Tag Archives: Ram Charan

Acharya (2022)

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A movie starring both Mega Star Chiranjeevi and Mega Power Star Ram Charan was always going to be a ‘must watch’ film with the question being would it be as good as anticipated. The answer to that question is ‘sort of’ as Koratala Siva at least partially delivers with plenty of action and dancing featuring the two Mega Stars. But the story is less successful, following a predictable and rather pedestrian path. I still enjoyed the spectacle of father and son together on screen and with good choreography for both the songs and the action sequences, there is enough here to make Acharya a worthwhile trip to the cinema.

The film opens with a fairly long animated sequence explaining the history behind the twin villages of Dharmasthali and Padaghattam. At least I think that was what was happening, because the subtitles were difficult to follow and mostly didn’t make sense. But from what I could gather, the village of Dharmasthali developed after the goddess Gattamma came to Earth to defend the tribal people of Padaghattam. The villagers built a temple in her honour and continued to live a peaceful existence until the people of Dharmasthali became corrupted. In contrast the tribal village of Padaghattam still followed the traditional way of life, and still do today, producing ayurvedic medicines that they take across the river to Dharmasthali. However life is becoming more difficult for them as Dharmasthali becomes a hotbed of crime and violence and the goddess seems to be allowing her people to be attacked.

Excitingly for me, CinemaChaat favourite Ajay is playing the role of Vedanna, the leader of the Padaghattam people. Their belief in Dharma means that they are peaceful and won’t fight back when threatened, leaving them vulnerable to the corrupting influence of local bigwig Basava (Sonu Sood). I really enjoyed seeing Ajay in this more pacific role where he gets the chance to emote, conveying emotion using just his eyes and facial expressions instead of just being thug #1. I thought he was excellent here and kept smiling ecery time he appeared onscreen.

Basava is working with businessman and developer Rathod (Jisshu Sengupta) to mine the mineral resources of the region, mainly located in the virgin forest of Siddhavana. Rathod is vicious and nasty for no apparent reason, but Koratala Siva does at least give Basava a sort-of back story that involves a bad hairstyle and humiliation by the people of Padaghattam. He’s also a generally nasty character who enjoys inflicting terror and controlling everyone else around him. Basava has risen up to become the municipal chariman, which gives him control of Dharmasthali, although he still has a bad hairstyle which demonstrates that money isn’t everything as it hasn’t allowed him to find a better hairdresser.

Against the heightening tension between the temple and Basava’s thugs, a stranger arrives in town and sets up a carpenter business in Dharmasthali. Acharya (Chiranjeevi) at first seems to be a do-gooder who sets out to help the people affected by Basava’s greed, but it becomes clear that there is a deeper reason for his involvement. The second half reveals the story of Siddha (Ram Charan) and why Acharya is working to save the people of Padaghattam and Dharmasthali.

It’s a fairly standard story for SI cinema and Kortala Siva doesn’t add anything new to the tale. The hero arrives, the bad guy’s motivations are explained, and then they fight. Mix in a lot of discussion of Dharma, a dash of Temple festivals, Ayurvedic medicine and Naxalite freedom fighters and there you have it. The first half has gorgeous sets from production designer Suresh Selvarajan and cinematographer S Thirumavukkarasu makes the most of the sumptuous colours and beautiful scenery. I loved the first song  Laahe Laahe, featuring the stunning Sangeetha Krish, which bursts with colour and energy against the backdrop of the temple. And of course, add in Chiru dancing and it’s a total winner!

Siddha turns out to be the son of a Naxalite leader who was raised by the people of Padaghattam after his parents were killed. Acharya was tasked by Siddha’s father to raise his son in the movement and when Siddha is injured fighting against corruption in Dharmasthala it’s the perfect opportunity for him to go back to his roots. Ram Charan is excellent and his eyes are brilliantly expressive as he shows Siddha to be a true follower of Dharma. There are so many emotions conveyed between Siddha and Acharya just using their eyes that there is an entire section of the film that just focuses on their eyes for a good few minutes. I was in heaven! Although the story may be not be anything new, the interactions between Ram Charan and Chiranjeevi continually made me smile and lifted the energy of the film. 

The scenes where Ram Charan is dancing with Chiranjeevi are spectacular and feature plenty of Mega Star patented moves that Ram Charan performs under the approving eye of his dad. It’s really effective and I wanted to see more! The action sequences too are mostly well choreographed, apart from the finale which doesn’t work as well as the earlier pieces. In terms of spectacle and production, the film looks amazing and each set is obviously well designed and beautifully filmed. But essentially the film lacks depth. The reason for Acharya to be in Dharmasthala is revealed too late and so Chiranjeevi’s character lacks motivation for most of the first half. The second half is better and benefits from the interplay between Ram Charan and Chiru, but the finale could have been so much more if Kortala Siva had taken better care of his characters and thought more about Acharya’s motivation. 

Seasoned actors Nassar, Tanikella Bharani, Ravi Prakash and Vennela Kishore also put in an appearance and are all excellent in the type of roles they have played many, many times before. I’m not sure why Rathod’s main henchman Khilla (Shatru) had to have a deformity, but the bad guys are mostly faceless and evil because that’s what bad guys just are. Sonu Sood does his usual villain schtick effectively despite limited screentime and those dreadful wigs. But poor Pooja Hegde. After Beast I was hoping she would have a bigger role here, but she has even less to do here. Her character is mostly used as the reason for Acharya to explain Siddha’s history and apart from a song and a brief romance she barely appears in the film. 

I did enjoy Acharya and loved watching Ram Charan and Chiranjeevi together on screen. It’s unfortunate that the story doesn’t deliver the same emotional impact, but the songs from Mani Sharma are good, the action well choreographed and the dancing awesome! The worst part of the film is the subtitles which appeared to have been translated literally, and then misspelled (golry instead of glory, their instead of there – seriously did no-one check?) so that I was actually better trying to decipher the Telugu from my very limited vocabulary rather than rely on the subs. For a film with otherwise high production values, it seems such a shame to be let down so badly internationally for something like bad subtitles. So is Acharya worth watching – absolutely! Sit back, enjoy the performances and revel in the pairing of Mega Star Chiranjeevi and Mega Power Star Ram Charan.

RRR (Rise, Roar, Revolt 2022)

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After the pandemic, 2 years of living in one of the most locked down cities in the world and increased pressure of work, it was going to take something special to get me back to the cinema. So, a film by Rajamouli seemed like the perfect way to get back to the big screen, especially with both NTR Jr and Ram Charan starring in a plot focused on rebellion against the British. RRR is a swashbuckling adventure with plenty of action and daring do that explodes onto the screen from the very first frame. Both heroes get exciting introductions before finally meeting in another explosive (literally!) scene that mixes their two elements of fire and water in equal measure. After such a long hiatus, this was definitely worth venturing out to the cinema to watch on a cold autumn evening in Melbourne.

The film is essentially a bromance between Raju (Ram Charan) and Bheem (NTR Jr) as the two mow their way through various opposing forces until they end up facing each other on opposite sides. There are romantic interests for both, but they are mostly one dimensional and appear only to move the plot forwards to the next major point. What is important here are the two heroes and the whole masala spectacle surrounding them as Rajamouli tells the story in his inimitable style. It’s interesting that the characters are based on Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem, both real revolutionary leaders at the same time in India, although they never actually met in real life. K.V. Vijayendra Prasad’s story takes some real life aspects as the basis for each character however the tale itself is pure fiction.

The story is set in 1920 and starts with Governor Scott Buxton (Ray Stevenson) and his wife Catherine (Alison Doody) visiting a Gond tribe and forcefully taking a young girl, Malli (Twinkle Sharma) back to Delhi with them. But even in this opening scene, Rajamouli adds more to immediately fills in some background and set the tone of the characters. The Governor’s Chief of Staff Edward (Edward Sonnenblick) contemptuously throws a few coins in the dirt as Malli is dragged away and when her mother throws herself at the Buxton’s car to save her daughter, Buxton tells his soldiers not to waste expensive British bullets on brown trash. So right from the start we know the Buxton’s are evil, Edward is a nasty character and we assume that they will all get their comeuppance before the end of the film.

Raju is a police officer in Delhi but is introduced defending a police station from a hoard of protestors somewhere outside the city. When his superior officer calls out for a man who threw a stone to be arrested, Raju throws himself into the howling mob to find the culprit. Much machismo action later, he drags the offender back to the police station but is later disappointed not to be promoted as a result. Much of Raju’s behaviour is explained later but from the start he appears cold, ruthless and driven to reach the top in his chosen profession. The only warmth we see comes from his friendship with Bheem, at least until his backstory is revealed. The enduring image of Raju from the first part of the film is his stoic demeanour while on duty followed by relentless pummelling of a boxing bag in the privacy of his quarters.

Bheem is the Gond tribe protector and we meet him during a hunt where he inadvertently ends up taking on a tiger. When the trap fails and the tiger roars at Beem, he immediately roars back before demonstrating that he truly is the king of the jungle. With a few trusted men, Bheem heads to Delhi to find Malli and bring her back to the tribe. He poses as a Muslim working as a mechanic while he searches for a way to get into the Governor’s palace with Lacchu (Rahul Ramakrishna) and Peddanna (Makarand Deshpande). During his time in the city, Bheem meets Raju when the two work together to rescue a small boy caught on the river after a train bursts into flame on the bridge above and falls into the water. The two have instant rapport, communicating at a distance via a series of signals and finally clasping hands under the bridge in a symbolic moment that foreshadows later events. It’s over the top, wonderfully cinematic and simply splendid as the two Telugu heroes meet amidst the roar of flames and again under water.

Tarak and Ram Charan have amazing chemistry together and the energy they share makes it easy to get engrossed in their story, without caring about how excessively extravagant and spectacular the entire plot actually is. Their action sequences are incredible, totally over the top with cartoonish violence, but it all works beautifully in the environment that Rajamouli has created. Tarak’s stockier frame is perfectly suited to his role as the Gond protector, but even with all the crazy action scenes, there are moments where a softer side is allowed to break through. What I love is the effort taken to show Bheem’s respect for the forest and wild-life, and I also really appreciate the emotion Tarak adds to the song Komuram Bheemudo. Ram Charan’s back story is also a tearjerker, and while Ajay Devgan makes an appearance as Raju’s father, the actor who stands out for me is Shriya Saran as Raju’s mother Sarojini. She only has a few brief moments onscreen but makes a mark with her performance, despite her limited role. The actor playing young Raju (Varun Buddhadev) is also excellent in this sequence and for a change, Ajay Devgan is not as annoying as usual even with his repeated ‘load, aim, shoot’ dialogue. Perhaps the biggest disappointment is Alia Bhatt as Raju’s fiancée Sita. She has very little to do and quickly fades into the background as soon as her lines are delivered. I don’t feel that either of the two love interests were necessary for the story but of the two, Olivia Morris as Jennifer is the more memorable.

Everything in the film is completely over the top, the action, the dances sequences and even Bheem and Raju’s friendship. When Raju transforms into Ram, complete with bow and arrow, and Bhhem picks up a motorcycle to use as a weapon, it doesn’t seem overblown at all after the excesses of the previous action scenes. Naturally the British are all horrible, with the exception of Jennifer although she has little to do once she provides the way for Bheem to access the palace. Buxton and his wife are caricatures of villains, both completely vile, with Catherine revelling in the blood and gore during torture sequences and Buxton showing disdain for anyone and anything not British at every possible opportunity. I totally love how absolutely horrible they all are and it really seems as if the actors enjoyed their roles thoroughly. Ray Stevenson, Alison Doody and Edward Sonnenblick are all good and make their exaggerated roles fit into the screenplay much better than expected although I would have liked to see Edward have more of an action role in the final sequences with all the explosions and carnage.

RRR is riotous, extravagant and totally mind-blowing. The action sequences are fabulously staged and spectacular while the two main leads are outstanding. There are just not enough superlatives to describe just how totally over the top this film is, and all I can say is do not miss this experience at the cinema! RRR is masala entertainment as it should be. After the last few difficult years this really was a triumphant return to a theatrical experience, and I loved every minute. 5 stars!

Vinaya Vidheya Rama (2019)

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Boyapati Srinu specialises in films that are all action and little plot, but even by his standards Vinaya Vidheya Rama is a nonsensical mess. The film has zero logic and even less of a story than usual, along with a completely muddled-up timeline and ludicrously impossible situations. I don’t expect much logic from mass masala movies but I can appreciate their usually well-choreographed fight scenes, good music and memorable choreography, but even all of these fall significantly short in this overlong, systematic bloodbath of a film. A quick perusal of the plot (such as it is) makes it seem that Vinaya Vidheya Rama might fall into the ‘so-bad-it’s-good’ category, but it misses this too by a mile, and not even the best efforts of Ram Charan can save the film from being anything other than a drearily predictable watch.

The opening scenes are also the best and since they almost make sense the film initially lulls you into a false sense of anticipation. Four orphans living on the railway in Vizag find a baby and on discovering he has been bitten by ants and also apparently has a head injury, they take the infant to a local hospital. Amazingly they’re allowed in, don’t have to wait and receive excellent care and attention from the attending medical staff with the eventual outcome that the doctor (Chalapathi Rao) adopts all five children. The four kids decide to send Rama to school while they raise the money to keep him there, but an early run-in with some child-napping thugs leads to the infant Rama disposing of the gang and vowing to send his brothers to school instead. This sounds ludicrous, but honestly, it’s far from being the most ridiculous idea in the film.

The brothers grow up and get married but creepily all continue to live together with their wives and assorted children. Only one of the brothers is ever called by name, and he’s also the only one who has any gainful employment, which might explain their unusual living arrangements. Bhuvan Kumar (Prasanth) is an election officer which brings him into contact with a warlord living in Bihar who objects to the government elections in his area. This necessitates the usual argy-bargy between the government officials, supporting police, local townsfolk and the generic thugs employed by Raja Bhai Munna (Vivek Oberoi) with the inevitable outcome that Rama (Ram Charan) has to head up north and save the day.

There is also a vague romance with Kiara Advani as an arranged marriage candidate. Boyapati Srinu tries to be topical by making her mother (Hema) a violent advocate for feminism but this falls completely flat and is at times actually quite nauseating while her husband (Prudhvi Raj) is portrayed as a hen-pecked loser who somehow stumbled into marriage. It’s not funny, it’s not even necessary for the story and the whole entirely pointless romance should have been left on the cutting room floor.

However, the romance is the basis for including the songs – mostly set as fantasy-dream sequence numbers. Although Charan dances up a storm, the female backing dancers are often out of time and incredibly stiff, which significantly detracts from his performance and makes these songs just as difficult to watch as the preposterous story. Devi Sri Prasad doesn’t break any new ground with the music either and the songs are mostly generic dance numbers that don’t leave much of an impression.

It doesn’t get any better. The story timeline keeps switching between pre- and post- Bhuvan going to Bihar and it’s frequently unclear just exactly when any particular scene is taking place. After a while I just ceased to care. Things get even more bizarre when Rama somehow manages to get from an airport in Gujarat to Bihar on top of a speeding train and then on horseback in less time than it takes for Raja Bhai Munna to threaten Rama’s brothers and their wives. That’s all the way across India in minutes standing on the top of a train and using a smartphone app for directions to the location of his brother’s phone. There’s always some suspension of disbelief required for any action movie but it’s a whole new dimension of disbelief that’s required for a Boyapati Srinu film!

Having arrived at his destination, Rama then proceeds to slaughter thugs like they were mosquitoes and claims to kill 300 men before finally being captured and imprisoned in a belt and chain affair that never looks as if it would be effective. There’s no doubt that Rama will win the day, but of course there has to be a lot more speeches and posturing before that happens – interestingly the best posturing comes from Bhuvan Kumar’s wife, Gayatri Devi (Sneha) whose determined defiance is more effective than all of Rama’s intense and overly dramatic speeches.

The fight scenes are brutal, bloody and in true Boyapati Srinu fashion, no object is unable to be used for impaling, dismemberment or general destruction. I have to admit that there are moments when the fight scenes threaten to be entertaining, but then they degenerate back into formulaic action that is dull because it’s been seen many, many times before.

I wanted to like Vinaya Vidheya Rama because a film this silly should be entertaining, but for every fleeting moment that worked, there were hundreds of others that just didn’t. Apart from Rama, none of the characters are anything other than a brief sketch and to add to the tedium, all of Rama’s brothers (Aryan Rajesh, Ravi Varma and Madhunandan) spend the entire film talking about how amazingly wonderful he is. Vivek Oberoi’s villain says and does the usual things along with his army of ineffectual thugs, and while in general Vivek is fine as a bad guy, the character is so loosely drawn that there is never anything juicy enough for him to really get his teeth into.

Despite all the explosions, fights and general mayhem, Vinaya Vidheya Rama is surprisingly unexciting, made even more tedious by the unrelenting vagueness of the story. It’s a shame because there are the odd moments of light – the four young kids are good at the beginning, and the wardrobe department has done a good job styling Charan for the songs. But at the end of the day it’s not enough and even for fans this one is a tough watch.