Tag Archives: Bhanupriya

Thalapathi

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Thalapathi was one of the first Tamil films I saw. It was before my ‘Southern Film Industry Addiction’, I barely knew who Rajnikanth was and had absolutely no idea about Mammootty. In fact I’d totally forgotten he was in this film until I rewatched it recently – thankfully I know much better now.

Written and directed by Mani Ratnam, Thalapathi is at heart much more of a masala film than his usual fare. It features most of the necessary ingredients: an abandoned child, perpetually teary mother, romance, brothers who don’t know they are related, the essential Amrish Puri as the villain and a significant article of clothing. Add to that plenty of action and fight scenes, great songs, and beautiful cinematography, plenty of classical references and it all adds up to a very full 2 and a half hours of cinema.

The film starts in black and white with a young unmarried girl giving birth during the festival of Bogi. The opening scenes of Kalyani’s rejection by an older woman and shots of the rural countryside serve to explain that her child has no future in such a traditional community. She puts the baby into a train in the hope that somehow someone else will give him a better life. These opening shots are some of the best in the film and it’s a shame that my copy of the DVD seems to have lost the original quality.

The colour kicks in with the year of 1987 when the baby has grown up to be Surya (Rajnikanth). He is a man with a firm belief in justice who is determined to help others in his community in any way he can. This often seems to be by beating senseless an offender and in the course of such action he ends up fatally injuring Ramana, one of Devaraj’s men. Enter Mammootty in a very well played role as the head of the local gang of rowdies, who initially threatens Surya with dire consequences if his man dies.

However when Devaraj finds out Ramana’s crimes, he arranges for Surya’s release from jail and tells him that his actions were right and just. I can’t say that I agree with his assessment but it makes Surya become his loyal Thalapathi and the two become inseparable. Lots of drama here, so time for a song break.

Surya’s charitable reputation helps to legitimise Devaraj’s rather more shady one and they soon rule the entire area, much to the displeasure of Devaraj’s rival Kalivardhan (a dubbed Amrish Puri). There is bad blood between these two and it’s inevitable that there will be a clash. However most of the story concerns Surya’s relationship with Devaraj and sadly Kalivardhan is only seen occasionally throughout the film. Amrish Puri in a really terrible pair of glasses isn’t as menacing as usual but manages to be evil enough just when it really counts.

In the course of his good works, Surya meets Subbu (Shobana), a Brahmin girl who falls in love with him. Perhaps it was the wolverine hair-style or the commanding way in which he demands her jewellery but she’s obviously quite smitten.

Her father wants nothing to do with a thug who has no idea who his parents were and rejects the match. In the middle of all this, Surya’s real mother ends up moving to the area when her legitimate son Arjun (Arvind Swamy) is appointed as a Collector. Kalyani has married a very understanding man who knows all about her first baby, although Arjun doesn’t know that he has an elder half-brother. The two brothers have a common sense of justice but in every other way are complete opposites. Arjun is a good and law-abiding man who is committed to cleaning up the town, although perhaps he should have started with the police corruption rather than take on the town rowdies. There are inevitable clashes between Surya, Devaraj and the police as Arjun tries to stop their version of law and justice in the town. And Kalivardhan is luring in the background adding in his malicious attempts to get rid of the pair as well. Finally the significant cloth comes to light but Surya refuses to give up his friendship with Devaraj despite discovering his brother.

Although there is plenty of action in the film, the main focus is on the relationship between Surya and Devaraj. Mani Ratnam has based it on the friendship between Karna and Duryodhana from the Mahabharata and there are a number of references to this story throughout the film. It starts out with Devaraj as the leader and Surya as the faithful follower, but as their friendship develops they each begin to change the other and the dynamic between the two has altered by the final scenes. Both Rajnikanth and Mammootty are both excellent and work well together to bring their friendship to life. It’s mainly in the little touches, such as the way they only have to look at each other to acknowledge their next venture.

Surya’s relationships with his mother, Subbu and others are important to the overall story but his character is defined by his strong sense of justice and unwavering support of Devaraj, no matter what. Even when Devaraj persuades him to marry Ramana’s widow Padma, Surya is unable to say no. Rajni has plenty of action scenes and is exuberant in these, but he also makes the most of his more dramatic moments. So much is conveyed in one particularly memorable scene in the temple, where both Suyra and Kalyani both look yearningly towards a train as they hear the distant whistle. They are both standing close together but neither have any idea who the other is and their obvious sadness is all the more poignant as a result.

Mammootty is more restrained in his role as Devaraj relies more on fear and his entourage rather than actual physical violence. He has Surya for all of that after all. His portrayal of the more corrupt and devious Devaraj is excellent and he brings a real sense of authority to the character. The other members of the cast are all very good in their supporting roles, especially Srividya who is convincing as the mother who can never forget the child she lost. I was surprised that she had told her husband about her first baby, but Jai Sankar brought a lot of compassion to his role as Arjun’s father and was very credible as a supportive husband and father.

The other standout feature of the film is the music by Ilaiyaraja. The sad Chinna Thayaval is beautiful and recurs as background music throughout the film. The other songs are all upbeat with some great dancing and I wasn’t surprised to see that Prabhu Deva was one of the choreographers.  The rather different Sundari Kannal is interspersed with some Samurai action and seems to be a tribute to director Akira Kurosawa. I haven’t included it here as it is very long and I’m a little concerned about the horses in some of the fight sequences but Rajni in a top knot is definitely worth a look.

The only issue I have with this film is that it is very violent in parts. The first fight scene with Ramana and the episodes of police torture are quite graphic and go on just a bit too long for me. But to counter that, the two leads are fantastic and really at their best, the music is beautiful and memorable, and it’s a very well told story. 4 stars.

Temple says: I like watching earlier Rajni films (and this is the 90s) as it reminds me just how good an actor he is, legend status aside. I have recently watched Darna Veera Suura Karna, so the story was fresh in my mind and I think this translation to modern gang empires was very effective. Deva and Surya are full of certainty and righteous power, and stride through the landscape looking larger than life. Mammootty and Rajni are brilliant and play off each other so well, and that’s a good thing as other elements of the story are underdone. Deva’s gang members were just a vague presence, and I don’t think I recall any of their names. They were just there for contrast and to portray Deva’s court of followers. The female characters are strong in concept but weak in presence apart from a couple of key scenes. Shobana was lovely as Subbu, which is all that was required of her,  and Bhanupriya gave an excellent and near silent performance as Padma. Srividya was good but her character was quite static and she didn’t do much more than weep so I was left wanting to see more from a woman who clearly had a complex situation to navigate. I admired Santosh Sivan’s artistry as he used light and camera angles to create a feeling that these men were almost forces of nature, and the landscapes were stunning. The fight scenes in the rain were lovingly filmed to capture the beauty of the splashing water and the bodies were more of a method of breaking the trajectory of the showers than the object of the scene. I don’t think it’s an overly violent film as many of the gory scenes are shown as aftermath rather than explicit or graphic scenes of how people got into that state. What was explicit was also shown to have consequences so it isn’t mindless violence either. It all fit into the relationship of Deva and his general with their warlike mentality. I don’t love the soundtrack, but I do like it well enough and thought most of the slower songs were excellent. I was ready to stick a fork in my ear at the umpteenth reprise of Chinna Thayaval but I blame Mani Ratnam for that as it was just relentless and overused. It’s a great action infused tale of loyalty and conflict, it looks stunning, and it features two of the best actors working in Indian cinema. 4 stars from me!

State Rowdy

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It is no secret that we are fans of Chiranjeevi, masala, action, dancing, convoluted stories and crazy outfits. State Rowdy fulfils many of our film wishlist items. In addition, this film is often cited as the inspiration for Pokiri/Pokkiri/Wanted.

Chiranjeevi plays Kalicharan – the local tough guy, self designated State Rowdy and goon with a heart. He systematically takes on and eliminates all other rowdies on his turf (the coastal rowdy, the Rayalaseema rowdy, the Nizam rowdy …you get the picture).

Bhanupriya plays Asha, a local girl who witnessed a murder and flees the scene. The killers know she saw them, but don’t know who she is. The SP (played by the impressive and elegant Sharada) also wants to find Asha as the murdered man is the policewoman’s husband.  And oh yes, she is the long lost daughter of… never mind. Just go with the flow!

Kali and Asha cross paths and romance sparks – especially once she gets an eyeful of his manly dance style and gold tipped boots.

The police try to find out who is kidnapping all the rowdies, and the goons plot to rid themselves of the menace who is kidnapping their men.  Meanwhile, the lovely Radha pines over her lost love Prithvi….but how is this all related?

Just to add to all this confusion we also have local crime lord Narendra Bhupati, his merry band of brothers one of whom was responsible for the murders, and local businessman and would-be CM Mankamatti Bhaskar Rao who are all searching for the eye witness for various reasons.

All paths lead back to Kalicharan. Through a series of slightly confusing but very charming flashbacks we learn of his early life as good boy Prithviraj who wore white pants and parted his hair neatly on the side. Prithvi was a promising police cadet but was apparently passed over for promotion, had a spat with his superior, and left the force. His life went off the rails and he became the scourge – Kalicharan.

Radha (played by Radha), Prithvi’s cousin and fiancee, discovers his double life and engineers an emotional confrontation between the headband and muscle shirt wearing Kalicaharan and his sari clad mother.  The truth behind his fall from grace is revealed and like all things confided in secret, becomes well known in no time at all. All parties seek to use him to gain victory and to exploit his vulnerability while he strives to achieve his goal and protect his loved ones…and keep the girls from learning of each other’s existence.   Displaying a fine sense of political fair play he accepts payment from opposing sides and splits his resources to cover both obligations. And then resumes his policing career. There are kidnappings, mistaken identities, corpse swapping, and that’s not even the tip of the iceberg.  Once again, these succeed because Chiranjeevi is believably physical and heroic.

From a heavily customised budget friendly Bond style motorbike to the thrilling conclusion, the laughs and gasps just keep coming.  The climax scenes involve a return from the dead (that corpse swapping incident), kidnapping, blackmail, a masala death trap of delightfully rickety and impractical design and a lot of explosions and crashes.  And a brilliant sequence with Chiru, trapped inside a spherical metal cage, being used as the ball in a game of car-soccer. We said this got a bit convoluted!

Chiranjeevi is in fabulous form. Even in this broadly drawn character he manages to convey some nuance and a deft comedic sense. Prithvi’s flirting with Radha is sweet and a bit awkward and a total contrast to the swaggering Kali. There is drama, emotion and romance galore and his performance hits all the right notes. He seems to be having a fine time in the action scenes, and his dancing is fabulous.  He even puts in a brief appearance as Arjuna in full gilded kit. One thing we just love is that he never seems inhibited by even the most peculiar wardrobe choices.  In fact, he looks so happy and as if this is all huge fun for him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCKRGMO077k

We must make special mention of the costumes, especially in the song sequences. Even for 1989, and allowing for flights of fantasy and a bit of a fashion time-lag between Paris and Hyderabad, there are some absolute shockers. The star cast give the songs a boost as they all throw themselves into the choreography. Bappi Lahiri does his disco thing and the songs are really catchy and fun.

The supporting cast are all solid and do what they do in every film. Sharada has credibility as the angry SP and as the grieving widow and mother. Allu Ramalingaiah plays Quotation Chakravarti, part of the comic side plot, and is very effective. We struggle with many of the comic side plots but this is fairly well integrated into the story so works better than some.

The stunts and fights are so over the top and fantastic to watch. Once again, these succeed because Chiranjeevi is Chiranjeevi. Of course good will triumph, love will find a way and justice will prevail. But we encourage you to watch the film to see how much fun the journey to a foregone conclusion can be!

Heather says:  This has to be one of the most bewildering films I have watched for some time.    The plot is incredibly convoluted and the various relationships of the characters to each other didn’t seem to be necessary for the story but just added to the confusion.  I felt that there were really two separate films rolled into one, but this did have the advantage of giving us two Chiru’s. One suave, charming and dedicated to fighting crime, and the other tough, street wise and just dedicated to fighting.  He is fantastic in both avatars, and the switch between the two is very clear and well defined.  The female leads – all three of them – deliver some very fine performances, as do the supporting cast.  While the songs themselves are great, they seemed to be oddly placed in the narrative. The really terrible (and therefore fantastic in a ‘so-bad-its-good’ way) costumes didn’t help with this sense of displacement and for me, detracted from some very good choreography.  The dancing and action scenes were of a very high standard, as we’ve come to expect from a Chiranjeevi film, but what stood out for me was the dancing of both Bhanupriya and Radha.  Both kept up with Chiru and managed to make their moves look effortless.   Despite the confusing storyline the film is great fun.  My advice is to forget about trying to understand what is happening and why, and just try to keep up with the action!  I have to say that Chiru in a uniform makes any amount of mystifying storyline watchable. And since everything works out in spectacular style by the end I would recommend this film as a must see. 4 stars from me.

Temple says: I didn’t find the film all that confusing, just unnecessarily convoluted and a bit fragmented as it relies on flashbacks to fill us in on the story. But it is immensely enjoyable as it plays around with the rowdy stereotypes and allows Chiru to be both the good boy and the dangerous ruffian. There is a common theme of justice  in many Telugu films, and a few interesting takes on what justice is. In many instances it seems that despite what the law says, if the consensus is that a good man kills a bad man, then that’s probably OK. These themes do get a work out in State Rowdy but ultimately the law is seen to triumph; albeit with some help from the invincible Chiranjeevi and the determined Sharada. In addition to the excellent acting, the director decided to unleash the full might of the wardrobe team and make sure that Prithvi and Kalicharan looked nothing alike. Some dubious, but very entertaining, outfits were the result and the backing dancers and support cast enjoy the fruits of these labours too. And the ladies didn’t fare much better. For the most part the songs were reflecting the heroines’ wishes or dreams so they didn’t have to look at all realistic or be cohesive to the narrative either. The more pertinent question would be why, if you are fantasizing about a man, would you dress him up like that in your imagination? So much shiny metallic lycra – it’s quite concerning! I was going to say “less is more” when it comes to costumes but that might be misconstrued so let’s just move on. The support cast were very good, and there were some amusing little subplots and throwaway lines in amongst all the dancing, prancing and biffo. I found this very entertaining. I like detail, and this film has lots of it! I know this might not be to everyone’s tastes, but if that is the case then I think there is something wrong with you. Chiranjeevi is just awesome as State Rowdy. I give this 4 and 1/2 stars!