Avakai Biryani (2008)
Cast: Kamal Kamaraju, Bindu Madhavi, Rao Ramesh, Varun Jonnada, Praneeth, Kameshwara Rao, etc.
Script: Anish Kuruvilla
Cinematography: Shyam Datt
Art: Narayana Reddy
Choreography: Prem Rakshit
Music: Manikanth Kadri
Lyrics: Vanamali
Analog Editing: K. Ravindra Babu
Digital Editing: Praveen Boyina
Producers: Sekhar Kammula, Chandrasekhar Kammula
Direction: Anish Kuruvilla (debut)
CBFC Rating: U
Date of Theatrical Release: November 14, 2008
Summary:
A story of an auto driver and his love interest, laced with social elements. More aavakaaya and less biryani, but both not enough to satiate one's hunger!
What's it all about?
Mohd. Akbar Kalam (Kamal Kamaraju) drives an auto that he rents from Masterji (Rao Ramesh), a bigwig in the village of Devarakonda. Purushottam (Kameshwara Rao) and family migrate to the village from Polavaram, understandably as one of those families affected by the Polavaram project. They have to start their life afresh here, and Purushottam intends to set up a hotel in the village, while his daughter Lakshmi (Bindu Madhavi) wants to sell mango pickle ( aavakaya) and support the family. Akbar and Lakshmi meet frequently as she needs to go to nearby Vikarabad to get the required ingredients and hires his auto. A local political aspirant, Babbar Khan (Varun Jonnada), eyes Lakshmi and follows her frequently. Akbar suddenly faces the wrath of his villagers when he raises his voice against the problems in the village when the Chief Minister visits the village.
Eventually, he turns out to be a hero in the same village, much to the dislike of the aspiring politicians of the village, Masterji and Babbar Khan, and they even try to force him to leave the village. Meanwhile, Lakshmi and Akbar get closer to each other. Purushottam is one of the many traditional Hindus who dislike Muslims as people who intend only harm to the State. What did Akbar's local enemies do against him, how Akbar tries to impress Purushottam about his love towards the latter's daughter and his credibility as an individual form the rest of the story.
Performances
Cast:
Kamal Kamaraju, who met the audiences' eye in Godavari as a haughty fellow now comes to fit into the role of a poor auto driver striving to excel as an individual. He succeeds with his performance to most part, but he needs to improve his diction. His expressions need some toning too, at places. There's no second thought to say he has the required ease in front of the camera, though. How much he alone can carry a film as a hero cannot be seen yet, since this film does its trade as a Sekhar Kammula-produced film all the way. Telugu girl Bindu Madhavi who debuted as the female lead is homely, beautiful, and expressive. However, her voice is still dubbed by Suneetha. She is a good fit into roles that require traditional and/or semi-modern girl of current day. Rao Ramesh has a different role compared to his previous films but he is misfit in the role, his acting is somewhat theatrical. Varun Jonnada joins him as a rough guy with not-so-good intentions. Praneeth as hero's friend offers very good comedic relief in the film with his ease and histrionics that sometimes do go overboard, but as is required for the role. The rest of the cast fit in their roles and do the job well.
The screenplay traverses through several threads of the story, but the narration is still focused, one could say looking at it one way. However, most regular audience might find it hard to see why there were so many elements in the film or what the director even tried to tell in this film. Dialogues are adequate, with comedy where possible through the role of hero's friend. Makeup for the lead roles in the last scenes "two years later" is shown differently, with appreciable care. Visuals are one highlight of the film, with perfect wide-angle shots and okay-kind mid-long and closeup shots. Picturization of songs is neat, and the lyrics are all very apt to the situation; choreography is kept simple and adequate.
Background score reminds of Ilayaraja at places, and music on the whole is another highlight in the film; tunes by debutant Manikanth Kadri, the son of veteran saxophone player Kadri Gopalnath, are catchy and melodious. Editing is crisp. Production values are quite appreciable. The director should be appreciated for an unbiased stand on Hindu-Muslim issues and political aspects indicated in the film, such as migration due to Polavaram project, etc. He has the care and talent, but how much he can reach the commercial cinema standards, or would he be an artsy director like Sekhar Kammula and create his own fan base, is to be seen.
The number plate for the Enfield is shown as AP 10 BH 786 in all scenes except one closeup where it goes with the AP 9M series!
Timeline in the movie is a bit inconsistent, such as two months for disposing of lands in Polavaram, the hero appearing for supplimentary exams twice in not much a gap, and more.
The hero and heroine decide to speak only in English, but then that never happens... much like in real life, eh?
Bottom Line:
Avakayi Biryani has good intentions but the execution of the movie is not palatable to everyone. It is too slow . General audiences can feel boredome and for them it looks more like a docudrama. Yet the film has good performances, music, visuals, and is totally clean! Can appeal to niche audiences. The makers should be appreciated for such a film with good intentions. While the title Avakai Biryani is not exactly justified, the film can get its initial audiences, thanks to the name Sekhar Kammula that's associated with the film. Promotion of the film might take it further, but the slower pace and unclear narration might affect the film's run and acceptance.
Rating: 3/5
/Dasvidaniya (drama )
Cast: Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey, Rajat Kapoor, Neha Dhupia
Direction: Shashant Shah
Critic’s rating: 3/5
Forget the Bucket List. Dasvidaniya may have the most hackneyed story line, told a million times a man, dying of cancer, decides to live life before curtain call but it stands out because of its sparkling performances, its sensitive approach and its life-like characterisations.
The heart and soul of the film undoubtedly is Vinay Pathak, who reinvents the quiet, submissive common man, already dead with the weight of his dull, uneventful life. So much so, when he discovers he has just three months to live, he wonders: have I been living at all? His flashy alter ego (don't miss the red pointy shoes and the kitschy wig) tells him to take this terrible news as a golden opportunity to stand up and fulfil all his dreams.
The boring account manager suddenly comes to life and does all the things almost every aam aadmi wants to do. Like, standing up to a devilish boss, buying a red car, declaring your love to someone you never dared to tell the truth, going on a foreign trip to spend time with your best buddy, mending broken family ties, learning the guitar....
This quiet little film touches and moves you with its elegant dekko on the highs and lows of ordinary, middle class life. But more than all this, it impresses you with its talented line-up of performances. If Vinay Pathak pays a tribute to Raj Kapoor's shuffling tramp, then Saurabh Shukla, Ranvir Shorey, Rajat Kapoor, Sarita Joshi, Neha Dhupia are all effective in their little cameos.
Film: Yuvatha
Rating: 3/5
Banner: Worth Watch Entertainments
Cast: Nikhil, Aksha, Ranadheer, Monali, Shayaji Shinde, Jaya Prakash Reddy, Jeeva, Narsing Yadav, Subhash, Narasimha, Karuna etc and in guest roles-Siddhartha and Krishnudu
Camera: Jaswant
Music: Mani Sharma
Fights: Ram-Laxman
Lyrics: Krishna Chaitanya
Art: Narayana Reddy
Editing: Marthand K Venkatesh
Producers: Hari, Uma Prakash
Story, Screenplay, Dialogue, Direction: Parasuram (Bujji)
Released On: 7th November 2008
It's a change over from typical college stories although we see a set of four young guys and two girls. Mass flavor is pervaded in this movie all together. Let us peep a little more into the details.
Story:
Babu (Nikhil) is an easy going irresponsible guy from a village called Kesavaram. He develops strife with his uncle and lands in Hyderabad to stay along with his 3 close friends. While one works in a software company, the other works as a security guard and the third one aspires to become a film director.
Babu stays with them and happens to meet a girl called Baby (Aksha), a medico, in a dramatic sequence. It goes without saying that Babu and Baby fall in love. On the other hand the owner's daughter (Monali) falls in love with the software guy in this friend's batch.
In an unforeseen situation the guy who dreams to become a director gets hospitalized. To save their friend from peril, the three friends attempt a bank robbery. They will be caught red handed and the situation turns different turn all together. What happens from then was made in the humorous way possible.
Performances:
It has almost become a trend to sound the dialogues in Godavari slang these days. With that Nikhil's diction came close to that of Ravi Teja. Earlier in 'Ankith Pallavi and Friends' he appeared to have taken inspiration from Pawan Kalyan in some scenes. But now Ravi Teja appears to have inspired him hiding the originality. Yet, it's entertaining and didn't obstruct the flow.
New girl Aksha is ok but appeared to be older than Nikhil with wide face. She is ok with the performance that she delivered.
Ranadheer is ok but would have performed better in sentimental scenes. Monali has no big role to play but she too sufficed the requirement.
Dialogues and screenplay maintained the tempo better. The dialogue 'Aalochinchi cheyyadaaniki idi vyaaparam kaadu - Friendship' received good response in theaters. Music is average and the director would have extracted more from Mani Sharma. The first song 'Naake Istam' appeals masses while the rest are appealing for youth.
On a whole, it can be termed as an above average narration by the director. Had he worked better on some technical aspects, the film would have elevated better.
Analysis:
It is an attempt to project Nikhil in mass appealing role. There is a consistent transformation in Nikhil's movies from 'Happy Days' to 'Yuvatha'. Although the title and the posters sounded to be a college oriented flick, there are more mass elements in it than anything else. The screenplay is good but the director would have worked a bit more in some scenes where there needs more energy.
Keeping those technical aspects aside, the film appeals for mass audiences and the humor element also worked considerably well. On a whole it can be termed as an above average execution.
Although friendship element is attempted to be a highlight in the movie, the narration goes on the platforms of crime and action.
It's a movie for masses and those who can get entertained along with them. It's an entertained carved with in the 'set formula'.
Star Cast: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric
Director: Marc Foster
Genre: Action/ Thriller
Rating: 3.5/5
“The name’s Bond... James Bond” which has been the ‘trademark’ introductory note of Ian Fleming’s sexy British secret agent 007 (that has had women across the globe go weak in the knees) has been surprisingly evaded in Quantum of Solace. Let alone the exclusion of this popular dialogue, Quantum of Solace doesn’t even begin with the "James Bond signature Theme" played in the background as the opening credits start rolling. Add to this Bond’s (Daniel Craig reprises his role of Bond) disinterest in seducing gorgeous women with his charm and then bedding them.
German-Swiss filmmaker Marc Foster makes it very clear right from the beginning of Quantum of Solace that this Bond flick will break away from all the Bond clichés, the very ones which have given Bond its unique identity.
The sexual tension that Bond so impressively manages to create with his women and the flirtatious banter he has with them takes a backseat and the film rides high on him seeking the revenge of the death of his beloved Vesper (Eva Green in Casino Royale) though he tries hard to show his mission as strictly ‘professional’ and not ‘personal’. His heartbreak and agony makes him ruthless thus forcing him to largely exercise his license to kill.
Foster plays a big gamble by taking humour and sex out of Bond’s life but fairly succeeds in keeping his character interesting and intriguing as ever.
Coming to the story of the film, Quantum of Solace picks up where Casino Royale left off. The film begins with a heart-thumping car chase where Bond in his Ashton Martin is being chased by a troop of gunned villains leaving you breathless. This is only one of the many dangerous chases Bond gets involved in. From one breathtaking stunt to another, Quantum manages to keep you on the edge of your seats, all thanks to its brilliant technical stunt team. The second chase shot in Sienna, Italy is the highlight of the film, where Bond jumps and runs across rooftops, race course, church tower and finally the church bell at a terrific speed to catch hold of a traitor who secretly works for an organization ‘Quantum’ involved in various devious activities. Quantum is headed by Dominic Green (Mathieu Amalric, effective) who in the pretext of being a philanthropist is actually conspiring to take total control of the world’s most important natural resources. He is also the man involved in Vesper’s death.
As he chases Green, he bumps into a feisty Camille (Olga Kurylenko) who has her own score to settle with Green’s partner in crime General Medrano. Together the two set on a mission to kill their culprits without sleeping with each other (very unlike Bond). Bond defies all orders given by M (Judy Dench, impressive) as he is hellbent on tracking down Green.
Quantum highly scores as far as the impeccably shot high octane stunt scenes and effective performances are concerned. However the villain Green comes across as terribly underpowered when compared to Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) in Casino Royale and that’s where Bond’s character looks unreal as every time Bond is shown single handedly getting rid of his opponents, irrespective of their presence on land, water or air, that too with his sheer physical prowess minus much help from his hi-tech gadgets. His banter with M is also highly missed in the film. The Bond girls Olga and Gemma both somehow fail to match up to Eva’s screen presence and sex appeal.
Daniel Craig as Bond is simply impeccable. From being heartless, humourless, and ruthless to being sensitive, caring and vulnerable...he displays all facets of Bond’s personality with ease and we would want to see him playing James for many Bond installments to come. Daniel is in great shape and looks terrific too.
Quantum is definitely worth a watch, not only because it is a Bond film but because it has Daniel Craig playing the Bond.
Posts
All Comments
