Tag Archives: Adventures without subtitles

Jwala (1985)

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jwala

Jwala hails from deepest darkest 1985, and is the first collaboration between Ravi Raja Pinisetty and Chiranjeevi. It’s a typical mass effort with the added delight of Chiru in dual roles. I watched this on a terrible quality print and with no subtitles so I was quite confused until I realised there were two Chirus!

The story opens with a Chiru being washed and dressed by his Ma. He is an adult, but buttoning up his shirt seems to not be in his skillset. As it turns out, that trait runs in the family.

Jwala-the kittens know

The Chakravarthis (Annapoorna and Satyanarayana Kaikala) fight about their sons under the watchful eyes of kitten art. There’s floppy haired Yuvaraj who cannot dress himself but is respectable, and Raju who favours an up-do and also cannot dress himself, but is possibly working as a mechanic and maybe has slightly rowdy-ish tendencies.

Bhanupriya has a troubled relationship with cars. She nearly runs Yuvaraj into a ditch, he runs her off the road, she retaliates against his parked bike and flees the scene leaving a cocky note and a blank cheque. Bhanupriya’s dad is less than happy when the cheque is presented with a generous amount filled in but hardly surprised.

She flounces off to a nightclub and sees Chiru , but he doesn’t seem to care or recognise her. She goes off in a huff, casting aspersions on his ability to shake what his mama gave him, which can Only Mean One Thing. A quick change later and Chiru hits the stage that has been used in so many films I cannot name off the top of my head.

I love that he is frozen in mid-air to give people ample time to applaud. Bhanupriya is furious that his outfit is better than hers and goes home in an even bigger huff. Her house has a photo mural and a cuckoo clock so she knows Style. Her dad lectures her about huffiness. I think maybe the money was either returned or used for a good cause, but he seems to be quite OK with motorbike dude. And that was about it for her – a couple of songs and a simper, never to be seen again.

Meanwhile Janaki (Radhika) is sold out to cover a debt. Raju (Chiru) sees this go down and rescues her from the sleazy baddies.  But Raju can’t save Janaki from all harm. People are calling her second hand and men see her as an easy mark. Raju realises he can’t bash everyone up – especially the really old ladies – so he marries Janaki. They do have a conversation about something before he ties the knot but I am not sure what it was about and whether she was actually consulted. However, neither of them looks unhappy, and when they go to his house to pay respects Raju reassures her while his dad goes nuts. At least his mum welcomes her daughter in law and there is time for a group hug. Radhika is a versatile actress and she manages to build a sense of Janaki and her feelings for Raju in small unspoken ways. Despite seeming to start purely through obligation, their relationship has many moments of warmth and sweetness.

 

In a room with another photo mural, the brains trust of the gang meets before adjourning to the tastefully appointed lair; skeletons, eclectic art collection, taxidermy, comfortable chairs… bedazzled gloves. The flamboyant Boss (Kannada Prabhakar) has a son who has been in the US so you know he is bound to be a creep. The Son begs to be allowed to run smuggling as he thinks it will be a thrill. There is so little common sense in this family it truly is a miracle they have managed to be so successful. The Son clashes with SP Chakravarthi on the beach when smuggled goods land. It’s too dark to see what’s going on but he is killed in a gunfight and now there is Revenge to be had.

The fight choreographer seems to be obsessed with Chiru’s thighs. The action requires he crush many an evildoer betwixt them as he hangs from a beam or does an impressive handstand to snare his opponent. Van Damme’s got NOTHING on Chiru! And all that rowdy lifting kept him in good form for duets.

My copy had this ad just after one of the fight scenes. Annoying, but appropriate product placement.

Raju is framed for murder and sentenced to jail. I don’t know what happened with the film but this section is mostly shown in stills. The Boss calls Chakravarthi and tells him why he has targeted his son. This causes 1) a tearful reconciliation and b) death.

Raju breaks out of jail. Yuvaraj flies home for the funeral and is met at the airport with news his big brother is now an escaped felon. While Yuvaraj rues that the rites won’t be completed by the eldest son, Raju turns up to light the pyre. After a justice versus vengeance bro-ment, the only thing that can happen next is an abrupt jump to the gang’s tastefully appointed courtyard for an item, complete with Silk Smitha humping all the props.

Jwala-that outfit

Yuvaraj wants Raju to turn himself in but Raju is on a mission, with firm views on appropriate forms of execution. Proving that apart from the shirt button thing, the brothers also share excellent groove genes, he undertakes a gladiator mini-skirt clad dance of death.

I almost said no one saw the flaming spear coming, but…

Yuvaraj tries to arrest Allu Ramalingaiah but protection from on high thwarts his plan. Raju seems to know his brother is only going to get into trouble trying to do things legally so he stays on task. He even impersonates Yuvaraj to get close to his next victim.

Jwala-surprise

The uniform was a good disguise, but once the hat comes off and the up-do is unleashed all is clear. I think the unbuttoned shirt was also a good indicator.

While Janaki sings to her fugitive Raju over the phone (oh, sorry I must have some dust in my eye), The Boss attacks her. She puts up a hell of a resistance until finally she runs out of room to fight. Raju finds her in a pool of blood. She asks him to kiss her, either for the first or last time, and she dies in his embrace. Raju is a killer and not to be lauded, but his life seems to be tidied away so neatly and with so little left that it’s a bit sad. He loses his parents, his wife, and his kid brother is on a different path.

The final showdown is brutal and silly and epic and even a little bit moving. I wasn’t really expecting one Chiru to take on the other Chiru, but then who else could stand up to a Megastar?

This is probably one for the Chiranjeevi  completists, but it’s not completely without merit for the non-fan. Bhanupriya is wasted in her small role, but Radhika stands her ground and carves out space for Janaki in a man’s story. The plot gallops along, the action is energetic, and there is just enough light relief through the songs. Bonus points for no extra comedy track. 3 stars!

Rana Vikrama

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Time for another adventure without subtitles; this time the Puneeth Rajkumar starrer Rana Vikrama that released earlier this year in India and showed this weekend in Melbourne. Written and directed by Pavan Wadeyar, it’s an action movie that follows a fairly predictable path but is kept moving along by the Power Star’s charismatic presence and some good action sequences. Throw in some better than average songs, a dash of comedy, and Rana Vikrama is a more entertaining watch than the opening scenes would suggest.

The story starts with a rather over the top British Officer in the last days of the British Raj. As expected, the Viceroy (Vikram Singh) is obnoxious, controlling, vindictive and just plain evil, although since Vikram Singh overacts and has been inexplicably dubbed by someone with an East European accent he ends up more comical than villainous. Unfortunately he’s not the only victim of the poor dubbing as a number of later scenes supposedly set in London feature reporters and lackeys also badly dubbed into grammatically incorrect and oddly accented English. Skipping over these technical issues, Vikram Singh chews the scenery for a while and eventually attempts to kill upstart villager Vikrama (Puneeth Rajkumar). Naturally he is no match for the tough local who wins the day despite being beaten, weighed down by chains and shot. Twice. Take note Hollywood – that’s how hard it is to kill a real hero!

The film then flashes forward to the present day where Vikram (Puneeth Singh again) is an aspiring police officer. Despite his obvious physical fitness, he is rejected by the enrolment officer time and time again however Vikram is determined to succeed, somewhat against the wishes of his fiancée Paaru (Adah Sharma) who would prefer him to stay with her. Vikram is thrown a lifeline by the Home Minister (Girish Karnad) who appoints him as a police trainee and sends him off to investigate a missing reporter somewhere in the border between Karnataka and Maharashtra. After a few hiccups Vikram finds the spot where workers in chains are toiling away in what appears to be an open cast mine, and makes short shrift of the numerous thugs and villains overseeing the project in classic filmi hero ishstyle.

The village has been keep secret for many years due to the nefarious dealings of none other than the British Viceroy’s descendant and the richest man in Britain, Jonathan (Vikram Singh again). He’s just as prone to overacting as his grandfather but with less reason, since he’s supposed to be a successful if rather unscrupulous businessman. However once Jonathan discovers that his secret has been discovered he jets in to India and prepares to get rid of Vikram once and for all.

Before we can get to the ultimate showdown however, there is a flashback sequence which explains the opening scene and also exactly why Jonathan’s family wants the land. Vikrama is married to Gowri (Anjali) for this sequence and the couple share good chemistry making this a better pairing than Puneeth Rajkumar and Adah Sharma in the present day. Anjali also gets to swing a sword and her feisty nature fits well into the storyline making her a more memorable and likeable character. I love this song featuring Gowri and Vikrama, which has the added benefit of a gigantic drum as a stage for Vikram’s dance moves. There is always something very special about oversized musical instruments in a dance number!

Generally the songs from V. Harikrishna are catchy and the choreography and picturisations are effective with some excellent costumes and imaginative settings. The songs also fit well into the narrative, something which is often more hit and miss in an action film, but they do work well here. If only such attention to detail had carried over into the dubbing and present day Anjali’s make-up to turn her into Vikram’s grandmother. This basically doesn’t work, and casting an older actress instead would have been a better option given that Gowri has little to do in these sequences other than look old and frail (which she doesn’t) and point dramatically at significant moments in the story. There is also a heavy reliance on clips of TV news reports which dulls the impact of some of the more dramatic scenes, although overall S. Vaidhy’s cinematography is impressive.

Although the film doesn’t cover any new ground and the heroic antics are far-fetched and fairly improbable, Rana Vikrama is still fun to watch. The action sequences from Ravi Verma are well thought out and the Power Star perfectly fits the role of a rough and tough police officer. It’s Puneeth Rajkumar’s film all the way and he does an excellent job of holding the story together despite the caricature of a villain and the rather OTT final sequence. I would have liked a little more care with some of the more technical aspects, but it’s still an entertaining film and one definitely worth catching on the big screen if you can.

Pandaga Chesko (2015)

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Pandaga Chesko

This is the first film from ‘Energetic Star’ Ram that I’ve seen in the cinema, a fact that seemed surprising until I realised that Ram’s last film release was in 2013. I’m always wary with films billed as comedy, and Pandaga Chesko isn’t an exception to the rule that they should be approached with caution. However, surprisingly it isn’t Brahmi’s stale sleazy comedy that’s the biggest issue here, or the usual surfeit of comedy uncles with no real role in the story. Rather, the plot itself is tired, repetitive and well past it’s use by date. The story follows a young NRI’s return to India to attempt to reunite two families – sound familiar? Attarintiki Daredi, Govindudu Andarivadele and a whole host of other films have told this story before, and told it better. However Ram is personable and definitely energetic, although his performance and the best efforts of the support cast aren’t quite enough to save the film from being anything more than a one time watch for me.

Ram is Karthik, an NRI living in Portugal and a successful businessman running his own business. His success is enough to make him a candidate for marriage with Anushka (Sonal Chauhan) who is also a successful businesswoman although from her behaviour it seems barely conceivable that she could organise a two-ticket raffle let alone a business empire. But as her ability to play rugby to win a sports club presumably shows, she is a woman of hidden talents and a rather surprisingly slutty wardrobe for a business tycoon.

After Karthik and Anushka meet and decide that a merger would give them both the best chance to succeed in their respective businesses, Karthik learns of a complaint against his factory in India and heads off to fix the problem a month before his wedding. He’s also found out about a feud in his mother’s family, and despite not having shown any family feelings up until now, decides that while he is back in India he might as well sort out that little problem too.

However it’s not going to be as easy as Karthik thinks. For a start, no sooner does Karthik see Green Army founder and activist Divya (Rakul Preet Singh) than he falls in love with her. And the family feud proves to be tricky too, particularly when Karthik confuses the issue by including various other people pretending to be someone else. And muddying the waters further is Weekend Venkat Rao (Brahmi) sent to bring Karthik home for his wedding with Anushka but who spends his time indulging in cheap and nasty comedy instead.

Most of the comedy is in the dialogue so I didn’t find the film as funny as the rest of the audience, and since the physical humour mainly comes courtesy of Brahmi it’s generally crass and not particularly amusing. M S Narayana does have a small role but is generally not well used, while Abhimanyu Singh is reasonably funny in his role as a bumbling goonda in love with Divya. Divya and Karthik get some of the better comedy scenes too, although I don’t think all of it was actually supposed to be funny! They do make a likeable couple though and their scenes together are the most enjoyable part of the film.

The best performances come from the veterans in the cast including Jayaprakash, Sai Kumar, Raghu Babu and Pavitra Lokesh to name just a few of the large support crew. The feud between Karthik’s uncle and his erstwhile best friend is fairly standard fare but the actors give it their all and this part of the film works well. Rakul Preet Singh is good and has plenty of chemistry with Ram that serves their romance well, but Sonal Chauhan is a disaster in a role that doesn’t suit her and is badly written to boot. Ram doesn’t get much chance to show off his acting skills here either but he does well with what he is given – and if nothing else he does have good wardrobe choices and an energetic dance style. However even the choreography isn’t novel and although the songs from S Thaman are fine and generally well placed they don’t stand out as anything special.

Overall Pandaga Chesko does raise a few laughs but is let down by the disappointingly derivative and formulaic story. It’s frustrating since the film is well made with a great cast and generally good performances which do at least go some way towards making up for the tired plot. It’s not a terrible film, and it mainly works as a comedy, but it just needs a newer angle on a familiar tale and perhaps a few less comedy uncles. Worth watching for Ram and his energetic dance sequences, the romance scenes between Karthik and Divya and Arthur Wilson’s excellent cinematography.