ ఉంది అని తెలిసినా హీరో లవ్ ని మనం నమ్ముతాం. హుమౌర్ ని ఎంజాయ్ చేస్తాం బిందు మాధవి బ్రీఫ్ చార్మ్ ని మిస్ వాడుతాం ఆ క్యారెక్టర్ వెళ్లే దాకా.

ఇప్పుడు తెలుగు లో, మనోజ్ లవ్ సన్నీ లియోనీ ... పైన చెప్పిన వన్నీ మిస్ అవుతాం. వేర్ ఐస్ ఇన్నోసెన్స్ అండ్ నమ్మబిలిటీ. ప్రేక్షకుడు ఇక్కడ క్లారిటీ తో ఉoటాడు ... సన్నీ లియోనీ ఎంత సెపో ఉండదని ఉన్నంత సేపట్లో మొబైల్ చెక్ చేసుకో కూడదని. లే లే లే నా రాజా పాట ఫ్యూషన్ రీమిక్స్ బోనస్ ఉంది అని. మనం వెయిట్ చేస్తున్నామన మాట స్టోరీ ముందుకు ఎప్పుడు వెళ్ళద్దా అని. బర్నింగ్ స్టార్ సంపూ ఎంట్రీ తో ఆ ఎపిసోడ్ ఎండ్ అవుతుంది. హీరో ఫోకస్ హీరోయిన్ పైకి వచ్చేస్తుంది.

2. జెన్యూన్ ఆర్క్

శివ కార్తికేయ క్యారెక్టర్ ఆర్క్ అంత ఓ లుంగీ లో ఉన్న కుర్రాడు ఊళ్ళో పెట్టుకున్న సంఘం దాని ప్రెసిడెన్సీ అందమైన అమ్మాయిలు వెంట పడటం పడక పోతే లైట్ తీసుకోవటం మల్లి ట్రై చేయటం ఇది ఆర్క్

మంచు మనోజ్ క్యారెక్టర్ ఆర్క్ ఇదే కానీ సినిమా టైటిల్ కరెంటు తీగ టాగ్ హై వోల్టాజ్ కాబట్టి పైకి కిందకి గాల్లోకి ఎగిరే విలన్స్, వర్షం లో థండర్, క్లైమాక్స్ లో పార్వతి పురం రైల్వే స్టేషన్ సిమెంట్ బోర్డు పగిలిపోవటం .... ఇవన్నీ ఫాన్స్ కోసమే అయినా సినిమా ఇన్నోసెన్సు ని చంపేసి ఈ సినిమా ని ఓ రొటీన్ సినిమా గ మార్చేస్తాయి.

తమిళ్ లో హీరో ఫ్రెండ్ సూరి హీరో ని కొడ్తా ఉంటాడు అర్గ్యూ చేస్తుంటాడు ఒకానొక టైం లో హీరో నించి విడిపోయి ఇంకో సంఘం పెట్టి మల్లి హీరో ని జాయిన్ అవుతాడు. కానీ తెలుగు లో వెన్నెల కిశోరె క్యారెక్టర్ మొదట్లో ఉంటుంది తరువాత తాగుబోతు రమేష్ ధనరాజ్ ల తో సరిపెట్టేస్తారు. వెన్నెల కిశోరె కాల్ షీట్స్ ఎక్సపెన్సివ్ అనా? ఏ క్యారెక్టర్ ఆర్క్ కరెక్ట్ గ ఫినిష్ అవ్వదు.

ఇంకో గమ్మత్తు ఏందంటే కిశోర్ తిరుమల, మన నేను శైలజ అండ్ చిత్రలహరి మూవీస్ డైరెక్టర్ ఈ సినిమా కి రైటర్. కానీ అయన టచ్ అండ్ సెన్సిబిలిటీస్ ఎక్కడ మచ్చుకైనా కనపడవు. నువ్వు నాకు నచ్చావు, స్వయం వరం, మన్మధుడు సినిమాలకి డైరెక్టర్ విజయ్ భాస్కర్ అయినా త్రివిక్రమ్ రైటింగ్ అండ్ ట్రీట్మెంట్ టచ్ ఈరోజు కి కూడా తెలుస్తూ ఉంటుంది ఈ సినిమాల్లో.

3. నమ్మబిలిటీ ....అదే బిలీవబిలిటీ

రాకుల్ ఏ విధంగా ఇంటర్మీడియట్ ఫస్టు ఇయర్ అమ్మాయి ల ఉండదు. పోనీ మనం సర్దుకు పోదాం అంటే కెమెరా ఏంగిల్స్, పుట్టు మచ్చలు మనల్ని ఒప్పుకోనివ్వవు. సో వేర్ ఐస్ నమ్మబిలిటీ. హీరో హీరోయిన్ ని ఫస్ట్ టైం ఇష్ట పడే సీన్ లో కూడా పేస్ రెవీల్ చెయ్యక వీపు చూపించడమేంటండి. నేను హర్ట్. అదే తమిళ్ లో శ్రీ దివ్య ని కుందనపు బొమ్మలాగా అందంగా అపురూపంగా చూపిస్తారు. అవకాశం ఉన్న క్యారెక్టర్ ఇన్నోసెన్స్ ని కాపాడటం కోసం కెమెరా ని అనవసరపు ఏంగిల్స్ లో వాడరు. It's not that I am against camera angles but ఈ kind of movie లో నప్పదు.

30 ఇయర్స్ ఇండస్ట్రీ ప్రిథ్వి, శివ రెడ్డి అండ్ జ్యోతి ఆర్కెస్ట్రా ఎపిసోడ్స్ బలవంతంగా నవ్వు పుట్టించటం కోసం చేసిన వృధా ప్రయత్నాలు తప్ప సినిమా కి హెల్ప్ అవ్వవు.

ఒక సగటు ప్రేక్షకునిగా రీమేక్ లో ఈ లోపాలు తలెత్తి నాకు హలో చెబుతుంటే అన్ని రిసోర్సెస్ ఉన్న మంచు ఫామిలీ కి ఇవి కనపడక పోవటం ఆశ్చర్యం. తమిళ్ సినిమా ని అస్ ఇట్ ఐస్ గ తీసుంటే మనోజ్ కెరీర్ గ్రాఫ్ ఇంకో లా ఉండేదేమో. డెఫినిట్ గ ఉండేది... కార్తికేయ లాగా కెరీర్ నెక్స్ట్ లెవెల్ కి వెళ్ళేవాడేమో.

మనోజ్ ఉన్నాడు కాబట్టి కరెంటు టైటిల్ పెట్టి.... టైటిల్ ఉంది కదా అని ఫైట్స్ పెట్టి, సాలిబిలిటీ కోసం సన్నీ ని పెట్టి...... సన్నీ ఉంది కదా అని ఐటెం సాంగ్ పెట్టి, డెబ్యూ హీరోయిన్ కదా అని అవకాశం ఉన్న లేక పోయిన కెమెరా ఏంగిల్స్ సెట్ చేసి, బీసీ సెంటర్స్ కలెక్షన్స్ కోసం కామెడీ ఎపిసోడ్స్ పెట్టి ఓ క్యూట్ లవ్ స్టోరీ ని రొటీన్ మూవీ గ మార్చేయటానికి నాగేశ్వర్ రెడ్డి అండ్ కో బాగానే కష్ట పడ్డారు, మంచు విష్ణు డబ్బులతో.. ఇలా అయితే ఎట్టాగ వచ్చేది ఆస్కార్స్?

మనోజ్ ఎస్ ఎన్ ఆక్టర్ అట్ పార్ విత్ అధర్స్ ఈఫ్ నాట్ మోర్ కానీ టాలెంట్ ఉంది కదా అని ప్రతీ దగ్గర వాడేయ కూడదు... కట్ అవుట్ ఉంది కదా అని ప్రతి వాడిని బాదేయ కూడదు అనడానికి ఈ కరెంటు తీగే సాక్షం.

ఇంకో సారి ఇంకో టాపిక్ తో మల్లి కలుద్దాం... టిల్ దెన్ ఎంజాయ్ కరోనా హాలిడేస్.

మీ వెంకీ ...

My Ego with Samantha..Oh Baby!

2020-04-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

సమంత 96 మూవీ లో నాకు ఎందుకు నచ్చ లేదో కాదు ఎందుకు నప్పలేదో అర్ధం కాలేదు ఇన్నాళ్ల దాకా.

తమిళ్ వెర్షన్ ఆల్రెడీ చూశాననా , త్రిష పెరఫామాన్సా లేక సమంత పైన ఎక్సపెక్టషనా ? ఏమో కారణం తెలియదు. ఎం మాయ చేసావో నుంచి నిన్నటి మజిలీ వరకు ఒంటి చేత్తో సినిమాని మోయగల సత్తా సమంత ది, మరి 96 మూవీ కి ఎందుకు న్యాయం చేయలేదు అని నా బాధ. ఇది నా స్వార్ధం ఎందుకంటే తెలుగు వెర్షన్ తమిళ్ కన్నా ఓ మెట్టు పైన ఉండాలి, స్ట్రెయిట్ హిట్ కావాలి అండ్ మాక్సిమం రీచ్ అవ్వాలి అని. కానీ ఆలా జరగ లేదు. మొదట కోపం దిల్ రాజు మీద, ఎందుకు అనవసరంగా ఓ క్లాసిక్ ని కెలికారని, నెక్స్ట్ సమంత మేజిక్ ఎందుకు మిస్ అయ్యిందని.

96 తెలుగు అన్ని విధాలా తమిల్ వెర్షన్ కి ఎక్కడ తగ్గ లేదు. హర్వానంద్ ని చూస్తున్నంత సేపు విజయ్ సేతు పతి ని మర్చి పోయా. శర్వా ఇస్ ఇర్రేప్లేసుబుల్ ఈ వెంచర్ కి. సీతారామ శాస్త్రి గారు లిరిక్స్ ఫర్ లైఫ్ అఫ్ రామ్ సాంగ్ కి ప్రాణం పోశాయి. కొన్ని వందల సార్లు రిపీట్ మోడ్ లో వి విన్నా అండ్ వింటున్నా!

"ఉదయం కాగానే తాజాగా పుడుతూ ఉంటా

కాలం ఇప్పుడే నను కనగా

అనగనగా అంటూనే ఉంటా ఎపుడూ పూర్తవనే అవక.. తుది లేని కథ నేను గా..

గాలి వాటం లాగా.. ఆగే అలవాటే లేక

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యే చిరునామా లేక.. యే బదులు పొందని లేఖ.. ఎందుకు వేస్తోందో కేక.. మౌనం గా........ "

"అమ్మ ఒడిలో మొన్న..

అందని ఆశల తో నిన్న..

ఎంతో ఊరిస్తూ ఉంది జాబిల్లి

అంత దూరానున్నా.. వెన్నెల గా చెంతనే ఉన్నా

అంటూ ఊయలలూపింది జోలాలి…"

ఈ నాలుగు మాటలు చాలవా మనసుని మల్లి మల్లి కుదిపేయటానికి పాటని ని రిపీట్ మోడ్ లో పెట్టటానికి. ఏకాంతంగా ఇప్పుడు ఓసారి కళ్ళు మూసి విని చూడండి ఈ పాట.... నా మాట నమ్మక పోతే!

సాంగ్ లిరిక్స్ ఆడియో లింక్ :

The life of Ram...

కానీ ఇండియా లో ఈ పాట షూట్ చేయాల్సింది కాస్త నేటివిటీ అట్టాచ్మెంట్ కోసం లైక్ ఇన్ తమిళ్. గోవింద్ వసంత, ప్రదీప్ కుమార్ అండ్ చిన్మయి కాంబో మల్లి వెన్నెముక తెలుగు వెర్షన్ కి. యంగ్ వెర్షన్ అఫ్ శర్వా అండ్ సమంత అర్ ఎట్ పార్ విత్ తమిళ్ వెర్షన్. సోల్ ని ఎక్కడ దిస్టర్బ్ చేయకుండా తీశారు. ఈ విషయం లో దిల్ రాజు ప్రొడ్యూసర్ని పక్కన పెట్టి అతనిలో ఉన్న ఓ సినీ ప్రేమికుడిని మెచ్చు కోవాలి. ఓ క్లాసిక్ ని తెలుగు ఆడియన్స్ కి ఇద్దామనే ఆయన తాపత్రయం ని అభినందించాలి.

మొన్న మజిలీ సినిమా సగం అయ్యాక వర్షం లో గొడుగు తో సమంత ఇచ్చిన ఎంట్రన్స్ ఏ హీరో ఎంట్రన్స్ సీన్ కి తక్కువ కాదు. మజిలీ ని తన భుజాలపై ఎలా మోసు కెళ్ళిందో మనకి తెలుసు. ఆకోర్సు నాట్ హర్ ఫస్ట్ టైం.

ఇన్ని ఉన్న "అంగట్లో అన్ని ఉన్నా అల్లుడి నోట్లో శని" అన్నట్లు 96 సినిమా కి సమంత ఎందుకు నప్పలేదు. ఆన్సర్ దొరకలేదు.... ఈ క్షణం దాకా.

ఇప్పుడే ఓహ్ బేబీ! చూసా. అర్ధం అయిపోయింది.

96 తెలుగు చూసినప్పుడు త్రిష లాగ సమంత అంత సెటిల్ గ పెర్ఫర్మ్ చేయలేదు అనుకున్న. కానీ ఇప్పుడు అర్ధ అయ్యింది. సమంత క్యాలిబర్ కి 96 కాన్వాస్ కరెక్ట్ కాదని. సమంత విజృంభిచటానికి ఇరుకు గదులు చాలవు విశాల మైదానమం కావాలి. ఓహ్ బేబీ! ఓ ఉదాహరణ. 60 ఏళ్ళ భామ బాడీ లాంగ్వేజ్ ని ఓ ఈజ్ తో 23 ఏళ్ళ అమ్మాయి లో చూపించ గలగటం ఓ రేర్ ఫీట్. లాంగ్వేజ్, బాడీలాంగ్వేజ్, మేనరిజంస్, ఎక్స్ప్రెషన్స్ ని డీటెయిల్స్ లో చూస్తే అర్ధం అవుతుంది వై శి ఇస్ నెంబర్ వన్ అండ్ వై శి ఇస్ స్టిల్ రూలింగ్ సౌత్ అని. క్లైమాక్స్ సీన్ లో రావు రమేష్ అండ్ సమంత ఆక్ట్ గొంతు ని బరువెక్కించేస్తుంది, గుండె ని కుదిపేస్తుంది. సమంత సీన్స్ విత్ శౌర్య.... స్పెషల్లీ ది నైట్ అవుట్ సీన్ "ఇంటరాక్షన్ ఆన్ కౌచ్" ఇస్ మెస్మేరేజింగ్.

కొన్నేళ్ల క్రితం తెలుగు మూవీ జబర్దస్త్ ఆన్ లొకేషన్ లో ఓ రోజు గడిపా. పిక్ అందరితో తీసుకున్న ఇంక్లూడింగ్ సిద్ధార్థ, శ్రీహరి అండ్ ధర్మవరపు గారు, కానీ ఎందుకో సమంత తో ఫోటో తీసుకోవాలనిపించలేదు. మల్లి లాస్ట్ ఇయర్ వైజాగ్ టు హైదరాబాద్ ఫ్లైట్ లో అండ్ tarmac టు టెర్మినల్ బస్సు లో ప్రయాణం కానీ ఫోటో కోసం ఎగ బడాల అనిపించింది.

ఈ అమ్మాయి హీరోయినా అని. అది నా ఇగో కావచ్చు మూర్ఖత్వం కావచ్చు.. కానీ ఈరొజు సమంత ఓహ్ బేబీ! మూవీ పెర్ఫార్మన్సే అన్నింటికీ సమాధానం. సరైన స్క్రిప్ట్ దొరికి తే ఆకాశమే ఆమెకు హద్దు….

ఈ సారి మల్లి ఆమె నాకు దొరికితే ఫోటో విత్ క్షమాపనే నా దిక్కు!

మీ

వెంకీ !

Awe & KFC factor of Films

2018-03-16T10:10:00.002-07:00

The “Awe” factor of recent Telugu movies is not of any experimental for rest of India. We were blown away by new wave of Telugu cinema has seen in the recent past. Few notables are

· Pelli Choopulu

· Kshanam

· Manamantha

· Arjun Reddy

But all this ends up in 2 Telugu states only, as Tamil is always home for path breaking movies. Even Malayalam filmy backwaters known for experimenting within their range of budget. One strange thing I have come across is, almost all the Malayalam movies carry at least 5 minutes long “Thanking screen time” before title cards roll out, I don’t get it J

Kannada is gifted by talented technicians, to name a few Rakshit Shetty of Kirrak Party, Pawan Kumar of UTurn and Anup Bhandari of Rangthiranga. The first one is released today on Telugu screen to a lackluster response for missing the soul; the second one is being made by Akkineni Samantha, hope they dont' fiddle it too much the Telugu way . No known attempts of Rangthiranga remake for now, Thank GOD.

Rolling back to the topic of “Awe”, It’s for a good even star heroes took pause to revive image aka stardom. Small and different movies are now the new mantra for Telugu film makers alongside the safe bet stream of Horror/Comedy & revenge genre of movies. If, Telugu Horror movies catered the horror comedy before the fade out phase, Bollywood still serving KFC School of cinema in the revenge genre with unlimited supply of thighs and breasts to audience; latest dud is Hate Story with Roman IV.

Let’s hope for more genuine Jaw dropping screen moments than some fried (revenge) chickens on screen dropping just……......Happy friday guys JJJ

Your's...Venky!!!

Reel Vs Real of Indian Cinema

2017-09-21T11:45:00.000-07:00

Does real life impact the screen image of Heroes? The two key elements to be noted here, are you a Hero and are you from South Indian Film Industry. If both are Yes, then Yes.

I have been thinking on this since my friend Sukanya mentioned during evening chai, that she was a fan of this leading Hero (whose SPY movie is ready to hit the screens) from Tollywood but she changed the loyalty now to another “Power” packed star (the “ “ are for having Power both on & off screen). The reason she was mentioning to shift the loyalty was that she felt that the former hero is bit arrogant from her observation during his media interactions and little research she did. It might be vice versa for some other people basis image and caste (another social stigma).

Few geo political incidents created great mileage to film industry people. The one tops the list is Sampoo’s (Burning Star Sampoornesh babu) participation during Vizag special status protests. He was arrested and released later but came out as a Hero out of the whole situation. Prakash Raj is known for his adoption and changing the face of 2 villages contrast to his antagonist screen presence. I don't think this gesture is helping him on screen, though. But people here own him more than anywhere.

Power Star is more known and appreciated for his apparent reading habits, helping hand, time he spends on his field and down to earth persona rather than his acting skills. Thanks to his Mega loyal fan base, he is catapulted to be the power maker of current government in the state and voice of the people. Equations might and tend to change once he takes plunge into active politics with his Janasena, later this year. Flash back to Praja Rajyam, a launch vehicle by Mega Star Chiranjeevi and the thumping crowd in the opening meeting in Tirupati. The outcome later was different, though. Power Star walk, style and even mention of his name in any movie and public gathering is garnering mammoth response and expected to work in favor of the particular product.

The troll and dislikes were inevitable even for Stylish Star for his 2 words “Cheppanu Brother”. The wrath to his latest outing as DJ is quite evident and impacted the outcome of the movie. Now, the fun part is Balayya always tops the list to entertain us with his free fan slaps all around and funny interviews, watch the one below. This topic and the brain storming thesis here doesn’t apply to him, he is up and above all this. Cola-Pepsi Balayya babu Sexy, fans call him that way.

Balayya Funny Interview

Few miles down south in Kollywood, the situation is more or less similar. Thala Ajit’s fan base is humongous. The Ajit-Vijay fan base rivalry is evident before each big release. Thalaiva Rajinikanth’s pan India and onshore craze is beyond his movies and acting skills, something can’t be explained. Hi is the Xerox, FedEx of Tamil Cinema. These heroes are more cautious for real image than reel. Simbu is fresh in memory for his Simbu-Nayan, Simbu-Hansika breakups than his movies. I am not bringing up his recent X rated Triple A(bit confused here about the best alphabet to succeed the word Triple...X/A). Suchi leaks and alleged involvement of Telugu film industry in Drug scandal did dent the image of few film personalities.

Further into Mollywood, Dileep who’s 2015 film Two Countries is one of the top 10 highest grossers in the industry, is under the clouds now for whole conspiracy of actress Bhavana’s kidnap. His next Ramaleela is posing a big moral question for Kerala moviegoers. He is expected to come out to explain his version before release of the movie, like the way Kattappa did before Tamil Bahubali2 release for his stand on Cauvery water dispute.

Bollywood, you don’t care, whether Salman slapped or Sanju puked. The reel vs real images are not linked the way Bandra-Worli.

We have accepted Munna Bhai after he came out of jail for 1993 blasts. Hum Dil De chuke Sanam was a block buster even though Salman slapped Aishwarya during the shoot. Hrithk is busy with Krishh4 even in the current turmoil called Kangana.

You lucky Bollywood buddies..we are little intolerant down south !!!

Sye Ra..Chiranjeevi's #151st

2017-08-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

Bahubali was the bench mark for stamina of Telugu Film Industry and binocular for Indian Film industry to reki the distant territories to reach audience & have contribution towards new box office phenomena of blockbuster by moolah.

Dangal was the immediate beneficiary to capture the reach, especially in main land China. Though, Amir khan has got huge fan base in China and his previous movies 3 Idiots & PK were big success, the mammoth outcome of Bahubali helped them to have different strategies for Dangal.

Post Bahubali, 3 big global scale movies were announced, all from South.

One, Sanghamitra by C Sundar (Husband of Khushboo, national spokesperson for INC). Shruti Hassan was initially on board but later dropped due to some differences. Grapevine is mini Khushboo, Hansika Motwani is in.

Second, The Mahabharata based on renowned writer MT Vasudevan Nair’s classic Randaamoozham. Mohan Lal will be playing Bheema in this 1,000 crore movie produced by UAE based Indian businessman BR Shetty.

Third, The Ramayana produced by Allu Aravind & co, where Ram Charan is playing the lead role in this 500 crore trilingual 3D format epic.

Now, there were few movies, which took a long breath to indulge in this changing dynamics of Indian Film Industry. The first one that I know in this category is “Sye Ra”, Megastar Chiranjeevi’s #151^st outing.

The motion poster released on his birthday amidst huge fanfare after the grand success of his #150^th. It was a loud announcement involving Amitabh Bachan, Vijay Sethupathi, Kicha Sudeep, Nayanathara and Jagapathi babu, that’s the recipe aimed at Tolly, Bolly, Kolly & Sandalwood. Music is helmed by Indian Mozart AR Rahman for global appeal being produced by Ramcharan (Son of Chiranjeevi).

If Khaidi #150 has eroded all non Bahubali records what Sye Ra has in store ?

V

Sye Ra Motion Poster

Sairat

2017-08-19T12:13:00.000-07:00

Why most films end with what protagonist wants? Watch Sairaat, Fandrey, where circumstances are hero & norms of the society we live in are conclusion. The graph of characters evolve in pace with socio-political, socio-economical metrics, not with Bollywood economic indices. Nagraj Manjule’s clarity of society is so well mirrored in these two films, that you almost hooked up with emotional journey of Archie, Parshya, Langdya Pradeep and Jabya (Fandray) from the word go.

Sairat now Fandray Later

A simple aspirational-musical love story with cast n class clash blend with the cultural paradigms of Bittergaon, am not sure about the intention of Nagraj to choose this name. You will understand this line post watching movie. Google quickly comes up with acidic, acrid, tart, sour, biting, unsweetened when I search for meaning of Bitter. True to the second half of proceedings of story. However, the first half is decorated with aspirations, joy n celebrations of love n friendship.

The “SlowMo”s of Parshya, jumping into the river-the moment he hears a sound resembles Archie, deep dive into the well-to have a glimse of Archie, dancing on the way in the fields or dancing while waiting for train to cross-to meet Archie for the first time, are few heroic moments. The rest are true to what we are (I mean they are). You know what Parshya is capable of, you feel for him when he is beaten and excite when Archie confronts goons with a pistol. You know Archie as well, she rides bullet to college, tractor to fields and horse to take bath. So who is hero here?

The conversations are simple, landscapes are real and the music is heart for Sairat. Ajay-Atul compositions compel to you keep Sairat tracks on loop for a while after you watch, for sure. The music duo live recorded with symphony orchestra for the first track “Yad Lagla”. The title track “Sairat Zaala ji”is full of Indo Western beats and Piano notes. You will chorus/shout with Ajay’s rustic and Chinmayee’s sweet voices during this track. Shreya ghoshal’s rendition of “Aattach bay aka” is in the middle of the album and ratings with twists n turns. The “Zingaat” is a catchy tapori street dance number with vocals of Atul-ajay. The album reminds us of early Ilayaraja with notes of Indian flute and rousing return of symphony orchestra in Indian films. I don’t understand Marathi but when Archie asks each time“You understand Marathi or you want it in English”, I echoed each time “I will learn Marathi soon”.

Like any other love story both Archie n Parshya elope from comforts/struggles of Bittergaon and arrive in Hyderabad to face real life challenges. The work hard to meet their ends, they fight, they learn the language, they form relationships with community and progress. The agony of this part of the journey is showcased in three scenes, 1-Parshya twists Archie’s arm, squeezes her face on the pavement middle of the busy road, he could have slapped, no the pain they went through is enduring not momentary. 2-the not so whole heartedly suicidal attempt of Paryshya and 3-Archie’s realisation at the station when she confronts an old aged beggar couple.

The reunion of Archie n Parshya is now celebrated, the results are register marriage, INR 40k pay check each month (together), few smiles, a new rented house with a booking deposit for new flat and a kid. They named him Akash but calls Tatya (what Archie calls his father). Now she calls his son Tatya. I guess for a reason Nagraj (Director) wants this kid to be called as Tatya, to level the field of sufferings for both the Tatyas. Archie’s affair caused sufferings and socio-political humiliations for father Tatya, so what the redemption plan is for son Tatya’s sufferings for rest of his life.

go wild go insane…Sairat Zaala Ji……!

Sairat Musical journey here ...

Bahubali...1,000 Crore Mania

2017-05-12T13:51:00.000-07:00

I am reluctant to write anything about Bahubali saga, as there is plenty of information overload on every platform, possible. Bahubali created a page for itself in the history of Indian Cinema, so I am creating a page for invincible Bahubali on my blog.

Thanks to phenomenal success of “Eega-Telugu” (Makkhi-Hindi, Naan Ee-Tamil, Eecha-Malayalam), the Beginning of Bahubali, which began as a high budget Tollywood product of Rajamouli ended up as a national level celluloid revenge drama connecting not only 4 Metros but whole nation unlike Golden Quadrilateral network as envisaged by then Prime Minister by Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2001. This “#Make in India” (current PM Modi’s mantra) Beginning product garnered Rajamouli The Padma award.

I guess, actor’s Job Description is changing these days, not only enacting director’s vision on screen but helping product marketing & distribution at times. Bhalladeva (Rana), the macho antagonist of Bahubali was a real hero who connected Karan Johan, Dharma Productions and Arka media producers of Bahubali to distribute it nationally. Rana did the same thing with “The Ghazi” attack movie. I have numerous instances where new bees are funding/pooling funds for their first ventures and established ones are capitalizing contacts to access pan India reach, we will cover this topic separately.

Awards & #WKKKB

The Part I though surprised national audience with the scale & grandeur, featured on international arena across most film festivals and ended up as the best Feature Film at 63^rd National Film Awards, yet ridiculed for lack of gripping content. Aslo, questions were raised why an unfinished movie (we love half boil egg fry down south) was given award in the category of whole feature film. However, it left the whole world with a never before asked Vikram Betal question of #WKKB. And suddenly Kattappa, loyal servant of Mahishmati kingdom became Indian obsession. At some point Kattappa almost killed Bahubali II in real life with his 8 years old Pro Tamil Cauveri river comments.

Devasena

Now, “The Conclusion” is conclusive answer to all the short comings of part I. It's mammoth and content is full of twists and turns where you feel for characters of Mahishmati and Kuntala kingdoms. Anushka as Devasena is riveting till she goes back to her Part I old draped sari days at the end. In this shot when she was entering the Mahishmati along with Bahubali, after a dream song sequence on the boat, the flag on top breaks when it hits the massive stone carved elephant with water fall. So is it a hint that there is no more scenes of Devasena’s Kuntala kingdom where she fell in love with Bahubali in elaborated sequences of wild hunting, enemy attack and a proposing song on Lord Krishna. I guess since the Bahubali brand has grown so big that no other GOD than Krishna can represent Universally, thanks ISKON. In this song, even Lord Krishna got cheated, who himself is known for mischievous acts. Each flower showered, Harathi offered are bestowed upon Bahubali indirectly, God must have been so angry here, that you get to see an enemy attack immediately after.

Sivagami

Ramya Krishna was a thunderous this time too in her glorious Sivagami role. Sridevi missed an opportunity here, opting out for Puli (not so successful Vijay’s Tamil Movie). She is adorable in her confrontations with Devasena and her melancholy towards the acts of ruling the death of Amarendra Bahubali are true visual treats (oops I have answered the #WKKB).

Bijjala, Bhallala, Avantika & Rest

Bijjala got meaner and Bhallala stronger and effective, who was ridiculed for his stone faced expressions during his “Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum” days. What a redemption. Bahubali couldn’t have been this bigger without mighty Bhallala. His act of fondling the iron chain (with which Devasena was tied during part I) and caressing the throne during enthronement are noteworthy. Avantika appears in the penultimate scenes but nothing much to do but to help & see Devasena to walk over face of fallen Bhallala statue, in the end.

Climax

Rajamouli choreographed the whole sequence very dramatically with a big fire on the back drop so that rest everything is shadowed including faceless attackers, #we are not interested in anything else other than why & who killed Bahubali. So, you see the shadows of Kattappa, Bahubali and a stab in the back. No close up shots except the one where Amarendra pulls sword and rests his arm before his soul is rested forever and making way for the movie to storm box office with ever before seen worldwide collections by any Indian Movie….1,000 crores still counting!

The next big question after #WKKB is what next Rajamouli???....

Bahubali #3 or Chhatrapati Shivaji or Mahabharat or a small scale product to lower the expectations???

Jai Mahishmati !!!

...the boy who lost his Mega Cycle !

2017-04-20T16:32:00.000-07:00

Ok..here it goes, a kid living in a coastal state of India, Andhra Pradesh went to watch a movie in 1997.

This state and 3 neighboring states are known for filmy buffs, where movie watching is a culture. Films are part of any & all occasions and celebrations. Film watching is a habit and hero worshipping is an addiction here. Those days, people travelled all night in bullock carts to the nearest towns to watch the first day first show, next morning. Quite often, human pyramids are formed at the ticket counters and the one human on the top of the pyramid with his hands in the window would get the reward, the ticket(s). Torn Lungi (traditional Indian garment worn at around the waist) and vest scented with sweat were the regular attire in the theatre, since the shirt is already into pieces in the process of getting a ticket and making way into the theater to reserve a place to stand for next c.a 138 minutes. Beware, no online booking, numbered seats and Deodorants were available back then. Of course, male and female crowd in the theater are separated by a bamboo wall separation.

Back to the story, this kid lost his cycle in the euphoria of getting the movie ticket. He enjoyed the movie till 13th reel and started feeling the pain of cycle loss thereafter, since his parents got him the cycle after his yearlong pester. After the movie, he somehow managed the loss and anger of parents.

Now, in 2017 (after 2 decades) this kid is into movies and now a bankable star with consistent track record of hits. And, the hero of 1997 movie is stalwart of Tollywood and currently a politician by profession and a Member of Indian Parliament. His re-entry into films after 10 years in 2016 was a hurricane and shook the box office with collections. He is currently on Hot seat of MEK, Tollywood version of KBC .

So this grown up kid is now called "Natural star" Naani and was the guest of MEK show and narrates how he lost his cycle 2 decades back to the host, Padma Bhushan Megastar Chiranjeevi, who was the hero of 1997 movie, “Master”. Master immediately agreed to redeem the loss of his cine disciple and cycle delivered at door.

What a 360° filmy success story, “a child lost his cycle while watching a movie and gets it back after 20 years from the hero of that movie”.

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela

Crazy Strategies of Stardom..."Cheppanu Brother"

2017-04-13T15:05:00.000-07:00

Astonishing to see the diminishing thin line between real and reel life. Why do we have to hear all the hard work the crew went through while canning the film and why do we empathize when we hear a star is making movies just to be afloat and to make it to the shore of politics, before his boat is moored to the Quay, forever (???). Here, I am referring to the Power Star Pawal Kalyan, who was the power point for the existing Andhra Pradesh government during last electoral battle and now getting ready with Janasena for 2019. Are these statements and confessions influence the common viewer to watch the film?

The promotion strategy changes every time, after a while. Till the recent past, the audio events have always been the biggest platform to rave about the movies & to show how unique from the rest in the history of industry. Now a days with the invention of Prerelease function sans audio event is the new platform to talk about the product. Specially, on Tamil & Telugu platforms, the hero worship is beyond comparison with any other film industry. The onstage talk nowhere matches the result of the movie at the ticket window, in most of the cases.

And then you have teaser for first look (worst part), first look, teaser, promo, theatrical trailer and numerous tweets and quotes on social media about the film and performance on YouTube views of these never ending tits n bits of film. The other day, Allu Arjun said “Cheppanu Brother” (refused to take name of Power star on stage during promotions of Sarainodu), which stirred the bigger sand storm on social media than any hero introduction (sand storm) scene in Telugu & Tamil film put together, ever. Then, fans started creating YouTube record of dislikes for teaser of his forthcoming movie DJ.

However, it’s changing again. Pawan has always shown his humble side in promoting his movies. He was always shy on dais with limited words till his Janasena avatar. Now he is aggressive and promoting his movies with a disclaimer statement to watch if it’s watchable. He admits the fact that his fans waited for 7 long years for him to deliver a blockbuster post Khushi in 2001.

Even Jr. NTR has started downsizing his reel image post Janata garage. He caution crowd to go home safe and to think of parents more than worshipping on-screen heroism.

The surprise among the lot is upcoming actor, Vijay Devarakonda who took to twitter and apologized to those who didn’t like his recent film “Dwaraka”….a new strategy again???

Blowing Woods: UTurn of Film making down south

2017-04-11T12:40:00.001-07:00

Blowing Woods: UTurn of Film making down south: The film making has taken big U Turn down south at least. Few notables (which I have covered so far) in this category are Lucia ...

UTurn of Film making down south

2017-04-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

The film making has taken big UTurn down south at least. Few notables (which I have covered so far) in this category are Lucia & UTurn from Kannda; Kaka Muttai, Visarane & Joker from Tamil; Pelli Choopulu, Yevade Subramaniam, Kshanam & Manamantha from Telugu and Drishyam almost all box offices.

Each one is a gem in itself and changed the way of film making down south making way for fresh talent and forcing established ones to mend ways of commercial image & cinema. Tamil and Kannada industries are known for experimenting quite often, I am excited to see the wave change in Telugu industry where Ram Charan took Dhruva route taking a back seat for making space for story and antagonist, hero & heroine met and lived happily ever after was not the case in Jr. NTR’s Janata Garage and Nag limited himself to wheelchair for 2.38 hours as quadriplegic with support of Karthi (this role was turned down by Jr NTR) in Oopiri, a French adaption of ‘The Untouchables”. Item & hero intro songs are not mandatory, separate comedy track is no more compulsory at least for now in most of the Telugu movies.

The stories of these film makers behind making these off beat movies are equally fascinating.

Pawan Kumar (Lucia & UTurn) pulled off Lucia on first ever Kannada crowd funding. UTurn was made on a real story of where a guy jumps off 13^th floor and emerges unhurt because his dead wife saves him after her death (with daughter) in an road accident on Bangalore road owing to common mistake people make to move road blocks.

Rakshit Shetty of Ulidavaru Kandanthe fame (English translation, As seen by others) who admits that he used to work on his theatre/film projects during his office hours, as he always managed to find couple of leisure hours during 9-5 window, honest confession, is isn’t it? This movie makes you to form your own climax basis different perspective of 4 characters you travel with during the film and leaves you unanswered of your own questions

Chandra Sekhar Yeleti worked on his Manamantha project for good 3 years especially on tightening the screenplay (must be record time for a Telugu director) to make a compelling climax at the airport and struggled to find artists with no Telugu commercial film baggage to make this story realistic.

Manikandan’s outstanding debut is all about aspiring story of two kids to taste Pizza at the newly opened hut in the slum grounds, where they used to play and steal eggs (their main source of protein) from crow nests on the only tree, which is now cut down. Manikandan says, why we judge people by appearance and colour, even we don’t spare animals & birds. Interesting timing here to match idiotic comments of Tarun Vijay racism row: ‘We’ve south India... we live with black people’. Always admire the beauty of parrot but now crow….that makes the title “Kaka Muttai” (Crow Eggs), finally crow gets its glamorous filmy touch and film won National award for Best Children’s Film of 2015.

Why should the parrots & white have all the Glory?

The story boards of these movies leaves me to recite a poem of great Telugu poet Sri Sri (Srirangam Srinivasa Rao)

Kaadedi kavitakanarham kukkapilla, sabbu billa, aggi pulla (Nothing is inappropriate for a poem - a puppy, a bar of soap or a matchstick)....

Blowing Woods: The Ghazi…backstory

2017-04-10T16:52:00.001-07:00

Blowing Woods: The Ghazi…backstory: This guy (all of 23) out of Film school in Australia came back to Hyderabad and built a submarine with all his money (INR 30 lacs) and...

The Ghazi…backstory

2017-04-10T10:50:00.001-07:00

This guy (all of 23) out of Film school in Australia came back to Hyderabad and built a submarine with all his money (INR 30 lacs) and started shooting a (short) film, which eventually couldn't take off due to lack of funding, while his parents were still in shock that their lad was not graduated from B school but from a film institute. Building a submarine for a short film, grabbed the attention of many film makers in Hyderabad including Rana (actor and heir of Suresh Productions), they immediately called him to present the story board. Here is the twist, he presented the whole story board on temp 3D animation, which is pretty new practice in Tollywood. He did this to hide his incompetency to narrate the story.

Production house was so impressed that they decided to make this movie on National level and tied up with Dharma Productions. The initial start cast of Surabhi Theatre group were mostly replaced by main stream actors. Further, Cinematographer Madhi, Editor Sreekar Prasad were onboard to anchor "The Ghazi". Stalwarts of industry Amitabh, Chiranjeevi and Surya, provided the narration part of Hindi, Telugu & Tamil versions respectively. The end product resulted as a profitable venture with more than 300% in revenues commercially and tonnes of critical acclamation for the whole team & Sankalp, the Captain of Ghazi the movie.

What a platform for Sankalp to showcase his skills, who started a film (initially short) with INR 30 lacs, realizing that he wouldn’t go far and now landing in the laps of Karan Johar.

…..back story behind the story, why did he built a submarine?...because he wanted to film a story which can start and end at the same place to make best use of resources with shoe string budget.

Well, Sankalp has just started off his journey towards western filmy coast of Mumbai from coastal Andhra.....

Nenu Sailaja

2015-12-14T10:45:00.001-08:00

For the first time a teaser, “Nenu Sailaja” prompted me to hit the blog to scribble. Seems Sravanthi movies gonna hit the bull’s eye with this one after series of not so commercially sound products….same for Ram, who is struggling to fit into one image, owing to influx of fresh blood in Tollywood. His successful template formula has been copied so many times in the recent past that even Gopichand, changed lanes and scored a hit with Loukyam. Then there is a big successful stratum of lover boys around. Nikhil and co are now leading the concept based ventures… leaving him little space to fit in to a mask. So what could be his next genre to explore and establish, a lover boy, family entertainer, action hero, concept based themes or all of them.

Meantime the teaser of “Nenu Sailaja” erstwhile “Hari Katha” (title changed now) is “fresh” and suggesting us that Ram chosen the lover boy path in the lanes of Arya. By mentioning fresh, I meant the orchestrated string by DSP, the controlled n calculated release of expressions by Ram and exhibition of innocence by Keerthi Suresh. Seems Kishore Tummala, Second Hand Fame, is eyeing for his First commercial success. Kudos to the whole team who cut this 49 seconds teaser, which definitely raised the curiosity levels about the move and music release, before that.

I believe no other teaser in recent times quite reached the perfection levels as this one, with crisp content, revealing the elements and raising the expectations (the same way Hari looks up) and more importantly an addiction for repeated watch for his “Ah…” at the end of teaser to the response of “I am not in Love with You”……....but we are!

“Nenu Tanuja” watched this trailers numerous times already..."Ah…"

Half the battle won…wishes and hope that this “Ready” hero is Ready for much deserved Hit…

...Venky!

oohalu gusagusalade

2015-12-14T10:31:00.000-08:00

The one positive chord of having classics as new movie titles is, the classic magic gets revived for new genx. I believe it does generate some royalty also from (You) tubes and spotifys.

One such movie, we gonna talk about here is Ohalu gusagusa lade, a classic track from 1963 Blockbuster “Bandipotu”, the product from legends, B Vithalacharya, NTR, Sundar Lal Nahtha, Doondi and Ghantasala.

Fast forward to 2013, Avasarala Srinivas (Srini) created his magic with the simple story narration, natural conversations, soulful tracks (from Kalyan Koduri) and decent performances from the limited & choosen cast. Srini declared his admiration for Woody Allen, early in the movie, by a telugu version of “Annie Hall” poster, maybe he wanted to warn us about limited supply of regular tolly commercial elements and tiny experimentation in the narration.

Diving into the characters, Srini did a perfect balancing act of a hobbledehoy with a decent support from rest of the cast, Rao Ramesh, Hema, Posani and Prudhvi. Harish Koyalagundla got a full length comedy act (I believe first for him so far) here after his struggle all these years, including missing a connecting flight in Dubai for Biryani, true foodie Andhrite. His dialogues of L1/H1 in the movie are loosely linked to his real life events. His summarised struggle is here : http://www.idlebrain.com/news/focuslight/harishkoyalagundla.html

From the promos, I was quite surprised why did they cast Rashi Khanna but after watching the movie, my notion was wrong. She was perfect to emote a character with the shades of 19 & 25 years. There was a scene where she asks Venky to “Let life unfold” when he proposes her at 19^th birthday. Srini shows us his writing depth here, the matured approach towards life, of a practical adolescent (yes, per WHO definition, 10-19 years) to a dreamer, whose eyes are set at sky.

Naga Shourya, another promising youngster to look forward from Tolly. He has already done close to half a dozen films and couple in kitty with major production houses including Varahi, after struggle of half a decade in the industry. His act is a perfect balance of appeaser and a dreamer. He is a perfect blend of, guy next door and urban lover boy amongst his contemporaries.

The lyrics are absolutely weaved in to the story. Such instance is where Venky’s mother reads the letter, which does carry few notes which were used in a song in the first half. The songs takes the movie forward and the lyrics are pretty much integral part of conversation of the move. Kalyan, who admits himself working as a composer, just for earning money to lead a comfortable life with two kids. His magic worked here again, giving him his long outstanding recognition since his “Aithe” days. The Mirchi radio for best song award is a bonus. He has got so much music left in him.

The movie shot extensively in and around Visakhapatnam and splendidly captured the picturesque locals to the advantage of the key flash back plot. It was a beautiful lie to create Araku yellow fields at the sea bed, though which Venky rides Prabhavathi to Vizag beach.

So what the cinema itself is a True lie!!!

I was curious to know why this title for the movie and that prompted me to listen to the 1963 classis track couple of times (link below). The movie carries the emotions of first stanza of the classic track to certain extent… specially the struggle of Venky in the second half.

Hope Srini’s Oohalu will take us to few more exciting outings in future on Telugu Celluloid….

....Venky

100 Crore Club Cinema

2015-07-23T14:49:00.000-07:00

Now a days the discussion of the movie starts with budget right from the launch to post release. Nobody measures, whether the movie was good or average or anything else. It’s all about collections. Thanks to the web world where we instantly get the geographical share of the movies, which serve no purpose at all to the cinegoers, except for the argument among fan clubs. Earlier trade pundits used to compare/predict the current movie range with past movies of the same Hero or Director or production house but presently the comparison is orange to apple, Prabhas vs NTR vs Mahesh vs Pawan Kalyan. I believe (with my limited knowledge), the whole hype around collection facilitates the producers to arrange the finances to launch/float and sell the forthcoming productions.

NTR’s last outing as Temper was highest grocer in his entire career so far, that does not prove this is the best product. We have seen his potential in Simhadri, Rakhi many more and Puri's in Idiot, Pokiri n Neninthe. Same way Loukyam & Pandaga Chesko, template movies declared hit in terms of collections but what about the movie content, except locations everything including dialogues was same from previous templates from writer duo.

Mahesh’s “1”, so far the best attempt at the thriller genre by a top league actor and director in the recent past. But then the debacle of the movie apparently forced Mahesh to stop experimenting and he pulled himself out of Maniratnam’s bilingual project with Nagarjuna. This project is now underway with Karthi and Dulquer Salman, recent heartthrob of Molly & Kollywood.

The point here is we do not mind a good movie raking moolah, because end of the day, a hit movie makes the whole industry, starting from a light man to cinematographer, happy and works as a “Sacred Fig” for many small scale movies. But the issue is gauzing the movie quality by its Crore club achievement.

100 Crore or 100 Days, which the real yardstick! Discussion starts here….

...Venkaat!

Srimanthudu Trailer Tracks & Takeways...

2015-07-23T03:26:00.001-07:00

…”Ye kannooo yepudu choodani Pustakamai veeru...

Chadivestunnaraa…..anandanga okarini inkokaru”…

Claps…Cheers and respect for DSP & Ramajogayya Shastri garu!

Guys time up, come out of the excitement, exhilaration and enthral canvas of magnanimous ‘Bahubali’. Time to turn heads toward our conventional wholesome family entertainers. Who else other than Mahesh is better to get us out of Bahubali mania, at this situation.

Bahubali is a blockbuster and claiming as many awards as it can around the globe. However, somewhere it lacked the EQ/Emotional Connect as Chatrapati and entertainment element like Magadheera. May be the reason, we are served with fully cooked half meal. Hope the Part II connects all these quotients of the beginning part and becomes a sumptuous meal, complete.

Coming back to Koratala Shiva’s wholesome entertainer, DSP came up with fresh sound and voices for ‘Srimanthudu’. The tunes are hummable & singable and seem to have long shelf time, till couple of weeks post release, at least. The album will not blow you away like Arya, NVNV or Gabbarsingh but the way DSP used the voices & modulations, will definitely tempt you to listen the tracks back to back couple of times for sure, specially the track above (web link is below). I kept the tracks on repeat mode indefinately on spotify, for now. The best from DSP after Gabbar Singh.

Ramajogayya Shastri garu’s lyrical values are great with simple & commercial words, carrying few threads of story, here and there. The USP of DSP is that, he still believes in lyrics and voice dominating the instruments. The whole album gives you a blurred conscious of previous sound tracks from Khaleja, Athadu and recent S/O Satyamurty. However, the whole package is fresh, catchy and contagious; the tunes will keep on resonating for couple of weeks to come, which is a great take off for a movie before its lands in theatres.

Kudos to Madhi for the promising visuals, the trailers are rich with colours and locations in the back drop with stunning Mahesh & gorgeous Shruti on the front.

Takeaways from Trailers, one….Get one Bi-cycle to sweat it out and to look cool…two…start thinking of paying back to the roots, where we belong to.

Great! Wishing the whole team a Dimma tirige hit!!!

...Venkaat!

Venkatesh...the Other perspective!

2015-07-21T15:44:00.001-07:00

NTR and ANR were at their helm, when a new root crept up the wall to claim the throne and to become The Megastar for two decades. He is a self-made man who build the empire of mega clan from the scratch. The 75 year celebration of Telugu cinema was the dais for his exit from Tolly to Poli. After his exit, top league personalities started becoming the Chief guests of various Tollywood functions, though Megastar was regular at all Mega stages. The calmest and most non-controversial among the big four is Venkatesh, who never seen talking or even promoting his own movies, till recent past.

However his recent elevation of himself onto the PR stage is heart-warming, the gem of them all was TANA speech, where he revealed his other side. His diction was perfect, thoughts were crystals and ideology was curious over 15 minutes where he discussed about the inner happiness, another dimension of Daggupati family. Ramanaidu garu was aggressive, ambitious and more risk propensity personality quite opposite to Suresh Babu, who is quite organised, risk averse and believes in the culture of “no double standards” in family structure. Industry hates him because his projects move at a snail’s pace but when you hear him; you would like to have him as an elder in the family.

The movies are powerful medium and protagonists are larger than real life heroes for Telugu people. Let them inspire the generations to take the path of enlightenment…

...Venkaat!

Bahubali & Pushkaraalu Impact

2015-07-21T15:32:00.000-07:00

It’s heartening to see the pouring revenue in months old Baby state, Andhra Pradesh, of late, through cinema and spiritual pilgrimage. The Telugu habitants die for movies and visit Tirupati after birth. Celebration means cinema and pilgrimage means Tirupati, where most of per capita income is spent.

The Karma principle of “You get back something from whatever you've put into it. The value of something is the direct result of the energy and intent that is put into it”, seems working in Andhra. Bahubali is raking moolah, Tollywood has never seen before with a straight cut of almost 1/5^th into states treasury as entertainment tax and on the other side Godavari Pushkaraalu fuming the vicious circle of economy, from small street vendors to state run transport. These are first few drops of monsoon on the barren economy of baby AP.

The state bifurcation has been a classical example of national and regional political Fiasco. The political migrations have preceded the distribution of revenues, assets and manpower between the states. One CM is basking in the glory of lifetime achievement; the other administrator is struggling to live up to the towering expectations as high as Cyber city, amidst corruption, law and order and administrative hassles. The future is equally exciting with what next task for political outfits like Jana Sena and Loksatta; the only two appear to be honest at this moment.

Coming back to economic front, hope and pray for more extravagant revenue streams as magnanimous as Bahubali and as large as Godari to build a new shelter for baby AP as beautiful as Mahishmati!

...Venkaat!

Writer/Of Trivikram Srinivas

2015-04-21T06:48:00.000-07:00

Writer/Of Trivikram is being loved more than the Director/Of him. During his struggling days, when he was asked by a Posani, what do you know; he said I know Telugu language. He was given entry to the woods for his sole strength over the language. His witty one liners are & and his crisp short stories inspire us to take decisions in real life, of course with heart not mind.

His short story of “Crossing River without family” in movie AD, preaches us the simple morale of being together. In his latest venture also he did that “Tiger” story with aplomb. His shorter version of stories and one liners are apt for this generation of 2 minute Maggi. They can’t stand to anything taking its natural time. Everything needs to be very quick even at the price of health, taste, success, love and life.

His work inspires us to love language, love our parents, love our roots and live values. How many of his contemporaries are brave enough to come up with a tag line “Viluvale Aasthi”. He knows magic is wonderful than the logic, let’s his magic preach us, teach us!!!

Kudos 3vikram, for culminating 3 aspects, glamour+drama+wisdom through one commercial medium.

Venky...

Farah Khan at London Asian Film Festival

2015-04-01T08:59:00.000-07:00

Director’s Master Class

The last leg of the evening at London Asian Film Festival had started with cheers for Farah Khan, the director (Mai Hoon Na, Om Shanti Om, and Happy New Year), actor, choreographer and proud mother of triplets (Om, Shanti and OM-Bollywood way of naming her triplets).

She was back here after conducting Choreography master class session on Saturday (21st Mar). This session was conducted by Gareth Jones, producer of The Mughals. She was grilled with questions about her journey, inspiration, hurdles and functioning of Bollywood. Some of the interesting excerpts of the evening are here.

· Her first movie with Shahrukh, Mai Hoon Na took three years before it became a reality.

· She is pretty strict on sets but serves sumptuous food, which is her weakness.

· She said Shahrukh deserves the moolah since he has the stamina to raise 250 Cr business on a good movie.

· She can’t work on scripts which does not include Bollywood and Shahrukh.

· To my questions she had responded that the script finalization is the toughest phase of film making process and Bollywood remakes of south Indian movies are now the thing of past.

· She had suggested an amateurish screenplay writer to join a film school and learn by watching movies.

· When this guy from Patna requested her to vet his script, she said it is taxing and she can’t take the responsibility, however she asked to share the synopsis to have a quick view.

· Mr. Raj was assured to be cast in her next film, if it is shot in London.

She was very candid at the questions thrown upon here by the host and guests. She even obliged to have selfie session with most of us post the session along with tips to take selfies.

She is ditto like her movies, chirpy, bubbly and dramatic. All the best Farah ji!

…Venky

2015-04-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

British Media & The Asian Women’s contribution

The afternoon at London Asian Film Festival continued with panel discussion by distinguished personalities on topic ‘British Media & The Asian Women’s contribution’, after the stage was handed over by Loveena Tandon, from TV Today network.

The guests on the panel were, Baroness Flather – the first Asian women to receive a peerage, Shyama Perera – presenter and newscaster, Mamta Kash -actress and producer and Madhav Sharma – well known theatre personality with half a decade experience on stage.

The discussion was inspiring with varied thoughts and personal experience of the guests. Respected Baroness shared her experiences of studying at the school run by sister of Sarojini Naidu and the emotional involvement with independence movement. She was of the opinion, that these might be the reason behind her not liking the Indian soaps in the British media, to name a few, Desi Rascals, Indian Summers, which does not represent the true facts of Indian culture/independence era. She also supported the thought of chasing dreams and having no plan Bs.

At one point Madhav Sharma and Shyama Parera locked horns over role of Asian ethnicity in British Media. Though, Mamta was candid enough to settle the scores and move ahead into the evening by opening the house to Q&A.

The stunning aspect was the clarity and curiosity of younger Asian generations in Briton, UK. The questions asked by them does not approve of their age of early teenage. Might be, this generation is reaping the benefits of their grand and great grand refugee (Asian) generations from African continent into UK, in early 70’s, as a result of The ethnic cleansing of Indians/Asians in Uganda by Idi Amin.

…Venky

London Asin Film Festival

2015-04-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

The SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London was painted with Asia Film circuit. The focus point was ‘Women in Media’ complimented by short film, Panel discussion and Director’s classes by our own Om Shanti Om Farah Khan. The short film and its insights are:

The World before Her

The film by Nisha Pahuja charts the lives of two different spectrums of Modern India, Durga Vahini Camp and Miss India Pageant. The former is an orthodox Hindutva camp run by VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad) to safe guard Hindu religion, culture and values through any means. Whereas, the second strata is represented by chosen bunch of beautiful, aspirational, and radical teens ready to grab the world of opportunities by cleaning themselves from the moral values campaigned by the Durga Vahini group, to certain extent.

The methodical approach by Nisha takes us through the lanes of Bhopal, Rajasthan and emotions of Prachi from Durga Vahini camp, Ankita shorey & Ruhi Singh from 2011 beauty pageant. The footage covered all the 19 contestants of the pageant including Rakul Preet Singh, an upcoming actress of 2015, in Tollywood. The movie compares frame to frame the lives of both the groups and the people associated with them and their philosophies.

The Durga Vahini camp starts with self-defence training for girls from villages and ends at high note of graduating them with a mind-set not only to safeguard themselves but the religion even at the cost of violence, protests and killing. On the other side the journey of beauties starts with weighing, scrutinizing each body part, showcasing the assets, Botox sessions (wherever n whenever needed) and ends with crowning one amongst 19 second generation of aspirational souls.

At the penultimate stage of both the worlds the self-realisation of both Prachi and Ankita Shorey is heart touching. Both these girls support their own cause but they hear their inner voice pronouncement of their journey against the social, geographical and SELF values and customs. In their own words….

‘How far we should compromise and go for the title’ by Ankita Shorey

‘I support VHP philosophy and will not marry forever, however would suggest girls to get married and live up to the expectations of first generation’ by Prachi.

The film ends there asking us to start thinking the contrast philosophies of modern India. The Q&A session by Nisha Pahuja addressed few unresolved queries, though.

…Venky

S/O Satya Murthy...Musician's Magic Unveiled

2015-03-15T16:17:00.002-07:00

…”Find the success in the process of working not in the result”…by Trivikram

Another catchy album from the kitty of DSP is out for S/O Satyamurthy. The evening was glittering with the star cast of the movie and industry associates. Dasari was chief guest for this event, for the first time for a mega event (I believe). His calculated speech was addressed towards Allu but not Mega which attracted the wrath of Mega fans (below video), though he mentioned about Power star at one point. Devi Sri penned lyrics for three songs in this album. The tunes are addictive and hummable with rich lyrical values. Whole seven songs are prominent enough to create hype till the movie is released.

No.	Tune	Lyricist	Singers
1.	Chal Chalo Chalo	Ramajogayya Sastri	Raghu, Sooraj Santhosh, Rita
2.	One, two, three	Devi Sri	Suraj Santhosh
3.	Seethakalam	Sri Mani	Yazin Nizaar
4.	Super Machi	Devi Sri	Devi Sri, Shravana Bhargavi, Magizhini Manimaran
5.	Come to the party
6.	Jaaruko	Sri Mani	Sagar, MM Manasi
7.	Vachaadu	Devi Sri	Javed Ali

Along with the songs, few quotes from Trivikram are also released. Who needs a movie from Trivikram. We need few simple thoughts of life in cinematic dialogues, for which he creates a plot to weave the philosophy in to it. O machu tunuka…..

· Bharya ante Nachi techukone baadhyatha, pillalu moyyalanipinche baruvu… Na drishtilo, Nanna ante mariachi poleni o gyapakam…

· Baagunnappudu lekkalu maatladi, kashtaallo viluvalu maatlada koodadu.

If you remember Jalsa, the voice over by Mahesh Babu said, “Yuddam lo gelavatam ante shatruvuni champatame kadu…” this thought is still continued in this movie in the form of a song which goes like this…..

………Yuddham gelichinodu Veerudu Soorudu, yuddham vidisotede Devudu.

A thought...Ala aithe ee Jeevana Yuddham gelichenduka, vidichendukaa? Asallu Yuddhame enduku!!!

All the best S/O Udaya Bhaskar!

Audio Song Juke Box Link

Dasari Fire on Mega Fans

...Venky...