Tag Archives: Allu Ramalingaiah

Vijetha

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Just to whet everyone’s appetite for the Mega Birthday celebrations and get the party started, Vijetha is  more than just another cheesy masala film from the eighties. In reading about this film on imdb I discovered that Vijetha was just one of the eight films Chiranjeevi released in 1985. I think that this is an amazing number of film releases, but more so when you consider he had even more films released the preceding year, and just as many the following year. Thankfully this means that there are just so many more Chiru films to watch!

Chiranjeevi won his third Filmfare award for his performance in Vijetha and it’s a departure from his more usual action film. In fact, the movie opens with a message from Chiranjeevi to his fans explaining that the story is about a ‘boy next door’ character rather than an action hero, and it makes a great introduction to the story.

Vijetha tells the story of Madhusudhan Rao (Chiranjeevi), commonly known as Chinnababu, and his rather close-knit, but at times acrimonious family. With the death of his close friend, Chinnababu’s father Narasimham (Somayajulu J. V.) realises that the squabbling which occurs at the funeral may also happen at his own death. He decides to try to finalise the marriage of his youngest daughter Lakshmi as soon as possible, and to that end arranges a marriage with Sri Rangarao’s son Mohan, a doctor in Chicago. Mohan is planning to marry quickly and head back to the USA and it seems like an ideal match for Lakshmi considering her father’s wishes. The problem however, is that Narasimham cannot afford the required dowry, and so he appeals to his sons for help. But apart from his eldest son’s wife Saraswathi, the others are all disinclined to give any money for a marriage which they don’t see as being as important to them as their own comforts. There is much talk of duty and responsibilities but in the end Narasimham sees no other choice but to sell the family home. Finally after various attempts by the brothers to get the house for themselves, Chinnababu manages to save the day by taking a rather unusual and fairly drastic step to get the required funds and ensures his sister’s marriage goes ahead.

The film feels more like a modern-day soap-opera at times as it focuses on the interactions between the different family members and day-to-day life. Chinnababu is a student and aspiring football star, although his father despairs of him ever getting a job as he prefers playing his sport to studying. His eldest brother’s wife Saraswathi has practically raised both Chinnababu and his sister Lakshmi, and she keeps the peace between father and son. Although he’s perhaps a little deficient in studying, in other ways Chinnababu is a dutiful son – running errands for the other members of the family and supporting his father as much as possible.

Chiranjeevi does an excellent job of capturing the good-hearted if slightly naïve character of Chinnababu and does manage to portray a more normal slice of life rather than his more usual ‘over the top’ heroics. Although we do get some of those as well when Chinnababu comes to the rescue of Priyadarshini and her friends when they are harassed by some youths, and later on when a gang of thugs attempt to rob him. Bhanupriya plays the love interest Priyadarshini and in another departure from the norm, she stalks Chinnababu rather than the other way around. She lies in wait for him, goes to his football practice and is generally irritating in her shrill and persistent attempts to get his notice. In fact Priyadarshini’s character is incredibly annoying in the first part of the film, and the first time I actually liked her was when she encouraged Chinnababu to play football with the thugs (using them as the football) rather than trying to negotiate with them. Chinnababu initially has little time for her and seems appalled when she moves in to the neighbourhood.  However it turns out that a song with some strategically placed cutouts and a large number of cushions is the way to his heart – who knew it would be that simple?

After this, Chinnababu seems to be resigned to his fate (maybe it was the gold pants that did it) and Priyadarshini becomes much more tolerable once she finally has Chinnababu’s attention. Bhanupriya is lovely despite some of her very questionable outfits, and she can at least match Chiranjeevi’s dancing. She must have really annoyed someone in wardrobe though as she has a particularly bad selection of wigs to wear too!

Sharada plays the eldest wife Saraswathi with real grace and poise. Her character works very well as the peacekeeper in the family and her level headedness is very much needed as everyone gangs up on Chinnababu as the only non-worker in the family. There is a classic moment early on in the film where Chinnababu uses her sari to wipe his mouth, and it just goes to show how much she thinks of him as she doesn’t react at all! I also love the set dressing in the film which adds to the ‘family at home’ atmosphere. There are plenty of ornaments, great pictures on the walls and even a medical model later in the film.  I would love to know what the brown and green ornaments behind the couple here are supposed to represent.

The three brothers show different but equally selfish characteristics and are ably aided and abetted by their various wives. The eldest brother (Ranganath) seems to be far removed from the petty squabbles of his siblings and is able to ignore the pleas of his father despite his wife’s more charitable views. The other two brothers are totally ruled by their wives who are wonderfully self-centred and money grabbing. Most of the comedy comes from their antics although veteran comedic actor Allu Ramalingaiah also turns up as a taxi driver who has some humorous dealings with second son and lawyer Narayana Rao (Nutan Prasad). Allu Arvind was the producer for Vijetha and it seems as if he got the whole family involved since his eldest son Bobby is credited as playing the son of Narayana Rao. There seems to be some confusion in some reviews as this film also marks Allu Arjun’s screen debut, but since he was only 2 years old in 1985 I think he actually appears as married sister Shanti’s son. The confusion is likely because of the very stylish sunglasses worn by Bobby below which do seem to be something Bunny would be likely to wear.

The film leans heavily towards family duty and respect but despite these heavy topics it doesn’t drag and keeps a light-hearted tone until near the end. Even then the self-sacrifice of Chinnababu isn’t dwelt on overly much and there is an appropriately happy ending. Director A. Kodandarami Reddy keeps a light touch and stops the film descending into too much sentimentality.  The best parts of the film are the songs by K. Chakravarthy and as ever Chiranjeevi is excellent in a seemingly never ending array of tight lycra outfits. This is my favourite and it seems to serve no other purpose other than letting Chiru strut his stuff – I totally approve!

Although the themes in Vijetha are of duty, responsibility and self-sacrifice, it’s still a fun watch and if nothing else there is the chance to see Chiru in shorts playing football. Some great songs and a very heart-felt performance from Chiranjeevi make it well worth the lack of fast paced action. 3 1/2 stars (it would have been more but Priyadarshini is just too annoying!)

Temple says:

I don’t quite see the opening statement quite the same way Heather did. To me it’s not so much that Chiru is playing a boy next door, as lots of his hero roles are those boys at heart, but he is playing a guy who struggles to assert himself and isn’t really a success at anything despite his potential. I think it is that perceived weakness that Chiru wanted his fans to identify with, and he challenged his detractors who may have thought he was a one trick pony. Mind you, Chinna is heroic in his own way. The short shorts and long socks is a difficult look, especially in yellow which I find is an unforgiving colour, but he manages.

There is some nice social observation tucked in amongst the fluffy filmi fun. This is a family where women have started to work outside the home and their behaviour towards Saraswati is quite masculine in some respects. The father is challenged by his children who have an overwhelming sense of entitlement. Work is hard to come by for the academically average, but class barriers also get in the way – Chinna wasn’t allowed to work as a peon in his brother’s office because it would look bad. Chinna is the product of Saraswati’s intelligent and emotionally supportive upbringing and his father’s strong morality. There is a lot of affection in the family – the father loves Chinna, and had a great time sneaking in to see him play a big match, but the pressure is on to see everyone settled in his lifetime. The question is when do offspring have to take up some family responsibility. It’s similar to, but much less dreary and vomit inducing than, Baghban (one of my most hated films) as the family starts to tear itself apart over money. And nicely symbolic as Chinna and his dad unwittingly compete with each other to save the family finances.

I don’t mind Bhanupriya’s character. Priya is supposed to be a ‘modern’ (i.e. badly dressed, persistent and opportunistic) girl who goes for what she wants. I think her attempts to win Chinna and impress his family are not as funny as they are meant to be, but generally played for laughs and she has good rapport with Chiru. Chinna has the closest relationship with the females in the family, there are lovely scenes as they discuss their hopes and fears together, and Chiranjeevi played Chinna in a natural and low key style. He had a few masala breakouts which I enjoyed immensely, and his flair for comedy is evident. I was so delighted when I recognised the Six O’clock song as I could enjoy it with better dancing (and outfits) and without the accompanying fear of Anil Kapoor from the Hindi version.

As romantic musical sports themed family dramas go, this is one of my favourites. 3 ½ stars.

Narthanasala

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This 1963 classic has an exceptional cast, featuring NTR, Savitri and SV Ranga Rao, under the lively direction of Kamalakara Kameshwara Rao. Narthanasala renders a chapter of the Mahabharata in an accessible and highly entertaining style. The story as shown concentrates on the Pandavas efforts to serve out the 13th year of their exile, and how they deal with their tribulations. I’m sure there are many versions of this tale and this screenplay no doubt varies from those in some ways. My knowledge of the Mahabharata is basic, but all the information you need to know to enjoy Narthanasala is contained within the film, so don’t let that be an obstacle.

Arjuna is honoured by Indra, but manages to tick off Urvashi (Padmini Priyadarshini) when he rejects her advances.  She curses him to become a eunuch. I cannot blame her for being mislead after watching him watching her in this dance:

And she looks furious!

The curse is mitigated somewhat by a time limitation granted in recognition of Arjuna’s essential manly goodness. This coincides with the 13th year of exile when the Pandavas must take refuge in a kingdom and remain anonymous for that final year. The set up of the characters and how they would conceal their identities was simply done in a conversation that pretty much spells out who’s who. There are spies and lures set to draw the Pandavas into the open, and the cat and mouse game with Duryodhana adds an edge of tension to the waiting game.

Dharmaraju (Mikkilineni Radhakrishna Murthy) is occupied as an advisor to King Viraat, and has little free time to spend with his brothers and wife.  The twins Nakula and Sahadeva work with the livestock and are absent most of the time. This leaves Draupadi (Savitri), Arjuna (NTR) and Bhima (Olympic wrestler Dandamudi Rajagopal) on centre stage.

Draupadi is beautiful and deceptively delicate looking. Her husbands make a big deal of her having to undertake manual labour, but she is more resilient than they are in some respects. Although usually deferential to her husbands, when she needs to stand up for herself she leaves no doubt as to the consequences of drawing her anger.  Calling herself Malini she goes to work as a ladies maid and beautician for Queen Sudheshna (Sandhya). She pleads with the queen that she be protected from tasks such as being sent off to entertain strange men and serve in other households, and Sudheshna agrees. Draupadi’s awareness of her vulnerability is clear, and despite her efforts she does attract unwanted attention.

How she attempts to deflect and ultimately stop this harassment is the main focus of the drama, and she tries many approaches before demanding her husbands step in. Krishna intervenes when called upon, but the solution lies with the human characters. Draupadi’s affection for Arjuna gives their complex life a strong emotional core, and their scenes had an element of romance that her interactions with the other husbands didn’t. She has a rare laugh when talking to him about their son. Savitri is, as I have come to expect, excellent in a role that demands both high emotion and restraint.

Arjuna is transformed into Bruhannala. He takes up the position as dance teacher to Uttara (L Vijayalakshmi) and embraces accessorising. He should have had those dance lessons as while Bruhannala’s expressions are flawless, his dance steps are not quite as graceful.

NTR looked knowing and effeminate as the eunuch, always slyly amused at fooling everyone around him. It falls to him to come up with the scheme to keep Draupadi from harm and to keep the Pandavas safe until the end of their exile.

The stolen conversations between him and Draupadi have an undertone of longing. When they touch there is chemistry; Arjuna, the husband missing his wife, is suddenly visible despite the fripperies of Bruhannala. When NTR re-appears as Arjuna he is quite regal although maintains the air of amusement. His scenes with Uttarakumar in the chariot are fun and he enjoys the consternation caused by his transition from Bruhannala back to Arjuna. It’s a warm, appealing performance, and the knowing looks to camera drew me into the asides and secrets.

Arjuna is more philosophical about Draupadi’s situation and is prepared to manage each crisis as it happens. Bhima cannot contain his fury; he just wants to tear Keechaka apart.

He knows his own flaws and is guided by the more calculating Arjuna and Dharmaraju’s sense of justice. His powerful physique is an asset to the family but may also be the thing that gives them away. There wasn’t a lot of subtlety needed for this performance, but it wasn’t just posturing and roaring.

SV Ranga Rao is Keechaka, the queen’s larger than life brother, a jovial bully. His inability to control his lust does more than threaten Draupadi. It also jeopardises the safety of all the Pandavas who may not maintain their disguises under such insult, and threatens the kingdom as he forces the queen to give Malini over to him. He is literally blinded by desire.

How else could he mistake Bhima for Draupadi? His performance is excellent as he manages to be likeable and hateful. I was cheering when he got his just deserts.

Relangi Venkata Ramaiah (a.k.a the ‘Clap Your Hands Behind Your Back guy’ from Mayabazar) is lots of fun as the pompous, cowardly but endearing Uttarakumar. He has delusions of being a great warrior and leader, and his preening and posturing amuses me as much as it does the Pandavas. He is followed around by his attendants, one of whom is Allu Ramalingaiah with perfect but unobtrusive comic timing. Uttarakumar is nice to his sister, and never gets angry or mean with the cooks despite their unfortunate comedic tendencies, so I like him.

L Vijayalakshmi is perfect as his sister Uttara. I really enjoy watching her dance and she has a sprightly, flirty, quality that enhances the role. She and Abhimanyu have a romantic subplot but really her purpose seems to be dancing and being decorative. This is only the third film I have seen her in, and I hope to find a few more.

The songs (original music by Susarla Dakshinamurthi) blend into the story and I wish they had been subtitled, as often they are used for exposition or introductions. The dancing is lovely, and the sets and costumes are opulent.  The decorations are extravagant and yet allow the performers to be the focal point. It’s also a ripping good story, and the pace of the direction matches the tempo of the drama to perfection. It’s just gorgeous.

4 ½ stars! (a small deduction for too many squeaky comedy cooks in the kitchen)

Heather says: Narthanasala is just delightful to watch. The film’s all star cast are excellent and the sets and costumes are fabulous. Since I’m not very sure about all the characters in this part of the Mahabharata, I really appreciate the opening scenes where everyone introduces themselves and explains who they are, the alias they are going to assume and what they are going to do for their time in exile. Very helpful.

The stand out performance for me is by NTR. He is excellent as Arjuna in the film’s opening scenes and his transformation into the eunuch dancing teacher Bruhannala is brilliant. It’s not just the delivery of his lines or his posture, but his whole demeanour which changes, and he is wonderfully feminine. He also has the best costumes and totally awesome eyelashes! This looked like such a fun role to play and NTR had the right amount of playfulness and hauteur to make it work.

Savitri is as beautiful as ever although I was a little confused about her character as Malini. Since they were supposed to be in hiding it seemed rather odd that she would say that she had 5 husbands and needed shelter for a year. Surely that gave the game away as to who she really was? It didn’t seem to be a requirement of their exile since none of the other characters seemed to reveal quite as much about their identity. However, I only have a very limited knowledge of the Mahabharata, so this could just be an essential part of the original. The film drags a little in the middle while waiting for Draupadi’s rescue from the funeral pyre, but the previous scene with Bhima in drag pretending to be Malini was excellent. Dandamudi Rajagopal is very good in his portrayal of Bhima/Valala and as a professional wrestler he certainly looks the part. Unlike Temple, I love the minions in his kitchen who I think are really very funny, always fighting and squabbling and behaving more like troublesome children. The comedy with Uttarakumar is very well done as well, in particular the scenes with Arjuna when he goes out to fight the Kauravas

The dancing is lovely and although the fight scenes were quite stylised they are enjoyable to watch. I loved this line from the battle between the Kauravas and Arjuna towards the end “He greets the elders with his arrows. That is what makes him so adorable!” And NTR was! I really enjoyed this film – 4 ½ stars.

SP Parasuram

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My DVD collection has grown more through whim and serendipity than any clear acquisition strategy, and I don’t always come up with gold. This is not a quality film. It probably should be something I refer to as a guilty pleasure, but I feel no guilt! I just love it for its stars, the songs, the outfits, the action, the insane plot twists and the sheer style.

The villain of the piece (played by Sharat Saxena) makes, of all things, snuff films. I really wasn’t expecting that.

We have two girls drugged and abducted (one raped, both murdered), a confrontation between police and the murderer/rapist/blue film talent (Mahesh Anand seen  here in his fluffy pink dressing gown) and a further show down between SP Parasuram (Chiranjeevi) and Mahesh Anand resulting in the criminal being rendered comatose before the onlookers send Chiru on his way with a polite round of applause and he revs them up about social justice and eliminating corruption. That takes care of the first breathless 10 minutes. And the level of happenings rarely drops for the rest of the film.

SP Ram Parasuram is the righteous cop with a wicked temper, and our hero. Sri Devi is Kumari, a petty con artist and thief. When Kumari is arrested, she spins a colourful tale to escape her cell. Luckily for us, the design team were on fire when they came up with this!

Ram lives with his father, brother and sister in a fabulously decorated mansion and seems to be the bossy one in the family. Kumari breaks in to steal from her persecutor, and perhaps to get an eyeful of this:

Her outfits are also quite eyecatching.

I love this song mostly because I get to see Chiru wearing a Koala print jumper. Maybe he was thinking about his Australian fan base or maybe it’s all the wardrobe guy could find.  The ankle boots, black socks and high baggy pants are not so pleasing, but it was the 90s…And Sri Devi didn’t fare any better.

The romance and action intersect when the blue film gang kidnap Kumari who escapes and runs into the only man she can trust. She can identify the gang so there is a lot of interest in shutting her up. A murder attempt renders her blind and temporarily safe as a blind woman is not perceived as a threat. If only they knew as much as I do about incredible filmi medicine they wouldn’t be so sanguine! What with providing security and seeing her and her orphans, Chiru falls under Sri Devi’s spell and they marry. It’s a quick process, as she is still bandaged around her head on the wedding day.

There are double crosses and betrayals all over the place, and a hefty dollop of tension as characters come so close to their doom and yet don’t quite succumb. A corrupt subordinate with a grudge (Devaraj as the sleazy Rayappa) gains advancement and Ram has to put duty ahead of personal desire. His trials don’t end there, but our hero is indomitable, using his precise manners as a weapon. Chiru almost draws blood just with the word ‘Sir’. Circumstances are manipulated to humiliate and undermine him but Parasuram never falters in his dedication although his temper is put to the test. There is some joy in his life as his marriage to Kumari is clearly happy and loving. But joy can be turned to pain and of course the baddies have another shot at eliminating the one witness that could potentially destroy them.

A poisoning attempt (spoiler – it’s unsuccessful), miraculous surgery and a the presence of a gang member in the household keep the drama dialled up to HIGH.

There is also a fabulous dishooming with a shoe when Parasuram is pushed too far. The final blood sweat and tear soaked bone-snapping showdown involves a runaway train and an impressive array of stuntmen flying through the air crying ‘Heeeaaaargh’. So much happens in this film!

I love Chiranjeevi and Sri Devi so seeing them together is just wonderful. I have no idea if they got along in real life, but they make a beautiful screen couple. The songs look fabulous and they both have such verve in their dancing. The relationship between Parasuram and Kumari is very affectionate and warm, and they are a lot of fun in some of their romantic and domestic scenes. The Paruchuri brothers dialogues strike the right note for this couple. Chiru is just the perfect hero for this kind of film and once again he gives an energised and committed performance. He plays the dramatic scenes with authority but also dives into the silliness in the dance scenes with some outrageous flirting faces. Sri Devi does much more than sit around and look pretty as she also enacts some pivotal scenes. She has great expression in her face and body language and the emotional range of Kumari’s character gives her ample opportunity to show off all her skills. Her charisma more than stands up to Chiru’s and the story feels quite balanced and the characters more fleshed out for having two strong performers at the core.

Brahmi occupies an unnecessary comedy sideplot but doesn’t take up too much time that could be better spent. The supporting cast do the needful, and Devaraj was certainly successful in being sleazy and hateful. Allu Ramalingaiah has a small role as a comedy policeman, and makes an impression in a fun scene with Sri Devi. I’ve seen more of Mahesh Anand than I wanted to (you only got the screencap WITH the dressing gown) but he was very effective as a bad bad man.

The MM Keeravani soundtrack suits the mood and stands up to the onslaught of visual delights. The production values are all up there on screen in stars, sequins and stunts.

This is a film that requires you to strap yourself in and just go with it. I love it and give it 4 and ½ stars!