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Guntur Kaaram (2024)
Mahesh Babu aces in this potboiler.
The movie definitely has a wafer-thin story, and could have been lot more spicier. Agreed! But, it revolves around the emotions attached to it and that is how this movie works.
Full credit must go to MB for salvaging this film with his super charged performance. Even the most coldhearted viewer would shed tears at two scenes. MB even lights up the dance floor with his energy. I'd say, Guntur Kaaram is MB's best work from amongst his last 9 films.
Writer & Director Trivikram Srinivas Garu is below par, and not at his best. He just about manages to deliver what's needed. I wanted to see Guntur and its cultural nuances explored in his writing. Sadly, not to be! Cinematography by Manoj Paramahansa Garu is good.
Guntur Kaaram's climax reminds you of the climax of Mutyala Muggu (1975).
The biggest let down of the film however, is Thaman Garu's music. The BGM is garbage! Completely out of place. And the songs don't work. All of them sound the same. Keeravani Garu, Manisharma Garu, Vandemataram Srinivas Garu or Koti Garu would have brought in the much-needed Guntur/Krishna native flavor and cultural nuances into the scenes & songs.
The film, and Trivikram Srinivas Garu have been facing some unusual hate. The reality is all the talk, language and noise by Producer Naga Vamsi Garu, Music Director Thaman Garu and Distributor Dil Raju Garu leading upto the film's release, was tasteless, hot-headed and way over-the-top. The negative vibes did not go down well with movie goers, and in a social media era, they themselves have given a lot of ammo to trollers and get trolled.
Telugu film critics, and impatient metro-city audiences especially, need to understand that there is a lot of appreciable content in this film, if you choose to see it!
I expect this formulaic, family entertainer to do well in theaters for few more weeks in interior A. P., and it will certainly do good on TV and OTT.
Animal (2023)
Sandeep Reddy Vanga - Desi Tarantino!
Like a Tarantino film, Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal (2023) is unconventional and non-conforming. An intense family saga full of emotions, drama, romance, vengeance & loads of blood, gore and graphic violence.
A Tarantino film is deviant art. He knows how to feed his audiences, and when to pull the plug! Our Desi Tarantino falters a bit.
Ranbir Kapoor in a never-seen-before avatar is like 'Michael Corleone' in a 'Tarantino film'. He shoulders the film entirely. Had any other actor played Ranvijay, this film would have bombed and sunk without a trace. It was that dicey.
Anil Kapoor is stellar. Rashmika shines.
Bobby Deol is mesmerizing but he was underutilized. In fact, he should have been introduced in the first half of the film itself and given a longer screentime. The honeytrap sequence of Tripti Dimri in the second half would have then stuck nicely.
The film has its moments and sparks of brilliance. The first half is racy and engaging but the second half nearly falls apart. A good storyline falters because of inept writing and bad screenplay - a missed opportunity for being a great film! The story could have been easily told in 2-1/2 hours. Right now it's a bit tedious making it less enjoyable. The BGM and songs are too good.
It's bad economics alienating family audiences. In keeping with his image, Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu was definitely right in refusing to do this film.
Like Arjun Reddy (2017; Kabir Singh 2019), Animal (2023) is bound to evoke polarizing reactions!
Sandeep Reddy feeds on man's deepest fears, perverse fantasies, erotica, and inhibitions, which are buried by the mandates of society. By addressing these intimidating and often embarrassing situations without any moral pretense, he portrays a human world that is bold, unafraid and undogmatic with all of its flaws, at times bestial. Welcome to the Vanga-genre!
Miss. Shetty Mr. Polishetty (2023)
Breezy Rom-com
"To be a mom, why do I need to get married?" says Miss Shetty categorically!
...and so Anvitha Shetty (Anushka Shetty) decides to have a baby through IUI. Embarking on a hunt for the right donor, her search leads her to a stand-up-comedian, Siddhu Polishetty (Naveen Polishetty), her 'perfect guy'! The only glitch is that Siddhu has fallen in love with her, but Anvitha has no intention of having any man in her life as her life partner! Siddhu however refuses to be 'used and thrown'!
1) Miss Shetty Mr. Polishetty (2023) is a rom-com with an unconventional premise.
2) Beautiful and radiant as ever, Anushka Shetty is ravishing and puts in a restrained act.
3) As the love-struck stand-up comedian stuck in an unusual life situation, Naveen steals the show. With his impeccable comic timing and his ability to lighten up any moment in a blink of an eye, he is charming and refreshing.
4) I was a bit apprehensive about the age gap between the two leads (~Anushka Garu being 8 years older to Naveen). But the pairing is so good and heart-warming that it feels magical.
5) Debutant Writer & Director P. Mahesh Babu has handled the subject splendidly. He takes an adult concept and turns it into a family entertainer. Beautifully crafted, unforgivingly hilarious and very relatable. A thoroughly engaging rom-com with well-written dialogues. No deviations and no unnecessary scenes. Huge applause to him. Bollywood would have made a vulgar film out of the concept.
6) Ace cinematographer Nirav Shah leaves his mark. Every frame is picturesque. Creating the perfect mood & atmosphere, the interval block especially, is truly impressive!
7) The film explores themes of feminism, age gap, parenthood and female vulnerabilities. Two scenes standout: Jayasudha Garu's (Anvitha's mother) final words; and Anvitha's realization at the end.
8) The film's denouement is the beginning of a true commitment between two hope-filled individuals who truly believe in each other.
9) Bottom line: Don't miss this lovely, breezy rom-com.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Unpopular Opinion. Oscar worthy? NO!
1) Nolan's Oppenheimer (2023) is a historically accurate film.
2) But sadly, the movie feels like Made-for-TV drama! Interesting but not engaging enough!
3) The focus should have been on making of the bomb! But, what we see is Oppenheimer's communist past, his messy love life, his trial and his tussles with Lewis Strauss etc.
4) There is almost no science in the movie, just politics! Names of scientists are thrown randomly: Einstein, Bohr, Feynman, Fermi, Heisenberg etc. - but with no real character development & arcs. So the film feels hollow and pretentious.
5) This movie is crammed with too much story! Every scene feels rushed. Every scene is loaded with dialogues. You move on to the next scene and its even more dialogue. Nolan is guilty of not letting any scene breathe by itself, and he does not allow the audience to absorb and process the scenes! It feels like a marathon of scenes trying to reach the finish line! So in the end, even a 3-hour run time is simply not good enough!
6) The entire IMAX thing was a gimmick. The cinematography was nothing special. That's completely fine given the kind of movie it is. You can't really have any breath-taking shots when shooting a realistic biopic set in small to medium sized rooms (classrooms, labs, living rooms, offices, senate...). The only scenes with potential were the shots in the desert. But the filmmakers made a conscious decision to opt for realism. It's just that they hyped-up the IMAX experience so much that it felt truly disappointing.
7) Nolan's film is neither a feature film nor a documentary, and is abjectly floundering in-between! A feature film even when re-telling history, must evoke emotions - one reason why filmmakers like: Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan, Lincoln, Schindler's List, The Terminal, Catch me if You Can, Bridge of Spies, The Fabelmans); Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man); Brian de Palma (Scarface); Asif Kapadia (Senna, Amy) are a class apart!
(Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday (2007) is a brilliant docustyled feature and an unique anamololy.)
Anya's Tutorial (2022)
A disturbing family drama. A psychological thriller. A cyber-horror tale. All rolled into one!
With an atypical storyline, 'Anya's Tutorial' treads an unfamiliar path. Set in the not so distant past (during the COVID19 pandemic), it is very much contemporary. But at the same time it is non-conforming, uncharacteristic and unorthodox. Credit to the writer-director duo, two women: Sowmya Sharma and Pallavi Gangireddy for mounting a very difficult premise on screen! And credit to ARKA Mediaworks and Aha (~Geetha Arts) for supporting such an unusual and very cerebral subject, especially in the Indian context!
Debuting in the OTT space is Pallavi Gangireddy. As the Director of the series, she is impressive! Also debuting in the OTT space is Sowmya Sharma (~the voice of Anushka Shetty (Baahubali 2015, 2017), Nayanthara (Raja Rani 2013), Kajal Aggarwal (Magadheera 2009)... fame), who has written the story and screenplay. The writing and narration is the USP of this series! It's a nice non-linear narrative that keeps going back and forth.
Cyber horror films (~or web series by extension) comprise two distinct categories:
Type A: Frightening movies which present the narrative entirely through new media technologies, such as social media and video from smartphones, laptops, etc.
Type B: Frightening movies that have plots driven by social media or new media technologies but are shot and presented with traditional cinematic styles.
'Anya's Tutorial' is a Type B cyber horror series with all the tropes of classic horror flick neatly embedded into its storyline.
'Anya's Tutorial' is also a psychological thriller.
And yes, 'Anya's Tutorial' is also a family drama with a distressing sibling rivalry at its crux!
With its unexpected plot twists and turn of events 'Anya's Tutorial' is a tale of two flawed sisters. Regina Cassandra as Madhu is the older sister. Nivedithaa Sathish plays Anya (~Lavani), the younger one. 'Anya's Tutorial' is a creepy, eerie, unsettling ride. It tests audience's loyalties heavily: Anya (Lavani) vs Madhu, and freaks us out a little as we teeter to and fro between the two characters. The subject matter is as grim as it can get and deals with childhood trauma that morphs into a psychological thriller that eventually transforms into a cyber-horror tale.
Indian films are mostly High Concept (a story with a unique and concise premise that can be described (~pitched) in 3 sentences or less). Not surprisingly, the protagonist is usually a male! So, if you are looking for the classical male protagonist..., a 'Hero' - who can bash up 100 goons in a flash, then 'Anya's Tutorial' is not for you. Please go somewhere else!
Breaking away from this dogma, 'Anya's Tutorial' is predominantly LOW CONCEPT, i.e., it is a story that puts focus on the world and characters surrounding the plot, instead of the plot itself.
A virus has just run rampant across the world. Millions have died. And so with the COVID19 lockdowns and confinements in place - at one point, all of our movements were restricted. We were being tracked by the state. Gatherings were policed. It was as if we were all inhabiting a post-apocalyptic dystopian universe. There was a sort of dreariness to our living. And the only 'connect' to the outside was thro' mass media and social media - where information (~misinformation, disinformation, facts, fiction, lies...) was 'being force fed' to us constantly! It's an overload of mass media and interweaving of many media with wide ranging effects on children and adults alike. It is within this already psyched out environment that 'Anya's Tutorial' is set in, and it operates within this complex web.
Moreover, further breaking away from the mould, 'Anya's Tutorial' seems to have not one, but two female protagonists! What this means is: both the lead characters must equally spiral, intersect and clash multiple times through out the screenplay. Their journeys on both a plot and thematic level have to be intertwined (eg., Thelma & Louise 1991). All of it is already apparent in 'Anya's Tutorial', but i am curious about how the second season is gonna play out.
In addition, the series is layered with multiple themes: childhood trauma, relationship issues, gender issues, male gaze, parenting, misconduct, media sensationalism, youth's obsession towards having more likes & follower counts (Histrionic Personality Disorder, HPD?)... etc. Throw in some paranormal activities, séance rituals... and a scary ghostess into the mix - Boo! That's 'Anya's Tutorial' for you with all of its thrills and scares! Lots of boo! There's even an allusion to spectrophilia before Anya gets possesed (? I could be wrong though...).
Binge-watch, OK. But, 'Anya's Tutorial' is a multilayered subject and needs a repeat watch to really appreciate for what it is. Did i say cerebral?
*** SPOILERS AHEAD ***
A haunted house. A woman possessed. Familiar tropes. What's new? A floor mop!
You can kinda predict something is about to happen, and still Anya's stab was a kicker of a kick. It's macabre! Wait! Was it the ghost or Anya? Whodunnit? And Why? The 'poor dead guy' what did he even do to deserve his fate?
Anyway, what follows is even more spine-chilling. Anya mopping the blood of her floor - prancing & gyrating, twirling & waltzing with her mop! Nivedithaa Sathish as Anya is intense, creepy and petrifying. It's, gothic horror!
Regina Cassandra as the grimacing Madhu has so much tyrannical passion that she turns it into evil in a flash. Very fine understated acting. And teen actor Darsh (Arjun) - what a find! Awesome screen presence. Brilliant emotions.
Cinematography, VFx, SFx, BGM, costumes, art and editing are all fairly decent for an OTT flick.
Anya's Tutorial's target audience is the youth on OTT. But, i believe, 'Anya's Tutorial' could very well be an ideal cross-over content, cutting across several age groups and platforms (OTT + TV + Theatrical).
Despite its iffy storyline, more women (> men) seem to be enthusiastic and appreciative about 'Anya's Tutorial'. Undoubtedly, it is a woman's film made by women - for women & men alike. I hope viewers make a little bit of effort to understand how the story is unfolding. Original content like this is hard to come by.
So, go binge watch.
Don't expect to be spoon-fed.
Don't second guess.
Don't jump to any conclusions as yet.
And importantly, don't turn around!
Looking forward for the second season.
Beach Road Chetan (2019)
Interesting film!
Shot on an iPhone 7, "Beach Road Chetan" is an experimental film with a complex but taut screenplay comprising of budding artistes from Visakhapatnam. Shot in the picturesque locales of Vizag, Actor-Director-Producer Chetan Maddineni holds the film admirably supported ably by some stunning stunt sequences, lilting music and top notch BGM score.
Where do I pee? (2012)
Women's toilet facilities surely need a revamp!
India divorce granted over lack of toilet http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-40992656
Dutch sexism outcry after woman fined for peeing in public http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41318198
Berlin's new toilets: Would you use a women's urinal? http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40899902
Amaravati (2015)
Nice visuals and Narration.
Amaravati is an interesting, indie documentary tracing this South Indian city. from a Hindu mythology, Satavahana legacy and Buddhist antecedents.
Through the use of live interviews, the documentary explains the cultural relevance of the city of Amaravati and its significance. With Andhra Pradesh set to build its new capital city Amaravati, it is important to know and understand the antecedents of the city.
The film itself is well done. But, I was left wanting more. It would have been better if they had provided some information about the development of Buddhism in the city, who the players were and the possible interactions between Hindus and the Buddhists then and if there was any friction at all between the two religious groups.
There are some very good visuals, authentic interviews pertaining to the ancient temple of Amareshwara Swamy and the ancient Buddhist city Dharanikota. Some nice compilation.. The narration by Mr. De Wood is a true asset and brings in an international flair to this informative documentary all in under 10 minutes. Kudos to the film maker.
Lootera (2013)
Unoriginal, Unemotional, Illogical and Absurd. Trivializes 'The Last Leaf'
Good shots, exquisite locales, finest music and gorgeous Sonakshi - does not necessarily mean it's a good film! When you have, 'The Fugitive' running into 'Fanaa' and 10 other films– what you get is a concoction - a Lootera - that sadly trivializes O'Henry's The Last Leaf (unintentional as it may seem)! Sadly, this film pales out several notches below Udaan and is certainly a letdown in terms of it being unemotional and never lets the viewer have an experience.
Hope and self-sacrifice are the central themes of 'The Last Leaf' and that gets lost somewhere in this film! The saving grace of the film is Sonakshi Sinha and the soulful music. Despite raving reviews from almost every top newspaper in this country, the film is flawed right from the start, all goofed up, utterly unconvincing, illogical, badly structured and at times even brain-dead! Is it an art film
? NO! Is it an entertainer
? NO! Message oriented
? NO! Popular? Yes, may be! And, I can't understand why!