Tag: AHA

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My Dear Donga: A breezy rom-com with a lovable thief

The USP of ‘My Dear Donga’ is how love blossoms between the robber and a young woman stuck in an unhappy relationship.
My Dear Donga (Telugu), 19-04-2024, Romantic-Comedy,1 hour 43 minutes, U/A OTT
  • Main Cast: Abhinav Gomatam, Shalini Kondepudi, Nikhil Gajula, and Divya Sripada
  • Director: BS Sarwagna Kumar
  • Producer: Maheshwar Reddy Gojala
  • Music Director: Ajay Arasada
  • Cinematography: SS Manoj
  • Rating: 3/5
  • Published in: Southfirst

Light-hearted rom-coms with some fun always make for a good stress buster. My Dear Donga, directed by BS Sarwagna Kumar, fits perfectly in this category.

The storyline of My Dear Donga is paper thin but Shalini Kondepudi, who has written the story and acted, ensures there is some good situational humour in the movie.

The subject of My Dear Donga focuses on new-age relationships and the small things, which matter in the long run.

Synopsis

Sujatha (Shalini Kandepudi) has been in a relationship for over two years with Vishal (Nikhil Gajula).

Vishal is a doctor who lies to his girlfriend about being in an ICU when he is actually watching a cricket match with his friends. Apart from this, he also occasionally ignores her with some excuse.

Things reach a crescendo when Sujatha learns that there is no ICU in the workplace of Vishal. She catches him red-handed handed watching a cricket match with a friend.

Naturally, Sujatha is devastated and reaches home broken mentally.

A robber named Suresh (Abhinav Gomatam) is already in her house and picks up a few valuables. Initially, she is shocked but soon, Sujatha and Suresh start conversing with each other as they have some commonalities in terms of family backgrounds, they hate their respective fathers.

Things get more complicated with the arrival of Vishal and her two friends. They visit Sujatha’s house to celebrate her birthday, and Sujatha introduces Suresh as her childhood friend.

The rest of the story is about how the birthday party goes and how she develops feelings towards Suresh.

Explores today’s relationships

Team ‘My Dear Donga’. (X)

A strong aspect of My Dear Donga is its crisp running time. At one hour and 43 minutes, the movie never feels dragged out.

Director BS Sarwagna quickly establishes the thorny relationship of Sujatha and Vishal.

Here, it has to be said that Sujatha is telling her story to a bartender who listens to her with complete attention. His reaction shots coupled with the conversations between them raise many chuckles.

How Sujatha develops feelings towards Suresh and the blossoming of love has been etched well.

A good example of this is when Suresh takes Sujatha & Co out, giving a huge surprise by celebrating her birthday with cake.

The situational humour involving Abhinav Gomatam also has some fun moments.

Special mention must be of the scenes where Divya Sripada’s character questions Abhinav Gomatam’s Suresh about where he and Sujatha met and which school they studied in.

As mentioned above, My Dear Donga focuses on the small things that matter in a relationship. Arranging surprise party poppers, washing the plates, and spending more time with the girl you love may appear trivial. But sometimes, these very same things give big happiness. This aspect has come out strongly.

Technical crafts

Ajay Arasada’s music could have been more soulful, but still, the tunes go with the movie’s flow. The title song “My Dear Donga” has been well-tuned.

There isn’t much scope for cinematography here given the setting but still, the film looks good visually.

Apart from relatively weak music, the reasons for Abhinav Gomatam’s Suresh becoming a burglar does not make much logical sense.

Also, we are never shown whether the mother comes to know about her son being a robber or not.

In the initial portion of the movie, we hear her voice. But after the family backgrounds are discussed, there is no mention of her.

Abhinav and Shalini excel

Abhinav Gomatam and Shalini Kandepudi do most of the heavy lifting.

Abhinav Gomatam’s ability to generate humour is of course well known. Here too, the actor does not disappoint. He plays the loveable thief with a lot of charm.

Apart from the comic scenes Abhinav also proves his versatility in the portions where Suresh gives wisdom.

As the story progresses, Shalini Kondepudi brings in both the required innocence and the strong-headed nature.

The rest of the actors do as required.

Final take

My Dear Donga makes for a good weekend watch in the family. Some moments in the film will definitely connect to this generation.

It is streaming on AHA.

https://thesouthfirst.com/entertainment/my-dear-donga-telugu-movie-review

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Bhamakalapam 2: A Delicious Sequel With An ‘In-Form’ Priya Mani

Director Abhimanyu Tadimeti keeps the viewers thoroughly intrigued. The characterisation of Priya Mani’s Anupama continues to be a big highlight.
Bhamakalapam 2 (Telugu); Crime Thriller, 2 hours 8 minutes U/A
  • Main Cast: Priya Mani, Shranya Pradeep, Bramhaji, and Seerat Kapoor
  • Director: Abhimanyu Tadimeti
  • Producer: Sudheer Edara and Bhogavalli Bapineedu
  • Music Director: Prashanth V Vihari
  • Cinematography: Deepak Yaragera
  • Rating: 3.5
  • Published in: Southfirst

Bhamakalapam (2022), directed by Abhimanyu Tadimeti, was an engrossing thriller with elements of crime, greed, and religion.

The pivot of the first part was about an extremely valuable egg that is worth ₹200 crore. This egg is stolen by someone and gets lost again.

Priya Mani’s Anupama was a homemaker-cum-YouTuber who kept a sharp eye on the neighbourhood. In a way, she was the Sherlock Homes of her apartment.

Abhimanyu Tadimeti did a good job of building the mystery around the egg along with making a strong statement about finding god within you.

The first part was released in 2022 and now, you have the sequel after a gap of two years.

The second part begins with Anupama and her family shifting to a new place.

Synopsis

Priya Mani and Sharanya Pradeep in ‘Bhamakalapam 2’, a thriller. (X)

Anupama’s husband Mohan (Pradeep Rudra) asks her to not meddle in other people’s issues. Meanwhile, Anupama launches a restaurant with the revenue generated from YouTube.

She makes Shilpa (Sharanya Pradeep) her business partner.

Just when everything seems to be going well, the life of Anupama takes a drastic turn.

She unintentionally helps the police in catching a criminal while practising driving with the instructor next to her.

Bramhaji plays the teacher. He uses this incident to increase the popularity of his driving school.

The person gets out on bail and starts threatening Anupama. To get out of this mess, Anupama and Shilpa approach Sadanand (Anish Gurwara), who used to work as the head of Narcotics Control. However, this only results in the situation becoming messier.

A situation comes when Anupama has to steal an illustration of an adult male chicken worth a lot of money. She has no other option.

Additionally, Anupama and Shilpa are selected to participate in a major cooking competition. Adding to this mix are the new characters like Jubeda (Seerat Kapoor).

Playing to the strengths

A big strength of Bhamakalapam 2 is the jugulbandi between Priya Mani and Sharanya.

The actors take off effortlessly from where they left off in the first part. Their scenes together leave the viewers in splits.

Abhimanyu Tadimeti also does a good job of developing the new characters.

For example, the viewers are initially supposed to sympathise with the character of Sadanand, an outcast officer. But soon, that changes with his behaviour towards Anupama. His plans of stealing the valuable item and how he goes about it keep the viewers on the hooks.

Similarly, the track of Seerat Kapoor, a former TV actor, has also been well-written. The character comes with grey shades that go beyond just her glamorous looks.

The portions of the heist mixed with the cooking competition are another highlight of the film.

A few minutes after the cooking competition begins, Anupama deliberately cuts her finger as it is time to execute the heist plan.

While doing Sadanand’s job, she also gives cooking instructions to Shilpa through the second earphone.

A far-fetched heist

A still from the film ‘Bhamakalapam 2’. (X)

The heist scenes are far-fetched in nature, but what makes them work is the handling of Abhimanyu Tadimeti.

Pre-climax also has a good twist regarding the illustration of the adult male chicken, but the subsequent sequence is not entirely satisfactory.

Almost every character has a gun in their hands, and the shooting scenes don’t add much to the narrative.

Also, the eventual fate of this adult male chicken goes out of the window. The director should have clarified this.

However, Abhimanyu Tadimeti does deserve credit for setting up a good base for part 3.

Priya Mani is once again spot-on in the title role. She portrays the mental strength of Anupama with absolute finesse.

Priya Mani is seen doing some action, and the actor excels in that, too.

Sharanya Pradeep raises many chuckles, particularly in the scenes where Shilpa has to cook solo.

Bramhaji, as the driving instructor, has a brief presence, but he is an absolute riot.

The rest of the actors are fine in their respective parts.

Final take

Bhamakalapam 2 makes the viewers eager for the third part.

It is streaming on Aha Video.

https://thesouthfirst.com/entertainment/bhamakalapam-2-movie-review/

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Newsense: A Web Show That Gives An Insight Into The Nexus Of Media And Rural Politics

Sai Prawin Kumar’s directorial Newsense consists of many threads that sustain the interest of the audiences for the second season also.

Stories centred on politics and journalism make great subjects because both are interconnected pillars of our society.

Newsense is one such show. However, this isn’t an easy genre to crack for a director as a certain authenticity is needed, as well as some political knowledge.

Director Sri Prawin Kumar looks at the nexus between politics and the media in small towns. He creates a web of characters who can’t be slotted as black or white.

He does a wonderful job for the most part. The director is also hugely aided by his cast, starting with Navadeep, who disappears into his part.

Synopsis

The backdrop of Newsense is a small town called Madanapalle in Andhra Pradesh, set in the 1990s and 2000s.

The show primarily explores unethical journalism practised by a set of stringers, along with a few politicians who want to grab power at any cost.

Shiva (Navadeep) is a street-smart journalist who belongs to the same category.

But sometimes, he deviates from the norm by presenting the truth (although not completely), and as a result, he gets into trouble.

For Shiva and his fellow stringers, it is a battle between doing the right thing, and also staying alive. Often we see them accepting covers of money from both political parties.

Newsense deals with several issues like the role of media in society, and the impact of sensationalising news, among other things. It does not hesitate to criticise the media and its corrupt practices.

Though the story is set in the Rayalaseema region, the director thankfully doesn’t resort to over-the-top action sequences that the viewers are forced to see in typical action movies.

Newsense grips the viewers from the start with its multi-layered narrative. As viewers, we empathise with the sufferings of the local people, who are sandwiched between two political parties.

For example, there is a farmer who fights for his land, which has been illegally occupied by miscreants, a woman searching for a missing husband, etc. There is certain believability about the problems they face.

Despite the show’s serious tone, there is also some raw humour which comes as a respite.

The chemistry between the leads

Neela is an aspiring news anchor and Shiva’s love interest.

Through the character of Neela, the director touches upon the perspective of a female journalist in a town that is dominated by male journalists. The interaction between Shiva and Neela has a certain playfulness combined with a local flavour.

This has been both wonderfully written and enacted. The chemistry between the duo is spot on. Newsense’s light moments mostly feature Shiva and Neela (played by Bindu Madhavi).

Talking about the leads, both Navadeep and Bindu Madhavi are in very good form.

Navadeep gets into the skin of his character, starting from the dialect. He embraces the several grey shades of his character with aplomb.

Bindu Madhavi lights up the frame whenever she is on screen. She is supremely natural on her part.

Strong technical aspects

What also adds to the impact are the dialogues of Jayasimha. He does a good job of making the viewers introspect without resorting to rhetoric.

The background music of Suresh Bobbili goes well with the flavour of the series, Newsense. There is only one song in the show— Myneeru Pillagada. This track makes for a soothing watch, both for the ears and the eyes.

Three cinematographers are involved with this web series— Anantnag Kavuri, Vedaraman and Prasanna. They capture the rustic terrain wonderfully through their lens.

Nanda Gopal to rescue

There are some moments where the graph does go down.

But thankfully the show gets back on track with the entry of Sub-Inspector Edwin (Nanda Gopal), in the fifth episode.

Nanda Gopal has an arresting presence which makes the viewers look forward to his portions despite the limited screen time. The rest of the supporting actors also make an impact.

Final verdict

Overall this web show is binge-worthy, particularly if you have a keen interest in politics and media. It shows how lives are ruined because of the unholy relationship between two great pillars.

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Bloody Mary: An Engrossing Thriller With A Formidable Performance From Its Leading Lady

Narratives weaved around the characters of visually impaired isn’t something really new. For example you have had Nayanathara’s Netrikaraan. Director Chandoo Mondeti’s Bloody Mary is an intense thriller with a social cause integrated into it.

Mary (Nivetha Pethuraj) is a nurse in a hospital. She is also an orphan who lives in a small apartment along with her childhood friends Basha and Raju (Kriti Damaraju and Rajkumar Kasireddy). Basha aspires to become an actor although he cannot speak. One day a hospital doctor tries to misbehave with Mary, Mary accidentally kills him.

Parallel to this you have her friend Basha seeing a murder committed by the area circle inspector (Played by Ajay). The rest of the plot is about how Mary will handle the situation? Who is Mary? What is her actual Identity? Among others. Revealing anything more wouldn’t be appropriate given that it is a thriller.

Chandoo Mondeti doesn’t waste any time in setting up the plot. There are no unnecessary diversions here; as a result you are hooked to the narrative. He is also well aided by the technical team. Kala Bhairava’s background music is very much apt for the film’s genre. The photography by Karthik Ghattamaneni is also in perfect sync. The framing and the set up aid immensely in building up the perfect atmospherics.

The runtime is another huge plus for Bloody Mary. It is very much slick.

A major reason why Bloody Mary works is because of the way the title character has been developed. We initially see her as this subdued person but more and more layers are revealed as we go along. The director is successful in making you root for her.

Nivitha Pethuraj gives an arresting performance as a lady with big dreams in life. Her screen presence along with the performance brings depth to the key episodes. She also gets some nice masala moments which are usually reserved for heroes.

The scenes between Nivetha and Ajay are also good to watch. The cat and the mouse between Mary and the cop keeps you engaged. Ajay gets a good amount of screen time and he does his aggressive cop act perfectly.

 The bond that Mary shares with Basha and Raju is also well presented.

Bloody Mary does suffer a bit from impossibility issues. Some of the twists will put you off but these are minor grouses as the film is mostly satisfying.

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Bhamakalapam: An Engaging Thriller

Abhimanyu Tadimeti’s Bhamakalapam is an interesting mix of ingredients such as crime, greed and religion. The director pivots his plot on a Faberge egg that is worth 200 cores. This valuable egg has been stolen and later on gets lost again. Apart from making an engrossing thriller the director also makes a statement on how to find god within. The underlying message here is that not to be misled by anyone who uses religion as a weapon. The film also benefits from Priyamani’s spot on performance.

Bhamakalapam begins with an incident that is eerily similar to 2018’s Andhadhun. Instead of the Rabbit you have a lamb that crosses the path and the car meets with an accident. This of course leads to many things. However the similarities with Andhadhun end here. Anupama Mohan (Priyamani) is a homemaker and also a well known Youtuber. She is famous for her videos on cooking.

But Anupama is more than just a YouTuber, she also keeps an eye on what is happening in neighborhood. You can say that Anupama is her ‘apartments Sherlock Homes’. We get evidence of this early on when she tries to expose the extramarital affair of her neighbour. Her detective work backfires and she is thoroughly embarrassed by her apartment people. She also promises her husband that she wouldn’t peek out of the window again; however fate has different plans for her.

Other important members of the apartment include a pastor who is waiting for divine events to happen. There is also a woman called Saira who is a survivor of domestic abuse. Sharanya of Fida fame plays the domestic help of Anupama called Shilpa.

The biggest reason why Bhamakalapam works is due to the intrigue that the director is able to maintain. He builds up the mystery around the egg really well.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/sbrrlQzaezY?feature=oembed Another major highlight of the film is the scenes between Priyamani and Sharanya. Their scenes are filled with comedy and also tension. The duo is particularly good when the characters become unwilling partners in crime.

The religious aspect is also brought out well by Abhimanyu. The theme of certain men misleading people by using religion isn’t really particularly new but the message is still an important one.

The cinematography by Viplav Nyshadam and music by Justin Prabhakaran also add to the comic thriller mood. For example there is a scene where Anupama finds herself dragged into a situation wishing that she had never taken that step. The sound of the violin has been very well used.

Priyamani as I earlier said is spot on with her performance. She gets the nuances of the character spot on starting from Anupama’s inquisitiveness. Saranya as Shilpa is another ace in the story. The actress is good in both the comic bits and also the ones where she needs to show tension. The rest of the cast are appropriate in their respective roles.

Bhamakalapam is an interesting experiment that deserves to be seen.

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Kudi Edamaithe

“Kudi Yedamaithe” is based on an interesting premise of two people having already lived through a particular day. They are trying to recollect things and make efforts on changing the turn of events. In the hands of a less compotent director the series would have crashed given the repetitive events and the concept of time loop but director Pawan Kumar does an extremely good job in making the audiences invested in the characters and also keeps them guessing.

The series spans eight episodes and never deviates from its core plot. The tension is well maintained and thankfully there are no unnecessary elements like comedy track and songs. For those who are not familiar with the name of the title, it is taken from a popular song in the film “Devadasu”. The phrase “Kudi Yedamaithe” is used here referring an unexpected turn of events that pushes life upside down.

Adi( Rahul Vijay) is an aspring actor who works as a food delivery agent for an agency. His routine starts from rushing to a neighbourhood food stall and having breakfast, this is followed by taking delivery orders and navigating through the city. In between he also gives auditions for roles in films. We get an idea of his bond with an older collegue called Farooq who cares for him. This is how his life goes and that day is no different.

On the other side of the coin there is a cop Durga played by Amala Paul. She is dependent on alchahol and is trying to focus on the tasks that she has to do for the day. There are cases regarding child kidnapping that she has to solve and also other challenging ones. As time becomes twelve both of them meet with an accident and dies, wakes up the following morning only to relive everything that happened all over again.

The rest of the series is about whether now both of them can change the turn of events that happened earlier since they are aware of what the rest of the day holds. The chief reason why “Kudi Yedamaithe” works is the way in which the events have been shown. Although they are common in nature you have subtle variations in the way they approach the situation.

A good example of the subtle variations is the audition scenes of Adi. When Adi first goes to the audition there is certain nervousness but by the second time nervousness is replaced by confidence. The reason being he has already gone through the drill. The third time it becomes disdain because something else becomes a priority for Adi.

The same happens with Amala Paul’s character too. The strategies that her character uses keep changing with the day as she is desperate to solve the crime. As the sense of urgency increases with both the characters you are riveted to the screen and want them to succeed.

The time loop is central to the plot and it could have easily gone into a boring zone, however it doesn’t. Apart from Pawan Kumar the technical team is another reason why it never gets boring. The atmospherics contribute in a big way to the suspense factor.

Amala Paul as Durga plays her complex character with ease. It is a treat to watch her performing. The surprise factor is Rahul Vijay. He also gets equal screen time and shows his potential.

“Kudi Yedamaithe” ends on an interesting note and makes you excited for the second season. The web-series is premiered in Aha.