Monthly Archives: April 2011

Nenu Naa Rakshasi

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Did I like the film? Well, I wasn’t bored often (except for the comedy), I had plenty to think about, there are some good performances and the  first half is gripping. Puri Jagannadh has tried to frame an introspective psychological study in a mass thriller story, and ultimately fails, although he did set some interesting ideas in play. The issue of suicide is raised but left for us to make our own judgements for the most part. I appreciated the ambiguity that allowed for some viewer reflection instead of being hit over the head with one single message for the whole film. I disliked the final scenes which looked like they had been tacked on to change the overall tone of the story, but the pre-ending ending was lame too. So yes, yes I did like the film overall though there are clearly massive flaws and I am struggling to articulate why they didn’t quite outweigh the positives.

Abhi (Rana) is a hitman motivated by hospital bills for his mother. He is kind of geeky, a loner, and not at all a flawless killing machine. His story is told in an exposition to camera, giving his reasons for becoming a killer and his view of life and love. He isn’t ice cold homicidal perfection and I found this characterisation appealing.  He stresses when the police wander into a cafe, runs into trouble instead of away, acts impulsively when he could have waited for a better opportunity, that sort of thing. When the vengeance and coincidence kicks in, Abhi loses some of that humanity, increases in heroic unstoppability and becomes less believable. He sees Meenakshi (Ileana) and falls for her instantly, sparking some half-arsed stalking (in between kills) and an ‘MTV clip directed by John Woo’ fantasy.

She isn’t too bright if she can’t spot Rana following her in a crowd. Jeez!

Puri Jagannadh shows what Meenakshi does (she records video of people committing suicide and uploads it to Youtube) but doesn’t fully reveal why she does this until very late in the film (there are clear hints early). That was a miscalculation as I didn’t really connect with Meenakshi. In the psychological drama aspect this lack of character depth unbalanced the whole thing for me.

Superintendent Vikram (Subbaraju) and his young daughter move in across the hall from Abhi. I was quite alarmed by her being allowed to wander unsupervised into a stranger’s apartment, but whatever. They provide some emotional engagement for Abhi and some tension as the men become friendly, which is a bad idea for a hitman. Vikram is hunting the Youtube suicide film person as well as investigating the spate of shootings. Subbaraju plays it straight and gives a strong and energetic performance as the righteous cop and loving father. His investigations, together with a rowdy swearing revenge against Abhi, fuel the thriller aspect of the story.

Abhimanyu Singh is the batshit crazy villain who is just too insane and dysfunctional to be believed. He seemed to kill more of his own men than he did his intended victims and his twitchy and fey mannerisms were just hammy. He was so nuts he wasn’t really menacing and so it was all a bit underwhelming for me.

The first half is pretty punchy and l really enjoyed it. The second half loses that energy. For Abhi there is hope for a better tomorrow and he is looking for something to hold on to. Meenakshi on the other hand has disengaged from the world and withdrawn emotionally. They both understand the fragility of life but it motivates them in opposite directions. The Abhi/Meenakshi storyline in Venice detours into a meandering romance and the dramatic stuff happens mostly in India so it’s very uneven. By the time they reach the pretend Easter Island sculptures, the plot has been lost.

Rana is expressive but understated most of the time, and that suited Abhi’s character. His attraction to Meenakshi and his frustration with her is evident. His scenes with the kid next door are nice and the lighter moments are fun, plus his parade of silly walks in the Michael Jackson rip-off  inspired Padithnammo shows that he is prepared to make a goose of himself for our entertainment.

The actual dancing was restricted to a drunk song in Venice and in the club number with Mumaith. It’s not his strength but he isn’t completely unwatchably terrible and I would say he falls firmly into the ‘actors who try to dance’ category. He did look self conscious in a handful of scenes. Rana was very impressive in the action sequences as he is so imposing, and the fight choreography and filming was excellent. The hero entrance scene was great, and had all the visual trademarks I expect from Puri Jagannadh. Abhi supplemented his sharpshooting with some very handy knife and martial artsy skills apparently acquired during the interval so that was time well spent. The ladies in the audience all squealed when Rana said ‘I love you! Something something full package!’ I think they liked his package.

Ileana is beautiful, and certainly gave it her best in a couple of key scenes. She was far more impressive than in the recent Shakti. She plays Meenakshi as perfectly pleasant but distant for most of the film so there isn’t a lot to say about her performance. This is a spoiler–Meenakshi films someone who decides he wants to live after all, and asks her to help him get to a hospital. She refuses saying she is just there to video not to change the course of events and walks away, which was quite powerful. Later on it is revealed that she did indeed call for an ambulance so her actions were at odds with her stated beliefs and this is a problem with the character as I don’t think that was really explored or challenged. Her backstory when it eventually showed up was so clichéd and undermined what was a fairly original idea for a heroine. I also have a problem with her ninja scarf disguise which disguised nothing. Firstly, it left most of her face uncovered and secondly, how do we all recognise Ileana instantly? The hips.

Mumaith Khan appears on and off throughout the film, and really her only contribution was to make me think ‘Is she gonna?’ When she eventually danced, it was a standard club number but still fun (also notable for the silly hat team having their way with Rana). Her facial expressions are so much more lively and spontaneous when she dances than when she acts. Mind you, she was stuck in the comedy side plot with Ali and a plus sized lady of colour so she may well have been having suicidal thoughts of her own. I was.

It’s a very stylish film, lovely to look at but the team often use tricky angles and edits just because they can. There is good attention to detail in the wardrobe and set design, and the editing is excellent in the action scenes. The music is formulaic and more effective as a background score than in the songs. There is not one healthy romantic relationship in the film, and that may be deliberate but it seemed to be more an excuse for bad comedy or dubious behaviours in the name of love. Oh for a better script and more balanced direction!

I want to get this on DVD so I can see what I missed in the dialogues and to enjoy the beautifully executed action scenes. But I think I’ll stop before the end, and concentrate on the more successful crime drama aspect.

Shock

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Ravi Teja has a dedicated fan following and I’ve read good things about his films so I decided it was about time I watched one of his movies. I bought this film on my last trip to Chennai on the recommendation of a friend, and since the blurb on the DVD suggested it would be more of a thriller than the typical mass masala fare it sounded more to my taste than some of the comedic roles he has played. And I did enjoy it, well mostly, at least up until the last 30 minutes anyway.

Ravi Teja plays an advertising agent Sekhar, although a look at his pitch for Rupa underwear suggests that perhaps it’s not his true calling.

He’s happily married to another advertising agent in his office, Madhurima (Jyothika). She has to take a back seat to her more ebullient husband who is clearly the office favourite. Brahmi makes a brief and understated appearance as Sekhar’s boss but for a change there isn’t much comedy in his role. There is some humour in these scenes but it mainly arises from situations with Sekhar and his wife and generally is well placed and actually quite funny.

The relationship between Sekhar and Madhurima is convincingly portrayed and they seem to have a strong and loving partnership. I could do with less of Ravi Teja’s back hair on view to demonstrate this, but other than that I think writer/director Harish Shankar is accurate in his portrayal of a working couple.They live in a block of flats where the lift never functions and there are constant disruptions from the neighbours and their children. When Madhurima becomes pregnant, they decide to relocate and quickly find a recently vacated house. However just as they move in, two men burst through the door and shoot Sekhar. He wakes up handcuffed to the bed in hospital and is immediately interrogated about his terrorist connections. He learns he has been mistaken for a Maoist by two encounter specialist police officers, Nagesh and Divaker. Although the pair realise their mistake almost immediately, they decide not to take responsibility for what has happened and instead salt Sekhar’s house with evidence to make sure that their error is not discovered.

In the meantime Madhurima protests Sekhar’s arrest and manages to hire a lawyer. By the time of the trial however, the lawyer has been paid off by the two cops and has convinced Sekhar to plead guilty, telling him he will get a short sentence and that will be the end of it. Of course this is not the case and Sekhar is sentenced to 8 years in jail. Madhurima immediately vows to get him released and is aided by Geeta, a journalist interested in the case.

There are various moments of drama in the prison: Sekhar is fortuitously sharing a cell with an inmate Tilak who has certain rights and privileges with the guards but he is also menaced by the self styled boss of the jail, Syed. This is all conveyed without recourse to cliché, or over the top drama and serves to give an idea of Sekhar’s true character as well as set up subsequent events in the jail. Madhu’s struggles are also convincingly portrayed. Geeta doesn’t take over the defence or engage in unrealistic methods to help Madhurima find justice, but instead advises her of which organisations to contact. This is all very plausible and fills out the background of the story well.

But just when you think this is going to be a battle played out in the courts and among informers in the back streets, there is more drama as Madhurima is threatened and Sekhar escapes from jail. Up until this point the film is very good; a slightly different story, well paced and told with good performances from the cast. But from here the film starts to rely on violence and bloodshed and the storyline becomes more predictable and clichéd as Sekhar plans his revenge. There are some unpleasant torture scenes and the realism that was built up so very well in the first half of the film is lost as Sekhar suddenly becomes able to fight his way out of any situation. However there is still a very ‘Hollywood’ feel to the action, and the slickness of the production carries through right to the rather unsatisfactory end. There seems to be an obsession in the Telugu film industry with making sure there is a happy ending (of sorts at any rate), and in this case I would have preferred to see something more in the way of consequences for everyone’s actions.

Despite the collapse of the plot in the second half, the film sets up the basic story well and the leads are all excellent in their roles. Sekhar’s confusion and distress at the situation he finds himself in is well portrayed by Ravi Teja. I was very impressed by the vulnerability he was able to convey as the injured and baffled victim in hospital and then as the somewhat shell-shocked and stunned prisoner in jail. He was even reasonably convincing in the action roles up until he had to take on a number of much more muscled and bigger extras. I know he is the hero but there is a limit to what I can believe!

Jyothika has a much more developed role than is usual for the heroine in Telugu films and I really thought she was excellent as Madhurima. Her relationship with her husband is very realistically drawn and the romance is sweet without being cloying. Her distress at her husband’s situation is perfectly depicted as is the change in her character as she first breaks down and then becomes a driven and determined woman out to get justice for her husband. The only scenes which didn’t fit were when the story of the couple’s initial meeting was shown as a flashback scene later in the film. This felt misplaced and disrupted the story just when it really needed to be tighter. Although it does mean we get another good song from Ajay-Atul. Although this is out of place in the film it is nicely pictured – I cannot explain the gloves in the opening shots though!

Apart from the two main leads there are a number of the usual suspects in the film who all play their roles with their usual competence. Kota Srinivasa Rao is a perfect fit as the corrupt lawyer and both Subbaraju and Ravi Kale were fine as the deceitful cops. Raghu Babu shows up in a familiar role as a nasty warden in the jail along with Raja Ravindra as the useful Tilak. It’s a little surprising that the small role of Geeta is played by Tabu and it does seem a waste to have such a good actress only on screen for a few short scenes. But it’s always a pleasure to watch her even if it is only in a few scenes. There is some attempt at comedy in the second half with the CBI officer Surendra Kumar (Nagendra Babu) and his incompetent assistant Bapanna (Ram Jagan) but this falls very flat and thankfully the Harish Shankar seems to have realised it wasn’t appropriate fairly quickly.


I would have found it this a much more interesting and appealing story if the film had dealt more with Madhurima’s fight for justice and Sekhar’s struggles in jail rather than going for the straight hero driven revenge drama. But then again that probably wouldn’t have been as popular at the box office. As it is, the second half of the film is a disappointment after the excellent build-up in the first half, and the attempt at a happy ending particularly jarring. I am favourably impressed with Ravi Teja though and Jyothika was fantastic. For those two excellent performances, and a good first half, this film gets 3 stars.

Doodh Ka Karz

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I wanted to write something about the late Bob Christo as he was my first ‘That guy again!’ in Hindi films. He seemed to be in everything, often trying to kill Mithun which was considerate of him, and generally being menacing. I think I first noticed him as he was one of the small number of white guys that turned up over and over in a huge array of films. But later I started noticing the gleam in his eye as he flung himself around the set, pretending to be beaten half to death by the hero, and I enjoyed his apparent glee at being the baddest baddie. He played his villainous henchman roles with great enthusiasm and I always look out for his shiny bald head when the main villain appears.

Good friend and snake film aficionado jenni enthusiastically recommended this film. Several times. Her summary on BollyWhat was so persuasive. And now I ask myself – why did I wait so long? I can’t explain the story any better than jenni did, so with her kind permission I quote:

“OK.  The story goes something like this.  A snake charmer, who treats his snake as a son, witnesses the plunder of the local snake temple jewels.  He is then framed by the thieves (local thakurs one of whom is played by Amrish Puri of course) and is beaten to death.  The beating is witnessed by his wife (Aruna Irani), infant son and loyal snake.  It is left to the widow to build a pyre and perform the funerary rites as she contemplates her future as a destitute widow.  Loyal snake has accompanied them to the cremation and when the widow realises she is unable to care for him, along with herself and infant, she feeds him some breast milk, sings a song about him repaying the debt of her milk, then sends him away.  This part is really sad and the snake actually looks sad and lost and grief stricken as he leaves (and I cried).  Not a woman of forgiveness, the snake charmer’s wife then sets about avenging the death of her husband.   And she is still on task 25 years later.

By then, the boy has grown up to be Jackie Shroff (Suraj) and he falls in love with (you guessed it), the evil Thakur’s daughter (Neelam).  Loyal snake has returned to both protect (his family) avenge (his enemy), and pay the debt of the milk, just like his (human) mother would have hoped.  There is parental opposition (both sides) and romantic complication (both sides).  Also a corrupt priest who is handy with snake lore himself.  And Bob Christo in a smooth talking, double dealing,  diamond smuggling minor role.  And let’s not forget, the THRILLING SNAKE FILLED CLIMAX”

The Snake represents all that is good and moral and he is the hero of this film, regardless of what Jackie Shroff might think. Sadly, he was never named which seems remiss considering his important role. The Snake is loyal and protective, has sound family values and judging by the number of friends and relatives who turn up for the final showdown, he must have been a nice snake.

 

There was genuine emotion in some of The Snake’s scenes and I have to say the editing was outstanding in making it seem that The Snake was reacting to the drama around him. I also have a mental picture of some poor sod standing just out of shot, dangling a mouse or other tasty treat to get The Snake’s attention. And who knew that snakes could emote?

Sad Snake
Righteous
Forgiving
Judgemental teetotaller

There are always concerns about animals in films but I think the instructions to the snake wranglers went along the lines of ‘Chuck ‘em in and stand back’.  I am hoping that some fake snakery went on in a couple of scenes.  And the mongooses seemed quite chipper in their special appearance. Certainly more enthused than the mongoose wranglers were! I know I wouldn’t have lasted long as an extra on this film.

The human actors go about their supporting roles quite successfully, and I did find the story very engaging.  Aruna Irani nails the vengeful widow role and raises her human son to be as strong as iron, although takes her time in telling him why. The scene when snake and widow separated was quite moving, although I didn’t cry. Perhaps I was too startled seeing breast milk expressed on screen and in close-up. I did find myself singing along with the recurring title track though. Goga Kapoor and Raza Murad make an impression in their smallish roles.  Amrish Puri as the Thakur didn’t put up much of a fight before he was persuaded to turn to crime, and was a villain of the weak and greedy type rather than a creatively dressed megalomaniac. But the allure of the jewels was just too much for him as was the notion of taking the easy way out of his self created problems. And he is backed up by Prem Chopra so you just know how that’s going to work out.

 

My mind did wander a bit during the songs though as the only thing that seemed to happen was Jackie pawing at Neelam. And it’s a snake film so it’s mostly snake music and that can get a tad monotonous. Meanwhile The Snake was slithering the countryside in search of his father’s killer who he would recognise by a distinctive necklace. That’s something to think about before borrowing jewellery.

 

When Neelam is bitten by the vengeful loner, she faints gracefully and is spared the sight of Jackie sucking her toes to extract the venom. Dear reader, you will not be so lucky.

 

Bob Christo has a small yet pivotal role as a venal Englishman who represents all that is bad and stupid. He is a diamond smuggler called Angrezi Master so maybe the script writers had just given up on character names and it wasn’t an anti-snake thing. Bob wants the stolen temple jewels but is afraid of the snake that is reputed to protect the temple, and demands to be shown its corpse. Oh Bob. So many films and still messing with the gods…Finally, Bob has to decide what is more important to him.

 

The snake gave him a choice, and Bob chose wrong. I also learned that when white people are bitten by snakes, we turn green. This should be a very helpful diagnostic tool in future.

 

The snake filled climax is really filled with snakes. Bucketloads of snakes. The Snake may not have been wandering the woods alone for all those years. Here’s a little taste of the mayhem, with Bob doing some very fine acting:

I have to say, I really enjoyed Doodh ka Karz. I like a good snake revenge film, and this is very snake-centric and vengeful. Ashok Gaikwad kept the story and editing pacey and there is stuff happening all over the place so there is never a dull moment. There is pathos in the snake charmer family scenes, and Aruna Irana is excellent. The only thing missing was a proper snake dance. This is a great ripping yarn, and a fun way to remember Bob Christo. 3 and ½ stars!

Edited to add: Here is a link to Beth’s round-up of ‘Bob’s Your Uncle’ posts. Go have a look!

http://bethlovesbollywood.blogspot.com/2011/04/bobs-your-uncle-late-great-bob-christo.html