Author Archives: Heather Wilson

Gharana Mogudu (1992)

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Gharana Mogudu

Gharana Mogudu is a step back in time to the Nineties, although it seems more like the Eighties considering the costumes and general shenanigans. The songs deliver the costumes and as for general shenanigans, there is Uma Devi (Nagma) – a boss from hell who plots a marriage with her factory’s union leader to get her revenge for his popularity and force him to fall into line.  Naturally since the union leader is Chiranjeevi, Uma Devi’s plans are never going to work out the way she wants, but there is a lot of entertainment in watching her attempts.  Nagma is wonderfully arrogant and egotistic in a role that lets her be as nasty as possible, but still look stunning as she efficiently crushes anyone who dares to oppose her management style.  Chiranjeevi’s Raju is naturally the complete opposite, kind-hearted and generous, but just as stubborn and quite determined to stand up for his rights and those of his fellow workers.  Of course he also dances up a storm and dishooms when and where required making Gharana Mogudu an excellent celebration of all things Megastar and perfect for this year’s Megabirthday celebrations.

Gharana MoguduGharana Mogudu

Before we can get to Uma Devi and her hazardous factory in Hyderabad, Raju is introduced as the dock worker to turn to in a crisis – even if that crisis is getting beaten up at an illegal fight betting ring.  Naturally Raju wins the subsequent show-down but finds that the money he won has vanished – cue the excellent Bangaru Kodi Petta (which was remixed and re-imagined for Rajamouli’s awesome Magadheera ) with Disco Shanti running off with the betting money.

When his mother (Shubha) has a stroke, Raju leaves Vizag and the joys of waterfront employment and heads home to Hyderabad.  After arriving in the city, Raju fortuitously saves local businessman Bapineedu (Raogopal Rao), from a gang of thugs and as a reward is given the opportunity to work in his family factory. This sounds too good to be true, and of course it is, since Bapineedu and the family business are both actually run by his daughter – the boss from hell. Uma Devi has no interest in her workers except as a means to increase profit and make her the top tax payer in India (her ultimate ambition apparently).  She has the union rep firmly under her thumb to ensure that there are no strikes despite her heavy handed treatment and is prone to petulant displays of temper if her will is crossed.  I’m not sure if it’s one of her petty cruelties to make her secretary Bhavani (Vani Viswanath) wear such odd outfits to work but in her own time Bhavani looks much more appropriately dressed, so I have my suspicions, particularly when Uma Devi appears so co-ordinated.

 

Uma Devi is just as bad at dealing with people on a personal level and the thugs who attacked her father were actually sent by Ranganayakulu (Kaikala Satyanarayana) after Uma Devi turned down a marriage proposal from his son (Sharat Saxena).  Ranganayakulu and his son are the main villains of the piece and while their response to a marriage refusal may seem a little over the top, to be fair Uma Devi is annoying enough that wiping her from the face of the planet doesn’t seem all that unreasonable.

Gharana MoguduGharana MoguduGharana MoguduGharana Mogudu

Uma Devi’s plan to marry Raju also disrupts the course of true love as Raju and Bhavani embark on an office romance after they meet each other on the way to work. A bicycle ride in the rain leads to this excellent song, with Vani Viswanath keeping up with Chiranjeevi in the dance stakes despite his tendency to attack her with a bicycle – I really did want Bhavanai to dispose of Uma Devi and run away with Raju after this song!

Sadly Bhavani is much too sweet to be a murderer, so Uma Devi goes ahead with her plan and Raju ends up moving into Bapineedu’s massive mansion with his new bride.  The house is incredible, with statuary everywhere and a huge central imposing staircase, but none of that fazes Raju who continues to work on the shop floor and fight for workers’ rights.

Gharana MoguduGharana Mogudu

Now at this point you might think that Raju’s morals and basic decency might start to have an effect on Uma Devi and make her realise the error of her ways, but she’s still just as unpleasant as ever and it takes a drunken night and a lungi dance before she even begins to appear remotely bearable.  Before then there are plenty of great confrontations between Uma Devi and Raju, shifty scheming from Ranganayakulu and Uma Devi’s manager Sarangapani (Ahuti Prasad) and plenty of those fantastic costumes to enjoy.

Chiru is dashing and very much the mega star as he mixes romance, compassion, ethical principles and his stance on workers’ rights with great dancing and action sequences.  Pretty much everything gets mixed into the film and Chiranjeevi really is awesome no matter what he is doing! Nagma is delightfully vile and holds her own against Chiru keeping the focus of the film on Uma Devi and her machinations, while the plots of Ranganayakulu etc are totally overshadowed by her stormy relationship with Raju. She’s almost the classic Disney villainess and it seems obligatory to boo and hiss whenever she appears and naturally cheer for Chiranjeevi and Bhavani. Yes, even when watching on DVD in the comfort of your own living room.

Along with all the drama there is room for some comedy too – Brahmi pops up but unfortunately makes little impression without the benefit of subtitles.  However the rest of the humour is based on interactions between Raju and the other characters, and being more situational comes across better. It’s a true masala film and although the plot is ridiculous and the characterisations over the top, Gharana Mogudu is still completely entertaining.  Excellent performances, great songs and plenty of Megastar style make this definitely one to watch. 4 stars.

Chiranjeevi

 

Vikramadithyan

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Vikramadithyan

Vikramadithyan released in late July, but luckily for me it was popular enough for our local distributors to arrange a second showing in Melbourne. This was my first Malayalam film at the Monash cinema and I was impressed! Not only did we have numbered seat allocation (rare, unless at one of the big chain cinemas), but the film even had subtitles – a major surprise given that the friendly crowd had all told me there wouldn’t be any!  But no surprises as to why this film got a second showing.  Vikramadithyan is an all-round family entertainer with a little bit of something for everyone.  There is romance, comedy, action and drama in a well-paced screenplay that alternates smoothly between past and present to tell the story of the two protagonists – Vikram and Adithyan.

The story starts with Adithyan’s mother Lakshmi (Lena) and Vikram’s father Vasudeva Shenoy (Anoop Menon).  Both are police officers, although from the glimpses of Lakshmi at work, she seems to be more of a prison warder to me.  Vasudeva has been trying to get his mother to agree to a marriage with Lakshmi for quite some time but for some unexplained reason she doesn’t like the match.  Lakshmi wants to marry a police officer, and it seems as if any one will do, since she is happily swept off her feet by another police officer she meets – Kunjunni Menon (Santhosh Keezhattoor).  However Kunjunni is a thief and imposter, something which Lakshmi doesn’t realise until too late and the two are already married.  Meanwhile Vasudeva marries someone else (Charmila) and both couples have baby boys at the same time – Vikram (Unni Mukundan) and Adithyan (Dulquer Salmaan).  Kunjunni’s deceit, Lakshmi’s disappointment and Vasudeva’s jealousy are the basis for the rest of the film and act as a rationale for the events that ensue.

Vikramadithyan

The two sons, Vikram and Adithyan, end up at the same school and begin a rivalry that continues throughout their childhood and into their adult lives.  They are both friends with Deepika (Namitha Pramod) who often acts as mediator between the two, and in Adithyan’s case attempts to stop him following in his father’s footsteps.  Vikram seems to have it all as the beloved only child, and in contrast his path to follow his father into the police force seems as smooth as it is inevitable.  It all comes to a head when they both try to join the police force and Adithyan’s comes to have a big impact on his future.

VikramadithyanVikramadithyan

It’s a simple story but well told with great performances from the cast and good songs that fit so snugly into the narrative they seem to be part of the dialogue.  Jomon John provides some stunning images including a wonderful moment where Adithyan is sitting contemplating his disintegrating life when a squirrel pops up on the rock behind him and appears for a second in the shot.  This song also has some beautiful imagery and makes the most of the background scenery too.

Unni Mukundan plays it fairly straight as the morally upright son of a policeman and he has plenty of opportunity to flex his muscles and look faintly superior while Adithyan toys with a life of crime.  He’s a fairly straightforward character but Unni does manage to give him some light and shade and provides Vikram with more depth than I was initially expecting.  Dulquer Salmaan has perhaps an easier job with Adithyan as the characterisation is shaded more grey from the beginning and there is plenty of opportunity to develop the darker side of his character.  He still does an excellent job and manages to make Adithyan sympathetic, despite his flaws and tendency to blame his problems on the lack of a father.

VikramadithyanVikramadithyan

The other cast members are all just as good, including the child actors who play the roles of young Adithyan, Vikram and Deepika, but Lena and Anoop Menon stand out as star performers in roles that require them to rely mainly on facial expressions and mannerisms.  They are both an absolute joy to watch and are the glue that holds the younger actors together.  Namitha Pramod’s Deepika doesn’t work quite as well as she seems a little too forgiving and accommodating, and smiles just a fraction too much in some of the more serious moments.  However she provides the requisite balance between Vikram and Adithyan and for the most part Namitha does a good job with what she is given to do.

Vikramadithyan

Vikramadithyan deals with loyalty and friendship, but also touches on honesty and morality without becoming overly righteous or too preachy.  The benefits of hard work and getting a good education are emphasised while the old cliché that blood will tell is aptly refuted.   There is nothing outstanding about Vikramadithyan, which is exactly why it works so well.  The actors are all well balanced with no-one trying to outdo anyone else, and director Lal Jose makes each scene look effortlessly natural.   While the film does occasionally stray into rather idealistic territory, it’s still a good story and one that simply entertains.

Anjaan (2014)

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Anjaan

Lingusamy has delivered some good action thrillers in the past, so teaming up with Suriya for this latest venture certainly sounded like a good move.  However Anjaan trundles along a fairly predictable path interspersed with a few too many fight sequences (as excellently choreographed as they are) and oddly placed flashbacks that disrupt the narrative flow.  The film is saved to some extent by good performances from the main leads – Suriya is effortlessly charismatic and instils life into his often routine character, while Samantha is cute and bubbly despite having to dance like a maniac.  Sound acting cannot completely compensate for a plot which, while frequently formulaic, fails to present a believable chain of events in a convincing way.   I also can’t see why it was necessary to set the film in Mumbai as it didn’t seem to have any relevance to the story, and the resultant dubbing of the Hindi actors is noticeably out of sync. Anjaan isn’t terrible but in comparison with other recent commercial films, it doesn’t come anywhere near the same standard of storytelling, and really should have been much better.

AnjaanAnjaan

The film starts with Krishna (Suriya) heading to Mumbai from Chennai to try and find his missing brother, Raju (also Suriya).  He’s armed with an elbow crutch and a laptop, but doesn’t seem to have much to go on apart from a handful of names and addresses which take him, along with comedy stalwart Soori as his reluctant taxi driver, to some very dodgy places.  It doesn’t take too long for Krishna to discover that his brother was a notorious gangster who revelled in the name Raju Bhai and after a few false steps he finally tracks down one of the gang members to find out more about his brother.  Baashka (Joe Malloori) is able to fill in the blanks and the film moves to flash-back mode to tell the story of Raju and his best buddy Chandru (Vidyut Jamwal).

Anjaan

There is never any explanation of how Raju Bhai and Chandru Bhai have gained their fearsome reputation or even any detail about their criminal activities, which is part of the problem with the rest of the story.  The big revenge plot which follows doesn’t have much credibility when there isn’t any solid foundation for the story and the other characters are too one-dimensional to impact.  Vidyut Jamwal was impressive in his previous roles as a villain but he’s just not on screen enough here to make much of a mark.  His Chandru appears to be borderline ASD with many obsessive behaviours and signs that he doesn’t communicate well with others – hard for Vidyut to make much impact when most of his role involved moody silences and brooding looks.  However he is excellent at these, and I just wish there had been more for him to get his teeth into here.  Luckily for Chandru he has Raju to deal with the rest of the world for him, and although Vidyut Jamwal and Suriya make a good ‘bhai’ pairing and appear to be on the cusp of some good chemistry, it never quite manages to get going before the camera whisks away to yet another fight scene.

Anjaan

Suriya totally rocks his casual gangster style and cool spiky hair.  He’s just as comfortable as a violent gangster as he is in the more cerebral role of Krishna.  He also has some good chemistry with Samantha at the beginning of their romance although this vanishes later in the film when Samantha is relegated to the usual Tamil heroine status, only appearing in the songs or as a damsel in distress.  Her opening scenes are good and I did have hope that she would have a chance to be more than just eye candy but in the end that seems to be the only reason for her inclusion.  Sadly she’s also short-changed in the wardrobe department for many of the songs and much of her choreography seem to be of the ‘dance like no-one is watching’ variety.  As if that wasn’t bad enough there is a particularly sleazy item song in the second half and a very unnecessary and totally unfunny appearance by Brahmi.  All very seem to be added in to fulfil the standard checklist for a commercial mass masala film, and all are completely superfluous to requirements.

Amjaan

The fight scenes, although excellently choreographed and filmed are also repetitive and strangely soul-less given that the supposed motive is revenge.  Manoj Bajpai is a bit of a nonentity as the smarmy villain of the piece Imran Bhai, while Murali Sharma and Chetan Hansraj are more effective in their negative roles.  Santosh Sivan’s cinematography at least makes the film look great but there are a few too many close-ups of Samantha’s coloured contact lenses for my liking – I really don’t need to see the printed iris pattern that clearly outside of my optometry practice!

Although Linguswamy seems to have checked his Big Masala Cook Book and added all the right ingredients he seems to have forgotten the seasoning and ends up with a bland dish that veers into tasteless all too often.  Suriya makes Anjaan worth a one time watch if you’re a fan, but by the end even he seems to be resigned to the monotonous gangs he has to beat his way through every 5 minutes.  For all Anjaan’s big budget effects and slickly packaged action scenes at the end of the day nothing can cover up the lack of a story or the absence of engaging dialogue, and that really says it all.

Anjaan