Tag Archives: Brahmaji

Varudu (2010)

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Varudu

It seems to be an appropriate time to celebrate all things Allu Arjun – recent wedding anniversary, 10 years in the movie business and his upcoming birthday – so I thought I’d take a look back at Varudu. Not one of his more successful films in terms of the box office, but still one of my favourites since it not only stars Bunny, but Arya (another favourite) turns up in one of the most ridiculously over dramatic roles that I’ve seen outside of eighties Bollywood. And yet, this is a good thing! The film is overly romantic and slow to get going with a ridiculous story and dreadfully pretentious dialogue, but despite all these obvious flaws there is still a lot to enjoy in Varudu.

The opening scenes have nothing much to do with the rest of the film with Nisha (Sneha Ullal) attempting a dreadful Dhoom2-style Aishwarya Rai impression while Bunny demonstrates his skills on a motorbike and then on the basketball court. At least the rain makes Bunny’s hair look great, but otherwise it’s a clichéd hero introduction that leads into a rather disappointing song.  This is after all a Bunny film, so my expectations for excellent choreography and great dance moves are high but the first song doesn’t make it in terms of either the music or the dancing.  Thankfully though, both pick up considerably later.

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VaruduVaruduThe first half of the film describes how Sandeep (Allu Arjun) wants a traditional arranged marriage even though the initial scenes show him happily helping out an elopement by his friends and complimenting his parents on their successful love marriage.  The dialogue wants us to believe that he has just never found the right woman, although women are flinging themselves at him all the time, but these first scenes make him appear as if he’s just having too good a time to settle down and commit to one person.  However moving overseas to start work is apparently the best time to decide to get married, so Sandy happily acquiesces to his family’s suggestion that he tie the knot before he goes.

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Not content with foisting the whole decision making process onto his parents, he then insists that he wants a full traditional 5 day wedding just like his grandparents, and has no desire to even see the girl is he is to marry. In fact he reminds me more of a sixteen year old girl with his declarations about love and excitement about a five day wedding rather than a mature and sensible man about to head off to start work in the US.  However this is the least ridiculous part of the story (really!) and the build up to the wedding is actually rather sweet.  Sandeep has a good relationship with his mother (Suhasini) and father (Ashish Vidyarthi) and their scenes together, and those with the rest of the family feel comfortable and generally realistic.  There is a brief appearance by Brahmi as Dilip Raja, a marriage broker, but otherwise Varudu is fairly comedy uncle free with only a brief appearance by Ali later during the wedding song.

The various wedding ceremonies, including the wonderfully colourful parade of the groom to the bride’s family, are pictured during a song.  It’s rather long, but definitely well worth a watch for an insight into the wedding preparations and rituals. Besides which there is possibly the best form of wedding transport and some great costumes in the crowd as everything gears up for the big day.

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The costumes and jewellery for the wedding scene are superb even though the scenery relies heavily on CGI.  We get to see the bride at the same time as Sandeep and although Deepthi (Bhanu Sri Mehra) doesn’t get very much screen-time (and even less dialogue), she does get some amazingly beautiful costumes. Although she is perhaps still just a little upstaged by Bunny in this song.

After all the romance and slow development of the first hour culminating in the the dream wedding, there is a sudden change of pace in the second half.   There is a disaster at the ceremony just before Sandeep ties the sacred thread and in the ensuing confusion the bride goes missing.  Within the space of 3 minutes there is classic hero-style running, a bike chase (kudos to the wardrobe department as Bunny never loses his wedding turban) and an exploding petrol truck.  It only gets more insane from here.

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Sandeep goes in search of Deepthi aided by the police force, but even with the top brass Comissioner Ahmed Khan (Nasser), Inspector Umesh Gupta (Brahmaji) and the Home Minister (Sayaji Shinde) involved they don’t appear to be making any headway.  Sandeep has more luck chasing random black cars and dodging truck drivers who seem to be on a mission to drive him off the hunt.  Finally his persistence pays off and there is a brief flashback to explain who has Deepthi and why.  Not that it makes any sense, particularly when this is the villain’s introduction.

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Arya is Diwaker, one half of the ‘Kings from Hell’ brothers, and completely immersed in his life of drama as he lives out his psychotic fantasies cheerily calling out his catchphrase ‘Evil Power’ at random moments to emphasize his craziness.  From his introduction the film careers even more off the rails as Arya hams it up for all he is worth as Diwaker and Sandeep declares his undying love for a girl he has barely met in some incredibly corny dialogue.  There are a few good moments though.  Sandeep proclaims (he doesn’t do anything as mundane as just speak by this stage) that Deepthi is his wife no matter what has happened to her during her ordeal.  It’s a more modern touch that makes Sandeep’s character more appealing, although the shocked reactions of the family are rather less attractive.  There are also some great chase sequences including some wonderful filmi medical magic and a ‘prisoner exchange’ on a bridge which allows director Gunasekhar to throw in lots of split screen moments.  The final showdown is completely over the top and utterly nonsensical, but since it involves a shirtless Bunny and Arya fighting on top of giant cooling towers I’m not complaining!

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New heroine Bhanu Sri Mehra doesn’t really get much of a chance to make an impact.  Her role is largely non-speaking and even when she does have something to say it tends to be a repetition of something Sandeep has earlier declaimed.  I do like that she made an attempt to fight back when abducted, but quite frankly I’m disappointed that in all her time locked in a room she hadn’t made any attempt to barricade the door or fashion a better weapon.  But at least she doesn’t just sit and whine and the make-up team did a good job making her look haggard after her experiences. The rest of the cast are all capable and do well in their roles, but ultimately the film is all about Bunny, and to a lesser extent Arya, so no-one else really gets much of a look in.

The music by Mani Sharma does improve after the first song and overall I like the soundtrack.  This song is my favourite, partly due to good choreography but also, who can resist random bouncing?  Plus I admire Bunny’s dedication in dancing even when he is injured, seen here with his hand in a rather excellently bedazzled cast.

Varadu is self-indulgent, unashamedly melodramatic and has massive plot holes big enough to swallow a small planetoid.  But despite that it’s heaps of fun and let’s be honest, I’m shallow enough to admit that Bunny and Arya are the major reasons why I enjoy this film.  I’d love to watch some out-takes as I’m quite sure they struggled to keep their faces straight for most of their scenes together.  I give Varudu 2 stars for the story but a full 5 stars for ensuring both Bunny and Arya spent as much time as possible without their shirts!

Nijam

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Nijam_title

Nijam (Truth) is an odd film. It is far too long, contains some truly repellent characters and the story requires maximum elasticity from your Disbelief Suspenders. And yet I find it draws me in. Produced, written and directed by Teja, Nijam deals with truth, corruption and the eternal Telugu film question of justice. Nijam won several awards and there were a few good films released in 2003 so I guess this really resonated with the audiences.

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Mahesh Babu is Rama, a shy studious weakling with no visible heroic qualities (apart from being fair skinned and irresistible to women). He idolises his fireman father (Ranganath) but it is the women in his life who really mould Rama’s character. His mother (Rameshwari) is a strong willed and protective woman.  His neighbour Janaki (Rakshita) is also strong willed and is determined to get her hands on Rama. The first 90 minutes or is just preamble to the real crux of the story and could have been condensed considerably. Following a run in with local heavy Devudu (Gopichand), Venkateswarlu is framed for murder. He is innocent but the police, especially Brahmaji, are corrupt and the process does not favour the truth.  Rama has to pay bribes just to visit his father and is asked for payment by a witness who could clear his dad. Brahmaji lets Devudu in the cell to take his revenge on Venkateswarlu and things start to go crazy. Rama discovers his father has been injured and tries to get him out of jail. At every turn people ask for bribes to do what is right or, even worse, just to do their job. Rama runs from pillar to post trying to raise the money he needs in time to save his father. Brahmaji colludes in an elaborate scheme to ensure Venkateswarlu dies outside of the jail. Rama is devastated by his father’s death but his mother is enraged. She decides her son will take revenge on those who lied and starts him on a training montage to build his strength and skills. She helps him choose targets in the same way she used to help with his schoolwork. Rameshwari accompanies him on missions and is active in taking vengeance. Things come to a head when Rama and his ma come to the attention of CBI officer (Prakash Raj) and the unhinged and homicidal Devudu.

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Rama is a challenging character as he spends half the film being a nerdy nobody and then becomes an invincible hero. Mahesh shows the transition well although I struggle to believe he was as affronted by the sight of a female ankle as his gasping and shrieking was intended to convey. He was vulnerable and a bit pathetic as Rama, while there were glimpses of a more aggressive side under his peaceful exterior. He modified his body language and posture as well as his voice to project that less threatening image. Early scenes are often played for laughs, a strong contrast to what is to come. There is a steep trajectory from a scuffle at the police station to the final bloody conflict where he uses anything and everything at his disposal. Mahesh certainly has the intensity to make it seem that this transformation could happen. Rama is firmly a mummy’s boy and that relationship was sustained, adding another dimension to the hero-on-a-mission.

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Rameshwari is very good as the mother. She doesn’t take nonsense from anyone, but she had a softer side too. There were some really nice domestic moments in the first half of the film. As soon as her husband dies she starts to think of how she can continue to live in the world that has so betrayed her family. The answer is to change the world and she gets on task immediately. This is such an unhealthy parent child relationship but the film wants us to understand that they were forced to become serial killers because corrupt society and the law did not allow them to remain innocent. She never repents of her actions but is worried about how it might impact her beloved son. The film ends with her being congratulated for being a righteous woman and building the future of the nation. A future built on serial killer vigilantes? Oh well, as long as they only kill the bad people…

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Rakshita was not bad but she had a thankless and poorly written role. I’ve read several reviews that think Janakis’s harassment of Rama is some manifestation of a woman owning her sexuality and should be celebrated. Some of those reviewers would be the first to cry ‘creepy/rapey/stalker’ when a male character behaves in the same way so I am not sure why they think this is a good thing. The whole drawn out gag with her pressing her breasts against Rama and teasing him with her newspaper padding went on for far too long. She does get a few good lines and I liked that she was unafraid, but I’m not sure if that was bravery or lack of self awareness. This song (which I could only find online in the Tamil version) is quite amusing though as Rama rebukes Janaki for behaving as though he is hers for the taking.

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

I eventually warmed a little to Janaki a little. She stops just being irritating and does some practical and smart things which was a relief. While I like seeing a heroine with more to do than look pretty this is not really a character I want to see more of.

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Gopichand is over the top yet effective as psycho Devudu who believes he is a god. He killed his boss Sidda Reddy (Jayaprakash Reddy) because Reddy took Devudu’s girl Malli (Raasi). He killed Venkateswarlu because Malli’s brother was accidentally killed in their confrontation. When he wasn’t getting all hands on with Malli he killed and killed and killed. Gopichand really goes for it boots and all, and Devudu creates some of the most striking visuals as his mania incorporates religious motifs.

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Malli is his equal in murderous intent and has no qualms about sticking a knife into Rama when the chance presents. She is another of the driving forces in Nijam – the women who decide who and what must be punished.

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Prakash Raj is the honest and competent police officer set to track down the mystery serial killer. Nobody does authoritarian with heart of gold as well as Prakash Raj. His character is a voice of sanity and reason, but then makes a decision that is totally at odds with his stated goals of upholding the law. Justice seems to be about intent and not actions.

The design of Nijam is one of its strengths. The houses and local markets all look realistic enough and the big set pieces for songs and fights are well shot. Red is a significant colour and not always as a tide of blood washing across the screen.  Red can be the blessing of vermillion or the pain of chilli powder in a wound. It’s all quite intense.

Nijam_a metaphorical snake perhaps

The songs often seemed out of place, especially once the death toll started to rise. The flirty duets gave way to more emotionally loaded songs but they interrupt the flow and slow the film down even more. The songs are shared out among the cast so everyone gets a chance to strut their stuff.

The pace is so slow it often feels like the story is happening in real time. It’s not a film I rewatch often but I think this is one of Mahesh’s stronger performances and more unusual roles. Teja just needed a bit more discipline when it came to editing and trimming down his screenplay. As a plus,  it does have strong female characters – I just don’t like them very much. 3 stars!

Choodalani Vundi

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Time for some Chiru masala! Choodalani Vundi has a little bit of everything but mainly has a lot of Chiranjeevi. It’s very much his film the whole way through as he fights and dances his way through the streets of Hyderabad, Kolkata and even spends some time in the jungle. Since it’s an unsubtitled DVD I missed a lot of the humour, but could pick the comedy from the gleam in Chiru’s eyes and Soundarya’s excellent reactions. The usual suspects form the support cast as Brahmi and M.S. Narayana pop up to add some slapstick and Prakash Raj plays the villain of the story in a truly terrible wig. But be warned there is also a small child who is continually terrorised every time he appears on screen (which thankfully isn’t too often) and I just hope the child actor wasn’t scarred for life as a result. The film opens with Ramakrishna (Chiranjeevi) arriving in Kolkata. We know we are in Kolkata because there are trams, wonderful old Colonial style buildings and of course Howrah Bridge – we even get a song about it.

With the help of some friendly locals, Ramakrishna finds a chawl which has a few Telugu speaking inhabitants. The Ravindra apartments seem to be rather ineptly managed by Brahmi and M.S. Narayana and after some friendly banter, they rent out a room to Ramakrishna. However the room has the unfortunate problem of already being occupied by Padmavathi (Soundarya) and she’s not inclined to share. But with a little application of Ramakrishna’s charm, the two seem to reach an agreement and Ramakrishna is free to deal with the reason he came to Calcutta in the first place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ramakrishna seems to be looking for someone although he doesn’t seem to be having much success until the day a group of thugs come to shake down the chawl residents. In what seems a lucky break Ramakrishna recognitions one of the gang (Brahmaji) but despite some nifty moves doesn’t manage to catch him in a chase through the streets of Kolkata. That turns out to be rather unfortunate as Brahmaji comes back with a few more mates and in the resulting brawl Ramakrishna is seriously injured. Perfect time for a flashback then. Back in time, and presumably back in Andhra Pradesh, Ramakrishna spots Priya (Anjala Zaveri) on a train and naturally it’s love at first sight. She doesn’t seem to mind his attentions and when he stalks follows her to the next station even seems glad to see him.

 

 

 

 

 

I’m not totally clear on why Priya suddenly ends up running down the platform with a gang of thugs chasing her at this point, but it probably doesn’t really matter. Naturally Ramakrishna is on hand to provide a rescue on the back of his trusty motorbike and Priya seems to have no worries about trusting a stalker she has only just met rather than the gang of what turn out to be her father’s men. Mahendra (Prakash Raj), the local don, has plans for his daughter and they quite definitely don’t involve Ramakrishna, so he packs a few SUV’s with machete waving thugs and sends them off in pursuit of Ramakrishna and Priya. This eventually leads to a wonderfully dramatic Thelma and Louise inspired leap from a cliff into the ocean which seems to dispose of our couple in a rather final fashion.

 

 

 

 

 

Somewhat surprisingly then, the next scene shows Ramakrishna and Priya living happily in the jungle with their young son, where they spend their days rescuing animals, swimming in their back-yard rock pool and socialising with the natives. There is some Lion King inspired cartoon animation as they sing and dance around the forest but that’s a clue that something bad is about to happen.

And I don’t just mean the animated dancing lions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mahendra somehow manages to track the couple down (although how he even knew they were alive a mystery), and he turns up in a helicopter to take his daughter back. The action ramps up several notches as Ramakrishna tries to rescue first his wife, and then his son from the clutches of Mahendra. Ramakrishna is of course an unstoppable one-man army but Priya has some unexpected talents as well. Which do you think is faster – the speeding bullet or Priya?

I’ll give you a clue -it’s not the bullet!

Gunasekhar seems to have thrown almost everything into this film to make sure there is something for everyone. The cartoon characters almost fooled me into thinking it was even child friendly but the subsequent events quite definitely aren’t. But there are lots of chase sequences – on foot, motorbikes, cars, buses, jeeps and even a jeep vs truck chase although stealing a truck that is emblazoned with the words ‘danger – explosives’ does seem to be just asking for trouble and is perhaps just a little bit of overkill. The first half is beautifully shot around Kolkata and focuses on the lives of the people in the apartments. It feels warm and homely and Chiranjeevi and Soundarya have good chemistry in their scenes together. Although we later learn that Ramakrishna is a desperate man searching for his son, this part of the film seems very upbeat and generally happy.

The second half is less successful as Anjali Zaveri seems to spend a lot of time under waterfalls, seductively draping herself around pools, but otherwise doesn’t have much to do. The problem is that there just isn’t much substance to the romance between Ramakrishna and Priya. Their relationship moves very quickly from promising first glances at the train station to very domestic scenes of Ramakrishna chopping wood and Priya looking after a toddler. The romancing in between is confined to one song and those waterfall moments, none of which have much sparkage happening so it’s almost a relief when Mahendra turns up to steal Priya back.

 

 

 

 

 

Gunasekhar is much better with action and the various chase sequences and the fight scenes work well. The music by Mani Sharma is generally good and Chiru looks amazing in the songs. The best are those with Soundarya although the choice of backing dancers in this one does seem a little odd. Rather stocky men wearing Lycra cut-off tops with bare mid-riffs wouldn’t have been my choice, but luckily it’s hard to take my eyes off Chiru dancing so I can manage to ignore those wobbling hairy stomachs! (You have been warned!)

Prakash Raj seemed to be trying a little too hard to be evil at times but once past all the posturing his treatment of his daughter and grandson is suitably chilling and the climax scene with Chiru is excellent. Prakash Bad is always a treat to watch even with all the gun waving and declarations, and I did appreciate that when stressed he chose to sit right underneath a large chandelier rather than anywhere more plebeian. Such style!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Choodalani Vundi is a by-the-numbers masala film. It has the requisite number of songs and fight scenes, and in between there is a mixture of comedy and romance as required by Telugu Filmi Masala Law. And that’s not such a bad thing. The various elements are woven together well and it’s an entertaining watch even if it doesn’t really break any new ground. Chiru is the drawcard, but the rest of the cast provide able support and the change of scenery to Kolkata is refreshing. Plus lots and lots of Chiru screentime! 3 ½ stars.