Aakasamantha is a beautiful, warm story of a father and his daughter, their relationship and the unselfish love that they have for each other. It touches corners in your heart that you never knew existed.

Raghuram (played by Prakash Raj) is  a devoted husband and a loving father who spares no means in giving his daughter Abhi (played by Trisha Krishnan ) everything she deserves. His love for his child is incredible,  he takes immense care in planning every facet of Abhi’s life.  From the day he learns all the capitals of all countries in the world for securing his daughter’s admission into a good school to the day he gives his daughter’s hand away in marriage, Prakash Raj’s appearance in the movie is ubiquitous, he permeates every frame of the movie and takes control  – even when his character acts absolutely helpless  in a particular scene, he is in control of the character overall.

Trisha’s action is equally good – she fits the ‘perfect daughter’ description to the hilt. Her potrayal of a dutiful daughter and a blushing damsel at the same time leave no scope for improvement.

Aishwarya was an extremely good choice for the role of a commanding an authoritative mother as well as wife. At some points in the movie it seems like her wife character is the perfect antithesis to Prakash Raj’s husband character – while the husband is deeply sentimental,  emotional and susceptible to bouts of weeping (I mean it in a good way), her character lends the much needed ‘iron man’ element in the movie and she clearly stamps her authority over the husband-wife relationship.

Kumaravel is heart rending in his depiction of the life of a beggar, sometimes his action seemed cavalier but sometimes I wondered if his cynical and satirical sense of humor was well in line with the character of a beggar. Overall, an extremely good effort. The Ravi Shastri character lends bucketloads of humor to the storyline of the movie.

Ganesh Venkataraman was extremely convincing as an economist + independent journalist, a Singh from Punjab and as a caring fiancé. His dialogues in Punjabi as well as Hindi leave no scope for improvement, even the mispronounced ‘sambar, rasam and appadam’ lend credibility to his character’s potrayal.

After all this, I’d really like to say that the music was good but have to stop by saying it is a damp squib. Probably my guess is Vidyasagar did not put much effort into the music as it was a slower movie with character artists. The BGM does justice though.

Scenes to watch out for :

1. The scene when Ravi Shastri enters the hotel.

2. The scene where Abhi says ‘ I know what I’m doing’ to her father while she’s riding a bicycle to school

3. The scene where Raghuraman’s friend tells him about the old sardarji driving the taxi in Delhi

4. The scene where , for the first time, Raghuraman sees his daughter sitting close to his would-be son-in-law.

5. The scene where Abhi slips and falls and Jogi talks to Raghuraman

6. The final scene in the airport.

My Rating :  7.5/10

A MUST WATCH.

He was a shrewd tactician and a political juggernaut. His paada yaatra which single handedly brought the Congress to power after two terms of TDP rule, will be etched in the annals of political history as one of the most daring steps taken by a political leader during recent times.Daring drought conditions and the blazing summer heat of Rayalaseema, YSR walked the entire state to learn the problems of the people and provide sustainable solutions to the causes of their anguish.He never looked for quick fixes. He wanted the state to improve as a whole. That is the mark of a dedicated and charismatic leader. He was truly a leader of the masses.The irrigation projects and Aarogyasri were truly frontrunners of reform in agriculture and public health policy.

Maybe God wanted his help in building some projects in heaven. That must be the only reason why he left us so early. In death, he shall come closer, nay, stay forever in the hearts of the people.

I was looking at a plant that lies beside the path I walk to class everyday, and It did not grow in size from one month. It was not a tree by a long shot, so I guessed it still had a long way to go as far as growing was concerned. However the question that sprung to my mind was- why is it not growing? Are there not enough nutrients in the soil? Is there not enough rainfall? Is it not receiving enough sunlight? The answer to all these three questions was a resounding ‘NO’.

Then why was it not growing?

Growth is an important part of life. It sounds cliched, I know. You might have heard this phrase a hundred times till now.But what is more important than growth is endurance. Endurance in body and spirit. Sometimes an indomitable spirit might be vanquished by the impuissance of a weak body. At other times, your body might be raring to go but your mind says no.

As with the plant, sometimes there may not be growth in a human being’s life for a period of time. But all that latent energy will burst forth in a rapture of bliss. Sooner or later we will find that the sun shines anew, the flower blooms with renewed vigor and the river rushes across the plain.

Sometimes people need time to think, to retract into a state of calm introspection, reexamine their priorities, revitalize their minds and refresh that indomitable human spirit. That is the hallmark of the human race.

And as always, we shall be believers in Hope and in Growth.

You cannot always tell if a plant is growing by looking at its shoots. It may be strengthening its roots too.