Tag: Venky Atluri

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Vishwanath&Sons: A wholesome family entertainer with a Trivikram touch

After Lucky Bhaskar Venky Atluri takes another out of box premise, this time a huge age gap romance with the backdrop of surrogacy. In spite of some dips post interval the film is largely engaging. Mamitha Baiju as the chirpy Madanakameswari akka Maddy is the films beating heart. The young actress more than holds her own opposite Suriya and Radhika Sarathkumar. Suriya as Sanjay Vishwanath delivers a performance which is more internalized nevertheless highly effective. The climax signifying a happy ending for Vishwanath and Maddy ends the film on a high.

Starcast: Suriya, Mamitha Baiju, Radhika Sarathkumar, Raveena Tandon, Nassar and others

Director and writer: Venky Atluri

Genre: Romance/family drama

Dialogues: KN Vijaykumar

Music: GV Prakash Kumar

Cinematography: Nimish Ravi

Producers: Suryadevara Naga Vamsi and Sai Soujanya

Production Companies: Srikara Studios, Sithara Entertainments etc

Running time: 2 hours and 41 minutes

Vishwanath& Sons is a very anticipated release for numerous reasons. Venky Atluri’s last Lucky Bhaskar was a major hit both critically and commercially. Suriya after a series of theatricals debacles made a strong comeback with the massy hit Karuppu. However, the biggest reason for the buzz is it’s out of box plot. How the huge age gap romance will unfold has created curiosity. Thankfully Venky Atluri does justice to the theme, and the happy ending is the icing on the cake. At times the film ventures into a classic Trivikram territory, the family drama in second half does slow down the movie thankfully though the film never slips off the rails.

The story of VS revolves around a businessman cum Olympic shooter played by Suriya and a free-spirited medical student Maddy (Mamitha Baiju). Vishwanth has an aversion for marriage due to certain reasons, but he ends up having a baby boy through surrogacy. Radhika Sarathkumar plays Vishwanath’s mother who wants her son to get married. The lives of Vishwanath and the surrogate mother Maddy intertwine due to a medical crisis. How Maddy entry changes Vishwanath’s life forms the main core of VS.

The strong aspect of VS is the polar opposite characters. Vishwanath has a more serious demeanor; there is a certain restraint to the character. Maddy though is wilder with an unfiltered attitude. How the two end up developing a deep bond even with the mismatched personalities is a major plus for VS.

Vishwanath’s emotional trauma is revealed in installments, and this helps the viewers in understanding the man’s personality. The subplot of Raveena Tandon and her dynamics with Vishwanath has some solid moments too. Radhika Sarathkumar as the ageing matriarch is elegance personified. The veteran actress balances authority and warmth in her signature style. Her scenes with both Suriya and Mamitha give the film some of its best moments.

Among the lighter scenes a specific mention must be of the portion involving Suriya’s condoms. Venky Atluri treats the entire portion of Vishwanath having flings with 30 plus women in a matter-of-fact way. There is no overt sensationalization with the mother also being cool about it.

Vishwanath &Sons wouldn’t be what it is without the performances apart from the solid writing. After an unabashed massy turn in Karuppu Suriya effortlessly slips into a classy avatar portraying Vishwanath in an understated but highly effective manner. The actor especially shines in the scenes of Vishwanath facing his inner demons and revealing his feelings about Maddy.

Mamitha Baiju though is the showstopper, she brings in both warmth and an infectious energy. The stubbornness of Maddy could have been easily mistaken for infatuation but both the writing and the actress bring an emotional resonance. As viewers you understand where Maddy is coming from making the happy ending even more satisfying.

The rest also pitch in some fine performances especially Raveena Tandon. Nassar on the other hand brings in some laughs amidst the second half’s emotional drama. The music of GV Prakash Kumar isn’t a chartbuster, but the songs go well with the films flow. Neno Butterfly deserves a special mention for Mamitha’s portrayal of a love-struck woman.

The cinematography is suitably blingy, but it has a significant hangover of other movies depicting rich families.

Final word: Vishwanth& Sons is a refreshing family entertainer with a good mix of emotions. Definitely worth seeing for fans of comfort cinema and Suriya.

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Lucky Bashkar: A well-made financial thriller/drama with a terrific Dulquer Salmaan

Director Venky Atluri is successful in transporting the viewers into the world of bank scams and how people made huge fortunes on stock markets by exploiting the banking system. What also makes the movie work is the characterization of Baskhar, a normal middle class bank employee wanting to change the family fortunes through whatever it takes

  • Starcast: Dulquer Salmaan, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Rithvik P. Sai Kumar, Ramki, Tinnu Anand and others
  • Director and writer: Venky Atluri
  • Producers: Suryadevara Naga Vamsi and Sai Soujanya
  • Production Companies: Sithara Entertainments and Fortune Four Cinemas
  • Music: G. V Prakash Kumar
  • Running time: 2 hours and 30 minutes
  • Cinematography: Nimish Ravi

Before the Tamil Film Vaathi starring Dhanush the filmography of Venky Atluri was dominated by romantic movies. Vaathi showcased a different side to Venky Atluri, though far from perfect the director did a fair job in exploring right to education and also some institutions which treat education as business. With his latest Lucky Baskhar the director has once again stepped out of his comfort zone dealing with a subject involving the banking system and the stock market. He pulls it off for most part.

Venky Atluri has once again stepped out of his comfort zone dealing with a subject involving the banking system and the stock market

The story of Lucky Baskhar is set in the period of the early 90’s. Dulquer Salmaan is the main protagonist. Baskhar is a middle-class employee working in Magadh Bank. Meenakshi Chaudhary of Hit 2 and Guntur Kaaram fame is the wife Sumathi, Rithivik plays the son. Baskhar’s salary is mere nine thousand rupees, given the large family consisting of brother, sister and father this money is nowhere sufficient to support them. Additionally, debts are also there. Also adding to Bashkar’s woes are the in laws who don’t shy away from expressing their dissatisfaction with his financial condition. The final nail in the coffin happens when Baskhar doesn’t get the promotion he was expecting. Frustrated with the circumstances Baskhar treads a very dangerous path starting with a small scam. Baskhar’s new path changes his entire personality causing friction with those closest to him. This is the story in brief.

The theme of financial crime set against the backdrop of a bank is a new genre for Telugu Cinema. Thankfully director Venky Atluri doesn’t make it overtly complicated. The banking system and the functioning of stock markets are presented in such a way even a lay men can understand.

Lucky Baskhar also works due to the effective world building of a bygone era. Venky Atluri along with the cinematographer Nimish Ravi do a wonderful job in transporting the viewers into the Bombay of 1989 and 1990 giving the viewers a lived-in feel.

The portrayal of the middle-class life in terms of the conversations and the overall texture is a big plus for the movie. This particularly reflects in the ups and downs of Baskhar and Sumati’s relationship. The dialogues often have a philosophical tone, but they never get verbose. A Trivikram flavor can be found in the dialogues related to the concepts of success, failure and greed.

The financial struggles of Baskhar are presented in a crisp yet very impactful manner. The humiliations and the financial hardships which he undergoes makes the viewers empathize with him even when he takes a route which isn’t ethically right.

What also enhances the films are the constant twists and turns. Every venture of Baskhar feels like a mini adventure where the viewers are constantly guessing on how Baskhar will come out triumphs.

Baskhar’s huge rise and the subsequent crash has a lot of emotional depth. Baskhar’s regret over his actions has come out wonderfully too.

The biggest ace of Lucky Bashkar though is its leading man. Dulquer has always experimented with a range of characters making them his own. Here too he does a swell job in portraying the various nuances. He is simply terrific both as a struggling middle class man and also showcasing the subsequent arrogance of Bashkar as he loses the way. The actor is particularly impressive in the emotional scene like the portion where he vents out his frustration on not being promoted in spite of slogging hard for 3 years and winning the best employee award consecutively.

Dulquer Salmaan does a swell job in portraying the various nuances of Bashkar

Meenakshi Chaudhary gets a far better role in this one compared to the tiny part in Guntur Kaaram. She makes full use of it delivering a strong act particularly the portions where Sumati expresses her rage at the change in Bashkar.

Meenakshi Chaudary as Sumathi also delivers a strong act

G V Prakash’s songs flow seamlessly into the narrative. Particular mention must be of the Srimathi Garu song. It is a soothing romantic number enhanced by the chemistry of Dulquer and Meenakshi. His background score also deserves distinction marks. It adds to the thrill quotient significantly.

Dulquer and Meenakshi in Srimathi Garu song

The ending of Lucky Baskhar is also interesting. The director completely leaves it to the viewers to judge the actions of Baskhar.

While mostly engaging Lucky Baskhar has a couple of loose ends. One of them is a sequence involving Raghu Babu and a cop. It feels dragged, also the movie needed a stronger opposition to Baskhar given how he always comes out unscathed in spite of how tough the situations are like the pre- climax and climax.

Leaving aside these small niggles Lucky Baskhar is an entertaining thriller/drama particularly for die hard Dulquer fans.