We seem to have an ever growing number of lovely readers all over the world, and it is great getting to know some of you. Here is a page for you to introduce yourselves if you wish, leave non-post-specific comments, and yes you can share your film suggestions too 🙂
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Cinema Chaat 
Hi,
I have some suggestions and list is very long :).
Have mentioned the Hero Names so that you it can help you guys in choosing.
Chiranjeevi – Gang Leader, Rakshashudu, Abhilasha, Challenge, Donga, Kondaveeti Raja, Kondaveeti Donga, Pasivadi Pranam,Swayam Krushi, Yamudiki Mogudu,Aapathbandavudu,Muta Mesthri
Balakrishna – Aditya 369, Bhairava Dweepam
Venkatesh – Prema, Bobbili Raja,Shatruvu,Sundarakanda,Dharma Chakram,Pavithra Bandham,Preminchukundam Raa,Kalisundam Raa,Nuvvu Naaku Nachav,Malliswari,Adavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule
Nagarjuna – Geethanjali,Siva,Killer,Hello Brother,Annamayya,Azad, Manmadhudu,Gaganam, Rajanna
Pawan Kalyan – Tholi Prema, Thammudu
Rajendra Prasad – Aha Naa Pellanta, Pekata paparao, Aa Okkati Adakku , Mr. Pellam, Joker,Pelli Pusthakam,April 1st Vidudhala , Aa Naluguru
Nani – Asta Chamma, Pilla Zamindar, Ala Modalaindi
I know its way too much movies and the list will increase 🙂
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Hi Suresh – You weren’t joking about that list 🙂
I can’t promise that we will watch or write about everything you’ve recommended though. Sometimes I see films, and while I quite like them I don’t have anything to say other than that I quite liked them. We have already written about Yamudiki Mogudu, and Heather wrote about Aa Naluguru (I hated that, I’m sorry to say). I do have Aapathbandavudu ready to post for next weekend though so I may not be a total disappointment! Heather and I went to see Gang Leader at a South Indian Film Festival here in December 2010. We were the only people who turned up for that badly publicised session, which was strange but fun! 40 degrees Celsius outside, a whole cinema to ourselves and a really bad print of the film so Chiru kept turning green or pink. Cheers, Temple
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Thanks Temple, I revisit the reviews whenever I see a movie on TV and wonder what you guys think about it 🙂 Regarding Aa Naluguru, may be its a cultural thing or so. Don’t want to argue on that though.
I was also a Chiru Fan when I was a kid coz of his stunts and Dance.
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U hate aa nalauguru…are u kidding…that movie shoud present in every school…thats an inspirational movie…may b u dont know wats happening between cultures…its great movie
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Yes. I hate it. I don’t think it is just cultural differences as I know a few Indian film viewers who reacted just as I did (including some discussion in the comments on the review on this blog). I see you like Gamyam, another film I really dislike (I lent Heather my DVD and have refused to take it back 🙂 ), so I suspect we just have very different taste. We’re all entitled to our own opinions.
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Hi Suresh,
Great list – thanks! I’ve been looking for a few of the films you mention, but haven’t been able to find them with subtitles.
Next item on your agenda should be to try and get the manufacturers to re-release all the old titles with subtitles 🙂
I know that a few of them say they have English subtitles but they don’t! (Shalimar for instance)
But there are a few on your list that I do have so I may move them up the pile 🙂
Cheers
Heather
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Thanks Heather, May be the Manufacturers still didn’t realize that they have a market among non-Telugu speakers 🙂
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Oh Nice Blog Nice Collection….
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Thanks Arun. Looks like you’re working hard on your blog too 🙂 Temple
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Hey guys, I just wanted to tell you that I passed a blogging award on to you: http://bit.ly/GKAC8L.
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Thanks Mette – that’s really kind of you 🙂 I’ll wander over later and take a look. Cheers, Temple
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Hi Mette,
Thank-you! 🙂
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I found few of the movies above listed has English subtitles. We can rent or buy movies @ http://www.njmtv.com
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Hi Srilatha,
I’ve been ordering quite a few hard to find Tamil titles through Movie Time Video and Girish has been incredibly helpful. I’d definitely recommend MTV for films that are a bit older and difficult to track down. I’ve added a link in our useful stuff area too 🙂
Cheers
Heather
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here’s a quick way of sampling a taste of Tamil movies.
Check out Ayngaran.com or their site on YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/ayngaran
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HIii Heather & Temple js came across u r blog while browsin… I am really glad as a Indian Movie lover to see u guys loving Indian Movies…kudos to u guys
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connolly n heather,
heartening to see a blog at a place which other sites failed to be. just now came across ur blog.
i mean,i felt that sensible appreciation envi for movies esp telgu.i just read only one post
from here,the review of NENINTHE,even did not read it all.decided to write to u guys first.
i dont agree with u that its a mass entertainer,as down the memory line if ulook back to it,even
while watching,the intensity of main character struggle looms large than any other(may be i happened
to absorb ony that or may be it was made like that).at times i watched it in being directors shoes n other times as a director myself(as i have vague plane of it).i completeley connect eith many aspects of it.effort behind
getting different creative aspects to make a scene have its desired effect to putting them into one final product,upon that to convince the cashier about it,ensuing diff setbacks in the process.the chances of being the
victims of rogue elements,being emotionally related to the actors state of mind n the effort to stay afloat…i
agree with u on how some issues r resolved…have still to write on it,but am running out of time right now.
i am puzzled n curious of ur birth n cultural backgroung as u have such intrest in telgu films n ur names suggest different….connolly reminds me of jennifer…
bye for now…
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Hi Shekar,
Thanks 🙂
One of the good things about Neninthe is that it does seem to be more realistic in the depiction of working in cinema rather than portraying it as just a glamorous industry. The difficulty with funding, standing around waiting for long periods of time etc is all mentioned and is partly why I like the film.
As to origins, I am originally from Northern Ireland, but have been living in Australia for over 15 years now. I think Temple and I both started by watching Hindi films, but since Mumbai is no longer producing the masala style of films we both enjoy, we started looking further afield. After Magadheera there was no turning back!
I also work as a volunteer in health camps in Tamil Nadu every year and my interest in Tamil cinema started with watching songs on our bus out to the villages. Plus I’ve been a fan of Kamal Haasan and Rajni since I saw them in a few Hindi films quite some time ago 🙂 There are so many good directors in the south who know how to tell a story with plenty of action, song, drama and romance – I just love the films! 😀
Cheers, Heather
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Hi Heather, It was nice catching you yesterday before the start of CGR telugu movie. As said I did happen to visit your blog. Would really appreciate you guys talking about Indian cinema, with so much of passion :).
Feel we missed your blog till date, promise you, we will not miss it anymore.
Hearting to see the blog with so much of true feelings, as compared to other baised blogs.
Wish you both enjoy more n more Indian Cinema n share your feelings.
Cheers, Pradeep
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Hi Pradeep,
Thanks! It was great to meet you too and I enjoyed our conversation. Hope you liked the movie 🙂
I’m sure I’ll see you at the next Telugu release too – I’ll look out for you both.
I try not to be biased, although it’s true that I have my favourite actors and will always prefer their films. It probably helps that I don’t understand the dialogue so have to concentrate more on facial expressions and body language, so if an actor isn’t making an effort I’m not going to be impressed. 🙂
I love Indian cinema and I’m sure I’ll continue to enjoy it while there are such excellent film-makers out there. See you soon!
Cheers, Heather
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Hi,
I was amazed when I read your bio. I stumbled upon your blog when I was looking for subtitles.
It’s wonderful that you guys are interested in cinema from a culture/country that is far removed and varied from yours.
But I do hope, that its not just the over the top stuff and kitsch that attracts you, and I not trying to be condescending here…..but want to tell you that there is more to Indian cinema than the mainstream. I hope that you would come around to checking those out too someday.
Cheers
P.s. In the meantime say it loud and proud tollywood is THE SHIT!
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Hi 🙂 Thanks for dropping by! And don’t despair – I think I have fairly broad taste in films, as do you from the look of your blog. You will find some older and less mainstream films in our posts too. But I do genuinely love the all out masala style and am not at all ashamed of admitting that. It is a unique and highly engaging and entertaining genre when done right, and can be So Bad It’s Good when not 🙂 Cheers, Temple
(PS Always good to see some more love for Telugu films!)
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Spent the last few months going through ur blog everyday. The courteous side of me says have a merry Christmas and a happy new year!
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Thanks Sandeep 🙂
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Thanks Sandeep!
Happy Christmas to you too, and will see you back here in 2013 🙂
Heather
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Hi Heather and Temple,
I’ ve been reading your Blog since the Past year or so…. And its very nice to see ur reviews and get ur perspectives…. Its refreshing too….
Even though ur write ups on Old Classic Tamil Cinema is very interesting and entertaining where you talk more about your fascination for the actors outfits and accessories I would like to read more reviews on some of the New Age Tamil Cinema which is going great guns and I would like to get your perspectives on those films too….
Some Films that I would like to get your views on is:
1. Pizza
2. Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanum
3. Soodhu Kavvum
4. Neram
5. Vazhakku Enn 18/9
6. Kumki
7. Pannayaarum Padminiyum
8. Engeyum Eppodhum
10. Attakathi
11. Cuckoo
12. Goli Soda
13. Vidiyum Munn
14. THANGA MEENGAL[Don’t Miss this one]
15. Mankatha
16. Paradesi
17. Moodar Koodam
18. Onaayum Aattukuttiyum
These are some of the suggestions….
I hope you have watched a few and have a pile to watch…. Add the above to that….
Keep writing….
Cheers,
Dinesh V
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Hi Dinesh,
Thanks for the great list of suggestions. There are a few on there that I’ve seen and one or two that are on the list for later this year 🙂 The rest are now on the list! The biggest problem is still finding Tamil films with subtitles – although I’m fairly resigned to watching without now 🙂
Cheers, Heather
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Hi Heather and Temple,
After a long time on a Sunday morning (today) visited your blog to checkout the new film reviews you have come up with. And it was nice to see a couple of films from my list making the cut.
Liked your Reviews on Chennai 600028, Pizza and especially Soodhu Kavvum. Nice reviews all of them.
Agree with your Review on Kathi. Had gone 1st day for a Vj film first time in my life (Actually it was not planned). I thought first half if the film was a complete drag until the interval fight sequence. The second half of the film is what makes the film a one time watch.
Actually these days when I go to a movie and find subtitles in them I think about you guys. In the recent films I watched Lucia, Ulidavaru Kandanthe and Kathi released with Subtitles in theaters.
As I read in some of your comments I think you guys should start learning Tamil. Recent Tamil movie reviews are all by Heather. Ahaa.. not hinting anything just kidding.
And as usual keep up the good work both of you.
Cheers
Dinesh V
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Hi Dinesh,
What did you think of Lucia? One of my favourites of recent releases 🙂
What can I say – I’m a big fan of Tamil cinema and you would think I would have learned more of the language by now! I do go to TN every year, but testing eyes for 2 weeks just means I can do an eye examination in Tamil – nothing else!
Thanks for stopping by.
Cheers, Heather
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GREAT BLOG. WE ALSO TAKE THIS OPPURTUNITY TO WISH HEATHER , TEMPLE AND EVERYONE HERE A VERY HAPPY EASTER-2014.
BEST WISHES,
RAJESH V. GAUR and SUNEEL V. GAUR
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Hi,
Thank-you very much for your kind comment and wishes 🙂
Have a very Happy Easter!
Heather
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Hi,
First of all, I gotta respect you for loving an other country’s cinema more than your own..I am a big fan of allu arjun of course only after pawan kalyan. It’s nice reading your reviews about many movies of chiranjeevi i haven’t watched till date. I was disappointed for i thought there were reviews of PK’s movies too but found very few. I couldn’t find bunny’s other movie reviews like Parugu, Bunny, Arya, Gangotri (his first movie). I personally liked arya & parugu in these four but would like to read your reviews.
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Hi Itachi,
Thanks for your comment 🙂 I do watch and like Australian and European films, but write about South Indian films mainly because there are very few reviews in English about these movies.
I tend not to focus on a particular actor, so even though I am a very big Allu Arjun fan, I don’t just write about his films. There are just too many good movies out there, and not enough time to write about them all 🙂 However I am sure I will get round to writing about all of the films you mention eventually!
You should keep an eye out for the next Megabirthday celebration Temple organises in August, when there will be more Chiru film reviews too 🙂
Cheers, Heather
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Hi,
It has been a long time since the last time I was here. How are you ? I had stumbled upon this https://youtu.be/v-E1MZ8hvlc and thought you two would like it. Someone created a tribute to Chiranjeevi with a scene from his movies from every year until now.
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Thanks!
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I was reading the reviews of Telugu Devadasu. Some one wanted subtitles. You can send a request to ANR’s son Nagarjuna, himself an actor (and an engineer). He also runs a film school, http://www.aisfm.edu.in/team/akkineni-nagarjuna-2/. I am sure he will oblige, after all the ANR is his father. Likewise for any other old classic movies, you can make a request to the film Studios/banners.
I personally always hated the Devadasu character, simply plain lose, a spoilt brat with no other work in his life except drink and pine away. In fact the author Sarat Chandra himself regretted having ever written the book, his very first.
By all accounts the movie is classic, but I just plain hate that character Devdas.
Thanks,
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Well Lucia is one of my favorite Indian films. And I being a Tamilian bought up in Bangalore learning Kannada throughout my schooling and knowing the language was great. However, Lucia is an International film it needs no language at all.
Its really an awesome film actually. I had actually written a kind of a short story on Induced Lucid dreaming inspired from one of the episodes of Batman on Cartoon Network years back. And I think nobody has touched upon Lucid dreaming and its influence as much as Lucia does.
I feel the film has so much layers in it that on repeated watch you’ll get so much out of it. It touches upon how stars or people at the top are so lonely, even though they are surrounded by so much people. It talks about how stars like to become invisible and blend with the society.
The technical side of the film is very sound considering the films Budget. I love all the songs in the film especially the Pathos songs. The background score by Santhosh Narayanan is also awesome. The cinematography by Sunil Nuni is also nice.
The lead pair Sathish and Shruthi along with Achuth is also good in their respective characters.
I have watched the film a few times now and now I just go about watching the favorite scenes in the film.
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Hi heather,
I just found and couldn’t belive u guys are writing reviews to telugu movies. I never read blogs but now I am interested after watching your work. I want to suggest one of my favorite movie GAMYAM. By the way I live in melbourne.
cheers,sujith
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Hi Sujith,
Do you go to watch the films in Melbourne? It’s great that we do get a few of the new releases here 🙂
I’ve watched Gamyam – quite a while ago actually, and from memory thought it was good. Why is it your favourite?
Cheers, Heather
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I’m not sure if someone has already sugeested this, but check out http://www.einthusan.com They have a large number of Tamil,Hindi,Telugu and Malayalam films with subtitles.
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Hi Sam,
Thanks for the suggestion. I have seen the website (I think a friend suggested it a while ago too) but didn’t realise they had subtitled movies on there 🙂
I’d totally forgotten about it though, so thanks for mentioning it!
I’ll have a look and see what I can find 🙂
Cheers, Heather
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It is simply wonderful to come across people who think it is fine to love cinema in languages one one may not understand. hail gods of subtitles.
i am a north indian who feeds her penchant for south masala through subtitled DVDs. It was wonderful to come across your blog. To think i found it only today.
May i suggest the kanadda movie: Yaare Koogadali or its original Poorali (Tamil) for your to be watched list.
I have not watched the tamil original since it was not available with subtitles but loved the kannada version.
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Thanks balli. If only the gods of subtitles were a tad more reliable or had a bit more of a work ethic 🙂 Cheers, Temple
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Bumped into this site looking for Pyar kiye ja. Spent the next hour browsing through your notes. What fun. Keep it up. The notes were as interesting as the films they covered.
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Thank you 🙂
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I was looking for a good review of Neel Kamal and landed on Temple’s review which just made me laugh out loud so hard – it was true to the point, emotive, tough and tender and just straight from the heart!! Being a Telugu speaker myself I then landed on a page which was discussing Chiru’s penchant for being partially dressed – hilarious!!! this has to count amongst my favourite entertainment pages of all time!! you guys TOTALLY rock. Have you ever thought about video reviews on youtube?? that would be TREMENDOUS content
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Thanks MixG – I’m glad you liked my Neel Kamal review. And as you may have noticed, Chiru is an endless source of entertainment for me 🙂 Cheers, Temple
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Hi Guys,
I’ve commented on here a few times but I’ve never really introduced myself. My name is Thomas James aka TJ and I am a sophomore in college right now. I have watched Telugu movies all my life since my mom is Telugu. I also occasionally watch Hindi movies and some Tamil dubbed movies. I am a huge fan of Mahesh Babu though I make sure to watch all the big star movies in Telugu. I have a also been a fan of Naga Chaitanya ever since I saw Ye Maaya Chesave and 100 % Love though it sometimes seems like I’m the only one 🙂 . I am serious about that though, none of my friends like Chaitanya at all, and sometimes it seems like Akhil, his brother, has more fans than him. I am also huge fan of Samantha, I will seriously watch any movie if it has Samantha in it. She’s the only reason I managed to make it through watching Alludu Seenu. In the Hindi industry, I enjoy watching Shahrukh Khan movies and I am a huge fan of Varun Dhawan. I don’t know why but he’s is such a good actor and he’s fun to watch. I am super passionate about Indian movies (the only Hollywood movies I watch are animated ones) and I hope to someday be associated with a movie someway possible, maybe assistant director? I know y’all wanted movie suggestions but I am pretty sure you guys must have gotten many so I am hoping that y’all would answer some questions that I have.
1. Better Dancer, Junior NTR or Allu Arjun?
2. Would you like to see Mahesh Babu in a Gautham Menon movie or in a S.S. Rajamouli movie?
3. Are y’all excited for Chiranjeevi’s guest role in Bruce Lee – The Fighter?
4. Do you agree with me that Varun Dhawan would be good in a remake of Julayi?
5. What would be your ideal star cast if Manam was remade in Hindi this year?
If y’all reply then I’ll tell you what I feel the answers to these questions are. And I wanted to add that y’all should definitely watch Yevade Subramanyam starring Nani. It is a nice coming-of-age story and they shot part of the movie in the Himalayas which are beautifully shown. Sorry for writing a whole essay basically. Thanks for putting so much effort into this awesome blog!
See you guys around,
TJ
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Hi TJ 🙂
Thanks for introducing yourself. I really liked 100% Love too and I don’t mind Chaitanya (although I think he is struggling to find the right roles).
So…
1. Better Dancer, Junior NTR or Allu Arjun? – Both, depending on the style and mood of the dance. Tarak has that perfectionist streak in his technique that makes everything look amazing, but Bunny is a great dancer and has such joy in his dancing that I love to watch him too.
2. Would you like to see Mahesh Babu in a Gautham Menon movie or in a S.S. Rajamouli movie? Rajamouli please! I already know Mahesh can act, so I’d like to see him in an amazing Rajamouli story.
3. Are y’all excited for Chiranjeevi’s guest role in Bruce Lee – The Fighter? Do you even need to ask?!?!?!
4. Do you agree with me that Varun Dhawan would be good in a remake of Julayi? I don’t have strong views either way other than preferring fewer remakes across the Indian film industries
5. What would be your ideal star cast if Manam was remade in Hindi this year? Same answer as 4…but not the Bachchans please! Let the director try and do something interesting with the casting if they do have to remake it )no one can replace ANR!).
Cheers,
Temple
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Hi Temple,
First of all, thanks for replying! I really enjoy you and Heather’s reviews even if your views don’t exactly match mine. I actually remember a question that’s been bugging me for sometime. So what exactly is your view on Ram Charan? Do you genuinely like him as a fan, or do you watch him since he is Chiranjeevi’s son? I noticed, that Heather is a Bunny fan (i think?). Whenever you guys review Charan’s movies, its positive but it never seems as if you are wowed by the movie or hate the movie outright. I know y’all started watching Telugu movies because of Magadheera but what do you guys feel about him. Other than Magadheera, I feel that his moves are mostly the same and he doesn’t seem to really experiment. I have the feeling that all of Charan’s fans are just fans of his dad. I mean Bunny and Pawan Kalyan have managed to build their own separate fan base over time but it seems like Charan is content with his dad’s fans. I don’t know but it seems this way since the first 3 of the movies I saw of his all had remixed Chiru songs which bugged me. I don’t have anything against Star Kids, my favorites all happen to be Star sons but Charan’s movies have just given me a bad perception of him. Off the screen, he seems to be a great guy ,but on screen I wish he would just let the “I’m Chiru’s son” thing go.
I did say that I will answer my own questions so here it is:
1. Bunny- I know this is not a great reason, but I spent so many years watching a overweight Tarak dancing that I stopped enjoying seeing him dance. I do believe that he is second after Bunny though. I also think Ram is an underrated dancer.
2. I would love to see Mahesh in a Gautham Menon romantic movie since he hasn’t done a true love story ever in his career. Rajamouli is great but Gautham Menon wins this one!
3. I’ve never been much of a Chiru fan though I did watch many of his movies growing up. But I do want to see him back on screen and I also like Sreenu Vaitla movies and Rakul Preet Singh. And maybe my perception of Charan will finally change? I’ll find out soon enough I guess.
4. Any remake of an Allu Arjun movie, I feel that Varun Dhawan would look good in it. I like Julayi and I feel that if a good director gets their hands on the script, it may work in hindi too.
5. Like you said, ANR is very hard to replace. I’ve been thinking about this question for a long time and I could never think of any actor to play ANR’s character. The rest of my cast would probably be Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhawan, and Shraddha Kapoor.
I have a list of movies I think y’all should keep an eye out for. Y’all are probably already doing it but I’m too excited for these movies not to share with you guys about.
– Kanche: It’s a WWII love story starring Varun Tej (he is quickly becoming my favorite actor from the Mega Family with his film choices 🙂 ). It’s coming out on Oct.2
-Size Zero: I don’t exactly know what it’s about but Anushka gained lots of weight for the movie and it looks pretty interesting. They haven’t announced the release date yet.
-Akhil: I thought that it was weird that the movie was named after him, but anyway Akhil Akkineni’s debut is coming out sometime in october. I am just interested in seeing since there is a LOT of hype around Akhil.
-Saahasam Swaasaga Saagipo: This is Chaitanya’s upcoming movie with Gautham Menon. Apparently there is more action in this compared to Ye Maaya Chesave but the character is an extension of Karthik’s character. It sounds interesting and I’m excited! 🙂
I am sorry about writing a whole essay again:) .It’s just once I start talking about movies, I just can’t stop myself. Anyway, let me know your thoughts! Have a nice day guys!
Thanks,
TJ
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No worries 🙂
I do really like Charan and I think he has talent but if a movie is not great, it’s not great and I won’t pretend it is awesome just because he is in it. He does tend to stay in the commercially safer prospects of formulaic films, which aren’t necessarily bad, but he isn’t pushing himself to experiment or develop as Bunny, Rana or Chaitanya occasionally try to do. I actually do see most of the new releases with Charan and Bunny, but Heather is a bit hysterical about Bunny and wants him all for herself, so I don’t usually bother adding my two cents worth 😀
Kanche looked interesting too and I’ll probably track that down on DVD in due course.
I actually like the way Charan is dealing with the Chiru comparisons – I think the remixes etc are one tactic to say ‘yeah, I know what you’re all thinking…so go ahead’. I prefer the song tribute to the complete copy paste of the end of Khaidi that happened in Chirutha. I also think this is partly a symptom of the film fan culture in India. Tarak seems to have to insert a reverential NTR reference in his films as well. Like you, I’m interested to see how Akhil stacks up too. There aren’t many film industries outside of India I can think of where being a leading man/hero is an hereditary role.
I think of of hefty Tarak along the lines of that myth that bumblebees shouldn’t be able to fly – he looks like he shouldn’t be able to dance but he just does, and makes it look effortless.
We don’t get many of the smaller Telugu films here, and very few that don’t have a big name cast. I’m interested in Size Zero for Anushka but hoping that the film isn’t full of cheap shots at the fat girl
I didn’t like VTV (he was tedious and whiny, such heavy handed symbolism) and didn’t bother watching Ye Maya Chesave so based on your summary I don’t think I’ll be hanging out for Saahasam Swaasaga Saagipo!
Cheers
Temple
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Hi,
It’s been a long time sinceI have posted a comment on your page.
I would like to answer TJ with my views, hope it’s not a problem to Heather and Temple.
1. Allu Arjun / Bunny is my choice even though he isn’t as talented as NTR or Ramcharan which he himself admits by saying that he is a bad dancer. He makes up for his lack of talent with hardwork. That’s why his dances look more refined and has a lot of grace than others. I think those are the areas others are lacking due to their minimal practice. But most importantly his happy look on his face when he is dancing (enjoying) doesn’t seem to be on others. I never had problem with fat NTR dancing, in fact I used to enjoy until Bunny came.
2. On any given day I would go for the combination of mahesh babu and Gautam Menon.
3. I am excited to see Chiru in charan’s brucelee like everyone else even though I stopped caring about srinuvaitla movies after Venky.
4. Yeah, I think varun dhawan would fit into most no of Allu Arjun movies but wouldn’t be as good as him. But I prefer they won’t remake as they are very bad at it. I heard that VD is trying to remake Race Gurram. But I seriously think he can’t pull off the intensity in pre interval scene and also vedam.
5. Like I said I don’t like them remaking bad movies out of good ones but I had the SRK and shaahid in mind.
I am also waiting for director krish’s kanche and also like the way varun tej is choosing his scripts.
Cheers.
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No problem at all 🙂 This is a good discussion!
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Hi Itachi
Good to see you back here 🙂
Completely agree with you about Bunny’s happiness and his joy in dance being a big factor 🙂
Varun Dhawan is one of the few current younger Hindi actors that I think could pull off a Southern remake, but I would prefer to see him in Julayi rather than Race Gurram – I agree with you and I can’t see that working too well at all.
Cheers, Heather
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Hi,
Sorry, I just noticed this. I’m like more than a month late 🙂 Anyway, I’ll just respond to your answers.
1. I understand what you mean about Bunny, he does seem to enjoy it when he’s dancing. It’s very hard to pick the best dancer since I feel like the Telugu Industry has the best collection of dancers right now. We have Bunny, Jr. NTR, and Charan in the top tier. Ram is a very underrated dancer in my opinion. Prabhas, Nani, Naga Chaitanya, Pawan Kalyan and Nithin are decent. Mahesh on the other hand seems to be improving in every movie. Even Balakrishna can still dance energetically at the age of 55.
2. One of my dreams for Mahesh as a fan is to see him in a Gautham Menon movie. Actually Gautham Menon went to Mahesh Babu with the script of Varanam Aayiram but Mahesh rejected it since he felt like his fans would oppose to his character doing drugs. That’s really disappointing since Varanam Aayiram is one of my favorite movies and Suriya acted really well in it. There were actually reports 2 weeks ago that Gautham Menon and Mahesh were going to do a Telugu-Tamil-Hindi trilingual project but its supposed to start in 2017 which means that anything can happen. I really hope it works out!
3. Bruce Lee was taken out of theaters here in Dallas and I didn’t get a chance to watch it.
4/5. I don’t really mind remakes as long as they are made well. I feel like Varun Dhawan fits into roles that Allu Arjun does really well.
Anyway, have you seen Kanche yet?
Thanks,
TJ 🙂
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Hi there Heather and Temple
Reading for some time, but writing for the first time. After going through your thoughts on Mollywood (I too liked the films you did) you might like the latest hit in Kerala – MAHESHINTE PRATHIKARAM, Revenge Of Mahesh. Nothing gory sickening in it, but a sweet story of getting back. Yes there is a fight in the end. You might also like the PHOTOGRAPHY angle in the movie, as well as the opening credits song.
Regards from Northern Kerala
Dilip
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Hi Dilip,
Thanks for the recommendations. I missed Maheshinte Prathikaram here in Melbourne as I was in India but have heard good things about it! I’m hoping that it was popular enough that they will organise another show here (we only had 2) but otherwise I’ll be looking out for the DVD 🙂
Cheers, Heather
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Thank you Heather for your reply. Do buy a DVD. Am sure you won’t be disappointed
Regards
Dilip
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Heather/Temple
I stumbled into your blog some months ago, and have since spent many enjoyable minutes reading through your reviews. Through your set of eyes I see Indian cinema in a new light. Familiarity had bred some contempt in me, and your early gushing appraisals of masala cinema in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi made me shake off some of the accrued disdain for commercial cinema.
Keep up the good work as long as you can, ladies. Take care and good luck
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Thanks koolananda
Great to hear that we’re having an influence on your enjoyment of masala movies 🙂 There are naturally some absolutely terrible examples out there, but it’s hard to go past a classic mix of drama, action, missing/misplaced/separated children/siblings/mother, significant songs/necklaces/photographs, evil villains and their truly awesome lairs, disco songs in inappropriate locations, heroic heroes and swooning heroines, along with everything else they have to offer!
Of course there are some excellent independent films out there too…… 😉
Cheers, Heather
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Dear Mr. Heather Wilson, I am an independent filmmaker. I have made several films but apart from a few, not all of them won an attention of the audience or critics. Thus, no one reviewed my films and I couldn’t find how as a filmmaker I am. I thus want you to review one of my upcoming Hindi language action film.
Since I am an independent filmmaker, I couldn’t make it possible to release my film in theatres. So, I will be releasing it online, on YouTube, with English subtitles. I haven’t decided the release date yet, but would come to a conclusion in a day or two as the release would be around October.
I would be happy and pleased if you review my film. It’s not an ordinary film, it’s a film that is a tribute to cinema. It also explains the labour taken in making films when no one supports you and even when that gets affectwd by any unwanted factor, how is the filmmaker’s reaction to it.
Hope you will.
Thanks and regards,
Prashast Singh
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Hi Prashast,
Thanks for the information about your film – it sounds very interesting. Please do let me know when you release it, although I cannot guarantee that I will review it. Writing about films is my hobby and as I have a full time job I don’t always have time to review everything that I watch 🙂
I do wish you every success with your film and will definitely look out for it on YT.
Cheers, Heather
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Sorry for the delayed reply, here’s my film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y-NWpFR0lQ
If you review it, please give it stars as well. Many promised to review it but no one did. Hope you will, thanks and by the way, I have another short film coming on 26 January 2017.
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Hey guys ,please review Pulimurugan,a malayalam fim
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Hi,
Please review ‘Thoongavanam’. Cast: Kamal Hassan, Trisha, Prakash Raj and Sampath.
Regards,
Rahul
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Also Swayamkrushi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swayamkrushi). Cast: Chiranjeevi, Vijayashanthi, Sumalatha.
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Anniyan: Tamil, Vikram
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Sadma: Sridevi, Kamal Hassan
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As a South Indian and an ardent fan of South Indian old Telugu movies, well I really love this blog, you guys are doing a commendable work, I’d like to recommend a few films 1. MISSAMMA
2.Antasthulu
And a few classic comedies 1.Ladies Tailor
2. Aahana pellanta
3.April 1st vidudala
4.Chetukinda pleader.
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Thank you and thanks for the recommendations.
I don’t think I search on YT very well as I never seem to be able to find subtitles versions! I do have DVD copies of a number of the films you have recommended but none of them are subtitled. 😦
Maybe someday they will release with subtitles 🙂
Cheers, Heather
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I stumbled on your blog from a Quora answer on Bahubali by moviemavengal.com. I read almost all posts related to Telugu movies and what I liked was that you guys covered old Telugu movies too, not only the new releases. I would take time to put appropriate comments on each post, but thought of sharing my feedback on whole here.
Seeing that one of you is a fan of Chiranjeevi, I missed mention of couple of his big movies. Surprisingly, missed on recommendations by others too. They are –
1. Abhilasha (1983) – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245682/ –
This is the first movie coming from the combination of Chiru, Kodandarami Reddy, Yandamuri Veerendranath and Ilayaraja, setting trend for later movies like Challenge, Maranamridangam. Movie is about a young lawyer fighting for abolishing capital punishment (death sentence). First half showed the comedy angle of Chiru and latter turned into a kind of thriller.
You must watch Yureka Sakamika song to fully appreciate Chiru’s dances and Ilayaraja’s music.
2. Mantrigari Viyyankudu (1983) – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0155855 –
This is the second movie in the combination of Chiru and director Bapu and first after Chiru became a ‘mass’ hero, basically transformed from Actor to Star after Khaidi hit. Bapu is known for artistic movies, but he too slightly got into Chiru’s mass image. Story is a regular revenge story, but a watch for Chiru’s antics, action, comedy and of course, dances for Ilayaraja’s music, that was ground-breaking at that time.
Watch this song – Manaku Dosti – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmDfYg0kN2M or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYybatR-PBs
About me: I am a mid-30 Telugu guy who watched almost all Telugu movies release since 1950. I have watched most of the Hindi movies released from 1950s until 2010, and only Khan’s since then, though could not withstand the quality of movies by star-kids these days. I follow Tamil movies and some Hollywood movies.
Inspired by your blog, I felt there’s a need for a blog from Telugu person in English introducing good movies from ‘Tollywood’ explaining the Telugu intricacies and nativity. I would try to start one.
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Hi yjbasu,
Thank you for your comment and your recommendations. Temple is the big Chiranjeevi fan but I have seen Abhilasha, although my DVD doesn’t have subtitles which is a shame. I keep hoping that some day all the old Telugu films will be available with English subtitles, but even some of the new releases don’t have subtitles, so I suspect it will be a long wait!
The lack of good information in English about Telugu films was the reason we started this blog, and it would be great if there was more information out there about Telugu cinema.
Good luck starting your blog, and please do let me know the name as soon as you start. Looking forward to reading it!
Cheers, Heather
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I would like you to remove the photo’s which you have posted on my timeline, it is not me but Manorma ji the actress, please remove it. And you should first confirm and then post as I am very upset and had written even before.
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Apologies but this blog hasn’t posted any images of you on your timeline. I Googled your name to check, and I can see a picture of Manorama from Heather’s review of Seeta Aur Geeta under your name but that is something Google has done via algorithm. The image is not mislabelled with your name on our site so I don’t know how such a mistake has happened. I’m very sorry but you will have to follow this up with Google as they choose the images that show for celebrities search results. Apologies again for the annoyance, and I hope you get things sorted soon.
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Did you see the NTR biopic? I was hoping you would review it.
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Hi mm
I didn’t manage to get to see this in the cinema – too many good films and too many other commitments unfortunately. Hoping to catch it on DVD or streaming online at some stage though. Did you see it? What did you think?
Cheers, Heather
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The movies are on Amazon prime now
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Hai,
As an admirer of your reviews, I would very much like to see your reviews on some tamil films old and new alike. The movies like Virmandi, Ethirneechal(old), Server sundaram, Hey ram, 6 muthal 60 varai, Panchathanthiram, Puthiya Paravai, Mullum malarum, Aayrathil oruvan(new). Most of them are available in Youtube and Amazon Prime.
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Hi
Thanks for your kind words 🙂
I’d love to be able to find these with subtitles (I don’t use Amazon) but mostly they’re not available with subs.
Aayrathil Oruvan I do have, but I’ve been looking for Ethirneechal and Mullum malarum for a while.
If you do find a subtitled version, please let me know
Cheers, Heather
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Hi,
Theses old movies like Ethirneechal, Hey ram, Server sundaram and Mullum malarum are mostly available with subs in Youtube itself. Try using VPN if it is not available in your region.
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Thanks raghuramctk
I’ve had a look and found a few so hopefully when the pandemic eases and I get a chance to catch my breath I’ll be able to watch some of these.
Thanks for the tip 🙂
Cheers, Heather
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https://cinemachaat.com/tag/doraiswamy/ . This is regarding the name in Malliswari movie . Nagaraju mother’s name could be P.Ganga Ratnam. Thats the only name i could find out from the subtitles. Surabhi kamalabai is “Basakka” .
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Thanks Gani. Cheers Heather
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Hi Heather, just stopped by to say Happy New Year! And thanks for still hanging in there and bringing us valuable reviews that we can rely on. (Actually I wanted to check your review of a film that I found on Amazon Prima0.
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Thanks mm!
It’s been a tough few years as the pandemic has approximately tripled my workload and I haven’t been able to get to the cinema AT ALL!!
Hopefully 2022 will be better although we’re not off to a great start.
Thanks for continuing to read and comment – Happy New Year!
Cheers, Heather
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