Bommarillu

Bommarillu

Banner: Sri Venkateswara Creations

Cast: Siddardha, Genelia D'Souza, Prakash Raj, Kota, Jayasudha, Sunil, Satya Krishnan, Sudeepa, Dharmavarapu, Surekha Vani, Chitram Seenu, Vijay, Ravi Varma, Neha & Bill Bitra

Genre: Family

Music: Devi Sri Prasad

Dialogues: Abburi Ravi

Lyrics: Sirivennela, Chandrabose, Bhaskarabhatla, Kula Sekhar, Anant Sreeram

Cinematography: Vijay K Chakravarthy

Editing: Marthand K Venkatesh

Story - screenplay - direction: Bhaskar

Producer: Dil Raju

Release Date: 9th August 2006

Review:

Story

Siddu (Siddardha) has everything in life, but in excess amounts. His father (Prakash Raj) decides on what is good for Siddu. He selects the girl of his choice to Siddardha. That is when Siddu meet the girl Hasini (Genelia) he has waited all his life for. Now he has a complex situation. First he need to propose to Hasini and win her over. Then convince his over-obsessive father. Then make Hasini's father accept him. Then break the engagement. And so on!

Artists Performance

Bommarillu is the best example of perfect casting. Here is another tailor-made role for Siddardha. He is very natural, charming and elegant. The most crucial part of his performance comes in the confrontation scene with Prakash Raj. Genelia steals the show with her mind-blowing performance as a happy-go-lucky and innocent girl. She is like an angel with lot of purity. Savitha Reddy (dubbing artist) has given her best output for the Hasini character in this film. Praksh Raj is at his best in this role that demands extraordinary performance. One wonders why Jayasudha is taken for such a role which has got very few dialogues, but her performance in confrontation scene with Prakash Raj in climax is enough to justify why it takes a natural actress like Jayasudha to do that role. After many years Sunil has done a superb comdey role. His expressions as servant in Prakash Raj's house remind us of comedians of golden era. Kota is very good in the role of Genelia's father. Sudeepa is terrific as aspiring beautician. Satya Krishnan is cute. Bill Bitra is very smart as kid in Prakash Raj house. Dharmavarapu Subramanyam is neat. Chitram Seenu, Vijay and Ravi Varma are adequate as friends of hero.

Technical Departments:

Story - screenplay - Direction: Bhaskar arrives with this film as a terrific talent that makes Telugu film industry proud. There is lot of freshness in the film. Director understands the nuances of filmmaking extremely well and applies them all with perfection for his debut film. Story of the film deals with the relationship that sours between a good father and a good son. Screenplay of the film is tight. Direction is exceptionally good. He dealt both fun scenes and emotional scenes with same degree of dexterity. At one point of time, Bollywood produced great flicks like DDLJ and KKHH. I always wondered why can't we have such films in Telugu. Telugu film industry too produced such films, but most of them are inspired ones. Bommarillu is one film that matches the brilliance of above mentioned films.

Music: Music of the film is very good and background music is excellent. The scenes in the first half are so good that songs come as speed breakers to the narration. The songs in second half are excellently blended into the narration with good emotional quotient. The choreography for 'Bommani Geeste' song (4th in the film) is exemplary. The pathos song that comes in parts in second half is brilliant.

Other departments: Cinematography by Vijay K Chakravarthy is priceless. He makes this film a visual treat with rich and vibrant colors. Dialogues by Abburi Ravi are excellent. Editing by Marthand K Venkatesh is crisp. Artwork is fabulous. Dil Raju produced this film with high standards of filmmaking. Dil Raju knows the recipe for success and this time the recipe is more yummy than his earlier films.

Analysis: First half of the film is excellent. Second half is even better. The last 20 minutes of the film is extraordinary with perfect emotions. This film is so good that I don't find any negative points. The huge plusses of this film are director Bhaskar, perfect cast (Genelia's exceptional performance), priceless piece of work by Vijay K Chakravarthy, appropriate music by Devi Sri Prasad and good judgment and involvement by Dil Raju. If director Bhaskar can make films of other genres the way he made Bommarillu, he is the one who can take the Telugu cinema to the next level. After a gap of 44 months, it gives me a great pleasure to give a 'Jeevi Rating' of 4.5 for a Telugu cinema in the form of Bommarillu.

Tail piece: Watching Bommarillu at Prasadz is like sitting in a ladies special show (as 75% of the patrons were good looking women). The film is so good that people are refusing to leave the auditorium as the titles are scrolling.

Raam

Raam

Banner: Sri Venkata Ramana Pictures

Cast: Nitin, Genelia D'Souza, Hrishitha Bhatt

Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Producer: N. Sudhakar Reddy

Director: N. Shankar

Release Date: 30th March 2006

Review:

Story

Revenge is one of the basest of human emotions. And that is why you have many films still being made on that theme. Perhaps after love and friendship (other basic human emotions), revenge is the most played out feeling in films.

In N Shanker's Ram, the theme of revenge is packaged around youthful romance and some other mass fun. Despite the best efforts of Nitin and others in the cast, the film does not rise beyond the ordinary simply because the packaging is very average. The film does not go beyond the mundane as the script is infantile and unimaginative. A hero taking it out on the baddies for their sins of the past needs to be told attractively to hold the viewers' interest. The director, Shanker, who is also in charge of the script, fails on this count.

In the event, the well-intentioned efforts of Nitin, who is full of energy and enthusiasm, and the gamine charm of Genelia all go waste. The story is wafer thin. Ram, the eponymous hero, is a happy go lucky guy in Hyderabad. He is an up and coming cycle champion. A win in a competition takes him to the final round in Mumbai.

But in Mumbai life pans out differently for him. He ends up unravelling the gritty knots of his family, especially that of his grandfather (Krishnam Raju). The granddad had been a do-gooder for the society but had been taken out by the baddies (Devraj and Jeeva). They also have an eye on the old man's property. So our hero avenges all the killings and in the process also wins the hand of one of the baddie's daughters (Genelia).

It is a tacky story that needs all the push from the script. But unfortunately it doesn't come. In the event, Nitin's vivacity and spirited dances all go in vain. Nitin sure has good screen presence, but alas it is still not big enough to carry off a bad script. Genelia looks cute and cuddly. Her role is limited. So is Hrishita Bhatt's who plays Genelia's sister. The two provide some feast in cool beauty. Devraj and Jeeva as baddies go through the motions. Brahmanandam as a doctor is okay. Venu Madhva's comedy is in the so-so category.

Yuvan's musical score does not get extra lift on the screen. His rerecording is pretty good. The technical values are nothing much to complain, overall.

But you cannot say the same thing to the efforts of the director Shanker. There are mass elements and there some good moments too. But if only he had worked even harder, Ram could have been a battering Ram. But it ends up as battered Ram.

Happy

Happy

Banner: Geeta Arts

Cast: Allu Arjun, Genelia D'Souza, Manoj Bajpai, Brahmanandam, Tanikella Bharani, Suman Setty, Venu Madhav, Vijay, Rama Prabha, Seetha, Apoorva & Jahnavi.

Genre: Comedy/Romance

Basic Story: Radha Mohan

Dialogues: Kona Venkat - Swamy

Cinematography: RD Rajasekhar

Editing: Anthony

Music: Yuan Shankar Raja

Lyrics: Sirivennela, Chandrabose, Kulasekhar, Vishwa, Pothula Ravi Kiran, Anant Sreeram

Art: Chinna

Fights: Vijay & Allan Amin

Screenplay - direction: Karunakaran

Producer: Allu Arvind

Release date: 27th January 2006

Review:

Story

Bunny (Allu Arjun) is an orphan who works as a Pizza delivery boy. Madhumati (Genelia) is the daughter of a caste-based politician and studies MBBS. Bunny and Madhumati meet each other in a strange situation and are forced to get married in an unforeseen situation. The rest of the story is all about how this couple who never had any intention of love find soul mates in each other.

Artists Performance

Allu Arjun: Allu Arjun has given his career best performance in the last 2 minutes of this film. Allu Arjun's characterization in this film is of a typical happy-go-lucky guy. That's a tailor-made role for him and he did it with great élan. Dances have always been a big asset to Allu Arjun and his steps in 'Vassa' song make masses go crazy. There is stylishness in Arjun and his wardrobe is pretty good.

Others: Genelia has got lots of scope for performance in this film and she did exceptionally well. Manoj Bajpai impresses everybody with his cameo. The one who did the role of evil cop has shown intensity in his performance. Rama Prabha, Tanikella Bharani, Suman Setty and Jahnavi are adequate.

Technical Departments:

Story - screenplay - direction: Direction by Karunakaran is fairly good. There are a few scenes in the film (hero behaving like God scene, a replica hero dancing when genelia sits on his bike for the first time) that shows the exceptional creativity of the director. Screenplay of the film is smooth, but for the last 25 minutes. Karunakaran's ability to chip in sweet nothings in songs is exemplary. The scene in which heroine shows door to hero in the second half is unconvincing.

Music and songs: Music by Yuan Shankar Raja is excellent. All songs are well picturized with nice themes. The best song of the film is 'Ye Hrudayam'. Here is the description of each song n the order of appearance -

1. Hyderabadi: This song showcase the landmarks of Hyderabad coupled with riveting dances of Allu Arjun. Probably a song is shot for the first time at Buddha statue in Hussain Sagar. This song is merged into narration and shows how hero got settled in Hyderabad.

2. Happy: This song has a theme. The best thing about this song are the editing cuts by Anthony. The set was used pretty creatively to narrate the song theme with right picturization. On a whole it's a typical music video kind of song done with high quality.

3. Vassa Vassa: This is a massive mass number of Happy album. Mass steps composed by Ashok Raj rocks masses away. It is a set song and Allu Arjun shows his dancing prowess again with this song. The way director made Manoj Bajpai sing the first lyric of the song and clubbed such a mass song into narration smoothly is innovative.

4. I hate you: This song comes as the first song after the marriage. It is a very trendy song that has teasing elements. It is shot on the mean leads and their friends. It is another creative song.

5. Egire Mabbulona: This song is the best song of Happy. And its scored high in all aspects - lyrics, situation, music, melody and theme. Karunakaran canned this song with lots of dexterity. This song shows the blossoming of love between the lead pair.

6. Nee Kosam: It is another good song that is used for the separation of the couple with ample flashback scenes.

Other Departments: Photography by RD Raja Sekhar is exceptional. Editing by Anthony is cool and trendy. His editing cuts in songs are good. Set work by Chinna is first-rate. Fx work is really fine, especially the titles animtion. Fights are adequate. Dialogues by Kona Venkat and Swamy are good. Production values by Geetha Arts banner are exceptionally good.

Analysis: First half of the film is entertaining and promising. Second half is adequate. The last half an hour of the film does not gel well with the rest of the film. However, the last 2 minutes of the film is heart-touching. The plus points of the film are Allu Arjun, songs picturization, technical values and comedy. On the flip side, tempo in the latter part of the second half went down. On a while, Happy is a happy film watch for its songs and comedy.

Naa Alludu

Naa Alludu

Banner: Sri Bharati Enterprises

Cast: NTR, Ramya Krishna, Shriya, Genelia D'Souza, Suman, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Krishna Bhagawan, Nassar, Charan Raj, Rajiv Kanakala, Kanchi, Brahmanandam, Hema, Master Teja, Kanchi, Rallapally, Ali, Ram, Lakshman.

Genre: Family Drama

Story: Vijayendra Prasad

Dialogues: A Ratnam

Music: Devi Sri Prasad

Lyrics: Veturi, Chandrabose, Sahiti

Camera: K Ravindra Babu

Editing: Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao

Fights: Vijay

Executive Producer: A Raghunatha Reddy

Producer: Bharati

Screenplay - direction: Vara Mullapudi

Theatrical release date: 14th January 2005

Review:

Story

Karthik is an MBA graduate who wants to join in Bhanumati Industries as an employee. Bhanumati Industries is found and run by a billionaire Bhanumati (Ramya Krishna) who gauges the entire world through the lenses of money. She mistreats Karthik during the interview process which irks Karthik. Karthik challenges to Bhanumati that he would set her straight and marry one of her daughters. The rest of the story is all about how he implements his schemes to win over Bhanumati and her daughters.

Artists Performance

NTR: NTR donned two get ups in this film. His get-up as Murugan is entertaining. His dialogue delivery with Tamil accent for that character is entertaining. He had shown variations between these two characters in terms of mannerisms and body language. He did extremely well in dances, as usual.

Others: Ramya Krishna is very glamorous in the role of haughty Bhanumati. She still looks like main heroine of the film than a character actress. Shriya and Genelia are just like props in this film. They do not have much roles and individualities. Their characterizations are pretty confusing. Nassar and Suman are adequate in their responsible roles. Comedy by Brahmanandam as cop in New Zealand did not click. Ali, Kota Srinivasa Rao and Kanchi are so so. The roles of Charan Raj and Rajiv Kanakala are routine.

Technical Departments:

Story: Story of the film is a typical atha-alludu story. It is about how a responsible son-in-law teaches a lesson to his haughty mother-in-law whose eyes are blinded by the love for money and false status. However the interesting startup of the film where a temple priest announces that one of the twins would kill the other one do not have much link up to the storyline of the film except for misguiding the audiences to believe that Murugan and Karthik are two different people.

Screenplay - direction: The debut by Vara Mullapudi - protégé of K Raghavendra Rao and the son of Mullapudi Venkataramana - is unimpressive. The direction lacks clarity and the screenplay is petty confusing at times. For a first timer, it is a wrong choice to handle such an oft-repeated script.

Music: : Music by Devi Sri Prasad is pretty mediocre. Background music is good. 'Naa Peru Murugan' has the style and spice we expect from Devi Sri Prasad. 'Banthichenu kaada' and 'Andala Bommaro' songs are average. The other songs are of no interest value.

Dialogues: Dialogues by A Ratnam are pretty average. There are a couple of entertaining dialogues like

1. NTR: 'mee iddarini (Shriya & Genelia) kalipi tookam vesinaa naa thodanta raaru'.

2. NTR: 'ee coin bomma padithe Peddadaanni (Shriya) borusu padithe chinnadaanni (Genelia) pelli chesukunta.

Krishna Bhagawan: Mari gotu padithe?

NTR: (points his fingers at Ramya Krishna)

The prasa dialogues written for NTR in the first half are uninteresting.

Other departments: Photography by K Ravindra Babu is sufficient. Set work by Anand Sai is impressive (especially the ship set penultimate song and the sets in the last song). Fights by Vijay are OK.

Sye

Sye

Banner: Sri Bharati Enterprises

Cast: Nitin, Genelia D'Souza, Pradeep Rawat, Nassar, Sashank, Rajiv Kanakala, Tanikella Bharani, Indu, Venu Madhav

Genre: Action

Story: Vijayendra Prasad

Dialogues: M Ratnam

Music: MM Keeravani

Camera: Senthil

Stunts: Ram-Lakshman, Vijay

Costumes: Rama Rajamouli

Editing: Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao

Art: Anand Sai

Screenplay - Direction: SS Rajamouli

Producer: A Bharati

Theatrical release date: 23rd September 2004

Review:

Story

Pruthvi (Nitin) & Sashank (Sashank) are the leaders of two warring students groups in a Hyderabad college. They are fond of Rugby game and they sort the things out between them by playing Rugby to prove superiority. One fine day, a local mafia leader Bhikshu Yadav (Pradeep Rawat) gets a court notice that he has purchased the land of college from its legal heirs. The groups of Pruthvi and Sashank unite together by forgetting differences to fight an united cause of winning back the land for college. After getting affected by assaults of students, Bhikshu Yadav throws a challenge to defeat his team in Rugby play to win back the land for their college. The rest of the story is all about how Pruthvi leads his team to the victory.

Artists Performance:

Nitin looks pretty hip with sophisticated looks and different hair-do. He did well in the role of protagonist. But he needs to work harder on his dubbing. Genelia is cool as teen college going girl. She is a treat to watch, but unfortunately has no role to play in story. Sashank is competent as the gang leader. Pradeep Rawat is impressive (credit also should be given for the characterization). Rajiv Kanakala is good in an inspiring role of Rugby coach. Venu Madhav's comedy is hilarious. Tanikella Bharani and Nassar are adequate. Director Rajamouli did a guest appearance.

Technical Departments:

Story: First half of the story deals with gang wars (a la The Westside Story). If Aamir Khan and his team wins cricket match to abolish tax in Lagaan, Nitin and his team win Rugby game to get back the land for their college in Sye. Vijayendra Prasad provided story for Sye.

Screenplay - direction: Taking style of Rajamouli is stylish and trendy. Direction of the film is decent. He is exceptionally good in the introduction scene of the film and canning the Rugby fight at the climax. Rajamouli succeeded in canning all the episodes of Rugby game in a way where everybody can understand the basics of the game. However, Rajamouli could not establish the following points strong enough

1. Why do these two groups (Arts and Science) clash without any proper provocation? The rivalry emotions could not be established.

2. The love thread between hero and heroine.

3. How silly follies by student's gang would trick a big mafia leader.

Music: Music by MM Keeravani is good, as usual. He liberally used various English tunes (including that of 'We Will Rock You - Queen' and 'Miss Lova - Shaggy') in background music. All the songs in this film offer wide variety of tunes that range from extreme class (Ganga A/C) to extreme mass (Gutlo Vundi Bellam Mukka). From extreme melodious (Nalla Nallani) to extreme racy (Chantaina Bujjaina)! Picturization of the songs is also good. However, there are no strong situations to place the songs.

Dialogues: Dialogues by M Ratnam are adequate. There is one good inspirational dialogue in this film that lifts up the mood and spirits of climax - Otami satruvu rupamlo raadu. Bhayam roopamlo manalonunde vastundi.

Other departments: Senthil Kumar (who worked for Aithe earlier) did a tremendous job again for this film as the cinematographer. Artwork by Anand Sai is excellent. The locations chosen are good. Producer Giri has produced this film on a vast and lavish scale. Color grading is good. Editing by Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao is adequate.

Hip Stuff: This film definitely broke some barriers (with the help of censor board, ofcourse) by having certain gestures that are unheard/unseen in past telugu films

1. The 'Chantaina' song ends with chorus - Wham bham: thank you maam

2. There are quite a few scenes that have hero and his buddies showing middle fingers.

3. Use the f word directly (Rajiv Kanakala saying ****ing difficult)

Analysis: The film starts with a terrific episode. First half of the film is slow and little boring. The second half is better. Climax is good. Plus points of the film are Raja Mouli's stylish taking and MM Keeravani music. The main negative point in the film is failing in getting the emotions right till the climax of the film. The box office prospects of this film would depend on how youth embrace this film. This film opened with terrific collections.

Samba

Samba

Banner: Kodali Movies Private Limited

Cast: NTR, Bhumika Chawla, Genelia D'Souza, Prakash Raj, Vijay Kumar, Tanikella Bharani, Chalapati Rao, Ahuti Prasad, Mansoor Ali Khan, Hemanth Ravan, GV, Jessy Singh, Ali, Venu Madhav, LB Sriram, Krishna Bhagavan, Malladi Raghava, Prasanna Kumar, Brahmaji, Subbaraju, Nutan Kumar, Sameer, Master Teja, Vijay, Sitara, Sukanya, Sukumari, Vijaya Singh, Pragati, Kalyani, Shirmili, Saraswatamma, Reshmi, Baby Greeshma, Baby Abhinaya

Genre: Action

Story: GS Rao

Dialogues: Kona Venkat

Cinematography: K Ravindra Babu

Music: Mani Sharma

Art: Srinivasa Raju

Fights: Vijay

Editing: Gowtam Raju

Lyrics: Bhuvana Chandra, Chandra Bose, Sahiti & Suddala Ashok Teja

Choreography: Prabhudeva, Lawrence, Raja Sekhar, Ashok Raj

Executive producer: Arikepudi Sivaji

Producer: Kodali Nani

Screenplay - direction: VV Vinayak

Release date: 9th June 2004

Review:

Story

Dharmayya Naidu (Vijaya Kumar) lost his wife because he is uneducated. Hence he wants to felicitate education in his seema area by constructing schools. He realizes that the quarry he owns has good quality granite deposits. Samba (NTR) is the son of Dharmayya Naidu. Prakash (Prakash Raj) is the son-in-law of Dharmayya Naidu. Prakash plays the game in such a way that Dharmayya Naidu is forced to give granite quarry as a dowry to Prakash's family, due to which Dharmayya Naidu's daughter commits suicide. When Samba comes to know the reason behind his sister's suicide, he occupies the quarry and kills the brothers of Prakash. Prakash kills everybody in the house of Samba in retaliation.

Samba and his nemesis Prakash take shelter in Kanchi and Amritsir respectively as police ban them from entering AP for a year. Samba settles as a saree manufacturer and trader in Kanchi (Tamil Nadu). The rest of the story is all about how he returns to Seema and takes vengeance against Prakash and then starts serving in educational field.

Artists Performance

NTR: NTR performed extraordinarily well in emotional episodes that require tremendous screen presence and towering mass persona. His dances are peppy and are full of enthusiasm, as usual. His style of groaning when he lost his dear ones is good. His demeanor has class orientation in the first half and mass orientation in the second half. However, NTR should 'seriously' consider reducing his weight now, as it's started showing negative effect on his grace/style while doing dances.

Heroines: When NTR is the hero, the heroines do not have much role to play unless they are related to villain. Since both Bhumika Chawla and Genelia are not related to villain in this film, they do not have much to perform while sharing the screen with NTR. Bhumika is pretty good, but has a very short role. Genelia is naughty. She looked sexy while donning rose color outfits in the first dance bit of 3rd song (Tagilindirabba).

Others: There is heavy star cast in this film. Prakash Raj is good as villain. The way he pricks on the dead body of Dharmayya Naidu with knife is ghastly. Mansur Ali Khan is authentic as McDowell Mani (an evil man in Kanchi). It was Venu Madhav who created good comedy in the 1st half and Krishna Bhagawan in the second half. These guys are sidekicks of villains (Like Allu Ramalingaiah for Rao Gopal Rao in old films). Vijay Kumar, Malladi Raghava and Tanikella Bharani are adequate.

Technical Departments:

Story: The basic point of the film is about the hero fighting it out for establishing educational institutes in Rayalaseema so that the land of factionists could become the land of humanists with better education and wisdom.

Screenplay - direction: First things first! VV Vinayak has handled 6-7 episodes of the film extraordinarily. These scenes would exhilarate the crowds a lot. He managed enough to make the movie in such way that the audiences would come out of the theater in a positive mood. The direction is cool in few scenes and wild in some other scenes. He opted for ruthless bloodshed to feast the eyes of mass audiences. He also neglected the family audiences while conceiving the second half. VV Vinayak should improve his taste for the music, as music has been a weakling in most of his films. He should also concentrate on making movies that entertain all section of audiences equally good than concentrating too much on mass episodes.

Dialogues: Dialogues by Kona Venkat are good. Here are few dialogues in the film

NTR to goons (Kanchi): Cheeralu ammukune vallu kada ani cheap gaa chooste cheeresta.

NTR to Mansur Ali Khan (Kanchi): Nipputho pettukunte tagalapadi pothav. Neetitho pettukunte munigi pothav. Sambatho pettukunte chachipothav. (This is a very powerful dialogue and it would have been used more than once in this film)

Bhumika to NTR: Yesey bava! (asking NTR to hit out rowdies)

NTR to Bhumika: ardharathri peratloki raa. Muddista. Paipai chesukundam. (when NTR said paipaina twice there is very good response)

NTR: Chaduvuto rayalaseema lo factionists ni humanists chestaanu.

Other departments: Music by Mani Sharma is average. Songs picturization is good. Quality of photography by Ravindra Babu is short of what we expect from films of big stars. Luxemburg Lux Sundari song got great response as it appears when the movie is going through great tempo. Artwork by Srinivasa Raju is OK. But the colors used in the sets he erected for songs are gaudy. Fights by Vijay are good. The production values are good. However, the cost incurred to make this film is not transferred on the screen.

Analysis: First half of the film helps as a foundation for the flashback in the second half followed by subsequent climax. There is suspense value. It is the latter half of second half that unleashes the bloodbath. Second half is too heavy for normal audiences and is exhilarating for the mass audiences. There is comedy in this film, but most of it is not done by NTR, who has excellent comedy timing. The director made hero use the path of bloodbath to achieve his goal of educating people instead of choosing a soft method. Over all, Samba is a good film for masses and is a definite hit. The range of hit would be known depending on how all section of audiences receive it.

Masti

Masti

Banner: Maruthi International

Cast: Ritesh Deshmukh, Genelia D'Souza, Vivek Oberoi, Aaftab Shivdasini, Amrita Rao, Tara Sharma, Lara Datta, Satish Shah and more

Genre: Comedy

Music: Anand Raj Anand, Sanjay Wandrekar

Writer: Indra Kumar

Director: Indra Kumar

Producer: Ashok Thakera

Run Time: 2 hrs 47 min

Release Date: 9 April 2004

Bolly wood's current hot topic of adultery is presented in new light in director Indra Kumar's latest offering Masti. The film tells the story of three friends who, tired of their forever bickering wives begin to seek some fun and masti outside their marriages.

Meet [Vivek Oberoi], Amar [Ritesh Deshmukh] and Prem [Aftab Shivdasani] are clo se friends with an easygoing attitude towards everything in life. They

have had their share of fun when in college but their lives have begin to dry up after their marriages.

Having

tasted the proverbial sourness in shaadi ka laddo, the

three gear up to do some masti and decide that the only way to spice up their lives is to seek to excitement outside home. So the trio begins on their wacky and hilarious adventure to taste the forbidden fruit of an adulterous relation. To their further provocation, the three come across a desirable belle (Lara Dutta)

But before they could indulge in the act of infidelity, their adventure hits an unexpected hurdle when they become the unusual suspects in a crime case.

Enters into the scene Sikander [Ajay Devgan], a cop who sees the threesome with a suspicious eye. The problem gets bigger for the three as they now fear prosecution by law and the exposure of their extra marital adventure before their oh-so-loyal wives.

From the very first reels, it becomes clear that the director has made an attempt to make a light-hearted flick without going into mushy sentiments. The story begins to grip a viewer right from the moment the three friends decide to look beyond their wives for intimate moments. And the interval point takes the film to a different high altogether, with the story getting into the crime mould. The film's ending however is a bit let down.

The escapades of the three protagonists are quite hilarious, especially between Ritesh Deshmukh and Rakhi Sawant. The chemistry between the two is pretty good.

But the scene-stealer in the movie is dimpled Aftab Shivdasani, who does an excellent job of mimicking Jim Carrey with his facial contortions and dialogue delivery. His comic timing is precise and body language well suited to the role.

On the other hand, Vivek Oberoi just about manages to play his character with his hamming act. The actor doesn't really have a knack for humor and looks out of place mouthing those oneliners that may have acquired a different weight had they been rendered by a deft comedian.

Ajay Devgan plays his role with remarkable ease and Lara Dutta too catches an eye with her marginal appearance.

Abound with slapstick humor that does make one laugh, Masti is a delightful and situational farce on the subject of sex. The movie is an out-and-out comedy without any hilarious moments. However, the humor is not the most witty, incisive or charming comedy, but it does a good job of entertaining viewers.

Satyam

Satyam

Banner: Ari Annapurna Studios

Cast: Sumanth, Genelia D'Souza, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Brahmanandam, Tanikella Bharani, Sridhar, Rajesh, Malladi Raghava, Nirmala Reddy, Varsha, Prakash, Naveen, Chakri, Apoorva, Kondavala Lakshmana Rao, Jenny, Gowtam Raju

Genre: Love

Music: Chakri

Cinematography: Sameer Reddy - Raja

Fights: Vijay

Choreography: Lawrence, Shankar, Ashok Raj, Vidya

Art: JK Murthy

Editing: Nandamuri Hari

Dialogues: Sateesh - Ravi

Costumes: Sekhar

Presents: Smt Akkineni Annapurna

Producer: Akkineni Nagarjuna

Story - screenplay - direction: Surya Kiran

Release date: 19th December 2003

Review:

Story

Satyam (Sumanth) is a sweet and too-good-to-believe kind of guy. Everybody likes him except for the two he loves the most. One is his father (Malladi Raghava) and other one is the girl with whom he is in love with. And she is the cute girl Ankita (Genelia). Sathyam comes out of his house and start living with friends because he is misunderstood by his father.

Sathyam is also a sensitive man and sensible writer. He ghost writers lyrics for a popular film lyricist. He wants to prove himself as lyricist before meeting Ankita to express his love. Mean while, a flamboyant classmate of Ankita proposes her. Would Satyam be able to propose to Ankita? Would he win her love? To know these two things, you need to watch 'Sathyam' on a big screen.

Artists Performance

Sumanth: Sumanth performed like a professional in this film. He succeeds in generating sympathies for his characterization. His strengths are assets are his pure eyes and good diction. And the same purity made him the best suitable guy for that character. His dialogue delivery has good clarity and his voice is good. There is not event a single moment on screen where you can find any shortcomings in his histrionics.

Genelia: Genelia is very fresh and adorable. The entire story is told from hero's point of view. Hence you can see heroine coming in flashes and in the imagination of hero. If you had seen Genelia in a aggressive and contemporary kind of teenage character in 'Boys', you are going to see the tender and poetic side Genelia in this film.

Others: Sridhar did OK job as the villain in this film. Comedy actor Rajesh is given a good footage in this film and he proved himself by performing comedy scenes with good timing. The 'puliraja' episode involving him is hilarious. Brahmanandam play another comical role and his get up resembles that of our president Abdul Kalam. Kota Srinivasa Rao did a well rounded character in Telugu after a long time. Varsha played the role of sister to hero and she did well. Lawrence did an item song in this film along with Genelia. Kondavalasa did a comedy role. Music director Chakri played his realself in this film. Tanikella Bharani is good as the plagiaristic lyricist.

Technical Departments:

Story: The story of the film is pretty soft one. And it has similarities to Vikraman's stories where hero is misunderstood by the people who mattered the most.

Screenplay - direction: Screenplay and direction of debutant Soorya Kiran is neat. The taking of the film is sophisticated. Framing of the film is rich. The screenplay has similarities to that of Vikraman's films. Narration of the film is little slow. The director succeeded in making this film appear fresh as well. There is lots of poetic way of picturization of tender feelings. The climax resembles the Vikraman style where all the misunderstandings are cleared in one situational lead song to climax.

Music: Music by Chakri is excellent. Music would remain as highlight of the film. Credit should also be given to the cinematographer and director make the song come very rich on the screen. Background score is amply supported by the humming of popular tunes in this film (SA Raj Kumar style).

Other departments: Cinematography by Sameer Reddy and Raja is first rate. Framing of the shots, altering of lens focus and lighting schemes in this film are brilliant. Dialogues are pretty good. The lyrics of the film are efficiently used as dialogues in important scenes. Editing by Nandamuri Hari is worth an applause for doing a few cool editing effects. Choreography of the songs is apt. Stunts by Vijay are effective. The stunts are composed in such a style that they does not appear too lengthy, but at the same time they give perfect results. Producer Nagarjuna has spent lavishly on the film and all the money spent on this film could be visualized in the rich frames of the film.

Analysis: 'Sathyam' - a technically rich one - is a well made film. Strengths of the film are perfect casting, good music, sophisticated taking and rich frames. The weakness of the film is slow narration and class-orientation. Though the hero and heroine in this film belong to middle class family, the presentation of the film is made to suit the tastes of urbane viewers. Producer Nagarjuna should be appreciated for making a clean and family oriented film. Director Soorya Kiran makes a mark for himself through 'Sathyam'. Hero Sumanth's proves himself as a perfectionist.

Genelia stills from boys movie

Boys

Boys

(for gals)

Banner: Sri Surya Movies

Cast: Siddardh, Genelia D'Souza, Nakul, Sai, Bharath, Manigandhan & Vivek

Genre: Love

Music: AR Rehman

Photography: Ravi K Chandran

Dialogues: Srirama Krishna

Lyrics: Siva Ganesh & AM Rathnam

Art Direction: Sabu Cyril

Editing: VT Vijayan

Stunts: Vikram Dharma

Producer: AM Rathnam

Story - screenplay - direction: Shankar

Release date: 29th August 2003

Review

Story

There are five teenage boys who are very thick friends. They have typical teen-boy fantasies - proposing to each and every chick they come across, touching women in crowded areas, boozing, browsing porn books, trying for call girls etc. In the process they meet a girl Harini (Genelia). A guy called Munna (Nakul) from these boys group fall in love with her and she also loves him. After coming to know about it, the parents separate the boy, girl and the friends. The boy and the girl get desperate and elope to Tirupati to get married.

The parents throw them out of their houses. The friends also come out to support this young couple. They all work together to make a living. They find their strengths and hidden talents. They form a band called 'Boys'. Sign a contract with Sony Music and win M TV awards. In the process, small differences crop up between the wedded couple and they fall out. The rest of the film is all about how they get united with the help of friends!

Artists Performance

The specialty of the guys selected for Boys is that all guys are normal looking. There are lean guys and fat guys as well. Everybody suited their character well. All the characters are established in a strong way. Siddardh is the hero of the film. He is sensible. Harini (Genelia D'souza) acts as the heroine and she has an array of emotions to go through in this film. She has the mannerism of showing finger to guys. But they have made her rise the other finger instead of the middle one to avoid the scissors of censor officers. Vivek did a meaty role as the mentor of the boys. He offered lots of comedy. Actor Rajendra Prasad did the dubbing for Vivek. And because of the good dubbing, the comedy timing of Vivek character worked out well.

Technical Departments:

Story:

The story of the film is a very typical one. Boy meets the girl. Parents reject their love and separate them. The boy-girl elope and get married. They come out and make a living and prove to the world that the word 'love' is not a taboo as projected by parents and one can do good career even when one fell in love.

Screenplay - direction: Shankar - who directed five consecutive super hits in a row - attempted his sixth film 'Boys'. Director Shankar has the habit of making social-message films and teen films alternatively. Checkout his filmography: Gentleman (social), Premikudu (love), Bharateeyudu (social), Jeans (love), Oke Okkadu (social) and Boys (love). And if you analyze, his social films have become sensational hits as his love films turned out to be just hits. Like his earlier love films, this film also has got good narration, great youth elements, much needed sentiment and interesting screenplay. But the narration of the film is little slow. Shankar's projection of deeds done boys is little embarrassing to look on the screen (in 1st half), though it happens in real life.

Music:

Music is the life of this film. AR Rehman came up with great tunes with rich percussion and orchestration. His background music is equally titillating. There are two more songs in the film which were not there in audio album. One is about making music using props like spoon, pot etc (without using musical instruments). But the scene-stealer is the 'please' song that aimed by 'boys' at wooing the manager of Sony Music.

Songs picturization:

All the songs in this film are picturised on a larger than life format by using lots of computer graphics and visual effects. The backdrop chosen for each song is excellent. The choreography adds to the beauty of the visuals.

Photography:

Photography by Ravi K Chandran is pleasing to our eyes. The colors, lighting effects, movement of the camera etc. are just perfect.

Dialogues:

Dialogues by Sri Rama Krishna are good, though some of the dialogues in the first half put the parents into embarrassment (youth likes it anyway).

Production:

AM Ratnam spent 24 crores in making this film. And all that money is efficiently transformed in to rich visuals and abundant music in cinema halls. This film would remain as one of the proud films produced by AM Ratnam.

Analysis:

'Boys' is an urbane and youth film. Taking a simple point, Shankar succeeded in narrating it with an interesting screenplay. The plus points in the film are good music, rich visuals and youth elements. The weakness of the film is slow narration and lack of mass elements. Though the film went in to weak mode at times, the director Shankar made sure that the narration is back on the wheels as the climax approached. The parents are shown in a bad light in this film (parents are shown as inflexible ones who does not understand their kids. There are good parents in real who understand, appreciate and encourage their kids to succeed in love and career). This film would definitely become a hit. This youth-rich film would do well in A centers. The question now is whether it does well in B and C centers or not!