Tag: Bramhaji

Posted on

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/

Posted on

Amigos: A Tale Of Lookalikes Bolstered By Kalyanram’s Histrionics

An interesting experiment on doppelgangers.

Amigos (Telugu)

  • Cast: Nandamuri Kalyanram, Ashika Ranganath, Bramhaji, and Saptagari
  • Writer-Director: Rajendra Reddy
  • Producer: Mythri Movie Makers
  • Music: Ghibran
  • Runtime: 2 hours 19 minutes

Stories revolving around lookalikes usually end up being about identical twins lost at birth. But Rajendra Reddy’s Amigos is not that kind of clichéd tale of two lookalikes.

The three characters played by Kalyan Ram have nothing in common with how they have been brought up and what they do.

Additionally, one of Kalyan Ram’s characters has a mysterious aura about him. Kalyan Ram showed his penchant for choosing interesting stories with his last one Bimbisara.

In spite of the Rajamouli hangover, Bimbisara still had its own identity in how it dealt with the concept of time travel. There is a cruel and selfish king who ends up straddling two timelines.

Amigos is another different attempt by Kalyanram. Much like Bimbisara, this also lacks perfect storytelling. But still, it is worth your time.

The plot

Siddharth is a young man who runs a family business. One day, he is astonished to come across a website about doppelgangers.

On that website, he comes across two of his lookalikes — Manjunath and Michael. They meet up.

After a fun holiday in Goa, they come down to Hyderabad to help Siddharth with his love life.

The love interest here is Ishika (Ashika Ranganath), a girl who wants her husband to have superman qualities.

But things take a drastic turn with the entry of NIA. They are after one of the lookalikes. The rest of the story is about why NIA is hell-bent on catching this guy and how this affects the other two.

What works out and what doesn’t?

Amigos begins off on a slow note. The initial portions feel more like a setup and certain restlessness creeps up.

But things take a turn for the better when Siddharth meets his lookalikes.

The scenes in Goa are fun to watch. Scenes where Manjunath and Michael help Siddharth have their share of amusing moments.

The interval bang when the NIA catches up with one of Kalyanram’s lookalikes raises the stakes for a pulsating second half.

The second half is much better as there is an engrossing cat-and-mouse game between Siddharth and the antagonist. The antagonist is also played by Kalyanram.

Some tension-filled moments make the audience root for Siddharth.

The climax involving the doppelgangers is the biggest highlight of this enterprise. There is a certain joy that the audiences get when Siddharth gets rid of the bad guy.

The big issue with Amigos though is their formulaic nature in terms of the treatment. This is best reflected in the portrayal of NIA.

The NIA comes across as rather incapable on many occasions. On more than one occasion they look like buffoons. A stronger portrayal of NIA would have elevated the antagonist more.

The commercial elements of comedy, romance and action are a hit and a miss; particularly, the romance aspect.

More than the music, it is the background score that elevates the film. Ghibran provides a rousing BGM that adds to the characters, particularly in the scenes of Michael.

The remix of “Enno Ratrulostayi” deserves a mention here as it provides some relief.

The performances

Ashika Ranganath is pleasant but her character Ishika’s dreams of wanting a superman husband also come across as rather clichéd.

Amigos is mostly a Kalyanram film as the actor is present in almost all the frames. He is successful in showcasing the variations between the three characters.

He is most effective as the villain who would go to any lengths in his mission.

The actor also deserves appreciation for the distinct voice modulation in this part. His portrayal of Manjunath’s innocence also deserves appreciation.

Bramhaji is the only other actor who stands out. He has a lengthy part and the senior actor does well as expected.

Verdict

In a nutshell, this tale of doppelgangers will make you curious about finding your lookalikes even though it comes with its own set of dangers.