Tag Archives: Ram

Dhammu

Posted on by

I’d been warned to pick up my ticket early for Dhammu and although I wasn’t expecting a big crowd given the response to NTR Jr’s last few ventures, I did dutifully turn up before the suggested start time. And the guys on the door were right. By the time the film was ready to roll, the cinema was totally packed, which meant a very loud and enthusiastic response to Tarak’s explosive entrance on screen. Despite a few issues with the sound and difficulties getting the second reel of the movie to play, the audience maintained their enthusiasm which helped turn a run-of-the-mill mass masala film into an entertaining Friday night ‘adventure without subtitles’.

Dhammu starts with a flashback, setting up the story and explaining the rivalry between two families in a rural village. Within the first few moments there is a decapitation followed by various scenes of death and dismemberment so it’s fairly obvious that this isn’t going to be a fluffy romance despite the promise of two heroines on the poster. The two families seem determined to use the Kilkenny cat principle of conquest and it’s not long before the remnants of Suman’s family are reduced to living under the yoke of Nasser’s sadistic thugs. Once the scene is set, the film jumps to the present day and Tarak enters via a suitably ridiculous leap from a window onto a black 4WD. This is the first of many such black 4WD’s that gave their lives during the making of this film, so be prepared for crashes, inexplicable explosions and general vehicular destruction often for no apparent reason other than the director seemed to feel that it was time for another car (or 3) to meet an untimely end.

Tarak plays Ramachandra, an orphan who is against violence although that’s not entirely obvious since he’s beating up bad guys single-handedly from his first appearance on screen. OK, so he does fight with his hands behind his back and shows a reluctance to actually kill anyone, but at first I took that to be a novel trick fighting technique just because it looks good.

Ramachandra meets and instantly falls in love with Satya (Trisha) and after some initial very mild reluctance she seems to reciprocate. But it looks as if the romance, brief as it is, seems doomed to failure since Satya’s father (Subhalekha Sudhakar) wants her to marry a rich guy. Trisha looks lovely in some beautiful traditional outfits, but apart from looking pretty and the odd dance routine she has very little to do. The appearance of Karthika as the second heroine seems totally redundant as she gets even less screen time than Trisha and the attempt to create some rivalry falls flat.  Karthika also has so much collagen pumped into her lips that it looks as if they might burst at any moment while she’s speaking and this is incredibly distracting, particularly since I think she looked much better and prettier in Ko.

Both Trisha and Karthika look very stiff in the Neelo Undi Dhammu song and their awkwardness seems to increase in direct proportion to the shortness of their skirts. They both do much better in the songs where they are wearing more traditional outfits and the choreography seems to suit them better too. Tarak is on excellent form in all of the dance routines and although the songs by M.M. Keeravani aren’t particularly memorable the choreography is less fixed on trick moves and more on coordinated steps which look very slick. The only exception is the song Ruler which has little dancing and lots of CGI which looks rather out of place compared to the rest of the film.

By some means Ramachandra’s friend (Ali) learns of a rich family looking for a son to adopt and Ramachandra promptly applies to become a member of the Vasireddy family, adopting the name Vijayadwaja Sri Simha. However it’s not long before he discovers the drawbacks, namely being expected to resolve the feud between the two warring families once and for all as well as dealing with his entire extended family.

The fight scenes are the best part of Dhammu which is fortunate because there are quite a few. Tarak is often shown in slow-motion leaping and pouncing like his adopted family mascot of a lion and it works well. Mostly the fight sequences are totally over the top and unrealistic but they are expertly choreographed by Ram-Lakshman and look fantastic. People ricochet off cars, buildings and other people if they don’t happen to hit anything else in the way, or bounce off the ground in totally gravity defying ways which most of the audience seemed to find as entertaining as I did. There are lots of declarative speeches in between the various bouts of mayhem which generally went down well too, although there were a few scenes where they slow the pace considerably and it takes a while to pick up again.

The supporting cast are all well known actors and generally do justice to their roles. Kota Srinivasa Rao is familiar as the aging patriarch, while Tanikella Bharani, Suman and Sampath Raj all appear in small roles. Nasser is good as the slightly psychotic head of the opposing family and he also sports a wild and strange moustache which looks incredibly impractical. Ali is fairly inoffensive as Vijay’s friend and he got plenty of laughs from the audience, although his comedy did seem rather muted. Brahmi pops up for a few scenes but I couldn’t work out exactly what his role was in the Vasireddy family and he had very little impact. Venu Thottempudi also makes an appearance as a member of the Vasireddy family and was good in a brief but important appearance.

Overall Dhammu has nothing new to offer and relies heavily on NTR Jr to make the most of an overused storyline with standard masala ingredients. There are plenty of good moments and NTR Jr puts in an impressive performance but there isn’t anything to make this film stand out from other similar action movies in his filmography. It’s not brilliant but it works well enough as a mass entertainer, especially with an appreciative audience and I’d recommend watching at least once for Tarak, his dancing and some excellent fight scenes!

Jagadam

Posted on by

Ram’s second film, Jagadam, is a dark and violent gangster film and is certainly very different from his debut role in Devadasu. Supposedly loosely based on the Brazilian film City of God, it’s less an exposé of gangland life but purports to be a moralistic tale of the consequences of violence.

Ram plays Seenu, a wannabe rowdy who becomes fascinated by violence as a child.  Perhaps this is because the area around him is rife with thugs and petty crime, or maybe just because he is a rather warped child. The local community, including the corrupt police, both fear and revere the rowdies who control the area. Seenu dreams of becoming like his hero, the local Don, Manikyam (Pradeep Rawat).

Seenu has a talent for fighting which comes in handy as he works his way up the ranks from small time thugto head his own group of initially ineffectual youths.  His recklessness and lack of anything approaching common sense is amply demonstrated in one of the early scenes when his gang is outnumbered by a knife-wielding mob. Seenu is the only one who doesn’t retreat and ends up at the front of the group – the position that, in his eyes, makes him the leader. As such he is prepared to fight and of course, since he is the hero, wins against such impossible odds.

All of this is fairly normal gangster fare, but the film introduces some more interest in the character of Seenu’s younger brother Chinna. He idolises his brother and is fascinated by his knives and guns. The way in which this adulation is used to develop the story line in the later scenes is one of the strengths of the film, which otherwise is yet another blood soaked gangland war saga.

In the middle of Seenu’s rise to notoriety, he falls in love with Subbalakshmi (Isha Sahni). Subbalakshmi appears to be an intelligent girl; after all she is a Mahesh fan, albeit an obsessed one. Unfortunately director and writer Sukumar has given her every single characteristic we deplore in a filmi heroine. She is whiney, irritating and not just totally useless but an actual liability in a fight. She wears skimpy clothes when wandering round unsavoury areas at night. And as the final insult, Subbalakshmi tells Seenu that when a girl says no, she doesn’t actually mean it. At this point we were ready to slap her ourselves.

Why she falls in love with Seenu is a mystery as well, since he is totally inept in wooing her. He follows the usual stalker method and just assumes that since he likes her she will automatically love him back. Sadly, this does seem to be her only motivation, although perhaps his willingness to dress up in the latest Mahesh costume she bought for him was a factor. She also has an interesting, if not recommended technique for removing a foreign body from Seenu’s eye – hm!

We do like that the intermission is called an interruption, but it does mark the point where the film starts to lose its way a little. Seenu eventually has a falling out with Manikyam and ends up crossing machetes with Manikyam’s source of political funding; the industrialist Yadav, slimily portrayed by Satya Prakash. The story is totally unbelievable at this point as the difference between the well equipped seasoned killers employed by Manikyam and Seenu’s youthful gang is ludicrous. However this doesn’t stop various members of the community approaching Seenu for his rather simplistic aid. Meanwhile Chinna has been avidly following his brother’s exploits and admiring his lifestyle, much in the same way that Seenu idolised Manikyam.  When finally Seenu heads off to kill Yadav, his younger brother wants to watch but events do not unfold as anyone anticipated. This does however mean that we get to see Prakash Raj in his familiar cop avatar expounding truth and justice and using a white board to illustrate the ‘cycle of violence’.

Ram plays the cocky and arrogant character of Seenu with ease. He manages to bring enough of his chirpy ‘boy next door’ persona to the rather dark role and makes Seenu a more sympathetic character despite his arrogance and obsession with violence. Seenu’s friends are from the usual pool of young actors, and in the main they manage to bring some individuality to their various characters. Pradeep Rawat is good in his fairly small role as Manikyam, and gives his scenes some badly needed menace. Ravikumar Chowdary also turns in a convincing performance as Ladanna in the first half, but disappears towards the end of the film. Ragubabu and Saranya are rather wasted as Seenu’s parents and Satya Prakash has very little to do in his role as Yadav. Isha tries, but her character has few redeeming features so she has to settle for pouting and crying in equal measures.

The music by Devi Sri Prasad is fine but not particularly memorable. Ram is a good dancer and the choreographer has utilised his skills well in the songs. We are happy to see that he shows plenty of commitment to the chicken step and is not afraid to dance while totally covered in mud. It’s always good to see this level of dedication even if it doesn’t totally make sense.

Overall the film doesn’t succeed as an edgy drama, nor does it succeed in its supposed anti-violence message . The moralistic tone at the end fails since it doesn’t seem as if Seenu will ever have to pay for his actions. Within the cycle of violence there is a sense that Seenu could stop any time he wants to, but at heart he is still that kid fascinated by killing. While it starts as an interesting attempt and is worth a watch for Ram’s performance, the film ultimately fails to rise above the standard gangland shoot ‘em up fare.

Heather says: Jagadam tries to be different and send a message about the inevitable consequences of violence. It just doesn’t succeed, as the story still glorifies aggression and shows that a life of crime gets you the girl, plenty of money and adulation from your peers. Take away the gang fights and there is really very little of substance left. The romance is just uninteresting and there is no chemistry between Seenu and Subbalakshmi. I really didn’t care about the couple at all and thought it detracted from what could have been a much edgier drama. Ram’s performance is what makes this watchable and I think he does an excellent job of showing the arrogance and sense of indestructibility that many young people display. His anguish at the end as he realizes the price he has had to pay for his lifestyle is well portrayed and believable. But then it’s promptly diluted by the horrific fight scene immediately afterwards. The sympathy shown by the police chief is at odds to the rest of the film as well, although it does fit better with the pacifist message that seems to have been intended. I’m professionally qualified to say that the best way to remove a foreign body from an eye is not to lick it. Be warned – saliva and eyes should never come into contact! Overall the film just fails to be anything other than average, so it gets 3 stars from me.

Temple says: This is 2 and a bit hours of ‘meh’. Once again, it seems the message the film is supposed to contain is not the message I get;  it glorifies violence, showing it to be the solution to many problems and the province of heroes. I know Seenu loses people he cares about but, as he hasn’t developed any sense throughout the film, there doesn’t seem much hope for character transformation despite a scene supposed to convince us of his redemption. Prakash Raj made the most of his character and opportunities but clearly his whiteboard was wasted on the director! Ram is quite memorable, partly because of his likeable presence, but mostly because of his annoyingly asymmetrical shirts. I don’t think contrast piping and looking like you’ve got your buttons done up wrong is really going to strike fear into your enemies or impress the ladies, but the costume designer had other ideas. Despite a handful of scenes that were strong and sometimes moving, the film just wasn’t grim enough to make the violence angle feel real and wasn’t entertaining enough for it to be a good popcorn film. The overt statement of the anti-violence message was at odds with the implied approval of the hero’s character and decisions. It just didn’t get the balance of light and dark right for my tastes. I give it 2 and 1/2 stars, mostly because despite seeing it twice now I can’t recall much outstanding or noteworthy apart from Ram, those shirts, and the eyeball licking scene. And that’s probably not a recommendation.

Ready

Posted on by

A straightforward romantic comedy, Ready is lifted above the mediocre by the charming screen presence of Ram and Genelia in an excellent pairing

Ram plays Chandu, the well-loved son of a large family.  He is an engineering student with the squishy heart of a true romantic. He routinely assists his friends and family in ‘liberating’ themselves from unwanted marriage plans. He is the prankster— quick thinking and smooth talking. Life has been a series of games to him, until he meets the girl of his dreams and the stakes get more serious.

Genelia is Pooja – recently returned from the USA and desperate to escape an unwanted arranged wedding. She is an educated and independent girl who still wants to fulfil her late parents’ wishes but on her own terms.

So when Ram goes to kidnap yet another bride for freedom and elopement, it is no surprise at all when he bundles the wrong woman (Genelia) into the van and makes a run for it.

Pooja’s feud riven Rayalaseema family of machete-wielding Sumo-driving men are not happy to see her go: owning her equals owning the balance of power and the cash in the clan.  She is pursued by both sides of this divided family each in separate convoys with their own potential groom. Chandu’s family have kicked him out for aiding in his sisters elopement  so he has nowhere to go.  Along with his closest friends, Chandu flees with Pooja ,who was initially quite happy about her abduction, but she begins to have second thoughts when she realises Chandu has no escape plan and her relatives are very serious about getting her back.  The youngsters run and hide and run some more as they try to find a refuge. After an excellent Peter Hein choreographed fight with chief henchman Narasimha (Supreet), they flee again and make it back to their friends.

For a number of fairly flimsy reasons Chandu persuades Pooja to pose as an orphan sent from the local  guru’s ashram, to stay with his family. This allows him the chance to keep her safe, win her over and also to negotiate his way back into the family home. Chandu fell head over heels for Pooja the instant he saw her face – but she feels that this is part of his fickle nature and it takes her at least 2 songs to succumb.

Their relationship develops and while the family don’t know the truth about Pooja they see the burgeoning love and approve heartily, understanding what she is to their prodigal son. But nothing was ever going to run that smoothly and one of Pooja’s uncles manages to track her down and take her back.

So Chandu enlists the help of his family, a reluctant Brahmi who is coerced into employing Chandu, the other bridegrooms and basically every man who has so far appeared in the film to try to get Pooja back. Chandu will only marry her in front of her family, with their blessings. Apparently eloping is what other people do. What a real hero does is: invest in a remote controlled toy car, dress up as a superhero (Krrish and Spiderman make appearances), do some creative accounting, invent brides for the other competing grooms, persuade his own family to impersonate the family of invented brides, coerce the factionalists into new haircuts, sharp suits and being nice to their wives, become the obvious choice for marrying the now unwanted Pooja, and there you have it. A simple plan— until it all falls apart.

There are no surprises in the actual storyline. It’s a typical boy meets girl, girl isn’t interested, boy goes after girl, boy beats up the opposition, boy finally gets the girl and they live happily ever after.  What distinguishes Ready from many other films in this vein is deft use of humour and the likeable stars. There are some  quirky touches in the fight scenes and, although he looks like a stubbly twelve year old at times, Ram is actually believable in many of the more physical scenes as he has a certain acrobatic flair. The dancing and fights have been choreographed to suit him, and he really throws himself into it. Genelia is her usual bubbly self and here she has a leading man who has enough energy to match her. They do make an attractive pair, and there is enough chemistry to make their romance seem genuine and appealing.

The supporting cast features all the usual suspects. Master Bharath is a delight as the very dramatic tyrant-in-the-making Chitti. He has excellent comic timing, an impressive evil laugh and a confidence in his performance that meant he could hold his own amongst the established adult character actors (Kota Srinivasan Rao, Jayaprakash Reddy, Nassar, Shafi, Saranya, Supreet to name a few).

While there is plenty of comedy running throughout the main storyline, there are a number of  comedy subplots which are shared between Sunil, Brahmi, Santosh and MS Narayana. Sunil is fun as the dance-obsessed fool Janaki and has some excellent theatrical moments. Brahmi is involved in much of the second half drama which requires him to do little more than look bewildered or angry most of the time.

Santosh plays a hapless tourist kidnapped by the uncles along the way as the only person who can identify Chandu and makes the most of his small but amusing role.  MS Narayana has the least amusing and smallest subplot but also suffers from someone’s idea of special effects.

The songs are well integrated into the film and are enjoyable without being particularly memorable. Ram and Genelia seem to thoroughly enjoy dancing together and this helps lift the soundtrack and enhances the affinity between them.

Heather says: Ready is a little gem of a film.  It has almost everything you could possibly want in an entertaining Masala movie.  This was the first of Ram’s films I watched and it did make me go out and buy more of his movies!  I think that the lead pair here are very convincing as a couple.  Ram and Genelia seem to enjoy themselves immensely in the film,  adding to the feel-good atmosphere.  The story is fairly standard, but there is plenty of comedy, and the scene with Chandu impersonating Krrish is one of the funniest I have sen in Telugu cinema.  The interactions between all the various characters seem well written (at least according to my subtitles), and the comparisons between Chandu’s loving and family, and Pooja’s feuding and unhappy family are well drawn.  The only downside for me is the songs, which I just didn’t find very catchy.  I thought the choreography was well suited to both Ram and Genelia, but again, it wasn’t outstanding.  The exception is the engagement song above, which almost makes up for the others!  But this film is all about the comedy and the interaction between the leads, and is a winner on those. 4 1/2 stars from me.

Temple says: I watched this again recently and it says much for Ram and Genelia that I stuck with it a second time. Honestly, I was bored whenever they were not on screen for any protracted period. That’s not a criticism of the support cast who are all fine, more a symptom of a very stock narrative that doesn’t hold up to a repeated viewing. I was not a fan of Genelia when I first saw her in Hindi films, but I really like her in her Southern films. I think it has something to do with energy levels. Paired with a laid back star, she can seem over-the-top but with someone like Ram who balances her energy she is really appealing. They have a lovely on-screen chemistry and that’s what makes Ready an enjoyable film. Seenu Vytla has ensured that the choreography for the songs and fights suits Ram in particular and these sequences are beautifully filmed. The multiple comedy tracks were frankly annoying. I enjoyed Sunil and Brahmanandam’s roles but the rest was quite unnecessary in an already crowded cast of thousands. Overall while this is a pleasant enough film, it isn’t really my cup of tea. 3 stars from me – one each for Ram, Genelia, and the fun song picturisations.