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Srimanthudu (2015)
Good commercial entertainer without being over preachy
Harsha (Mahesh Babu) is the feather-bedded son of a millionaire Ravikanth (Jagapathi Babu). Harsha aspires simple life and helps others whoever in need. He meets Charusheela (Shruthi Haasan) in the college and falls in love with her as the time passes. One fine day, Harsha expresses his love and proposes Charuseela. But, she rejects his proposal and reveals a secret about her father. Upset with the story of Charuseela, Harsha leaves for a village named Devarakonda on his personal mission. There he comes across Sasi (Sampath Raj) a local goon, who always hinders the work of Harsha. Now, his personal mission turns out to be a revolution in the village.
What is the secret revealed by Charuseela ? Why did Harsha reach Devakonda ? What is his actual mission ? Did he achieve success in his mission ? How did he overcome the problems in the village ? To know the answers for all these questions, then one has to watch the film on the Silver Screen itself.
Mahesh Babu steals the show. He looks dashing as a college student. He is simple, stylish and elegant in his performances. No punch dialogs and no overboard acts. He mesmerized with his one-liners and touched the hearts of the audience with his dialogs, especially in the emotional scenes.
* Mahesh Babu and Shruthi Haasan shared a sparkling chemistry with each other. The pair looked good on the screen, which brought freshness to the film.
* The biggest highlight of the film is its Theme, which is very interesting.
* Jagapathi Babu is the key asset of the film. His confrontational scenes with Mahesh Babu are a delight to watch.
* Rajendra Prasad has played yet another different role in the film.
* The presence of Ali guarantees some fun.
* Poorna is very pretty in her traditional attire.
* The fighting sequences have been showcased very well.
* First half of the film is quite colorful and has some fine classy moments.
* Second half has the necessary emotional content as per the requirement of the film.
1 - Nenokkadine (2014)
I am Alone
Sukumar is very wise. His ideals are quite different from others. How different it means is
.. the movie will be confused, if he makes the movie in a different mood. Should run along with him and should think alike him. The movies Arya, Jagadam, Arya 2, 100% Love
. are all in the same way. Sukumar made a habit of thinking in a different manner, very far from the general audience. That's his Positive aspect. But now that positive aspect proved to be Negative, with his latest movie "1". Frankly, the movie is very new and looks to be different.The Telugu audience has never seen such a different story previously and even Mahesh has never performed such a role earlier. But audience should be able to understand this new aspect. If it is like a sort of enigma, the movie tells us about the result. The Story is
Gautam (Mahesh Babu), a rock star. He rocks the audience with the musical world of his songs. He has some flash-back. Unfortunately, he doesn't know the past. But haunted. He makes illusion that someone is going to kill him. In that aspect, he kills someone and surrenders himself. But the strange thing is that what he thinks he had killed someone is also an illusion.Doctors confirm that he has some mental illness. In this confusion, he leaves for Goa. There he comes across his illusioned chasing man(killidarj). Sameera (Kruti Sanan) who is a reporter follows Gautam. She tries to know about Gautam's past. In Goa also, attacks take place on Gautam. There he understands, who are attacking him and why they are attacking him. Gautamki has a flash back. Someone killed her father. Now , they are trying to kill him. Gautam , now has two main issues. Who are his parents? Who killed them? How he came to know about these things? Who said about that? All these should be watched on the silver screen.
There is a lot of confusion in the story. You may not hold all of them immediately. So, we explained the story in this simple manner. This is a psychological thriller. Its an another angle of the Surya's movie Ghajini. Ghajini forgets once for every 15 minutes. Here Gautam, feels the reality as an illusion and illusion as a reality. The story runs on this theme. There are a lot of riddles in this story, which really confused the audience. In comparison to first half, second half is more confusing.It seems that Sukumar might have left his hold on the steering, in the confusion of driving the story. With this, the confusion still increased a lot. It is very funny, to see that nobody comes to the rescue , if a rock star runs and kills someone on the London roads. In a movie , we should not earn such logic, but for a intellectual like Sukumar, how it is possible to make a movie without such simple logic. The climax drama of the film,that took place between Nasser and Mahesh is still ridiculous. But, after all the Movie is about Mahesh, so anyway, audience will sit in the Theatre to see his Handsome face.
This is really the Director's inefficiency. He is unable to understand how to utilise a Star like Mahesh. He should make movies with brilliance.But ,if a movie is made with so much brilliance, then it becomes a Kangali. As it is felt that the movie brings Sankranthi, two days before, now its great if it stays till Sankranthi.
Dookudu (2011)
A better Mahesh and Vytla keep you engrossed
We guessed it right. Dookudu is really a big leap in Mahesh brand entertainment. There is, delightfully, a bonus. The film is a big leap in Vytla brand entertainment as well. To put it in a nutshell, this awesome film has got everything which you might have expected to see in Khaleja (2010) but did not find in it. Dookudu has got everything - comedy, action, romance. On the top of it, there is an intelligent screenplay that coalesces adrenaline punches with comic drama and sentiment. And when the sentiment involves a superstar like Mahesh Babu and an ace like Prakash Raj, who strike a perfect chemistry on screen, you cannot ask for more. It would be far- fetched to even suggest that Dookudu is a classic, as the hero had wanted it to be, but it is indubitably a must-watch film.
Shankar Narayan (Prakash Raj) is a people's man, a Godfather for the inhabitants of Shankar Nagar, Hyderabad. Some villains (Kota Srinivas Rao and company) conspire to eliminate him and get rid of him successfully (though it turns out to be a temporary success). As it happens in every other film, the do-go oder father's son Ajay (Mahesh Babu) grows to be a heroic cop and is based in Mumbai. He and his team (headed by the inept Nasser) are on a hunt for the dreaded underworld don Nayak (Sonu Sood looks old but his performance is routinely fresh). Team Ajay head to Istanbul, Turkey, to nab Guru Talwar, Nayak's aide, to eventually catch hold of the big fish.
Twenty minutes into the film, uninterrupted action and edge-of-the- seat drama gives way to a pleasant romantic track involving Mahesh and Samantha (as the wannabe fashions Prashanthi). As Ajay and co prepare to outsmart Talwar, Shastri guru (Vennela Kishore as Mahesh's junior cop) makes us laugh by gushing about his Bamma, who has got a talent for predicting things as they will happen. This goes to show that Vaitla never Misses an opportunity pepper the proceedings with humor).
Some dialogs (Kona Venkat) show traces of Trivikram-style satire and humour in Istanbul. While Mahesh goes verbose (well, he says he has got no ti Dooley), displaying much more maturity as an actor than he did in Khaleja, Samantha adds the glamor quotient. The monumental beauty of Istanbul, resplendent with magnificent buildings which form the backdrop in a duet, lends a rich feel. (Thank the camera of Guhan).
It is not long before Ajay completes his Operation Istanbul and returns to Hyderabad. It is at this stage that Vaitla introduces his brand of comedy. The film is now set in the house in which Shankar Narayan lived. Shankar is back in the house but his return is kept in the dark. Ajay wants to make his father, who had lived in coma for years, happy by creating a make-believe world of lies around him.
The rest of the film is all about how Ajay accomplishes the task of annihilating every villain who had back stabbed and wanted his father to be dead. Thankfully, the drama and action are not routine. They are laced with rib-tickling comedy and touching sentimentality. Vaitla blends all the commercial ingredients in his inimitable style and makes Dookudu an enjoyable fare for all and how?
Well, here it is how he does it. Much like Dhee, Ready and King, this film too sees the the hero making everyone live in a fool's paradise: things go as the hero wants them. Nayak marvels at old Telugu classics and Ghantasala's rendition of the Gita; Brahmanandam, who believes that he is part of a reality show (this one, believe us, is top class), has you in splits as he is fooled around without a respite; MS Narayana's spoofing of Magadheera and Simha is superb; Prime Minister NTR, speaking on the ramparts of Red Fort in chaste Telugu, promises to bring black money back; Master Bharath participates in multi-core land dealings and brings smiles. Even a get-to-gather of Mahesh, Samantha's families becomes an occasion for comedy of lies and bras. Episodic treatment keeps your interest alive. Every murder comes with a touch of humour. Welcome to the world of Srinu Vaitla.
As for the performances, Mahesh delivers one of his career bests. He can now safely claim, without inviting ridicule, that Dookudu is a slap on the face of those who declared that he is not good at comedy. He shows verve and energy in action scenes. He is convincing in the kidder get-up. He is remarkable at spouting one- liners as the super- efficient cop. He is trigger-happy, but is immediately funny in taking digs at his stupid senior Nasser.
All comedians and character artists do justice to their roles. On the flip side, however, Samantha is not seen much in the second half. But when she sizzles on the screen in Itu Raye number, you swoon.
Tehnicially, it is proof what a Digital Intermediate finish can make a film look like. It is visually rich
Pokiri (2006)
Slick action
Being bad has never been better. And suddenly gangster and mafia movies are the flavor. In a sense, even Mahesh Babu's previous movie Athadu was one.
In Pokiri, the hero is introduced to us a ruthless baddie, part of the huge underbelly of mafia. By the time we come to the denouement, there is much twist and turn. If you like some racy action, fun, glamor and love, then Pokiri would be your kind of film.
Pandu (Mahesh) is a remorseless mafia man. He is part of a gang that is headed by Ali Bhai (Prakash Raj), the Dubai-based don. Pandu falls in love with the aerobics teacher Sruthi (Ileana). She also falls for him but he is put off by his bad ways. Pandu has a fall- out with Ali Bhai while Sruthi is harassed by a venal cop (Asish Vidyarthi). The finale is about how Pandu (there is a suspense to his role) outwits Ali and how he gets the hand of Sruthi.
The tale is a mixture of Hollywood and Desi hits.
Mahesh revels in an author-backed role. His insouciance and cultivated elegance add to the polish of the character. He is decidedly first rate in the role of a patented baddie. The director seems to have created his character with lot of care. Even his looks are very cool and comfy. Ileana, looking gorgeous, is also very cute and likable. She has moved up in acting to after Devadasu. Her exchanges with Mahesh and the natural chemistry that flow between them is a highlight of the movie.
Prakash Raj as Ali is typical. But some of his mannerisms are predictable. So too is Asish Vidyarthi. But it is Shayaji Shinde, as a honest cop, who is the standout. Nasser is also convincing. The same cannot be said of the comedy track.
Mani Sharma's music is also another plus. His re-recording gives the right backdrop. Shyam K Naidu's camera work is another asset to the movie.
Puri Jagannadh has got it right as a scriptwriter. He has worked around the story with dexterity. He has also got the feel of the movie right. Though there are elements that may put you off (too much action and extra glamor), Puri Jagannadh surely knows the pulse of the audience. And in Mahesh he has got an able ally.
Pokiri looks like it will work at the box office.