Tag Archives: Prakash Raj

Sri Anjaneyam

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Sri Anjaneyam is one of those films that I find it hard to make up my mind about. There are a lot of things I enjoy; it has great special effects, an interesting storyline and excellent performances by Nitin and Arjun. But I really don’t like Charmy’s character in this at all, and I find the whole romance sub-plot unnecessary and irritating. Re-watching it for this review, I found that it’s perhaps growing on me and on balance there is more to like than not. But I still wish Krishna Vamshi had left the romance out.

The opening credits have some beautiful pictures which show scenes from Lord Hanuman’s part in the Ramayana.

The film starts, as many Telugu films do, with Prakash Raj. He’s a civil engineer who has come to the drought strickenvillage of Ramapuramto build a dam which should solve the area’s water woes. But he meets with opposition from a local with political aspirations who organises protests and a legal challenge to stop the project. Brahmam is annoyed that he hasn’t got control of the project himself, and thinks that the dam will allow the villagers to become wealthy and independent from him. I love the model below which comes complete with water and gates to change the flow – no wonder Prakash Raj looks happy.

Finally Brahmam sends his brother (who goes by the rather unlikely name of Tarzan), to kill the engineer and his wife. Tarzan isn’t aware that the couple have a son and as a result he is overlooked by the thugs. Alone on a rainy night, the young boy is led to the local temple by a helpful monkey, and takes refuge there. The priest and the villagers take it on themselves to look after him and he grows up devoted to Lord Anjaneya, leading to the villagers calling him Anji.

He’s very devout and grateful to the people of the village, spending his time between helping the priest in the temple, running errands for the villagers and worshiping his ‘boss’ Lord Anjaneya. The story has an almost fairy tale effect in these scenes as the colours are bright and initially Anji’s character is quite simplistic as a spiritual man who is lives to serve to his God.

Anji is a target for the local trouble makers, but he has a stalwart defender in the form of his childhood friend Pardhu. She’s not afraid of a fight and threatens anyone who tries to hurt Anji. When he saves her from a snake bite, she falls in love with him and puts a lot of effort into her campaign to ensure he marries her. Her attempts are probably why Anji looks horrified every time he sees her and runs quickly in the opposite direction. This whole side plot with Pardhu is the part that I don’t like. I think her character is supposed to be feisty and independent but she comes across as an over powering bully and her attempts to attract Anji are quite repulsive. She has a song during which she rolls around very unattractively in mud and while there are a few good moments they are few and far between. I usually like Charmy and I think she is a good actress, so I find it disappointing that her character here is so annoying and has some really terrible lines.

Meanwhile, Brahmam is still scheming and conspires with an evil magician to get rid of his political rival. He discovers a potential source of wealth underneath the local temple and immediately starts planning a way to get rid of the priest and demolish the temple.  However, he has reckoned without Anji, who has supreme confidence that Lord Anjaneya is already on the case and will once again sort out Lord Rama’s problems. His confidence is well placed as Lord Anjaneya does turn up although his aid is more to point Anji in the right direction to fulfil his fathers dream.

There are some really good special effects in this film and a few that don’t work quite so well. But they do make the appearance of Lord Anjaneya quite spectacular, and there is one particularly good sequence when he takes over a statue to fight off the local thugs.

The film develops slowly in the first half, but the pace picks up when Lord Anjaneya (Arjun) arrives. Arjun excels in his role and walks as if he had a tail, scratches perpetually and absentmindedly, and adds in some authentic shrieks and noises as he advises Anji.  He also has the ability to pass on some of his super strength, both of body and mind, which enables Anji to fight Brahmam’s men successfully. The rapport between Anji and his mentor is the best part of the film and the two actors work together very well to bring their relationship to life. Lord Anjaneya is very mischievous and there are some lovely comedic moments amongst the more serious and spiritual advice.

Nitin looks young and innocent as Anji which fits with the character’s spiritual side very well. I could also appreciate his horrified looks every time he ran into Pardhu as I felt much the same. As his character grew in the film Nitin showed an increase in Anji’s confidence while still maintaining his simplicity and this worked very well. Anji was charming and also goofy and funny enough to be a very watchable character.

The various actors who played Brahmam, the evil magician and assorted thugs were all good in their roles. The demon summoned by the magician was one of the special effects that didn’t really work, but the magician himself was quite evil enough to compensate. Interestingly Tarzan was shown to have a conscience and told his brother that all his bad deeds were the reason behind his miserable life. I thought this was a different approach, and helped to explain the conversion of the rowdies at the end of the film.

The story is one of good versus evil both spiritually with the evil magician and his demon against Lord Anjaneya and physically with Brahmam and his thugs against the priest and Anji. But there is also a coming of age part to the story as Anji decides to take on his father’s dam project. I must admit that there seemed to be plenty of water in the village and it was really quite green so a dam didn’t seem to be terribly necessary, but perhaps they’d just had a really good rainfall that year. Other plus points to the film are the wonderful colours and cinematography which, along with the special effects, make it a beautiful film to watch. The music by Mani Sharma is based on chants and this blends in very well to the film. The more modern duets don’t work quite as well but this one is very pretty.

The film is worth watching for the excellent performance by Arjun and his interaction with Nitin. And if like me you don’t like the romance, it’s easy to fast forward past those sections. Generally an enjoyable watch, but could have been better. 3 ½ stars

Temple says: This is a muddle of a film that ends up being an unsatisfying venture. Anji (Nitin) is a holy innocent – a simple man who finds his happiness and strength in his faith, and views his life as a blessing given by god. He has a childlike naivete but also the adamant strength that an uncomplicated resolve can bestow. Pardhu (Charme) didn’t strike me as a real bully. I felt she was also quite childlike, getting by on bluster and clearly being allowed to indulge in her histrionics by people like the smitten local rowdy rather than having any real force to exert. Certainly when a bit of dishoom would have been useful she was firmly on the sidelines.

The acting style was quite cartoonish and upbeat, the visual effects were mostly aimed at younger viewers and this had a family friendly feel initially. It reminded me a little of Krishna Vamsi’s earlier ‘Murari’ but with a more overt devotional aspect.

So I am mystified by the decision to add a highly sexualised and out of place relationship (I can’t call it a romance) track. Pardhu was a bit freaked out by her reaction to Anji sucking snake venom from her chest, and he was horrified by her and her girl germs. These two childlike characters were then placed in songs where Charme had to thrust her scantily clad groin into a stream of pouring milk, roll in mud and so forth. I’m very pleased I’m not one of the parents who had to answer the question ‘Mummy what is that lady doing? And where are her pants?’. When Pardhu suddenly started obsessing about Anji, her relatives said they would help her to tie him to a tree, take his pants and leave her to rape him. This advice horrified her.  It made no sense in terms of their characters and really didn’t work in the overall tone of the film.

The costume designers worked hard for the songs and certainly put the F back in Fugly. It was disappointing again as the rest of the film was quite beautiful, and the cinematography made the most of the lovely temple and village scenery. The other major let down was Nitin. He needed more spontaneity in his expressions rather than stop-think-react-pull a face as it all felt a bit tired, and like I was watching the 17th take of some shots. The story itself needed work – the dramatic aspect of the dam scheme and the murders kept getting sidelined and then would come back then fade out again.

I agree with Heather that Arjun is very good as Sri Anjaneyam and he gave the scenes with Nitin some much needed energy. He showed his confusion at learning to act human, and brought mischief and compassion to his character. Charme did all she could with a ridiculous role.  Prakash Raj was seen all too briefly, but made a great impression with his excellent use of props and his commitment to dying a memorable death.

I can’t recommend the film as there are too many things I didn’t enjoy. You know it’s bad when I have so many things to complain about I can’t even be bothered mentioning the dreaded Comic Side Plot. 2 ½ stars.

Badrinath

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The great thing about an Adventure without Subtitles when Allu Arjun stars is knowing that no matter what, the dancing will be awesome.  But there is so much more to enjoy in Badrinath, and we had a great time.

The plot, for what it’s worth, can be summed up as follows. Prakash Raj is a guru who trains young boys to defend temples in the major holy cities of India. His school is located high in the mountains, and the scenery and the sets are nothing short of spectacular. Allu Arjun is Badri, who is assigned to protect Badrinath. Badri has a special relationship with the place, amazing sword and fighting skills, a strong faith in god and his guru, and is earmarked to take over the training camp. Tamanna is Alaknanda, a very pretty atheist who lost her faith after seeing her parents accidentally catch fire and die at a pooja. Badri and Alaknanda eventually fall in love, then the bad guys turn up to kidnap her. Will Badri desert his post, anger his guru and rescue his love? So much drama!

This is a vehicle for Bunny and, as expected, he excels in the dancing and fighting scenes. We had questioned the efficacy of an Indian Samurai when pitted against men with guns, but that question was put to rest. You need arms attached to your body to pull a trigger. Swords win! The fight scenes were cool, and it looked like someone may have been inspired by games where each set of bad guys has a particular set of weapons. So once the guys with sickles are defeated, the next batch has axes and so on. It isn’t all gore and anger though; there is room for what our friend calls Funny Bunny and he is joyful in the dances. He does an excellent wet shirt, and even wears a Chiranjeevi inspired silver cape in one song! This pleased us greatly.

Tamanna is a beautiful girl, and she can act and dance. She more or less keeps up with Bunny, and her facial expressions when she dances are great. Alaknanda is rarely more than a sketch, a pretty face on the sidelines, and sadly it seems that she discovers faith and love only after Badri slaps her. She also discovers more appropriate clothing. (And she had been spectacularly rude and stupid in the lead up to the slap). There is a fun moment when she keeps pretending to slip so she can fling herself on Badri’s manly chest and cop a feel. That seemed perfectly sensible so we decided we liked her a lot. Her subplot involving abduction by evil relatives and an attempt at forcing her to marry could have been cut back without diminishing the idea of the damsel in distress. Tamanna was very good in 100% Love, and lovely in Badrinath, so we hope more substantial roles come her way.

Alaknanda had the best imagination. Most of the songs were her dreams and she spared no effort in dressing Bunny up and giving every single backing dancer the most amazing outfits as well.

On the subject of wardrobe, this is what Badri wore as his going into town outfit so there are arguments for and against him choosing his own clothes.

Prakash Raj is excellent as the guru. He gets to do pretend martial artsy stuff, levitate, growl at people and also use his misty eyes of love. His character is the cause of Badri’s conflict as he demands the young man be sworn in as his replacement, and thus swear off marriage and women. He probably should have thought that through a bit more.  But we could rely on him to do the right thing when it counted and all was well between the master and disciple.

The Comedy Sideplot was over represented by MS Narayana, Venu Madhav , Master Bharath and Brahmi among others. Too many! And took up at least 30 minutes that could have been condensed or cut. Brahmi was fun, and the crowd went wild for him, but it was basically the same fleecing the pilgrims shtick he did in Indra. We guess that was a deliberate reference. The supporting cast was full of familiar faces, all of whom do the thing they do so well. We think the Allu family pug made an appearance too so if Ice’s agent is reading this, please confirm? But in an unsubtitled film we tend not to give the support artists their full dues as we have to concentrate on the main action. And yes, there were compelling visuals adding to the distractions. We totally appreciated the backing dancers for their enthusiasm, their dancing and the way they rocked the purple and gold glittery outfits.

We did have to notice the evil family as they showed dedication to the bulk purchase of coloured contact lenses, and the matriarch wore some excellent saris.

The evil henchmen deserve a shout out. From the Pick n Mix Assorted Terrorist Stereotype Brigade to the Ninjas in Hoodies, they gave it their best, and Peter Hein and team really made them work for their money. He knows how to make chaos look elegant.

There are massive plot holes, but they aren’t an impediment to enjoying the story. There is no pretence at realism so questions of why there are never any police around or how Badri could survive the latest incident just didn’t matter. We were far more interested in why people wore some of the crazy outfits. The soundtrack is effective and enjoyable, and the songs are well placed. How well they stand up without the supporting visuals is another question.

This is an out and out entertainer that succeeds, and the audience last night certainly enjoyed it. The balance of action and ridiculous stunts with beautiful visuals and fantastic dancing is just about right. See it on a big screen if you can!

Mr Perfect

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There really is only word to describe Mr Perfect, and that is boring. That’s not just because we couldn’t understand much of the dialogue either, there was just nothing at all to keep our interest in this very predictable and slow-moving romance.

Mr Perfect starts in Sydney with Prabhas as Vicky, a computer game developer who has dreams of running his own company with his friends. Straight away there is a rather inexplicable fight in a pool with some Europeans – French? Or possibly Belgian? They certainly sounded more like Inspector Clouseau than any Australians we know. After some rather impressive ‘Man from Atlantis’ impressions by Prabhas and his jet-propelled feet the action moves on to various parts of Sydney. He and his friends spend a lot of time hanging around various landmarks but never really doing any of the work that is supposedly their dream. He goes back to India for his sister’s wedding, and meets Priya  (Kajal Aggarwal), a childhood companion. A flashback introduces the idea that Vicky needs to learn the art of compromise and explains to some extent the animosity between the two.

Over time Priya’s likeable personality wins Vicky over but he decides that he can’t possibly remove Priya from her family or her obviously happy life in India, and he won’t leave his life of aimless wandering around Sydney. Vicky keeps insisting that he will not compromise, but we don’t know what sparks these speeches as really people are only asking him to have some manners and be considerate which is hardly the end of the world. He’s such a grumpy, argumentative man who falls into fights for no reason whatsoever.  There is some attempt at comedy involving Brahmi as an uncle who is trying to get rid of Vicky, and also some funnier moments involving Master Bharath but none of it works very well. There are some good points though.  This part of the film in India was beautifully shot and there were some lovely moments with Priya and her family. The teasing and banter between Priya and Vicky is also amusing, even without understanding the dialogue, and Prabhas and Kajal have excellent chemistry.

Vicky heads back to Sydney and through the wonders of product placement meets Maggie who is his ideal partner – or so he thinks. Her family disapprove of Vicky, mainly due to his brattish and immature habit of arguing with everyone senior to him. It really made us wonder how he would ever manage to run a business successfully! There were more Europeans in Sydney – this time Dutch we think – and a stylist who really didn’t like Taapsee. This is one of the better outfits as sadly we can’t find any of the really terrible ones.

After more confrontations and more inexplicable, although very nicely choreographed fights (thanks to Peter Hein) Maggie’s father challenges Vicky in order to win his support for their marriage. At a wedding somewhere that wasn’t Sydney or India, but may possibly have been Malaysia both Maggie and Priya are present and Vicky has to decide between the two. And really that was it – most of which could have been condensed into an hour and saved us from the never-ending drama of the second half.

A word on Prabhas’ styling in the film – which was really quite terrible. But not terrible enough to be interesting. Dressed in far too many designer T’s, which looked to have come straight from the street markets of Bangkok, worn over the top of plaid shirts, this really was not the best look for him at all. He looked awkward and overdressed in the various layers especially when seen next to Kajal who looked beautiful in some lovely saris.

Overall, the whole story was predictable with far too many contrived ‘chance’ meetings and co-incidences. Prabhas character was essentially unlikable and had no convincing relationship with his family. In fact the scenes with his father (Nassar) and mother in Australia were much more reminiscent of a live-in boarder rather than an only son. At least in ‘Orange’ the hero’s decision never to compromise and to live life on his own terms blah blah blah was given a context so while you might not empathise with him, there was at least a reason. Here there was nothing – just a lot of attitude. The interactions with his friends were a little more convincing but only just. There was never any sense that he was ever going to achieve his dream of owning a company and none of them seemed to actually do anything like work.  It’s such a pity as we both like Prabhas and were so disappointed in this lacklustre venture.

Kajal was lovely as Priya but seemed to fall for Vicky just a little too quickly. Initially she seemed to be a strong character with plenty of determination and confidence but lost her backbone when she fell in love. However her character was reasonably well developed and she delivered a good performance in her role. Taapsee’s character was less interesting and suffered from some very unfortunate choices in the wardrobe department. Prakash Raj and K. Vishwanath play their usual type of role as do many of the other uncles, aunts and family members and it’s nothing we haven’t seen many times before. And that really is the problem here – there is nothing new and the story isn’t interesting enough by itself. The comedy didn’t fit and in general just wasn’t funny. The fights were technically impressive but added nothing to the drama and didn’t serve to progress the story. It felt as though they were just added because they are more or less obligatory and people would want to see Prabhas in action.The songs were much better and mainly were well picturised although the placement was rather clumsy. We tried to look for good points but even the pictures on the walls and the furniture failed to inspire!  Less a Mr Perfect and more a Mr Ordinary.