The Salman Khan starrer Dabangg (2010) was not only a trendsetter of sorts in Hindi films; it even inspired similar versions in a few other languages, most notable of them being Gabbar Singh (2012) in Telugu. Despite basically using the same plot outline of Dabangg, director Harish Shankar made an effort to make a few simple changes, basically adapting it in a way that made sure that the personality of superstar Pawan Kalyan was well highlighted, making the film a delight to watch for fans and even the general audience. It was but natural that there would be an extension of the brand Gabbar Singh, after all who wouldn’t want to put his/her money on a winning horse.But with Dabangg 2 not meeting with the same reception as Dabangg the prospect of once again going for an adaptation was ruled out. After the mega success of Attarintiki Daaredi the project was announced, but there were frequent changes, the director, DOP and even the title ended up finally changing. What remained constant eventually was the presence of Pawan Kalyan and producer Sharrath Marar.Continue reading “Sardaar Gabbar Singh Movie Review: All Sound and Fury, But Hey What about the Story?”
Tag Archives: Brahmanandam
Bengal Tiger Movie Review: Roaring Start, Tiring Finish
Ravi Teja is probably one of the most entertaining actors in Indian Cinema and I can say this with a fair degree of conviction. What’s remarkable about him is the progress he has undertaken over the last 25 years or so that he has been in the Telugu film industry. Starting off as a character artiste, playing small characters in numerous films, while also being an assistant director it took him nearly a decade to graduate to and get accepted as the leading man. For someone who came into the industry without any Godfather his ascent to stardom has indeed been commendable, especially considering that unlike him nearly all the top actors in Telugu Cinema hail from a film family. Over the years Ravi Teja has strongly built up a fanbase, people who like him for his casual yet powerful dialogue delivery style, his terrific comic timing and overall for being a true entertainer. No wonder that he went on to earn the title “Mass Maharaja” with which he is being referred to of late. But in all his over enthusiasm to keep the audience entertained he has been doing a spate of formula films, with his track record at the box office going for a toss very often.Continue reading “Bengal Tiger Movie Review: Roaring Start, Tiring Finish”
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Kick 2 Movie Review: This ‘Kick’ Provides No ‘Comfort’
One of the hallmarks of a mass masala movie is having a hero who is brave, quick witted and totally endearing to the audience. So in 2009 when director Surender Reddy and Ravi Teja joined hands together for Kick, what emerged as a result was a complete entertainer, taking full advantage of Ravi Teja’s versatility. Kick went on to be remade in various languages, the most popular of them being the Hindi version of the same name, which released last year. Hence it was quite an event to look forward to, when the announcement of the sequel, Kick 2 was done last year. While Surender Reddy, writer Vakkantham Vamsi and actor Ravi Teja were signed on for the sequel as well, actor Nandamuri Kalyan Ram stepped in as producer, in place of R.R.Venkat who made the original. Through his banner N.T.R.Arts, Kalyan Ram has been producing films for the last several years, but this is the first time that he has produced a film which doesn’t feature him in the lead.Continue reading “Kick 2 Movie Review: This ‘Kick’ Provides No ‘Comfort’”
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Aagadu Movie Review: Severe Dose of Déjà vu, and A Leading Man in Control
That Srinu Vaitla is one of the most successful writer-directors in Telugu Cinema of late is a fact known to anyone & everyone who knows a bit about the industry. And most people also know that he is indeed a master when it comes to making formula masala films, all within a particular template that he’s gone on to perfect pretty well in film after film. Personally I admit to having enjoyed most of his films, despite their predictable pattern. In 2011 Srinu Vaitla and Mahesh Babu created box office history by coming together for Dookudu, a film which milked all the possible commercial ingredients to emerge a winner. So post Baadshah when Aagadu (One who will not stop) was announced by Srinu Vaitla with Mahesh Babu in the lead, expectations naturally were quite high, considering the success of their previous film. Aagadu incidentally is also produced by the same producers of Dookudu- Ram Achanta, Gopichand Achanta and Anil Sunkara of 14 Reels Entertainment (incidentally they also produced Mahesh Babu’s recent film, 1 Nenokkadine).Continue reading “Aagadu Movie Review: Severe Dose of Déjà vu, and A Leading Man in Control”
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Anukshanam Movie Review: A Glimpse Of Ram Gopal Varma’s Glorious Former Self
Ram Gopal Varma is a name that evokes admiration and dread in equal measures. The admiration can be attributed to his earlier films (Shiva, Rangeela, Satya to name a few) which largely changed the way movies were made in India. The dread can be attributed to his recent works which have mostly caused grief to the audiences (RGV ki Aag, Department, Agyaat to name a few) mainly due to the technical indulgences employed by him in the name of filmmaking. Once in a while we would see flashes of his glorious old self in films such as Rakta Charitra I, Attacks of 26/11 keeping alive the hope among his fans and audiences.Continue reading “Anukshanam Movie Review: A Glimpse Of Ram Gopal Varma’s Glorious Former Self”
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Manam Movie Review: A 3 Generation Family Saga with the Right Spirit
Recently while watching Mahesh Babu–Sukumar’s 1-Nenokkadine I experienced a moment where I felt that the director had let go off a lovely opportunity to make the audience, especially the fans of Mahesh Babu happy. If you’ve seen the movie you’d recollect that I’m referring to the climax portion where there is a lot of time devoted to Mahesh Babu trying to discover his old home and in the process remember his past. While we get to see and find out who his parents were, I thought it would have been wonderful to have Mahesh Babu himself and Namrata Shirodkar playing the parents. This I thought would have pretty innovative, considering the amount of time being devoted to this segment in the movie. Alas but that was not to be and we couldn’t get to face what could have been an interesting moment in an otherwise grandiose attempt but with its pitfalls galore.Continue reading “Manam Movie Review: A 3 Generation Family Saga with the Right Spirit”
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Race Gurram Movie Review: This Race Horse Trots a Little, Steers off Course for a While but Still Wins the Race
Till very recently I used to keep lamenting about the falling standards of Telugu Cinema and expressed my disappointment whenever I would end up watching anything and everything that was being projected as a good or great film, as I would disagree with the popular verdict on most occasions. Of late though I have made peace with myself and with the industry as by now I understand that the industry is passing through a tough phase, a phase that it has to pass through with great tact and control, to get itself rid of the mediocrity that prevails and all the ills that go along with it. Adding fuel to the fire is the constant political unrest that has now ensured that the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh has gone on to get split into two. For the Telugu audience for whom movie watching is a way of life and not a hobby, it is a little disheartening to see them starved of their regular dose of entertainment from time to time.Continue reading “Race Gurram Movie Review: This Race Horse Trots a Little, Steers off Course for a While but Still Wins the Race”
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Yevadu Movie Review: Of Twists, Turns and all that Jazz for a Formula Telugu Film
From time immemorial we are used to films of big stars releasing during the main festivals of the year across India. This is a phenomenon observed both in case of Hindi and Regional films. And in this regard Pongal/Sankranthi holds a special place of pride as not only is it the 1st major festival of the year, but it is also a festival that’s equally big in both Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and thus crucial for big Tamil and Telugu releases. Over the last few years Sankranthi has always seen 2-3 big Telugu films releasing and it’s not a surprise for more than 1 film to succeed. Though by and large it is the big masala entertainers which work majorly during this time, there can be exceptions as well. During Sankranthi in 2011 we saw a regular masala film like Mirapakaya and a smaller slice of life film like Golconda High School succeed. In 2012 both Businessman and Bodyguard succeeded and last year we saw the clash between Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu and Naayak and not surprisingly both the films succeeded.Continue reading “Yevadu Movie Review: Of Twists, Turns and all that Jazz for a Formula Telugu Film”
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Bhai: Sneak Peek
Veerabhadram Chowdary who has made back to back successful Telugu comedy films i.e Aha Naa Pellanta (2011) and Poola Rangadu (2012) now gets into the mass entertainer zone with Bhai featuring Nagarjuna in the lead. Continue reading “Bhai: Sneak Peek”
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