Tag Archives: Kannada Prabhakar

Rakshasudu (1986)

Posted on by

Rakshasudu is all stops out mass from A Kodandarami Reddy. Chiru is The Nameless Hero, there are many people known by initials only, and you can’t go past his back up team of Nagababu, Suhasini, Radha and Sumalata. Evildoers beware!

A woman (Annapurna) goes into labour in an orphanage or children’s home. The unscrupulous owner (Allu Ramalingaiah) steals and sells her baby boy to a beggar who uses the kid to augment his begging routine. He is not a loving father figure, and physically abuses the child. The kid fights back, demanding to know where his real parents are, and one day finds himself sold and on the way to a mysterious island where he will work as a slave.

The nameless child grows up to be Chiranjeevi. In due course Chiru escapes the island, along with his bestie Simham (Nagendra babu) and an excellent dog. He goes to the orphanage and demands to know where his mother is. Allu Ramalingaiah asks for a large sum of money in return, and Chiru duly goes to steal it. But he is caught by wealthy JK (Rao Gopal Rao) and they make a deal. Chiru will terminate evil VR (Kannada Prabhakar) who owns the island where he was imprisoned, and JK will help him find his mother.

JK’s relative or assistant Vani (Sumalatha) is already on task regarding VR. She helps Chiru meet Shailu (Radha). Shailu is smitten immediately but he isn’t keen except that she is VR’s daughter. This opens up a whole new avenue of revenge for Chiru. He keeps an assignation with Shailu who sends a lot of mixed signals by bouncing on her bed and thrusting at him. What is he to make of it all? As soon as is decent, he is off to her dad’s place, presumably to announce he is out for vengeance and BTW about your daughter’s virginity…It doesn’t go down well with VR. But it is kind of amusing to watch the alpha male posturing backed up by handy photos. I would have been asking where the photographer was hiding but Shailu doesn’t care. She just wants Chiranjeevi. Poor Radha. She is doomed to be second fiddle, although she does her best to be unmissable. But Chiru is not all about being menacing and duplicitous.

Sumathi (Suhasini), a teacher, is dragged by a podgy Labrador to the river bank where she finds an injured Chiru. I have no idea how he got there, but I assume VR is responsible. Romance clearly starts to bloom as he convalesces, and her students find this a riveting spectator sport. Via flashback we see how VR killed her family when they were preparing to celebrate a festival. I think only Sumathi and her policeman brother Vijay (Rajendra Prasad) survived. Suhasini and Chiranjeevi seem to have good chemistry. In amongst all the wild shenanigans she looks like she is genuinely amused at some points but then I remember. Suhasini is a great actress.

Chiru is even more fired up for revenge now he knows who killed Sumathi’s family. He loves her and wants to start dishing out the comeuppances. But first he has to deal with Shailu and her incessant groping. While I don’t really like a lot of what his character does, especially when it comes to Shailu, I like the performance a lot. This role has the full Hero gamut from wisecracking to arse kicking and a whole lot of emo wallowing and shameless flirting. And random songs.

My notes here say: Song! Snow! Sleds!

There are so many flashbacks. Chiru recognises an old man in a photo in Sumathi’s album, and that sparks a memory of when he helped a Golden Labrador with a leg injury. His kindness was repaid in spades. When Chiru ends up high above the ground, strung up between two trees, the dog climbs a tree and crawls out along a branch to untie his human. What an anipal!

And maybe it’s the same dog who is delivering his love letters. Of course, the problem with sending your love letters by Labrador courier is that you may not be communicating with who you think you are. Chiru dreams of Sumathi but Shailu asserts herself in the song fantasies, perpetuating the love triangle that nobody is aware of. Yet.

Back in the island days, Chiru’s impressive high kicking fighting style wins the affection of VR’s lady friend, Jayamala. And that leads to the gladiator mini-skirt song.

Given the robes the slaves wear, the mini dress kind of makes sense as a glammed up version of his work uniform. So if nothing else I am grateful to the film for clearing that up. But Chiru is not to be hers. Of course he winds up in a Love Parallelogram. A Triangle is simply not Mega enough!

In the present day, Shailu sees Chiranjeevi with Sumathi, and her head splits into two with a nice montage happening where her brain should be. She is devastated.

The end of the film brings closure to many of these tangled relationships. Usually by killing one of the people involved. There is a classic Masala Death Trap, needlessly complex shenanigans, feats of improbable strength, red paint galore. Who will live happily ever after? And who will be crushed by the Mega-boots?

Not a classic but an excellent ripping yarn, a great cast, and all the things I expect from Chiru. 4 stars! (a bonus half a star for making sense of the mini skirt)

Roshagadu

Posted on by

roshagadu

Roshagadu – why did no one tell me about you?

KSR Doss takes Chiru, Madhavi and Silk Smitha on a wild jaunt, and I was positively delighted to tag along. Any film that includes speedboat chases, ninjas, karate, and a hot pink sequinned cowboy suit has a good chance at winning me over. Add some feisty women, amazing and hilarious action, Chiru in a double role, and I could not ask for more. Well, except for decent print quality and some subtitles.

Sikander (Chiranjeevi) is a smooth criminal with an aversion to shirts. He seems to be taking advantage of the silliness of the two local crimelords, playing Tyagu (Thyagaaraju) and Bhayankar (Kannada Prabhakar) off each other and emerging triumphant with the loot. In his spare time Sikander frolics on the beach with a bevy of lovely ladies in retro bathers and sensible hats.

I like the bit where he rolls one of them into the water so he can sunbathe in her spot. A charmer, but not a gentleman.  But did I mention he has a lair! Concealed in a temple and only accessible via a secret and overly complicated thingie! The lock mechanism appears to rely on angle of the sun or time of day, although I have no idea why and it does rather limit the usefulness of the construction. Sikander also has a secret red book hidden in a secret (but unlocked) cupboard.

Main villain Bhayankar is prone to over-elaboration and has an addiction to the double cross that is almost endearing.  Amongst his assets, he has a gang of bikers whose jackets helpfully spell out KILL. Sikander pops out of Bhayankar’s car boot mid-execution, says hi and then takes both the money and the box. He has such swag! And Bhayankar has nothing to counter him with.

Tyagu is more bumbling than Bhayankar, although his style is far more flamboyant. I became quite fond of Tyagu’s henchman in the stripey top as he looked faintly embarrassed at the ridiculous shenanigans around him, and his outfit helped me identify which gang I was looking at.

Meanwhile on a train, Miss Neelima (Silk Smitha), a club dancer gets caught up in a smuggling racket when the contraband is hidden in her makeup case. The police find the diamonds but Sikander finds the police AND the diamonds. Neelima knows he is a fake, so now she knows she once had the diamonds, she wants them, and she knows who has them. However she does show appalling judgement by doing a Faux-gyptian club number with a toga clad man who is not Chiranjeevi. Silk is funny and fiery as Neelima and I really enjoyed seeing her in a more substantial role. She tackles the action scenes with energy and grit, and while Neelima uses her charms she is not just in the story for her looks.

Sikander and all the baddies disguise themselves to attend a wedding so they can steal the jewels. The others don’t know that Sikander has formed an alliance with Neelima. She impersonates the bride and after all the double double crosses go down, she whips off her mask, wig, and saree, and the game is afoot! There is a fun sequence of keepings off with the case full of bridal bling before Sikander finally scarpers with the haul.

After a bit of mutual keyhole peeping, a skanky dance ensues (and apologies, I can only find the Hindi version of some songs online). I like that while her dress seemed vaguely improvised and towellish, she had matching suede wedges. Very organised. I couldn’t quite work out why Neelima tipped Bhayankar off about the secret book and let him in to the swanky apartment. Sikander escapes and hands off The Book to a bloke on the roadside. The respite is brief as he is shot and his car crashes, eventually plunging into the sea, rendering him Completely Dead.

Srikanth (Chiru with a different hairdo) looks just like Sikander but spends his time dancing cutesy duets with Madhavi. She is from a rich family while he and his little sister seem to be a lot less well off. Madhavi’s character doesn’t get much screen time but she is quite interesting. She seemed quite forthright with her father when he took exception to Srikanth, and she doesn’t waste a lot of time on crying or pouting. She is ready to do what needs to be done from supporting Srikanth in his goals to kicking a few of her own.

Srikanth’s sister is set upon by sleazebags who decide rape is as good a way as any to while away a rainy afternoon. She puts up a very good fight and as her bro was out looking for her anyway, Srikanth is soon on the spot. He drives a tractor through the door and then repeatedly throws the rapists through each of the remaining walls. How did this building ever stand? Srikanth is seen by Tyagu’s men (bless that stripey man for gang identification). Bhayankar’s man saw him too so everyone thinks they have a chance at getting back at Sikander.

Neelima and Srikanth end up in Bhayankar’s lair. They put the pieces together – he is missing a significant mole so cannot be Sikander, and she is actually a police officer! Then they escape by pushing some cardboard boxes out of the way. I don’t think anyone in this film nailed the functional specs for their respective lairs. Bhayankar recaptures Srikanth easily enough and kidnaps his sister too. They tie Srikanth to the hood of a jeep and make him watch as they run over his sister. He escapes and swears vengeance.

He starts boot camp under Madhavi’s loving gaze and learns karate, perfects some Jedi mind trick to shoot things without looking at them, does motorcycle tricks, horse riding, stuff. Srikanth really embraced Sikander’s style. And sets his plan in motion by performing at the night club wearing a hot pink sparkly cowboy outfit (the video should start at the beginning of the song. Have your sunglasses ready to protect against the glare!).

And just when you think that might not work, a Ninja suited goon in the audience jumps up and runs away…But why no sign of Srikanth in pursuit?

Of course. He stopped to change into appropriate duelling attire.

Tyagu and Bhayankar join forces to get rid of pesky Srikanth. They kidnap Madhavi who had the secret red book. But Srikanth and Neelima are both in hot pursuit as the police largely stand back and let the vigilantes take care of justice. Silk is all kinds of awesome as Neelima goes to rescue Madhavi, and the ladies win their freedom. Doss throws EVERYTHING into the mix, starting with the duel and then adds a dollop of vehicular vengeance and a bit of “karate”.

The trove is revealed and baddies rejoice in their pick of the bling – but then a shot rings out. After an excellent fight with lots of polystyrene props being smashed, Bhayankar and Srikanth run off to the finale. They narrowly miss the ladies who have come to rescue Srikanth. They don’t seem too fussed and take the opportunity to beat everyone to a pulp. You go girls! But that’s not all. Let me just say the Karma Bus made an appearance. And it’s a good thing Srikanth was wearing sensible leather trousers.

This is a fun film that has little substance but a lot to enjoy. B movies often had the best heroines and I really liked Madhavi and Silk and their characters, with everything staying on the right side of improbable. Chiranjeevi is in his element as both the suave thief and the righteous hero. 3 ½ stars!

Roshagadu-Come get me ladies

Jwala (1985)

Posted on by

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!