Tag Archives: Adventures without subtitles

Eega

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A friend asked me what the movie I was going to see was about. “A man is killed. He reincarnates as a fly. He seeks revenge”. They seemed unconvinced but Eega really is wonderful. Despite word of subtitled prints, we knew wouldn’t get them in Melbourne. Luckily fly is a universal language, and we are always up for an adventure without subtitles!

Nani (Nani) is in love with Bindu (Samantha). Sudeep (Sudeep), a local tycoon and possessive psycho, decides he must have her so he kills Nani. Fate intervenes and Nani is reborn as a fly, eventually recovering memories of his past life. He sets out for revenge and to protect Bindu. This may sound silly, but it is a tribute to writer/director SS Rajamouli and his cast that I absolutely went with it and was caught up in the drama, the action and the hi-jinks. I had reservations about the post-reincarnation relationship as clearly Bindu had not moved on and it was never going to work despite the fact that she could see his inner beauty – he’s a fly, she’s a human…Yes I became emotionally invested in the love life of a CGI insect.

Nani is good in his role. Because the basic plot was well publicised, I did feel like I was waiting for him to die. I really like Nani (the actor), but his role in the story limited my interest in his character.

While human Nani showed charm and some skills, the fly was simply amazing. He knew engineering, physics, ballistics and who knows what else. He also retained his penmanship, using Bindu’s fallen tears to write a message (presumably ‘Hey it is me! Nani!’) He was the real hero with all the trappings. Eega-Nani had a training montage as he built his strength up in a gym made of household objects, he had a victory dance, and he had right on his side. The fly’s character developed over time as he became tougher, more lethal, and better at turning a disadvantage to an advantage. I like the decision not to give him a voice so all his communications were via gesture or charades. The animators did a superb job of making him very expressive but still a housefly. I suspect Eega-Nani and Bindu had some written exchanges off camera as I am not sure mime would have conveyed the more complex elements of their scheme. He wrote a very clear death threat to Sudeep as well so he had good communication skills.

 

Samantha is lovely as Bindu. Her flirtation with human Nani was mostly carried out through facial expressions and she was really good, with excellent comic timing. She was also quite convincing in sadder scenes. Considering most of her scenes were with a CGI fly, she does very well to make it ring true. While Bindu’s back story seemed flimsy at best, she seemed nice and actively tried to do good through the NGO she ran. Her hobby of micro-art came in very handy when Nani needed teeny tiny equipment and weapons. The partnership also kept their fledgling romance alive which was sweet and yet all wrong (with him being a fly and all).

 

Speaking of creepy – Sudeep. From suavely unpleasant kingpin, through a spiral of aggravation and irrational behaviour to outright craziness, Sudeep was hilarious and scary. He had a gun wall in his home so that was an early sign. As Eega-Nani pestered him, Sudeep became less and less stable. Sudeep’s reactions to the fly were increasingly frantic and extreme but he melded it with gradual deterioration in his mental stability and health that made it good acting and not just slapstick. I imagine the direction went something like “ear, ear, nose, other ear! nose! gone..where did it go…gone, relax, EAR!!!!” His security team swapped guns for fly swats, his house became a fortress against bugs, his attire was more and more peculiar. The blend of comedy and threat is brilliant. There is nothing likeable about Sudeep’s character and yet I looked forward to his scenes. For the faint-hearted there is a scene requiring pixilation as Sudeep attacks the Eega with the only handy weapon – the pink towel he was wearing. It’s a wildly uninhibited scene and I laughed so hard I almost cried.

Adithya (as Sudeep’s sidekick) did get the rough end of the pineapple in the hair department, having both the wavy mullet and the manband in play. His reaction to his employer’s insanity (and then proof of Eega-Nani’s unnatural abilities) was very funny. But the psycho villain’s sidekick has a precarious, and rarely a long, life. The supporting actors are not prominent, which is wise considering most scenes combine multiple points of view and there are some complex interactions.

The camera follows Eega-Nani through all manner of mayhem and danger, and the choreography and planning of those scenes is meticulous.I really loved a moment when fragments of shattered glass reflect a fighter plane formation of flies surrounding Nani.  It’s as dramatic as if a human film hero was in a fight for his life, and gets the adrenalin pumping. But it’s not all action and there are scenes that are just pretty or sweet. There are some very dark moments, but the message that killing a bad man to do the right thing is entrenched in Telugu film so I guess it wouldn’t have surprised the kids in the audience.

What made Eega work so well was the well plotted story and the restraint in using effects. The CGI served to further the story, and there was never a dull moment. SS Rajamouli has an impressive ability to get a story on screen and make it engaging. There are nods to other films and stars, and the Telugu heroic tropes all get a workout too. I have some quibbles, but they are insignificant on balance. The timing, the pace, the effects, the cast are all pitch perfect. Loved it!

(Pssst – Make sure you stay for the end credits)

Edited to add:

ReleaseDay is streaming Eega with subtitles so now you have no excuse not to see it! You will need to create a login to the site and it’s a festival print which I am told is around 20 min shorter than the theatrical release. You can also check  out http://blog.releaseday.com/ for articles and news on Telugu films. 

Heather says: Loved it, loved it loved it! I’d read very little about this film and I’d only seen the trailer once, but when I saw a needle lightly indenting a cornea I knew this was going to be an excellent film for me. Plus it’s Rajamouli so of course it was always going to be a good story, and it didn’t disapoint.

I do really like Nani, and I liked his rather self-sacrificing character here too. His one dance routine was fun and his obvious adoration of Bindu was quite sweetly portrayed. Nani did show some early signs of his engineering know-how by quickly constructing a parabolic light reflector from a satellite dish and an old chip packet, but his intellect certainly blossomed when he returned as Eega! Some of the ideas here were simply ingenious and Rajamouli totally captured just how irritating a fly can be, let alone one that’s out for vengeance. The CGI was of a very high standard and I was amazed at how easily different emotions and attitudes were conveyed by Eega-Nani. The fly charades where Eega-Nani made his requirements known to Bindu were hilarious and I have to say that she is much better at this game than I could ever be.  In fact Samanatha was very impressive here as Bindu to the point that I didn’t realise who the actress playing Bindu was at first! I’ve never thought too much of Samantha as an actress in her previous films so it was a real revelation to see her put in such a fantastic performance here. I have a theory that similar to Shriya, her hairstyles have a lot to do with it. The longer and more curly Samantha’s hair is, the worse her acting and since here Bindu has lovely straight hair Samantha really shines in the role.  This got me through the rather bizarre romantic scenes between Bindu and Eega-Nani since my reaction was more of a: ‘Samantha can emote – who knew!’ rather than concentrating too much on the fact that their relationship was never going to end well! Samantha also got some beautiful costumes to wear, and I loved her fringed tops which suited both her and her character very well.

But despite Samantha’s amazing performance and even with the antics of Eega-Nani to contend with, the real star of the film was without a doubt Sudeep. He was brilliant in every scene and as Temple has described perfectly, the change as his initial evil and sinister businessman became very disturbed and unstable was superbly done. The scene with the towel was one of the best in the film (I’m laughing now even thinking about it) and his more and more frantic attempts to escape Eega were totally hilarious. Considering that Sudeep was in general having to react to a nonexistent opponent during filming, I think he did a fabulous job and his reactions were totally believable. I can’t think of anything in this film that I didn’t enjoy and I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s easy to understand without subtitles and the many references to other films just add to the whole experience. Go! Watch! Enjoy!

Gudachari 116 (1967)

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Long before Mithun Chakraborty squeezed himself into those tight white flares to play Gunmaster G9 in Suraksha, Superstar Krishna was the suave and debonair Agent 116 in this Bond-inspired tale of secret agents, evil villains and a fiendish plot against India. Or at least so I deduce, given that this was another adventure without subtitles. There are elements from a number of early Bond films, but Gudachari 116 seems to be very loosely based on Dr No with a few other classic sixties motifs that pop up from time to time. This was the first of Krishna’s forays into the spy genre and while it’s nowhere near as over the top as his later film James Bond 777 or other Hindi spy films I’ve seen, there are still a few fabulous moments and plenty of recognisable references to the Bond films.

Agent Gopi (Krishna), better known by his code number 116, is a typical James Bond character. He’s smooth and successful with the ladies, possible due to his natty collection of cardigans, sports coats and leisure shirts. (This may also explain some of his son Mahesh’s multi-layering and accessorising style).

However he has to leave his singing, dancing and romancing in the hills when news of Agent 303’s rather theatrical death reaches the head of their intelligence agency.

Agent 303 (Shobhan Babu) was shadowing a gang of men who were attempting to blow up a bridge. After foiling their plan, he managed to take pictures of the gang and their getaway car, thus ensuring he could track them down at a later date and find the boss of their organisation. Obviously this information is of critical importance for the security of the nation, but the intelligence agency seems to be operating on a tight budget so he drops off his pictures to the local camera store to be developed before visiting his sister.

Missions of national importance run a poor second to familial obligations for Agent 303, which mean that he is killed before passing on the information about the gang to his superiors. Gopi’s mission is to find the photographs, identify the bad guys and stop their plans to destroy India. Just in case that seemed to be rather a lot for a single man to accomplish, he does have a number of fancy gadgets and the somewhat dubious assistance of local man on the spot Simhachalan (Relangi Venkataramaiah) and his merry band of helpers.

On the way to his meet-up with Simhachalan, Agent 116 runs into the beautiful Miss Radha (Jayalalitha) and starts up a brief flirtation with her on the plane. However Radha is the daughter of Agent 116’s chief suspect for the role of evil mastermind behind the bombings which, luckily for Gopi, means that their friendship can be cultivated as part of his mission. Gopi ends up at Radha’s birthday party where he plays the piano for her in this song which reminds me of the Chordettes classic. I love the rather Christmassy decorations for her birthday which almost get tangled up with the backing dancers and the dancing couple in the bottle on top of the piano.

Simhachalan has given Gopi two of his men to help his investigation and they provide most of the comedy side-plot which as usual doesn’t add much to the proceedings. Ramana Reddy and Rajababu do however manage to provide Gopi with some assistance and with the aid of some helium balloons, a hidden microphone and of course a little phone tapping, Agent 116 discovers that Radha’s father (Rajanala) is only a front for the real villain.

Agent 303’s sister also gets involved in the action as Radha’s father convinces her that he is the police officer in charge of her brother’s murder case and enlists her help to trap Gopi. This involves her attempting to seduce Gopi in his hotel room by dancing and then drugging him before handing him over to the gang. He looks rather puzzled by her advances, although that may just be the combination of the wallpaper and the pictures which is rather overpowering. Gopi ends up in a rather drab and utilitarian secret hideout with a man intent on frying his brains as a means of extracting information from him but in true super-spy fashion quickly turns the tables and extracts some information himself.

The plot gets more convoluted as Radha is kidnapped by the evil mastermind’s men to force her father’s continued co-operation with their plans and Gopi tries to rescue Agent 303’s sister while foiling the plans of the real villain. These plans are never really clear but seem to involve a rather large factory and a team of scientists making poisonous gas for some nefarious purpose. The boss, a rather sinister Chinese-looking villain, communicates with a series of gestures rather than by using actual words so perhaps his main henchmen are all telepathic and therefore no description of the plot is needed.

Overall, Gudachari 116 keeps to the spy/action story without too many deviations into cheap special effects or ridiculous leaps of faith. The interiors are wonderfully decorated with some amazing wallpaper and curtain combinations and there are plenty of chandeliers making an appearance. In comparison the outfits are rather restrained (at least in comparison to the Hindi remake Farz) and Radha appears elegant and stylish in a number of beautiful saris. Gopi and the various other main characters are also all very dapper and it’s only the gang of hired thugs who appear in outlandish shirts and scarves.

There are one or two instances where obviously model cars and planes get blown up, but mainly the effects are limited to radio receivers disguised as books and knock-out gas in a cigarette lighter which seem fairly plausible. Perhaps the most incredible invention is a method of restoring burnt paper back to its original pristine condition and retaining the written message but everything else is within the realm of possibility (at least for a secret agent).

The songs are another highpoint and the music by T. Chalapathi Rao seems to suit the general sixties ambience. This is probably the best – a fusion of traditional music and rock and roll that lets Jayalalitha show off a number of dance styles.

Gudachari 116 has a convincing storyline written by Arudra with much influence from Ian Fleming and the Bond film franchise, and is capably directed by M. Mallikharjuna Rao to give an entertaining spy adventure. Krishna is excellent as Agent 116 and the role of the sophisticated spy suits him well. Despite the lack of subtitles and an occasional unfunny ‘comedy’ scene I really enjoyed this film and I’d recommend it as an excellent take on the spy genre. 4stars.

Temple says:

This is the first of Superstar Krishna’s Bond style forays and I don’t think he had quite hit his stride in terms of the balance of serious spy action and parody that the later films do so  much better. The Bond of Ian Fleming and that of (most of) the films are quite different characters, and this film sort of falls between the two. At times it was a bit closer to Get Smart than any credible spy thriller as the low tech gadgetry was so badly made that I could have done better with a shoe box and a couple of bits of wire!

The lead actors are good and Krishna fits the suave man of the world style. His knitwear was horrifying, but it was the late 60s so I am just thankful the film is in black and white. Apart from the instantly recognisable ears, he also seems to have passed on some of his dance mojo to his son, as that lanky frame and the laid back style was very familiar. Jayalalitha is a feisty heroine and some of her outfits are very eye-catching indeed, so she earned her screen time. The comic sideplot is bad enough, but Ramana Reddy’s hamming is the last straw. He really is terrible and I have grown to loathe the very sight of him.

The music is a real mish-mash. There are fragments of the Addams Family theme used at dramatic moments (more comic than dramatic for me). There are hillside cavorting love duets as well as a blend of 60s rock n roll with whatever else took their fancy. It’s entertaining even if the choices are bewildering!

The story is not particularly credible or thrilling as it is bog standard ‘good guy against ill defined villain’ and the pace is very slow, especially considering national security is at stake.  I enjoyed this mostly for the retro charm, excellent visual excesses, and the very entertaining songs.  I greatly prefer James Bond 777 (which is available on Youtube), which has a fab funky soundtrack and a gang of bank robbing dogs that compensated for the plotholes. Gudachari 116 is nice to look at, but you could just watch the songs and skip the narrative and you would still get a feel for the style of the film. I don’t think I would re-watch this, while other films in the spy caper genre have become favourites. 3 stars.

Devadasu (1953)

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So many people recommended versions of Devdas when I started watching Indian films. Prior to seeing the Telugu Devadasu, I’d watched a few of the various adaptations in Hindi. I have mentioned before that the role of Tight Slap Administrator could be a dream job for me, but honestly I would have been exhausted about an hour into any film version of Devdas. I prefer romances to involve people I can care about to some extent, otherwise why bother? Whether we’re talking whinging Dilip Kumar, tear drenched Shah Rukh or aggressively self centred Abhay Deol, Devdas is one of my least favourite characters. This is a drawback when the story is just a long wait for Dev to work out how to drink himself to death. So it was a bit of a surprise to find myself not exactly liking but empathising with Devadas (Akkineni Nageshwara Rao) and feeling quite kindly towards Parvati (Savitri). Maybe it was the lack of subtitles that let me reshape the story to suit myself. I certainly had no trouble following the story –  there are so many adaptations of the book by Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay it’s almost a plague – and it’s easy to find a synopsis if you need one.

Director Vedantam Raghavaiah’s version opens with Devadas and Parvati as little children, partners in crime, tormenting their teachers and causing mayhem. Devadas demands her obedient following, Parvati demands to be spoilt and adored and generally that is how things go. If one upsets the other, they retaliate with no thought of the consequences. And that sets the tone for their whole relationship even as they grow up. When he was sent away to school, he seemed to become that rich kid who funded his friends’ adventures and went with the flow. Meanwhile Parvati waited at home, confident he would come back and she would be part of his life.

ANR’s Devadas is a man who knows he has screwed up and has no one else to blame. He conveys the frustration of a young man caught under the thumb of his domineering father (SV Ranga Rao), and the weakness that paralyses him. He and Parvati realise that they can’t continue to be inseparable as they were in childhood without formalising their relationship. There are some really lovely scenes early on when he and Parvati are rediscovering each other, as in this song.

There is also the infamous scene where Devadas strikes Parvati in retaliation for her pride. ANR looked appalled and remorseful after lashing out so viciously and Savitri portrayed a mix of shock, anger and sadness that spoke volumes about the way their relationship still played out. Her parents proposal is rebuffed as they are of a lower social status, and suddenly time is running out.

Parvati sneaks into his room to beg him to marry her before she is married off elsewhere but he cannot stand up to his dad (or whoever chose these pyjamas for him).

And so he loses her, cuts ties with his family and is ripe for a decline into self pity and booze.

Later, when Devadas returns home following his father’s death, he sees the married Parvati. They have a beautiful scene together where suddenly the old Devadas is visible just for a moment. They light up in each other’s presence even as they break down. He has no resilience or motivation – he is carried by the currents of luck and money and when the luck is bad, he doesn’t know how to change things.

His refuge in alcohol initially makes him happy as he hallucinates seeing Parvati. Once the addiction has hold of him, the euphoria starts to disappear and he becomes a shambling wreck. ANR portrays the gradual descent into self destruction very well. While I think Devadas is an idiot I had to look away in some scenes because he was so painfully frail and damaged.

Parvati is a minx and gets her own way but she isn’t completely obnoxious. Savitri does a wonderful job of showing Parvati using her childish impulsive ways but aware of Devadas’ attraction to her, experimenting with her sexual appeal. When she sees Devadas after he has been at school for so many years, her affection is obvious. They talk about his father’s objection to her proposal and there is little game playing when it counts. When she is married off to an elderly widower who really seems to want a nanny more than a wife, her grief is evident but she tries to fit in.

I wasn’t quite sure about the physical side of her marriage – her husband mostly treats her like a niece or daughter, but there was one scene where he said something and Savitri looked quite ill and horrified so I wondered if a conjugal visit was on the cards. She is affectionate towards her stepchildren and wins over her jealous sister-in-law. She really does make the best of it and the kids seem very fond of her so her life isn’t shown as empty without her first love. In the final scene where she realises Devadas is near and tries to see him before he dies, the family seem to stop her because they are worried, not to punish her or protect their honour. Thanks to Savitri’s nuanced acting I really felt for Parvati.

Lalitha, one of the renowned Travancore sisters, is Chandramukhi, the other woman who loves Devadas. Her role is important but doesn’t occupy as much screen time since Devadas usually prefers to pity himself in solitude.  She is flirty and practiced, a woman who knows what men want and knows she has it. Despite her commercial nous, she can’t resist the misery of her newest and most reluctant client. While he initially rejects her, a relationship of sorts does grow over time. She is prepared to lose her livelihood over him and argues with her staff, including a comically inclined orchestra, as she cuts back on working. When Devadas really deteriorates she searches for him and brings him home, offering practical care to keep him comfortable. Lalitha has great physical presence and really suits Chandramukhi’s self aware femininity. Her dancing is assured and she displays her body with confidence, again a perfect fit for this character.

I liked the less grandiose sets in this version as they suit the characters and allow them to be the focus. The music is lovely and as the duets often take the place of conversations, they fit the mood of the scenes. The dances at Chandramukhi’s brothel are quite simple and she performs alone to entertain her clientele – it’s clear what she is selling but the scenes aren’t overly vulgar.

It is really hard to comment on the technical aspects of the film as the DVD picture and sound are so bad, and there are clearly some scenes missing and abrupt edits. Once again I will have a whinge about the terrible print quality of a classic film, and wonder why this is almost the norm. If so many people can recommend a movie as a classic of their industry, why doesn’t anyone take on the task of preservation and restoration? I’m not sure who most of the supporting actors are, but they were all very good and suited their roles.

Anyway – I’ll never wholeheartedly love the story of Devadas and Parvati, but this is my favourite version to date. See it for the excellent acting that made two silly fools seem more relatable than I expected, and for some beautiful melodic songs. 3 ½ stars.

Heather says:  Devdas has never been my favourite story, perhaps because the first version I saw was Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s extravagant epic and I found it difficult to relate to the characters. However I’ve appreciated some of the earlier Hindi film versions a little more, and now agree wholeheartedly with Temple that this Telugu version is the best.

Devdas is certainly not an attractive character at all. He’s arrogant and selfish; almost child-like in his inability to deal with the world and ANR captures this perfectly. In the early scenes his conceit takes centre stage and despite the lack of subtitles his inability to deal with his family’s disapproval of Parvati comes through clearly.  As Devdas falls into self-recrimination and takes up a decadent lifestyle, ANR’s portrayal of the shattered and hopeless alcoholic almost manages to wring some sympathy, despite knowing that he brought it all on himself. So even although I want to dislike Devdas (and usually do), ANR makes his weakness understandable to such an extent that I end up pitying him. It really is an outstanding performance.

I agree with Temple that Savitri is excellent here as Parvati, giving her innocence and a child-like adoration of Devdas which makes her later actions more reasonable. I also loved Lalitha in her portrayal of Chandramukhi, but my favourite actor is the little girl who played the young Parvati. Her eyes were incredibly full of expression for such a young actor and every emotion was written loud and clear on her face. I ended up watching her scenes over and over again and would love to know who she was. Anyone know?

It is such a shame that this film isn’t available with subtitles as much of the beauty in other versions of the story is in the dialogues. I will add my plea that someone needs to please restore and re-release all these old films before they are too far gone to salvage, preferably with English  subtitles too. This really is a classic and should be required viewing for everyone interested in Telugu cinema! 4 stars.