Tag: Sai Kumar

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Mayasabha (Rise of the Titans): A gripping socio-political drama

Aadi Pinishetty and Chaitanya Rao in roles inspired from Chandrababu Naidu and late YS Rajasekhara Reddy

Prasthanam director Deva Katta does a good job in engrossing the viewers, he successfully recreates the socio-political fabric with authenticity. The web series doesn’t shy away from wearing its politics on sleeves. The dialogues carry a lot of punch specifically those related to caste disparities

Starcast: Aadi Pinishetty, Chaitanya Rao, Divya Dutt, Sai Kumar, Srikanth Iyengar and others

Genre: Political drama

Creator: Deva Katta

Screenplay and direction: Deva Katta and Kiran Jay Kumar

Producers: Vijay Krishna Lingamaneni and Sree Harsha

Production Companies: Hitmen&Proodos, Productions LLP

Cinematography: Suresh Ragutu and Gnana Shekar V. S

Music: Shaktikanth Karthick

No of episodes: 9

Streaming site: SonyLIV

Pulling off a political drama and that too on real life personalities isn’t an easy task given how easily people can get offended. However, Deva Katta does an excellent job in not just capturing the political atmosphere but he along with Kiran Jay Kumar also pack in some strong social commentary. The web series doesn’t shy away from dwelling into thorny topics like caste, the longer format of a web show also helps Mayasabha given the journey of the primary characters. Mayasabha begins with the usual disclaimer: any resemblance to real people is purely coincidental, however it doesn’t take long for the viewers to understand from whom the primary and also the secondary characters have been inspired.

In simple terms the plot of Mayasabha focuses on Karakala Krishnam Naidu (Aadi Pinisetty) and Dr MS Rami Reddy (Chaitanya Rao). How the paths of these two intertwine from former friends to political rivals forms the basic premise of Mayasabha.

A strong aspect of Mayasabha is undoubtedly the dynamics between the two principal characters. The journey of the two leads are intermingled with both of them starting off as idealists. They want to transcend the social divisions and create a new kind of society however its easier said than done. The inequalities in social systems coupled with faction violence prove to be a major deterrent.

Their differing responses to societal pressures have been written and enacted with nuance. Mention must also be made of how Deva Katta and Kiran Jay Kumar have depicted the ideological disagreements between the two. It never borders on being venomous offering a fresh take on political rivalaries.

The two directors also deserve huge credit for bringing the voice of marginalized. People often caught in a major crossfire to power hungry politicians. Ravindra Vijay as the man wanting to shield his family from violence does an excellent job in representing this.

The emergency period through the characters of Divya Dutta and others also comes out in an impactful manner. Divya Dutta has a commanding presence perfectly embodying the attitude of the role. There is an important line by an official regarding the emergency, it goes like this. “You will give birth to a line of dictators who will use your methods, impose emergency and not even call it one”. This sentence offers a scathing critique of how the present dictators have taken inspiration from this.

Sai Kumar has a late entry playing a role moddled on the legendary NT Rama Rao. The veteran actor as expected shines with his voice modulation and strong presence. Srikant Iyengar too as the power hungry and insecure politician also does a fine job delivering an entertaining performance.

Ultimately Mayasabha belongs to its two leads. Aadi Pinishetty and Chaitanya Rao get into the skin of their respective roles passing with flying colors. The talented Aadi Pinishetty finally gets a part to showcase his acting range, and he doesn’t disappoint. He does a first-rate job in portraying the different facets whether it’s the stammering part or the later stages he doesn’t miss a beat. Chaitanya Rao also provides good support in convincingly portraying the ideological shifts.

The cinematography of Suresh Ragutu and Gnana Shekhar V. S is extremely commendable. They successfully bring alive the period of 1970’s and 1990’s transporting the viewers back to those times. The musical score of Shaktikanth Karthick is also of a good order, the tunes uplift the scenes without proving to be a distraction.

Coming to the flaws the romantic portions and the college days needed better writing and also a tighter edit.

Final word: Keeping aside the minor flaws Mayasabha is a must watch for political buffs.

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‘Court-State Vs A Nobody: Delivers an important message on the misuse of POCSO

The set up of ‘Court- State VS A Nobody has certain elements from the Jolly LLB movies. Much like Arshad Warsi and Akshay Kumar Priyadarshi also plays an underdog lawyer waiting to prove his mettle. The movie does suffer from logical drawbacks particularly in the second half still the performances coupled with the emotional core make it sail through
  • Starcast: Priyadarshi, Harsh Rohan, Sridevi Appala, Sivaji, Saikumar and others
  • Director and writer: Ram Jagadeesh
  • Genre: Legal drama
  • Additional writers: Karthikeya Srinivas and Vamsidhar Srigiri
  • Music: Shravan Bhardwaj
  • Producer: Prashanti Tripirneni
  • Banner: Wall Poster Cinema
  • Running time: 2 hours and 29 minutes

Before dissecting ‘Court- State Vs A Nobody it is necessary to applaud Nani for backing a social issue like this through his production house Wall Poster Cinema. While it is debatable on why back a movie showcasing the negative side of POCSO instead of a positive one at the same time though a subject showcasing the misuse of POCSO is also necessary to make people more aware about the law. In the age of pan India cinema where there is an increase of macho heroes stories of underdogs standing up for the marginalized sections is very important.

Nani should be applauded for backing a social issue like the misuse of POSCO in the age of Pan India cinema

The core plot of ‘Court- State VS A Nobody revolves around the false imprisonment of a 19 year old boy Chandrasekhar (Harsh Rohan). Chandrasekhar hails from a poor family, he isn’t into studies much, instead he juggles between multiple part time jobs. On the other hand you have Jabilli (Sridevi Appala). Jabilli come from a rich family. Mangapathi (a terrifying Sivaji) plays the powerful uncle. Mangapathi is a despicable bigot with regressive views. Jabilli and Chandrsekhar slowly fall in love, the situation takes a very dark turn for Chandrasekhar when Mangapathi with his influence and connections falsely implicates Chandrasekhar under the POCSO which is actually meant to punish sexual preparators. The rest of the story focuses on how Priyadarshi’s Surya Tej gets involved with Chandrasekhar eventually delivering justice.

The first half alternates between a budding love story and Surya Teja’s attempts to establish himself as a solid lawyer. Both these segments have their high points at the same time a certain repetitiveness also creeps in the portrayal of teenage love. The initial conversations between Chandrasekhar and Jabilli on the phone feel like a series of verbal abuses but things start getting better when they actually fall in love. The tender moments between them in particular leave a strong mark. The audiences feel very sorry for Chandrasekhar when he is falsely accused and root for him to come out safe.

The complexities involved in a legal case like this and how this makes the situation very difficult for Chandrasekhar has come out well in both the writing and direction. The director also does a very good job in exploring the psyche of Mangapathi. The way he behaves likes a self appointed custodian is representative of the numerous bigot male family members that we do read and also come across in real life. By its very nature Mangapathi character is loud, Sivaji delivers a terrific performance fully embodying the class and caste fanaticism of Mangapathi. The senior actor is truly having a fantastic second innings. First the role of a strict yet lovable father in the web series ’90’s a middle class biopic and now this.

The characterization of Surya Tej coupled with Priyadarshi solid act is another plus for the movie. Surya Tej is an underdog with major ambitions of making it as big an independent lawyer. There is a crucial point in the movie where Surya Tej feels cheated due to an important CCTV footage. There is a palpable pain in the way Surya Tej expresses his anger to Chandrasekhar’s friends.

Through the character of Surya Tej the focal point of the movie which is the misuse of POCSO has come out very well. There are important dialogues where Surya Tej talks about the judicial system needing to follow a certain discretion by understanding the difference between an act of rape and a supposed sexual act. He also breaks the societal stereotypes by talking about how a boy and a girl being in one room doesn’t always mean sexual intimacy. In the same scene valid points are also made on making the citizens more aware about the laws of our country. This aspect comes out in the dialogue where Surya Tej talks about the one mistake which Chandrasekhar did by going into the room with Jabilli.

Talking about the courtroom drama some parts in the screenplay suffer on discrepancies. For example allegations on Chandrasekhar are accepted without any medical examination along with the fact that it takes so long for Jabilli to make an appearance in the court.

Given the nature of the movie there isn’t much scope for the cinematography department still the courtroom setting has an authentic feel. There is only one song in the movie which is a love ballad called Premalo. It’s quite a tuneful number capturing the teenage love perfectly.

Premalo song perfectly captures the teenage romance

As far as the young leads go both Harsh Rohan and Sridevi Appaalla do a very fine job in making the viewers emphasize with the characters. Harsh Rohan though has the tougher role given the background of Chandrasekhar. He gets the more emotionally demanding scenes and the young actor makes full use of it. Mention must also be made of Sai Kumar as a top lawyer and the boss of Surya Tej. There’s a very crucial scene where his character gives an advice to Surya on the importance of bouncing back and how a lawyer should properly perceive the case scenarios before coming to the conclusion of who is right and who is wrong. Rohini as Jabilli’s mother lends a quiet strength in the scenes where she finally understands her daughter and gives it back to Mangapathi. Harshvardhan as the cunning lawyer does a fairly impressive job although his character arc could have been better designed.

‘Court- State VS A Nobody is an admirable attempt at portraying an important social issue. In spite of the logical lapses the movie benefits from a strong emotional core.

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Saripodhaa Sanivaaram: A whacky tale of hot-headed men in a commercial format

Director Vivek Athreya talks about channeling anger in the right direction and not using it for futile reasons. The director brings his trademark quirks to a regular plot of good versus evil

  • Starcast: Nani, SJ Suryah, Sai Kumar, Priyanka Mohan, Aditi Balan, Abhirami and others
  • Director and writer: Vivek Athreya
  • Music and background score: Jakes Bejoy
  • Producer: D VV Dannaya
  • Production house: DVV Entertainment
  • Running time: 2 hours and 46 minutes

Vivek Athreya’s last Ante Sundaraniki was a simple rom peppered with a lot of situational humor, through the jokes he did a fine job in addressing our religious biases. In spite of a long winding screenplay the film has built a solid fan base over the years. Saripodhaa Sanivaaram is less indulgent, but the trademark Vivek Athreya’s touches are aplenty. On the surface Saripodhaa Sanivaaram is a regular vigilante story with a nod to Salim Javed’s angry young man. What makes the difference here though is the world building, a solid base for the hero villain conflict. The film also has interesting touches particularly the characterization of Sai Kumar, Sai Kumar’s character of an angry cop in police story doesn’t need a particular introduction, in a refreshing reversal Sai Kumar is seen as a peace-loving father constantly worrying about the consequences of his son’s anger. He is also seen cooking and cleaning, but Vivek Athreya doesn’t reduce him to a whimp giving the senior actor his own mass moment.

Building a solid base for the hero villain conflict

The broad storyline of Saripodhaa Sanivaaram is about an insurance agent Surya (Nani). Surya leads an ordinary life from Monday to Friday but on Saturday he unleashes his anger. The reason for the Saturday fixation is connected to the mother played by Abhirami, she was also aggressive in nature. The beginning portions establish how Surya’s sense of social justice comes from his mother. Even the sister played by Aditi Balan has her own temper and isn’t someone who cows down easily. On certain occasions Sai Kumar’s Sankaram feels like an odd one out trying to maintain balance. S. J Suryah ironically named Dayanand Daya also has anger issues, he shares a thorny relationship with the brother Kurmanand (a hilarious Murali Sharma). Since Kurmanand is an MLA Dayanand channels his frustration on the locality of Sokulapalem this colony is inspired from the famous Stuartpuram, their ancestors were thieves, and the present Sokulapalem people are the victims of a certain stigma. Whenever Dayanand wants to vent his anger, he comes to that place and inflicts torture on whomever he wants. It is just a matter of time before the worlds of Surya and Dayanand collide, this happens due to Priyanka Mohan’s Charulatha a newly appointed constable. The movie is divided into various chapters like the prologue, turn and knot among others.

A strong aspect of Saripodhaa Sanivaaram is the strong characterizations that Vivek Athreya gives to both the hero and villain. Both of them come across as two powerful entities. The director has also designed some interesting character traits. For example, S J Suryah’s character comes with shades of sarcastic humor, there are times where he goes from serious to jovial within a flash of second. These nuances add a lot to the role and the actor simply chews the scenery. His scenes with Nani though few in number are power packed. On certain occasions he even overshadows Nani with his powerful presence.

Nani’s Surya on the other hand is someone who suppresses his anger until Saturday and takes it out only when he feels the frustration is justified. For the father he is a tickling time bomb, and this leads to numerous laugh out loud moments. A certain warmth can also be seen at a crucial juncture when the father gives him an important advice. Nani as always does a fine job both in portraying both the boy next door and also the angry young man.

A certain warmth is also there

The romantic scenes with Priyanka Mohan are also filled with some fun moments. Particularly the meta references to Eega. Their love has been treated in a dignified matter. Priyanka Mohan’s Charulatha is someone who doesn’t like violence and stays away from confrontation. This trait comes across as an ode to Mani Ratnam’s classic movie Thalapathy.

The romance has been treated in a dignified manner

Mention must also be the portions involving S J Suryah and Murali Sharma. Their scenes again have undertones of humor, at the same time the viewers understand the origin of Dayanand’s skewed personality.Saripodhaa Sanivaaram also comes with a mythological reference to Krishna and Satyabhama ending Narakasura’s terror. There is an important message on how one shouldn’t rely on divine intervention, instead people must stand up for themselves. This has come out beautifully. The movie tries its best to not showcase Nani as the ultimate savior even though the climatic battle prominently features Nani and S J Suryah’s face off. At the same time, it has to be said that the people of Sokulapalem could have done with more fleshed out characters. At certain points they resemble a cliched helpless lot waiting for someone to change their lives. Similarly, no higher authorities keeping a check on Dayanand’s activities is hard to digest.

Jakes Bejoy’s background score elevates the drama on numerous occasions particularly the tense moments. Saripodhaa Sanivaaram is a good attempt a bringing some freshness within the good versus evil genre in spite of a few setbacks.