Tag Archives: Tollywood

Arya 2

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This is the second film in the ”South Indian Cinema Induction Programme” for our friends. MAGADHEERA (Step One) is a full out epic film that dazzles the senses, while Arya 2 on the other hand is on a more intimate, character driven scale. It also has many of the staples of a Telugu film used to great effect:

–          Creepy weird stalking = true love and you should be totally grateful to your stalker and love them back
–          The hero will fall in love with the heroine instantly on first seeing her.
–          Machetes are essential for any proper fight scene
–          No Telugu film is complete without Brahmi (it may indeed be a law that he must appear)
–          Totally awesome dancing.

The movie contains similar themes of one-sided love and stalking til you win as the earlier (and far inferior) film, Arya, but is not a sequel as such so you don’t need to see that to understand Arya 2.  The child Arya sacrifices his chance at leaving the orphanage when he wins a coin toss but lets his best friend Ajay be adopted. Years later Ajay reluctantly gives Arya a job after Arya rescues him from some thugs. Ajay tells him he must be the perfect employee and if anything untoward happens, Arya is out. He doesn’t think that Arya can manage this as his childhood friend is a drunken thug who has never managed to make anything of himself. However, Arya transforms himself into the stylish Mister Perfect and confounds Ajay’s expectation of a short-lived stint at honest employment.

Both fall in love with Geetha, played by Kajal Agarwal, and to show his true love Arya stalks her – of course!!  This totally freaks her out, especially since no-one will believe that the perfect Arya could do any of the things she is accusing him of.  It says enough that Brahmi plays the HR Director, so you can imagine the quality of staff counselling on offer! Finally she turns to Ajay to try and shake off Arya’s attentions, and announces that she will marry him.

Meanwhile her family, who are the local big-wigs in her village, want to marry her off to the son of their rivals in order to bring the two families together and stop all the bloodshed.  For various reasons, Arya goes to let her family know that she will only marry his good friend Ajay.  Along the way he manages to get married to her himself and his conflicts between doing the right thing for his best friend, his own desires and flaws and his total all encompassing love for the girl are brilliantly portrayed. How he tries to resolve all these dramas and achieve a happy resolution for all forms the second half of the film.

This is Allu Arjun’s movie all the way, and he does turn in one of his best performances to date as the psychopathic Arya.  Bunny manages to make all of this convincing as he swings from manic stalker and psychopath to tender lover and concerned friend and back again, all the while trying to make Geetha’s world as perfect as possible, be the ideal worker, solve the inter-family rivalry, and be true to his best friend.

Special mention of his goldfish – despite being worried for its safety the whole way through the movie, thankfully all was well in the end.  We choose not to consider the fluctuations in appearance of the goldfish, and decided it was just occasional use of a stunt fish rather than multiple goldfishes. Indeed the goldfish had a vital role to play, apart from the obvious one  demonstrating that Arya really was a good person at heart because he took care of a goldfish!

The added touch of Arya administering first aid to the thugs while he was beating them was genius!  He wasn’t wantonly violent – just teaching them a lesson. This was picked up again in another fabulous fight scene involving a bus and a trail of ambulances.

Other plus points of this film are Kajal Agarwal, who is just beautiful and feisty enough to make a very attractive heroine.  Her evolution from hating Arya and trying to ruin him to understanding his motivation and problems was believable. The scenes where she realised Ajay might not be the man she believed him to be were effective and not overplayed. The addition of Subbu (played by Ajay) as her third prospective bridegroom, the son of the opposing gang-leader, was an unexpected bonus as this actor is another favourite.  The Sholay tinged bromance between the characters played by Ajay and Bunny was both hilarious and touching, and more than a little twisted.

In fact the only downside, and it is small, is the character of Ajay, played by Navdeep in the movie.   Despite the  back-story showing how young Arya manipulated situations to ensure they stayed close, little of this was referenced again in later scenes, except by Arya who genuinely seemed to care about their shared past, albeit in his warped way. Ajay seemed just mean and spineless as he tried to throw Arya to the wolves and come away with the girl and without the burden of his “best friend”.  We really never care about Navdeep’s Ajay at all, despite the potential for us to see him as a victim of an unstable relationship or as the villain of the piece. Navdeep also didn’t turn in a particular inspiring performance, and it really felt as if he was sleep-walking through the role.

The soundtrack and choreography are excellent, and months later we are still listening to the songs on high rotation. Neither of us quite understand who came up with the reverse-worm move in “My Love Is Gone”, or why, but they all seem very proud of it, and it clearly took some doing! The muted colour palette in the city scenes gives the boy-meets-girl story a fresh and modern look, and the monochrome costumes for Arya are quite a remove from the usual bling-is-more Telugu hero style.

The cinematography and editing are brilliant, and the dance and fight sequences look fantastic. For those who like a colourful village wedding, machetes, moustaches and skanky item girl, these essential elements are abundant once the story relocates to Rayalaseema.

Heather says: Arya 2 is my favourite Telugu movie.  It just has absolutely everything.  Action, drama, comedy, Allu Arjun (who just happens to be my favourite Telugu actor), brilliant dancing and a really well plotted and paced story.  The lead actors shine in this film, and Sukumar’s direction is just fabulous throughout.  I agree with Temple that the small details and personality quirks shown throughout really raise this film above other ‘stalking as love’ films I’ve seen.  The only quibble I have is with Ajay who was just too one-dimensional, but since he was only there to showcase how selfish and narrow minded he was compared to the big hearted Arya, this wasn’t too much of an issue.  I love the music in this film, the dancing is just incredible, although trying to copy the dance moves in “My Love has Gone” has caused some minor injuries in our dance group.  I would therefore advise watching with some caution and the ‘please don’t try this at home’ warning should apply! This film makes me laugh, cry, sigh over Arya, shout at the screen, and even gasp every time at the climax even though I’ve watched it many, many times.  Just perfect – 5 stars!

Temple says: When I started watching Hindi films, I saw a lot of early SRK films where he played the stuttering stalking psycho that you couldn’t help but love, but who dies in a hail of bullets. Arya 2 reminded me a little of those films, but with the added bonus that the very attractive anti-hero survives, and gets the girl. Hurrah!! But I will add, I only barrack for the stalkers and psychos in films, not in real life.  Small details in the direction really made this film perfect for me – Arya putting his glasses back on so he could see his dream sequence clearly, the goldfish, the tiny jail for frogs, Bunny’s excellent moments of pure mayhem when Arya broke through the surface of Mister Perfect and the recurring musical and sound effect motifs. Oh – and a heroine entrance featuring an umbrella hat. Haven’t seen one of those in ages! I really have no criticism of Arya 2. I love the story development, it has all the action and brilliant dancing I want, and the comedy was actually funny. Allu Arjun just shone in this role, and is a delight from start to finish. I’m sure it was considered quite risky to make this film as it isn’t a standard heroic role, and the character is manipulative and unhinged right to the end, and not something a lot of young actors would venture. A huge thank you to the producers, director and writer and all the cast for making something so quirky and fun. Of course this gets 5 stars from me!

Maryada Ramanna

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Maryada Ramanna was released on Friday with a lot of expectation – the latest film from SS Rajamouli, and starring Sunil who is better known for his role as the comedy sidekick. Could they pull it off after the huge success of Magadheera?  We went to see this in the cinema with a little trepidation – would we follow enough of the story and actually get the comedy, since neither of us understand Telugu? Fortunately for us the combination of excellent direction and storytelling, with a great performance from Sunil ensured we were amused and entertained from the very first moments.The plot twists and turns are generally easy to follow, although not understanding the dialogues we did have to puzzle over some of the longer speeches.

There are many stand-out scenes, from the opening song where Sunil appears to channel some Chiranjeevi style,  the hilarious train platform scene, to the final dramatic showdown.   The talking bicycle which sounded strange in the promos is actually used to good comic effect, as are the many other props and devices throughout the film.

The film isn’t just about comedy mayhem though, there are some beautiful quiet moments captured along the way, including a stunning scene illuminated by the flickering light of fireflies.

The song and dance tracks are well integrated into the narrative and serve a purpose within the story. The supporting cast , especially the two murderous brothers, are excellent and everyone makes a good contribution to the film. Saloni makes the best of what she has to do, and is certainly quite charming in her scenes with Sunil.

For those of you debating whether to see this film without subtitles, we think you should give it a go. Of course it is a different experience when you can understand all the dialogue but this film proves that a good story, great director and excellent performances will always keep you engaged.

Mayabazar

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There is always so much debate about whether classic B&W films should be colourised.  Opinion does vary depending on how well the colour is handled.  However, don’t hate us; we do think Mayabazar is beautiful in colour. It is such a jewel of a film, and the pastel and gold palette really suits the mythological genre.  It’s reminiscent of religious themed calendars and colourful drawings of gods and their consorts.  The pretty, stylised effect is perfect in this instance, and it is appropriately gaudy without being garish.  It was also a huge relief to see this classic and find that the reputation is more than deserved, and to actually love it. As soon as we mention we love Telugu films, one of the first recommendations  of a “must-see” film is always Mayabazar , and we are grateful to all the people who kept bringing this to our attention.

Although the story itself is entirely fictional, it is based on characters from the Mahabharata.

Sasirekha and Abhimanyu have been meant for each other since their childhood. Each family understands this, and the children grow up secure in knowing who their future life partner is. While they are separated, Sasirekha is given a beautiful gold box and told to open it when she is alone.  When she does this, she sees her Abhimanyu and they warble their love in a pretty song.

A discordant note emerges when Revathi looks into the mirror and sees not a loved one, but only jewels and riches. This weakness and greed creates a fissure in the happiness of this family and allows Revathi to be exploited by those who do not want to see the Pandavas regain their ascendancy.  This sequence was beautifully filmed and served to show the audience the inner desires of each character who looked into the mirror in a pointed yet aesthetic way – years ahead in time and light years ahead in style from Harry Potter!

Savitri is a joy to watch as Sasirekha – a sassy princess indeed, who knows what she wants. When Sasirekha is spirited away, and impersonated by jovial demon Ghatotkacha (S.V Ranga Rao) who has vowed to stop her forced marriage, Savitri’s performance is a delight.  Her body language reflects the much heavier build and demeanour of the demon, and she toys with the unsuspecting family and servants.

S.V. Ranga Rao is wonderfully theatrical and hammy, and amuses along with his army of loony rakshasas.  Allu Ramalingaiah does a great line in slapstick. The comedy track is actually funny and integrated with the narrative.  A highlight would have to be Ghatotkacha’s merry song as he scoffs down the entire wedding feast.

And how about those special effects?  The dire (but kind of awesome) Hindi film Ajooba  ( reviewed by the excellent Beth) is one of our guilty pleasures, mainly because of the appallingly not-very-special effects. It should seriously embarrass some modern film makers to see the quality of visuals in this 1957 masterpiece.   The tricks played by the magician and the Rakshas demons on Shastri and Sharma did appear really magical and would have been amazing for cinema audiences in the fifties.

And as befits a film involving Krishna, love is in the air everywhere you look around!  Couples romance, fight, scheme and gossip all under the watchful and understanding eye of the gently amused Krishna. He even gets to watch a dance based on his own childhood, enjoying the scenes with all the tolerance and affection he shows for his loved ones.  His kindness and strength underpin the romance and squabbling, as he teaches a lesson to wrongdoers, and supports the Pandavas who are being unfairly treated.

And he’s funny. We don’t get a lot of humour from God in Christian literature and film and it was surprising and touching to see a much more personal relationship with the deities.

Krishna is a participant as well as an observer during the lovely romantic scenes where all three couples take to the lake on a beautiful moonlit night.  Although Temple, as a former rower, was rather concerned for their welfare as the boat did appear to get lower and lower in the water.

Another delight in Mayabazar is seeing the forefathers of so many of today’s stars.  N.T.Rama Rao is charismatic and appealing as Krishna. He exudes calm amusement, drops a few excellent oneliners, and generally conveys a mischievous but essentially good persona.  ANR is suitably heroic as Abhimanyu. Allu Ramalingaiah is clearly very comfortable with his comic turn, and makes the most of his time on screen.

The music is beautiful, the jokes are funny, the acting is brilliant and charismatic, and it is so light hearted – not what we expected from a story woven around the Mahabharata.

Heather says: A true classic.  I can see why this is such a loved film.  It features all the Telugu film industry greats of the time and it was a privilege to be able to watch an evenly paced movie with incredible performances by all the actors.  Such a classic story and with all the magical twists it seemed totally new and very special.  It was also a real plus to be able to see actors such as NTR Rao, ANR,   etc and relate them to their children and grandchildren who are setting screens alight today.    I will definitely keep an eye out for more from these actors and hunt down more Telugu ‘classics’ to watch.  The colourisation added another dimension, although the black and white version is just as watchable.  A full five stars for this timeless classic.

Temple says: I can see why this film is so well loved by generations of movie audiences. The production values and the performances are  just amazing, and the songs are beautiful and melodic. Its quite a privilege to be able to watch so many of the greats of an era appear in a work of this calibre.  I had a preconception that the mythological genre might be a bit heavy going or ponderous, but this film just sparkles in so many ways. The colourisation is quite deft in my opinion, and highlights the richness of the costumes and sets, creating a truly opulent and fantastical look to the film. NTR was a revelation as Krishna, Savitri steals every scene she is in, and S.V. Ranga Rao is hilarious. The DVD re-release comes in a 2 DVD pack, and includes both the colourised version and the original B&W. I highly recommend it! This gets 5 stars!