..:: Cine Chamber ::..

Ravi Teja's 'Krishna' Movie Review

2008-01-12T16:31:00.001+05:30

Story

Krishna (Raviteja) is a Msc (Comp.) Gold medalist who leaves his high paying job to accommodate another person who is in need of Job. He stays with his brother (Chandra Mohan) in Vijayawada spending time with his friends. One fine day he suddenly comes across Sandya (Trisha) and falls in love with her. Sandhya is the sister of a Bada Builder Shinde from Hyderabad (Sayaji Shinde). Shinde has a rivalry with Jakka (Mukul Dev), a notorious criminal-cum-rapist and Jakka wanna marry Sandhya. How Krishna plays with Jakka &co and how he marries his sweet heart is the rest of the story.

Performances

No other hero can do such comedy except Ravi Teja. He is the perfect one for such kind of roles. With each film, he is improving, especially in comic timing. It is his show all the way. Trisha is so beautiful and this is the first time that she played a glamorous character in Telugu. Ravi Teja and Trisha's pairing is also perfect and they have good chemistry. Brahmanandam takes the onus. Without him, the film is nothing. The veteran comedian is like a wine that tastes better with each day. After Dhee, Chandramohan gets another comic role. Newcomer Mukul Dev is good. Shinde, Kota, Sunil, JP and others have done adequate job. Technical and production values should be mentioned. Chota K Naidu's camera brings richness to the screen. Perhaps, Vijayawada has never been so beautifully captured. After delivering dud like Yogi, V V Vinayak comes with refreshingly. He has reinvented his style and delivers goods again. After Lakshmi and Tulasi, writer Akula Shiva comes up with another winner. He gets full appreciation as director this time. He has extracted good performances from actors and technicians and blended it perfectly. Songs by music Chakri is adequate.

Verdict

Good entertainer, worth watching.

Brothers in arms

2008-01-12T09:55:00.000+05:30

CHIRANJEEVI’s political entry has been the subject of many a dinner table conversation and not to mention endless newsroom debates, over the last few weeks, since reports of his imminent political entry surfaced. Understandably the rumour mills have been in over drive speculating the possibilities, alliances and what not. The latest rumour traces its origins to Chiru's younger brother PAWAN KALYAN. Pawan Kalyan is believed to have revealed to his close aides that Chiranjeevi will indeed be launching a political party and that the fan associations will have a major role to play. It does look like the speculations are not dying down anytime soon.

I am sixteen...

2008-01-12T09:51:00.000+05:30

Having charmed the audience in her debut venture Desamuduru, HANSIKA MOTWANI now has her hands full with the NTR starrer, tentatively titled, Kantri. Heard the cast and crew of the film were in for a huge surprise when the ravishing actress revealed that she is only 16 years old. Talk about being sweet sixteen! That she’s already acted in two films as a leading lady at such a tender age is a testimony to her immense potential. This girl sure has a long way to go!

Chiranjeevi's new party - name and symbol

2008-01-11T16:39:00.000+05:30

Megastar Chiranjeevi's proposed political party name is almost confirmed- It is Swayam Krushi- Megastar Swayam Krushi thi paiki vachchinavaadu and it is also the title of his film with K Viswanath. Party Symbol is likely to be ‘two eyes’. This may not be the election symbol. Megastar who is running a trust of eye donations has selected this symbol- Megastar believes in – Sarvendriyanam Nayanam Pradhanam’ . Megastar is likely to announce his party for Telugu New year Ugadi-the lucky day for Megastar as for the astrologers.

Many people from chiranjeevi's caste are already claiming to be joining his party and also spreading rumours that they have already reserved assembly tickets for 2009 elections from their native places. Chiru’s Swayamkrushi Rail is yet to come on to the platform, but as for a source many state leaders are reserving their berth in Chiru’s train.

These are the probable leaders likely to join hands with Chiru. Devendar Goud –TDP, Umma Reddy Venkateswarlu-TDP, Chegondi Harirama Jogaiah- Congress, JC Prabhakar Reddy- Congress, JC Diwakar Reddy- Congress, Yerram Naidu- TDP, Mudragada Padmanaabham, Kottapalli Subbarayudu-TDP, Metla Satyanarayana, N Chinarajappa, Yerraballi Dayakar Rao- TDP and many more to join once Chiru floats a party.

Okka Magaadu Review

2008-01-11T16:05:00.000+05:30

This highly sensationalized film of Nandamuri Balakrishna in the direction of NTR's ardent fan YVS Chowdary has not touched the expected levels even in the least. It was almost planted in the mind of everybody that Okka Magaadu would decide the state politics after its release. Silly graphics, non-serious getups of Balakrishna, confused first half, monotonous screenplay and mediocre direction is all about Okka Magaadu.

Synopsis

Veera Venkata Satyanarayana Prasad alias Ramu (Balakrishna) is almost the God for the villagers of Venkatapuram. They hail him as Devadideva. Ramu tells them that he is just an ordinary human being. He is their savior. Even the government and law are afraid to touch him. One day, he performs the marriage of two lovers, the bridegroom being the son of villainous chief minister (Asutosh Rana). Simultaneously, an old man takes on the role of Punisher of the Corrupt. By decoding certain features from the old man, the police sketch points to Ramu as the killer. During interrogation of Ramu, the old man comes and reveals that he is the killer. He also reveals that he was the Okka Magaadu, the erstwhile Raghupati Raghava Rajaram (Balakrishna), who waged a stern fight against the British in the 1940s. The enmity between the old man and the CM intensifies. Who exactly is this old man? Why does he kill the baddies sixty years after the Independence? Did he really kill? These are the questions which give twists and counter twists.

Performance

Balakrishna did the dual roles of grandson (Ramu) and grandpa (Okka Magaadu) with superb justification. However, the characterization of Okka Magaadu gives a feel that it is out and out a direct lift of Kamal Hassan's in Bharateeyudu. Apart from this, Okka Magaadu often makes a stretched out laugh – Aaah… Aah. Aah…. Exactly, say two hundred percent like Rajnikanth in the film Sivaji. Coming to Ramu characterization, it is more like Balakrishna's ramp in most songs and stylish scenes. But one thing is sure; YVS Chowdary presented NBK as a very handsome hero in this film. There is no technical perfection in the Bharateeyudu-like Okka Magaadu getup and the makeup for it.

Coming to female leads, Nisha Kothari and Anushka have given sumptuous oomph. One hundred percent, they have no roles to play, but to tease the hero. While Nisha Kothari, appearing as a TV reporter, continuously pesters NBK to marry him. The same thing is done by Anushka. Both the girls competed with each other in shaking their hips to their fullest energy. Simran has good footage in the film as the wife of Okka Magaadu. She has lengthy dialogues, performance and sentiment attached to her characterization. Again, Simran's getup as a old lady is not convincing. The makeup is gaudy.

Ashutosh Rana played the chief minister. Without establishing his villainy, the director is desperate to establish him as the villain. His villainy gets funny often. In one scene, the chief minister comes to the hospital without shirt and trouser – just wearing the underwear! Ridiculous attempt by YVS Chowdary, which requires to be censured.

Technical Details

There is nothing novel in the story of YVS Chowdary. A big minus point is that he tried to present Bharateeyudu in a more stylized manner. The characterization of Balakrishna as Okka Magaadu (old man's role) is partially influenced by Rajnikanth's climax role in Sivaji. The flashback dating back to 1940 and its synchronization in 21 st century is a big flaw.

Screenplay is monotonous. However, YVS should deserve praise for maintaining the suspense about the dual roles of Balakrishna till the point it is revealed. Direction is mediocre and at times turned funny.

The introduction song and NBK's duet with Simran are interesting. A couple of songs with the hero shaking legs with Nisha Kothari and Anushka are a good watch. The last song with remixed lyrics from NTR's oldies is a let down, in spite of profuse hip shakes by the heroines. Music by Mani Sharma is a saving grace.

Dialogues department requires special mention. NBK's lengthy dialogue against caste feeling is a good one. Some more: Nenu kottadam modalu pettanante aapadam undadhu…Mamooluga kodithe chachhetatlu kodatha, baadhaga unnapudu kodithe, chasthoo bathikela kodatha.

Stunts: Both the Sr. and Jr.Balarkrishna in the film kick the baddies black and blue. While the senior uses a Chinese blade, it is just fists and kicks from the junior. Imagine an 85-year-old Okka Magaadu jumping from a 20 story building and escaping. Also imagine the same man hijacking the plane with baddies and getting it crashed to a mountain. While all die, the One and Only is alive, comes down the mountain without a scratch to unite with his wife.

There is no scene in which you have comedy worth to tickle your ribs.

Verdict:

The movie is opened to a poor talk. It's major plus point is one and only Balakrishna.

Saawariya Review

2007-11-10T15:43:00.000+05:30

This work of art doesn't have the in-your-face flamboyance of "Devdas" or "Black" where almost every shot reached a crescendo, every passion peaked like a mid-summer sun, and every movement denoted drama. But "Saawariya" is Sanjay Leela Bhansali's most tender ode to love yet. Taking Fyodor Dostoevsky's minuscule play "White Nights", Bhansali has built huge but unimposing emotions classified by dollops of awe-inspiring studio-erected architecture that represents feelings rather than physical forms. This is the director's most subtle and mellow creation. Prakash Kapadia's dialogues let Ranbir's character of Ranbir Raj speak in a language that is modern and yet timelessly lovelorn.The plot, if one may call it that, is a story of unrequited love told in shades of blue. Bhansali's narrative spins its sensuous web around chance encounters in and around a square set in a timeless land where clocks chime to the rhythm of a besotted heart and neon signs straight out of a bright Broadway pay cheeky homage to Bollywood's past, including Raj Kapoor, of course. Ranbir Raj sings and performs at a club called Raj's Bar when he isn't chasing the enigmatic Sakina (Sonam Kapoor) across an arched bridge that symbolises the end of hope and the beginning of love.

Sakina, if you must know, is on an eternal wait. A stranger (Salman Khan) walked into her home and life, walked out and promised to return. The lacuna between longing and fulfilment is filled by a young man who dances, sings, makes faces, writes love letters, protects Sakina from the rain, but alas, cannot protect himself from the heartbreak that awaits him under the bridge. You can see reflections of Raj Kapoor's persona from "Sri 420" and "Chhalia" in Ranbir's acting in "Saawariya". And his relationship with his outwardly harsh landlady -- played by the gloriously spirited Zohra Sehgal -- is a wonderful recreation of the bond between Raj Kapoor and Lalita Pawar in "Anari".

Ranbir's acting is a dangerously extravagant and bravura performance that could've toppled over under the weight of the character's inherent exhibitionism. But with his director's help, Ranbir succeeds. The emotions that run across the gossamer frames of this fragilely structured play-on-celluloid are woven with the delicacy that one associates with Kashmiri carpets. Ironically, though requiring more attention than all his earlier works, "Saawariya" is Bhansali's simplest story to date. The age-old boy-meets-girl format has been taken to the plane of purest expressionism. The enchanting encounters shown in the film furnish the slim but haunting plot with the feeling of a play where the characters forget they are on stage.

The film's consciously created staginess is its biggest virtue. It lends an otherworldly quality to the frames. The wispy characters may or may not exist outside the prostitute-narrator Rani Mukerji's playful mind. Maybe she's making up this beautiful tale of one-sided love and perhaps the boy-man she took under her wings is just a figment of her imagination. The disarming delicacy with which art directors Omang and Vinita Kumar and cinematographer Ravi Chandran have built the blue foundations of the film's ravishingly romantic imagination lifts Dostoevsky's play to the sphere of poetry. Monty Sharma's soul-stirring music adds an entirely new dimension to the story of waiting and suffering. As expected from a Bhansali creation, the film is bathed in visuals that overpower the senses. The sequence where Sonam runs across a gauntlet of perpendicularly hung carpets beating a dust storm out of their beautiful fabric is a moment of sensual eruption.

In "Saawariya", Sonam does not know what or whom she is running from or what she will run into. She is Nutan in "Bandini", Aishwarya in "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" and Waheeda Rehman in "Pyasa". "Saawariya" is like a dream where the characters themselves live in a dream world. Escape from this world is akin to death. No one dies in Bhansali's majestic make-belief world and nothing wilts. Not even love when it is taken away from the boy who loves to entertain the unhappy girl in distress.

Xbox LIVE tie up with Hanuman Returns

2007-10-26T18:40:00.000+05:30

Animation film Hanuman was a story on a historical event; and was one of those films which set a precedent for the Indian animated feature market in 2005. Moving forward Percept Picture Company will extend Hanuman through a series of animation films. Our second film in the series is Hanuman Returns which is all about an entertainment experience hence the marriage with an apt platform like Xbox Live. “We are excited to showcase the hugely anticipated Hanuman Returns on the Xbox Live service – a next generation platform for complete connected entertainment with an existing community of millions of users worldwide” said MD of Percept Holdings Mr. Shailendra Singh.

Foot ball in Hotel

2007-10-26T18:27:00.000+05:30

There is a hot topic in Bollywood that John Abraham and sexy bombshell Bipasa Basu have been divided and Bipasa has become closer to Saif Ali Khan. However, these two are not caring any gossips. Moreover these love birds are halted in one hotel at London and playing foot ball. Do you mean that they are practicing foot ball in a hotel rather than going to any one of the play ground, no it is absolutely wrong. At present they are playing in the film GOAL. This film is the back ground story of foot ball. In this connection, Bipasa Basu said though I know about the game of foot ball, I do not have any experience of playing. Hence, I am getting newness and a special feeling by this story. In this issue John Abraham is teaching me the rules and regulations of the foot ball game about how to play and its richness by which I am feeling very thrilling she added.

Pawan Kalyan's Common Man Protection Force

2007-10-22T16:00:00.000+05:30

Pawan Kalyan launched an organization called ‘Common man protection force’ to help the society with a corpus fund of 1 crore rupees. Pawan Kalyan said, "I am an Indian. I don’t have any caste, creed and religion. I am inspired by the national leaders who brought us the independence. I want to use all the force of my fans to enlighten the society and try to solve the social problems in society like child prostitution, fluorosis in Warangal etc. I don’t lie and I have clean history. The only case I have now is about bigamy. I don’t want to comment about as the matter is with the court. I don’t mind going to jail if court finds me guilty." Pawan Kalyan said that he saved 1.32 crores rupees in fixed deposit and he is donating 1 crore out of it for this fund. He said that he is not after investments and buying more properties. He feels guilty to enjoy luxurious life while the common man is suffering with myriad of problems. He said that he won’t mind whatever happens and he would be dedicating rest of his life for ‘Common Man Protection Force’. If you want to contact Common Man Protection Force, you may call 98663 44833 and 98663 44733.