Tag: Vennela Kishore

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Sarangapani Jathakam: An interesting concoction of screwball comedy and social satire

Sarangapani Jathakam Priyadarshi

Sarangapani Jathakam marks a mini comeback for the respected filmmaker Indraganti Mohankrishna. In terms of of repeat value the movie doesn’t completely match up to the likes of Ashta Chamma and Sammohanam however there’s quite a bit to to enjoy for the viewers if you buy into Sarangapani’s eccentric behavior, the movie ends with a small yet an important message on the dangers of blind faith. The combo of Priyadarshi and Vennela Kishore are the films spine raising many chuckles

Starcast: Priyadarshi, Vennela Kishore, Viva Harsha, Roopa Koduvayur and others

Genre: Comedy

Director and writer: Indraganti Mohankrishna

Producer: Sivalenka Krishna Prasad

Music: Vivek Sagar

Production Company: Sridevi Movies

Cinematography: P.G. Vinda

Running time: 2 hours and 20 minutes

Indraganti Mohankrishna’s huge love for novels and how he incorporates them into his movies is a well known thing. Starting from his debut Grahanam the director has mostly taken inspiration from Telugu and English literature. A very good example of this is the Nani and Srinivas Avasarala starrer Ashta Chamma. The clear inspiration for the movie was Oscar Wilde’s hilarious play The Importance of Being Earnest. The novel was a farcical comedy dwelling into the themes of social expectations and class among others. The director did a fantastic job in Indianizing Oscar Wild’s novel majorly helped by the wonderful starcast . Sarangapani Jathakam is also inspired from Oscar Wild’s work, this time a semi comic tale Lord Arthur Savile’s crime. This absurd story followed the efforts of an aristocrat in committing a murder before marrying his fiancé, the reason being a palm reader says that lord Arthur would commit a murder and this man blindly believes in the prophecy leading to a lot of chaotic moments.

Director and writer Indraganti Mohankrishna places this story in the context of a young man’s obsession with astrology. Sarangapani played by a wonderfully eccentric Priyadashi attributes every good thing in his life due to a twist in his fate and miracles rather than his own personality and talent. The movie wastes no time in establishing Sarangapani’s obsession with astrology, in fact the movie begins with the protagonist tracking down horoscope predictions both on TV and in newspapers. In real life we often come across numerous individuals who have the traits of Sarangapani but here the eccentric nature is dialed up to a thousand. In simple terms the story focuses on how Sarangapani’s obsession with astrology turns his life upside down. The many problems that he faces both professionally and personally along with Sarangapani getting out of a self created mess.

Priyadarshi, Vennela Kishore and Viva Harsha

A major strength of Sarangapani is the whacky characterization of Priyadarshi coupled with his winsome performance. The way Priyadarshi portrays the sheer conviction of Sarangpani’s irrationality often brings the house down particularly if the viewers buy into his behavior. Priyadarshi brings the perfect mix of innocence and vulnerability showcasing a different facet of him after a serious role in Court. His conversations with Vennela Kishore needs to be specifically mentioned when the movie moves into a crime zone. The way Vennela Kishore’s Chandru plays along with his friend’s madness and the seriousness with which they make the plans of choosing an evil person raises ample chuckles.

Vennela Kishore with his dead pan humor and dialogue delivery perfectly compliments Priyadarshi’s histrionics. A particular stretch worth mentioning here is the track of a cantankerous old woman and a bewildered son. This portion delivers plenty of laughs with excellent wordplay. Priyadarshi and Vennela Kishore together majorly contribute to the movie’s entertainment quotient even when the proceedings start to get more absurd and illogical.

Mention must also be made of Viva Harsha’s Ramki. Ramki is a head waiter, he becomes a scapegoat in his friend’s elaborate plans. In spite of a very late entry Viva Harsha also raises chuckles with his quirky humor. The trio share a wonderful chemistry.

Just like Sammomohan Sarangpani Jathakam also critiques the media culture. In that movie Indraganti Mohankrishna mocked the gossip websites. In this one its about the troll economy, anonymous rage fueled by personal dissatisfaction. The movie also has some interesting pop culture references particularly a character’s obsession with alpha male. The movie also takes a jibe at the formulaic nature of mainstream Telugu screenwriting with a self aware tone.

A major drawback for Sarangapani Jathakam is the weakly written love story. Roopa Koduvyaar as Maithali has a lovely presence and plays her part with poise. The good thing about Maithali is that she is no push over however for the emotional drama to work better the love story needed more depth which is severely lacking here. The comedy takes a front seat as a result the love story gets majorly dialuted. Also the movie could have done with more psychological insight into the reasons behind Sarangapani’s obsession with horoscopes and astrology. The likes of VK Naresh and Tanikella Bharani also don’t make much of an impact majorly due to the loosely written characters. Srinivas Avasarala in the role of a flamboyant soothsayer has an interesting character design and he makes complete use of it in spite of the limited screen time. Vivek Sagar’s music is not of the standout variety but it goes with the flow of the movie.

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Guntur Kaaram Review: A Tired Rehash Of ‘Attarintiki Daredi’ And ‘Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo’

Watch it Mahesh Babu!

Guntur Kaaram (Telugu)

  • Cast: Mahesh Babu, Sreeleela, Jagapathi Babu, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Ramya Krishnan, Jayaram, and Prakash Raj
  • Director: Trivikram Srinivas
  • Producer: S Radha Krishna
  • Music: Thaman S
  • Runtime: 2 hours 39 minutes
  • Rating: 2

There is a profound line in Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020) where Jayaram’s character talks about how the greatest battles are fought with people closest to you.

As a filmmaker, Trivikram Srinivas seems fascinated with this concept and has constantly churned out movies along these lines — Attarantiki Daredi (2013), Agnayaathavaasi (2018) or his last blockbuster Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo.

His latest outing Guntur Kaaram, too, has a similar theme and gives a déjà vu due to the presence of Jayaram.

The storyline of Guntur Kaaram has good scope for a festive family drama while also being a star vehicle. But here, Trivikram Srinivas falters in balancing the two aspects.

Mahesh Babu, as Ramana, is refreshing to watch.

Further, the film brings back the memories of his comic timing in Pokiri (2006) and Khaleja (2010).

Synopsis

Guntur Kaaram begins on an eventful night that ends with a murder. Jayarama’s royal Satyam is sent to prison. Vasundhara (Ramya Krishnan) disowns her husband (Jayaram) and son.

She gets remarried under the advice of her father Venkataswamy (Prakash Raj). Rahul Ravindran plays the hugely embarrassing role of Vasundhara’s second son, who is about to enter politics.

Vasundhara grows into an influential politician. Ramana becomes rowdy.

Venkataswamy feels “Rowdy” Ramana might become an obstacle and wants him to sign a document which would permanently erase him from her life.

However, Ramana refuses to sign the document despite never getting his mother’s love and care in his growing years.

As the story progresses, more layers reveal why Vasundhara has kept a distance from her husband and son.

Guntur Kaaram has a good beginning where the conflict is established without wasting time.

As viewers, you want to know the reasons behind her indifference. But the film soon stagnates as multiple characters are introduced whose relevance to the plot is better left unsaid.

Performances

Mahesh Babu in a still from Guntur Kaaram
Mahesh Babu in a still from ‘Guntur Kaaram’. (X)

There are a slew of actors who have been terribly wasted. Among them, the prominent ones are Jagapathi Babu, Rahul Ravindran, Rao Ramesh and Jayaram.

The comic punches definitely raise some chuckles.

Mahesh Babu’s comedic exchanges with Vennela Kishore are fun to watch. Their chemistry is reminiscent of Sarkaru Vaari Paata (2022).

Mahesh Babu also gets dialect well, and there is a certain carefree nature, which is refreshing to watch after his Bharat Ane Nenu (2018) and Maharshi (2019).

Prakash Raj makes the biggest impact in the supporting cast. His confrontation scenes with Mahesh Babu are good to watch.

Ramya Krishnan also delivers a commendable performance as Vasundhara but the film needed more scenes between her and Mahesh Babu.

Apart from the multiple characters, another big issue with Guntur Kaaram is the insipid love story between Ramana and Sreeleela’s Ammu.

Sreeleela entertains with her dance moves. Apart from that, there is nothing much for the actor to do. This is sad because Sreeleela showed good potential in Bhagavanth Kesari (2023).

There is also Meenakshi Chowdhary of Hit 2 (2022) fame. She is supposed to be the second female lead, but her only job is to offer Mahesh Babu a plate of omelette or a bottle of soda when he consumes alcohol.

The action sequences are formulaic in nature, with the standard hero elevations that get tiring after a point. These action sequences have some trademark Trivikram Srinivas humour. But these are not enough to salvage the slow narration.

Thaman’s music is suitably massy, but most songs come across as speed bumps in an already tired narrative.

Final take

Guntur Kaaram is a massive downfall for a man who delivered commercial films that can be watched on repeat mode!

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Anni Manchi Sakunamule: A Well-Made Entertainer In Typical Nandini Reddy Style

Anni Manchi Sakunamule isn’t high on the story but the director is successful in creating heartwarming moments.

Anni Manchi Sakunamule (Telugu)
  • Cast: Santosh Sobhan, Malvika Nair, Rajendra Prasad, Rao Ramesh, and Naresh
  • Director: B.V Nandini Reddy
  • Producer: Priyanka Dutt
  • Music: Mickey J Meyer
  • Runtime:: 2 hours and 35 minutes

Director Nandini Reddy has emerged as a strong filmmaker with films like Ala Modalaindi (2011), Kalyana Vaibhogame (2016) and her last Oh Baby (2019). An key quality of her films is the entertainment factor. More than the plot, the viewers remember Ala Modalaindi and others because of the director’s treatment.

Her latest Anni Manchi Sakunamule perfectly falls into this category. Though it is a familiar tale of two families who are stuck in a land dispute, what makes the movie rise above the template is how she deviates from the typical tropes that we associate with films of this kind.

Synopsis

The story of Anni Manchi Sakunamule is set in the fictional hillside town of Victoriapuram. There are two families in a legal battle over the ownership of a coffee estate for decades (there is a hilarious origin story to the dispute).

In the present day, there is Sudhakar (VK Naresh), who is modest and likeable, and Prasad (Rajendra Prasad), who is wealthy and money-minded.

On one rainy night, their respective wives are rushed to a hospital for delivery. Here a baby-swapping happens because of an alcoholic doctor Jagadamba (Urvasi), and negligent staff.

This part is reminiscent of the Trivikram blockbuster Ala Vaikuntapuramlo (2020), but thankfully, here you don’t have any jealous employee scheming against his boss.

The leads

Coming back to the story, while Rishi (Santosh Sobhan) is raised by Prasad, Aarya ( Malavika Nair) is brought up by Sudhakar.

Both Rishi and Aarya become high school buddies despite the family dispute. They have contrasting personalities. While Aarya is more ambitious and hard-working, Rishi is more laid back, and his interests lie in cooking, travelling, etc.

Rishi loves Aarya since childhood, but he doesn’t express it as he feels Aarya deserves a better person than him.

Talking about the leads, both Santosh Sobhan and Malavika Nair are in good form, particularly Malavika. She does a splendid job of showcasing the ambitious nature of Aarya. She is successful in portraying both inner strength and also vulnerability.

The rest of the story deals with how the family dispute is solved and whether Rishi will express his love for Aarya. And very importantly, do the families come to know about the swapping of babies and what impact that has on them?

Nandini Reddy’s strengths

The thing which strikes you most about Anni Manchi Sakunamule is how Nandini Reddy has subverted some of the tropes that we associate with this genre. The best example of this is the equation between Rishi and Aarya.

Though there is a generational trauma that both the families carry, that doesn’t stop Rishi and Aarya from becoming friends. Yes, there are moments when the duo are at odds with each other but in general, these moments have nothing to do with their families.

Nandini Reddy does a good job of exploring their relationship
which takes several turns through the film. Rishi and Sudhakar are also cricket buddies who play matches together. There is warmth in the scenes featuring them. Likewise, Prasad also has respect for Aarya’s street-smart nature. At one point he even expresses a wish to adopt Aarya.

Strong female lead

Another striking feature of Anni Manchi Sakunamule is how Nandini Reddy has written the character of Aarya. Malavika Nair’s Aarya is someone who runs the household’s financés with an iron grip. She is also the primary breadwinner. Her scenes with Naresh are a delight to watch. There is also Rishi’s firebrand grandmother (Sowcar Janaki); her feistiness brings a smile to the audience’s face.

Supporting actors

The film has a huge motley of supporting actors, but unlike the big-ticket ventures, here most of them have solid arcs. The best of the lot is Rajendra Prasad and Gautami. Rajendra Prasad has a tricky part, given the money-mindedness of Prasad and also his dissatisfaction with his son, but the senior actor manages to make sure that his role doesn’t become a caricature.

Gautami as the benign mother is a pleasure to watch. There are recurring gags of Gautami’s hearing disability, but at no point does Nandini Reddy use it for crude humour.

Vennela Kishore also brings in many laughs as the annoyingly pleasing son-in-law. Vasuki who plays his wife, makes a comeback after decades but there is nothing significant about her character.

The flaws

Despite its many positives, Anni Manchi Sakunamule also got its share of lags.

For example, there is an unnecessary love
triangle that doesn’t add anything to the story.

There is also a debate where the characters argue about the cuisines of Andhra and Telangana. This is staged in a rather clumsy manner.

Technical aspects

Micky J Meyer’s music is melodious and adds to the proceedings. Sunny Kurapati and Richard Prasad’s camerawork bring alive the beauty of Coonoor.

Final verdict

It is a good entertainer particularly if you enjoy a slice of life dramas and also if you are an admirer of Nandini Reddy’s kind of films.

(Views expressed are personal.)

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Urvasivo Rakshasivo: A Refreshing Romantic Drama Which Belongs To The Heroine

The genre of romantic comedy/drama is one of the most overused genres in cinema across languages. Hence it is difficult to make an engaging romantic film given that only two kinds of endings are possible. One happy and the other sad, but when done well it is always a delight to watch a good Rom com like this one.

Allu Sirish and Anu Emmanuel in a rom com that is well made

Conflict points in romantic films have varied over the years. Earlier it used to be parental opposition. Often times this parental opposition used to come on the grounds of money and caste. However this soon became a cliché in movies (though not in the real world) and thankfully it has now taken a back seat. After money and caste next came the protagonists belonging to different communities. Abhishek Varman’s  2 states is a perfect example of this. The director gave a nuanced film about a Punjabi boy and a Tamil girl and how they overcome the barrier of belonging to two different cultures.

Bharadwaja, Allu Sirish, Anu Emmanuel, Allu Aravind, Balakrisna and director Rakesh Sashi

Currently the theme of live in relationship is hugely in vogue. Many Hindi films like Shuddh Desi Romance, Luka Chuppi etc have had stories of live in set in non metro areas. Urvasivo Rakshasivo directed by Rakesh Sashi deals with modern issues in love and also an interesting conflict point between marriage and a live in relationship. Keeping with the current trend of remakes Urvasivo Rakshasivo is also based on the Tamil film Pyaar Prema Kaadhal. Since I have not seen the Tamil film my review will be as a standalone.

Sree Kumar (Allu Sirish) gets smitten by Sindhu (Anu Emmanuel) who is working in a different office but soon joins him. Sree makes several attempts to woo her with the help of Sunil and Vennela Kishore. Sindhu starts liking Sree too but it isn’t love for her yet. On a rainy night they both get intimate and Sree proposes love to Sindhu but she doesn’t accept. The reason according to her is it happened in the heat of the moment. Sindhu has some very clear cut goals with ambitions of setting up a restaurant and marriage doesn’t really feature in that yet. Sree on the other hand comes from a conservative middle class family where the mother played by Amani wants a nice homely girl for her son. Sree gets heartbroken when Sindhu doesn’t accept his love but things change when Sindhu also falls for him. However, there is a big hitch. Sree wants marriage but Sindhu proposes live-in. After some thinking Sree agrees for live-in hoping that he can convince Sindhu for a marriage later on. They take a pent house and soon Sree is juggling between his live-in relationship and also being a dutiful son without the parents’ knowledge. This is the basic synopsis.

Allu Sirish stands his own and makes the tribulations of Sree relatable. He is a perfect fit for his part

The best thing about Urvasivo Rakshasivo is how the director does justice to the title. Sindhu is easily the trickier part out of the two leads both to write and also enact. On more than one occasion Anu Emmanuel may come across as spoiled with her opinions and dreams, but at the same time the audiences also understand where Sindhu is coming from and why she is so stubborn when it comes to not wanting marriage. Anu Emmanuel does a brilliant job in striking the perfect balance and makes the audiences fall in with love with her. This is easily her best performance till date. Kudos to Rakesh Sashi for not spoiling the core of Sindhu’s character even when the situation becomes ugly. The happy ending also doesn’t come at the cost of squashing Sindhu‘s dreams which is very satisfying.

Anu Emmanuel comes across as a strong leading lady

Rakesh Sashi also deserves credit for how he portrays the differences in the attitudes of his two protagonists. Both Sree and Sindhu come across as very believable persons and perfectly right in their own place. The chemistry between Sirish and Anu Emmanuel is on point and their love making scenes have been aesthetically shot.

Also the film never gets into the zone of preaching about live in relationships. There is enough entertainment particularly in the second half when the juggling act begins. Sunil and Vennela Kishore are majorly responsible for that. Their scenes with Sirish are a laugh riot. Vennela Kishore in particular is a hoot with his one liners inspired from the OTT terminology. My favorite bit in the second half is when Sree is running from his parent’s house to the pent house and vice versa becomes a representation of a batsman running between the wickets.

Allu Arjun, Allu Sirish’s proud brother, praising the film with Sirish, Anu Emmanuel and Rakesh Sashi in the background.

The portions between Anu and her on screen father Prithvi are also good to watch. There is certain sweetness to them. Prithvi as the modern dad works as a contrast to Amani’s traditional mother.

Allu Sirish as Sree is a perfect fit for his part. He does stand his own and makes the tribulations of Sree relatable. However, there is one bit which sticks out and that is the scene when Sree gets drunk.

The songs by Achu Rajamani and Anup Rubens are mostly a delight to watch except for the break up number.

The one area where Urvasivo Rakshasivo could have been better is the first half. The conflict point could have come earlier with a cut down on the office scenes.

Final word: Urvasivo Rakshasivo is a rom com with enough entertainment and more importantly a strong leading lady.

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Oke Oka Jeevitham: A Good Attempt At Mixing Time Travel And Mother Sentiment

Time Travel as a concept has been much used in western novels and movies. If we talk about Telugu Cinema Aditya 369 directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao was a successful fantasy film. In Oke Oka Jeevitham director Shree Karthik uses time travel as a background to explore the lives of three close friends. The director mixes different genres like science, sentiment, thriller etc. Oke Oka Jeevitham could have been crisper as it does drag in the second half; also Sharwanand comes across as a weak link. But all things considered, Oke Oka Jeevitham has its heart in the right place and is consistently watchable.

Amala brings certain grace to the character of a strong mother

The film begins off with an experiment that a quantum physicist (played by Nassar) conducts along with fellow scientific partner and friend. This experiment is regarding a time machine, but unfortunately for Nassar and his friend it turns out to be a disaster. From there we move to the introduction of Adi (Sharwanand), Sreenu (Vennela Kishore), and Chaitu (Priyadarshi). Each of them has their own set of problems. For example Adi suffers from severe stage fright which is related to the death of his mother (Amala) at an early age. He has lot of passion for music but he starts getting nervous when he is in front of public. Ritu Varma is the supportive girlfriend whose sole purpose is to prod her boyfriend and make him get out of this stage fright (Similar to Ayan Mukerji’s heroines). The father, on the other hand, feels that Adi is wasting his time.

Sharwanand, Akhil Akkineni, Amala and Nagarjuna

Vennela Kishore plays a house agent who constantly regrets on not taking his studies seriously. Unfortunately for Sreenu, his marriage with his uncle’s daughter gets cancelled because of his job status. Chaitu on the other hand is not able to get married; he finds faults with every girl he meets. During his childhood there was a girl who liked him but Chaitu didn’t care for her much. Now that girl has grown into a beautiful woman and is going to get married. It is at this stage that the three friends come into contact with Paul through Sreenu. Paul first convinces Adi to go back in time, after Adi gets convinced Sreenu and Chaitu also decide to join in. Apart from the above mentioned characters there are also three children who play the younger version of Adi, Sreenu and Chaitu. What follows is an emotional drama set against the backdrop of time travel.

Shree Karthick, the director who excelled in mixing time travel

The best thing about Oke Oka Jeevitham are the scenes featuring Amala. Amala brings a certain grace to her part. She does well in her role of a strong mother who cares for her son and tries to help him overcome his shortcomings. She is particularly good in the key emotional bits.

The dialogues by Tharun Bhaskar are another major win for the film. There are a lot of witty-one liners, especially the ones between Vennela Kishore and Priyadarshi. The humor brings a smile to your face. My other favorite bit in the time travel are the scenes where Vennela Kishore pleads with his younger self played by Nithyaraj, to focus on his studies. Both Vennela Kishore and Priyadarshi hold the film afloat and keep you engaged even in the stretchy second half.

Adi, Sreenu and Chaitu characters played by youngsters very ably

The cinematography by Sujith is good as he successfully showcases the difference between the two time zones the 1990’s and 2019. Director Sree Karthik is also successful in integrating the twists and turns which keep you engaged. The scenes featuring the three children are also good, my favorite though is Nityaraj.

Oke Oka Jeevitham fumbles from the middle of the second half where things start getting convoluted. The track of Nassar doesn’t add much to the film beyond a point. He only serves as a catalyst for the three protagonists to overcome their fears and nothing else.

Nitu Varma, the supportive girl friend

The love story between Sharwanand and Ritu Varma is thankfully kept to a minimum but it is something that the makers could have done away with. Sharwanand as Adi is strictly one note in both characterization and performance. The actor looks rather tired and this proves to be a roadblock.

Also the cameo of Ali comes out from nowhere and you are left scratching your heads about why the senior actor is taking up these parts, first Liger and now this.

Final word: Oke Oka Jeevitham is a competent experiment particularly for the audiences of Telugu cinema.