Josh Movie Review - Message Oriented Movie 2009


Film: Josh
Rating: 3/5
Banner: Sri Venkateswara Movies
Cast: Naga Chaitanya, Karthika, Prakashraj, J D Chekravarthy, Sunil, Brahmanandam, Hema, Surya, Sreya Dhanwantari, Anand and others
Music: Sandeep Chowta
Cinematography: Sameer Reddy
Director: Vasu Varma
Producer: Dil Raju
Released On: 5th Sep 2009

“Naaku mamoolugaa message lu ivvadam ishtam undadhu. Neeku emaina ichchanu anipisthey teesuko”. This is Naga Chaitanya’s dialogue in the movie. And indeed, the movie is message oriented. And as the dialogue suggests the youngsters can take the message if any, from the movie. Let us see how the whole thing went on.

Story:
Satya (Naga Chaitanya) is a young lad in Vizag who suddenly says to his parents that he wants to quit college studies and moves to Hyderabad in search of job. He finds a small job there but witnesses the spoiling students in a college. He tries to change them but in the process he develops tug with a student leader J Durga Rao (JD Chakravarthy). Satya finds no other way than joining in same college as a student to bring change in students, being one among them. Finally has Satya succeeds in that attempt? That forms the climax.

While this is one line, there is a flash back for Satya that makes him take decision to leave studies and move to Hyderabad. And a college Principal (Parakash Raj) happens to be key factor in that aspect. What’s that reason? That forms other line.

And Nitya (Karthika) happens to be a love factor for Satya who works in a school as teacher.

Performances:
Naga Chaitanya: He was given a very underplaying role. Most of the time he was seen without expressions. That gives a wrong impression for audiences that he doesn’t know how to act. His presence on screen as debutant is good. He danced well and fights are also good. From now he needs to focus on his dialogue delivery and expressions.

Karthika: She is just ok. The make up given to her is not good and that made her look very ordinary.

Sunil is ok with his subtle comedy and Prakash Raj performed to his best in his son’s dead body scene. Brahmanandam is very weak in his role and he couldn’t make people laugh even once. Former Miss Femina runner up Shreya Dhanwanthari is also scene in a not so important role.

Technically, the movie scores well with cinematography. Montages chosen for songs are hilarious. ‘Neeto unte inka konnaallu..’ has got lyrical beauty and ‘deerideeridi be ready…’ has haunting rendition.

Director Vasu Varma has dealt well only with his story line and narration but not with star son.

Dialogues:
“College paatam cheppi pareeksha peduthundi. Kaani jeevitham pareeksha petti paatam chebuthundi..gunapaatam” sounds subtle in entire movie.

Highlights And Dim Lights:
Cinematography is good
Costumes are subtle
Make up for heroine is very bad
Brahmanandam gone wasted
Jumps and abrupt cuts in editing
No required voltage in narration

Analysis:
The director seems to be very conscious of what he was making!
The dialogue “Naaku mamoolugaa message lu ivvadam ishtam undadhu. Neeku emaina ichchanu anipisthey teesuko” seems to be director’s line for contemporary youth audience.

It is a general opinion that youngsters don’t relish the messages and lectures. Hence the director has chosen that line. That’s fine up to that. But the elements that strengthen a movie are weak in this. There is no proper romance track, no action elements and no thrilling moments. It goes to be a straight narration with a little flash back episode.

The elements of ‘Shiva’ are used in the film to some extent but there is no comparison to that action-classic.

The movie appeals for teenagers and parents. The movie asks parents to leave sheep-mentality by going along with the herd and forcibly burdening children to get ranks in examination. The movie appeals for students stating that young age is a valuable time to build future but not for making it useless with drug addictions, irresponsibility and ragging.

On a whole, the movie has one and only big attraction- that is Naga Chaitanya, the son of Nagarjuna. And added glory is Dil Raju. Box office collections merely depend on these elements and they are the crowd pulling factors.

Dashing Director Rajamouli & Ramcharan Tej's Movie " MAGADEERA " Full Movie Review-2009



The time has come for all those who were waiting to see the magnum opus. The film ‘Magadheera’ with Ramcharan Teja and Kajal Agarwal finally hit the screens and this is deemed as the most promising blockbuster beating the likes of ‘Pokiri’. How good was it, let us see.

Story

In the 16th century, Kalabhairava (charan) is a warrior general and Mitra (Kajal) is his queen. However, she is in love with him and he loves her too but never expresses it. Mitra is lusted by her relative Randev (devgill) and he is the commander in chief of the kingdom of Udaygarh. He manages to separate Bhairava and Mitra but not before he dies. The story comes to the present times when Harsha (charan), an avid biker has his life going smoothly. This takes a turn when his hand brushes with that of Indu (kajal) on a rainy day and before he sees her, he knows that there is something between them. Finally he manages to see her and love happens. But not before, Randev is born again as Indu’s relative and history repeats. Does Indu know her past? Is Harsha successful in his love? Go to the theatres and watch it.

Performances

Charan has come up with a mature performance and he has carried the film very well. Both his characters were done good justice and he reminded of his father at many places. Kajal looked bubbly, seductive and royal and she was the best choice. Devgill was a letdown as he could not emote that well, his act could have been tuned. Srihari was effective, Sunil was neat, Brahmi was regular, Sarath Babu was graceful, the others did their bit as per the standard.

Technical aspects

The main life and soul of the movie is the graphics and the visual effects department. They were well supported by a masterly cinematography. The script was without any loose ends, the screenplay was neat and the background score was alright. Editing was crisp, two songs were worth humming, the picturization of the songs was good. Art department and costumes get full marks in this.

Director’s portrayal

The director has been careful not to divert anywhere and he has shown his gift of narrative during the second half. Though the content was not much, he has been able to use his experience and kept the audience engaged. The storyline of the film finds traces of Hollywood flicks but then he has converted them enough to suit the Telugu audience.

Critic’s view

The film deserves a special credit for many reasons, notable among them is the grandeur of the movie and the amazing technical aspects. While the first half was rather weak and the take off was a bit on the slow side, the film picks up rapidly and makes up for the lost time. This is surely a path breaker in terms of Telugu film making and with the likes of ‘Arundhati’, Tollywood sure is proud to have this one in its league. It is a valiant attempt to bring such genre to the modern day audience and present it with finesse so that it fits the historical angle and the today’s angle. Though the content part may not be impressive, it is the presentation and the engaging scenes that should take the movie to a bumper success at the box office.

Highlights:

The film should be watched for undergoing an unspeakable experience with the following:

The bike adventure in first half
The Set of Udayagadh replicating the 16th century empire city
Background sound that brings Goosebumps
Wonderful canning of songs viz., Cheppinde Cheppake.., BangaruKodi petta and Dheera Dheera
Battle at Bhaiaravakona between Kalabhairava and Sher Khan’s soldiers
Climax song for its creativity

Verdict

Excellent!!!

WATCH NEW TELUGU MOVIE 'THREE' CINEMA REVIEW


t is a common practice in Hollywood to make films based on suspense thriller stories, to terrify the audience. It looks as if some of the Tollywood directors are practicing it on the unwitting Telugu audiences. Once it is a suspense thriller, another time a psychological thriller; the same story has been repeatedly filmed with numerous storylines confusingly amalgamated, they are making films that are tormenting the average spectator.

The suspense thriller 'A Film by Aravind' had brought good recognition for Shekhar Suri as a director. Recently, he directed 'Three' with Rishi, Rajiv Kanakala, Urvashi Sharma, Sharath Chandra and Harsha Vardhan in the main roles, produced on Raj (India) Entertainments Pvt Ltd. Categorised as a Psychological Thriller; the film is produced by Phani Raj. The film is released on the 17th of this month. A review is below to know if it’s worth a watch.

STORY

Sriram (Rishi) is an employee who works for the National Geographic Channel. Shashi (Kaushik) is his friend who resides along with Sriram in a flat. Sriram meets Nisha (Urvashi Sharma) here. Every night Nisha hears some mysterious screams. One day she tells Sriram that, someone named Shankar is trying to kill her, he is invisible and only his voice is heard. Sriram takes it all easily without giving it a thought.

He gets to meet psychiatrist Harsha (Harsha Vardhan) in a railway station. During their conversation Harsha learns about Nisha. He takes Sriram and Nisha to his senior colleague Dr.Sharath. Sharath (Ranganath) checks with Nisha and concludes that she has some psychological problems.

As a part to investigate her problem Sriram, Nisha and Harsha go to an island. There on the island they meet Nandu (Benarjee) and Rajiv (Rajiv Kanakala). Harsha says that Shankar might have been dead long ago, and his spirit is haunting Nisha. Upon seeing Rajiv, Nisha tells Sriram that he is the Shankar who wants to kill her.

Actually who is this Shankar? Why does he want to kill her? Why is Nisha afraid of Rajiv saying that he is Shankar? The story woven around all these questions has to be watched on screen.

Artists Performance

Urvashi Sharma who played a key role in this psychological thriller, was introduced to silver screen as a heroine through 'Nakab' in Bollywood. 'Three' happens to be her first film in Telugu. Although she doesn’t know the language, she has exhibited perfect emotions and gestures while portraying the character of Nisha. We can say that she is the main asset for the film.

Rajiv Kanakala as Rajiv has portrayed different shades of the character very well. Rishi as Sriram, Harsha Vardhan as Harsha, and Sharath Chandra as Shankar are passable. Ranganath as doctor, VijayChandar as father did well within the limits of their demeanours.

Technical values

Photography and Background music are the most important elements for any suspense thriller. In context to visualization and lighting Senthil Kumar has contributed good photography for the film. Sequences created with the use of Helium Balloon lights for the night-effects is spectacular.

Vijay Kurakula who scored tunes for 'A Film by Aravind', has bagged appreciation for his background scores in this film. Editing by BR Tirupathi is flawless but doesn’t deliver. Dialogues by HarshaVardhan sounded like the routine ones lacking freshness and punches. There is only one song in the entire film, that is penned by Vanamali, which is good to a certain extent.

Directors Portrayal

Director Shekhar Suri who made an outstanding suspense thriller 'A Film by Aravind', was more focused on the technicality of the film and neglected the importance of story line in making 'Three'. The void of a proper storyline, has miserably failed the director, who could thrill the expecting spectator with only visuals and sound. A taut look into the plot would have made the film an excellent thriller as his former.

Cons

Cons in the movie includes erratic and confusing lines of the story; The villa-set constructed in the forest, is clearly visible as an artificial one; The film is nowhere connected to the nativity of Telugu Cinema; Inclusion of more number of incarnations (life after life), made a comic of the so called suspense thriller; Most of the characters in the movie appear to be artificial. Last but not least, film goers were expecting a movie from the maker of ‘A Film by Arvind’ but the movie falls short in not one but many areas.

Criticism

Shekhar Suri was identified as a good director of suspense thrillers, more so with this venture 'A Film by Aravind'. However, the recent so called psycho-thriller 'Three' has tormented the viewer, with confusion and erratic line of story. The director has neglected the core point – the story of the film, and depended more than needed on the technical aspects. 'Three' is a good lesson to learn that, even if top quality is maintained in technicalities, and if the story is neglected the film will miserably fail the unit. Shekhar Suri might make a real thriller next time which might cope up for the torment rendered to the audience by Three.

TELUGU MOVIE 'KOTHA BANGAARU LOKAM' REVIEW

Parents imposing their wishes on to their children, and constricting the ideas and aspirations of their children and the consequences that follow; How the parents should support & help their children to grow and after reaching a stage they should also respect their views; all this forms the subject line of the super hit film 'Bommarillu' produced by the double hatrick producer 'Dil'Raju.

In combination with the 'Happy Days' fame Varun Sandesh as a solo hero and Swetha Prasad as heroine, producer 'Dil' Raju's latest feel good film is 'Kotha Bangaru Lokam' that has introduced Srikanth Addala as a first time director.

Early Youth is a phase of life that swings between love and infatuation as its both ends. Adolescence is a stage that swings more towards infatuation and at this point of age children should trust their parents and give more importance to their views. When the child grows up to a further stage in life, the parents should understand their needs and respect their ideas. This subject is beautifully featured in 'Kotha Bangaru Lokam' with a new touch of flavor. The film was release as a gift of Vijaya Dasami on 9th this month.

STORY

Balu (Varun Sandesh) is a jovial guy, and is the son of Yerram Setti Krishna Murthy (Prakash Raj) and Jayasudha. The parent's matrimony forms from their love. They adore their son very much, especially Krishna Murthy who treats him like a friend. Once at the age of eight he tells his son, "At any point of life, if you feel that you are doing something wrong, just let me know."

Swapna (Swetha Prasad) is a cheerful girl; she always tries to get what ever she wants. Her parents are Kasi Viswanath (Ahuthi Prasad) and Rajitha, who never minds her views and opinions. Kasi Viswanth is a very harsh person.

Balu studies in SVS College where Rajahmundry, and Swapna joins alongside him. Accidentally they meet in the college, which develops in to an acquaintance and further in to love. One day their chemistry lecturer RaoRamesh comments that it is only infatuation that happens at this phase of life and couldnot be true love. Giving it a serious thought Balu and Swapna test the relation between them and comes to a conclusion that it is indeed a true love. Knowing about the affair Swapna's father detains her from the college and discontinues her studies. Learning about this Paul (Brahmanandam) sends off Balu to home. How did Krishna Murthy respond to this all? Did Balu and Swapna unite? What happens at the end? Answers to be these questions is to be watched on screen.

PERFORMANCE OF THE ARTISTS

Prakash Raj and JayaSudha, the parents of 'Bommarillu's Siddhu have been paired again in this film to restate the role. Their performance delivered brought a grace to the storyline. We can say that their performance seemingly close to reality is the main asset to the film.

Varun Sandesh who exhibited a settled performance in 'Happy Days', did very well with the godavari accent. Form start to end his performance exhibits considerable improvement compared to earlier 'Happy Days'.

Swetha Prasad who entered filmdom with 'Ekbal' as a child artist, had exhibited much ease in acting, and bagged applauses for her performance. This is her first appearance as a heroine in Telugu, and her performance can be counted as an additional high spot to the film. On the whole she did well in the character of Swetha. Hopefully, she will get some good opportunities in Tollywood after this film.

'Ahuthi' Prasad did very well as Viswanadam. Director Srikanth has utilized his image after 'Chandamam' very well, in molding his character. Many dialogues of this movie reminds us of the dialogues in his earlier film. Rajitha did her role well with whatever she could perform in the premises.

Brahmanandam's role as a college priniciple needs no special description. He lured the audience with his ever green style of comedy.

RaoRamesh who got good recognition for his performance in 'Gamyam', performed his character of the chemistry lecturer aptly. He portrays a role that encourages and guides Balu. If the talent in him is utilized properly, he will be like another Prakash Raj to the industry.

TECHNICIANS WORK

Chota K Naidu who works only for huge budget films, has first time handled the megaphone for this film. He has created a beautiful 'Kotha Bangaru Lokam'. The lighting he used in a few scenes is really excellent.

Mickey J Mayer who is well recognized, for his tunes in 'Happy Days', has composed lively music for this film. The lyrics by Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry, Ananth Sriram and Chandra Bose is adds flavor to his tunes. Marthand K Venkatesh who has a good recognition for his editing, has done a serene job.

Director's Portrayal

Srikanth Addala who debuted with this film as a director, has shown good clarity in the work. Everything from the script, screenplay, dialogues and songs, he did with a complete perception. The dialogues like "deepam mana intide ani muddu pettukunte, meesam kalipothundi" that has been written by him for the character of Ahuthi Prasad are captivating to the core. Srikanth Addala has scored 100 out of 100 with his very first movie as the director.

Cons

In most parts, the film lags at a slow pace which slows down the story considerably. In the second half the narration is also slowed down. This might be a surprise which will disappoint the audience who are enjoying the movie in a constant feel.

The most talented actor PrakashRaj is not presented well and his acting skills was not put to use. The placement of songs in the story is irrelevant. For example, the song 'Nee prasnalu neeve yevaro badulivvaruga' would have sinked well if added in the scene where the character of Prakash Raj dies.

Criticism

'Dil' Raju who conveyed the message - Parents should respect the ideas and views of their children through his film 'Bommarillu'; has now presented another message -The children should always respect parents who raised them with many dreams in heart, and also should behave by keeping their responsibilities in mind that is expected from them. Further the parents should give importance to the views of children who are taking their responsibilities. The film will sure increase the quality value of the banner. 'Kotha Bangaru Lokam' is really a feel good family entertainer, and 'Dil' Raju deserves a huge round of applause for this work. This is a film that every one must watch atleast once.

TELUGU MOVIE 'NENU MEEKU TELUSAA? REVIEW-OK

We are aware that based on the theme, short term memory loss (Amnesia), films like 'Gajini' and 'Satyabhama' were made in the recent past. A subject on the same theme, posing a different storyline, using new technical values a film titled 'Nenu Meeku Telusa?' has been made, having Manoj, Sneha Ullal and Riya Sen in the lead cast. The film is presented by Dr M Mohanbabu and produced by Lakshmi Prasanna on Sri Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures banner, in the direction of Ajay Sastry. Here is a review on the film that was released on the 10th of October.

STORY

Aditya aka Adi (Manoj) is the Manager of SS Group of companies in India. His father (P.Vasu) is a NRI millionaire. He goes to US to assist his father. After a gap of two years, he comes to India along with his father, to meet his girl friend Anjali (Sneha Ullal). However, before they could meet Anjali, they meet with an accident and his father gets killed while the protagonist suffers a loss of memory. He forgets everything once he goes to bed. Adi's paternal uncle (Nazar) turns as a caretaker and arranges for a doctor (Harsha Vardhan) to visit India once in every month to treat his nephew.

The doctor records, every day chores of Adi into a cassette in Adi's voice. And instructs him to listen to it daily to remember who he is and what he is supposed to do. This helps the hero do his daily work without depending on others. Adi's uncle (Nazar), who is the MD for SS Group of companies, is the only person who is aware of his rare disease apart from the doctor.

Madhumati (Riya Sen) is the vice-president of the same company. Suneel (Suneel) as GM, Rajesh (Uthej), Lakshmi (Surekha Rani) and fashion designer Barmani (Brahmanadam) also works for the same company. Adi meets Madhumathi in the company and falls in love with her. Although Adi could manage most of his daily works, he stumbles into troubles cause of his amnesia.

Suddenly one day Adi's uncle gets murdered, and police find the body in Adi's car. He gets arrested for the uncommitted crime. Incidentally, the case is taken up by Anjali (Sneha Ullal). Someone destroys the cassettes prepared by the doctor for Adi. How Adi is saved from the murder case? Who is Anjali? Who is behind the murder? All these are to be watched on screen.

Performance of Artists

If we have to mention about any special performances in the film, it is the hero Manoj's performance. Unlike his earlier films he has exhibited 3-kinds of body languages in this film. He showed one kind of body language in college sequences, another in the office environs and one more for the action scenes. In context with the appearance, body language and performance wise Manoj has taken a lot of care for this film. We see a completely new Manoj in this film. He has also written the first song for the film, and composed the first fight sequence in the film. Both of them have been done very well. Interestingly, Manoj repeats the popular dialogue of Mohanbabu from 'Pedarayudu' in this film. We should appreciate Manoj for all these achievements and his meticulous efforts to bring out his best.

Riya Sen has done very well in her role of a professional girl with the least glamour quotient. Introduced to Tollywood through 'Uthsahamga Ullasamga', actress Sneha Ullal did well as a lover and also in the role of an IPS Officer. Both the heroines are additional assets to the film.

Nazar as manoj’s uncle did well within the scope of his role. Brahmanandam as a fashion designer Brahmani, and Suneel as the General Manager Suneel are good. Surekha Vani as the girl friend of GM, has entertained the audience by tickling their funny bone.

A scene which is identical to a sequence in 'Super', has been canned on Ali and Brahmanandam. The characters of Ali, Tanikella Bharani, Raghu, Amit, Supreet, Anant and MallikarjunaRao, although appearing for a short time on screen have been portrayed brilliantly.

Technical Aspects

AjaySastry's screenplay is superb. Music composed by Achu and Dharan is good. Especially, the songs 'Kannu moosthe jananamele…' and 'Edo edo…' are nice. The background score is excellent and adds a mellifluous effect to the film. Manchu Manoj, Tim, Storms and Bob Chaplin's stunts plus Nandu and Julie Sabastians fights are good to watch.

Photography by Suneel K Reddy, especially the light-effects used for the fights, the slow-motion accident scene in the beginning of the film have been cinematographed sharply. Editing by Basva Padi Reddy and Naveen is nicely done with proper cuts. Without constructing sets for songs, the visuals done by Think Smart and Phixloyed are very good.

Director’s Portrayal

Director AjaySastry who debuted with this film, has taken a lot of care without compromising on anything. He has presented this film as a technical wonder which is very different from the routine formula. The narrative style used to tell the story and portrayal of the characters is quite unique. We can say with our eyes closed (of course after watching the movie) that AjaySastry is another newly founded talent for Tollywood. The director is sure to make slick coups in his upcoming films of the future.

Cons

The capabilities of Suneel and Brahmanandam were not fully utilized as they are capable to render even more performance. In the second half, hero's personal doctor (Harshavardhan) departs saying he will be back in an hour, and never returns. What happens to the doctor is not shown and becomes a silly void in screenplay. In the accident scene involving the hero and his father, it is not clearly shown as to what happens to the hero's father. The director's focus, shown on the hero's script in the first half has diminished in the second half. Yet, pros are abundant to shadow these flaws.

Criticism

Based on short time memory loss a film 'Memento' was produced in Hollywood a long time back. With this film as a inspiration, earlier 'Gajini' was made. With the same theme added with a flavor of little freshness 'Nenu Meeku Telusa?' is presented in a new way. In a nutshell, 'Nenu Meeku Telusa?' is an unusual experiment with a stunning look.