Dammu Movie Review

Story:

An orphan is adopted by a big Rajas family and is given the name Raja Vasi Reddy (Junior NTR). Raja Vasi Reddy comes to know that he will have to take a huge responsibility of saving his village from dreaded blood thirsty goons. At the start he will be reluctant to take the responsibility. But once he takes it to heart there is no stopping. How does he win over the enemies and how he makes his village a peaceful place is the crux of Dammu’s story.

Analysis:

Dammu is yet another commercial potboiler film with a routine story and age old backdrop. This film may not get glowing reviews from the critics. NTR fans will lap it up and will watch it repeatedly for NTR’s roaring performance. Dammu has the elements to lure the masses in B and C centers.

Director could have written a better screenplay to take the film to next level. There are too many ups and downs in the narration. Heroism never gets completely elevated as the story demands such underplay. But from the outlook of the film one would expect a better and powerful output.

Boyapati played it safe by taking up a subject that has been beaten to death many a time. He tried to add humor to the narration in first half and it is just okay. There are some really powerful sequences and equally dull moments in the film. Perhaps a low profile release would have received a better response.

Performances: 

Junior NTR was superb in this film. He was apt for the character and shouldered the film throughout. If not for NTR this film would have been a dud. NTR’s performance in interval scene got great response from his fans.

Trisha was fine and Karthika was not bad either. They don’t have much scope to perform. All they have to do is to shake their leg with NTR when needed and mouth few spicy dialogues. Nazar’s getup was good. Venu was Okay in his brief yet important role. Presence of Brahmanandam and Ali is felt but they didn’t make any difference to the film.

Technicalities: 

Dammu has good technical values. Cinematography was top notch and so was the music. Keeravani’s background score stands out. Editing could have been better and Dialogues add repeat value for the target audience. Producers spent a fortune on the film. It is very rich in every frame. Director Boyapati Srinu made sure that there are good number of powerful scenes. His trademark scenes were shot well and the rest of the scenes are just okay. Had he concentrated more on the screenplay, Dammu might have hit the right chords with the audience.

Final Word:

Dammu is for fans. NTR fans will be pleased with this powerful mass film as they didn’t get to see in such a powerful role in the recent times. Others may like it or may not like due to poor content and old concept.

Dammu Movie Rating: 1/5

Banner: Creative Commercials Entertainment
Casting: Jr NTR, Karthika, Trisha,
Direction: Boyapati Srinu
Music: M.M.Keeravani
Producer: Alexander Vallabha, KS Ramarao 

Neeku Naaku Dash Dash

                               There was a defining moment in Nuvvu-Nenu when Uday Kiran detested the tyranny of elders like a puerile, saying "Chi chi mee peddolu unnare.."  Watching Neeka Naku Dash Dash one feels that Teja has not been able to come out of that hangover.  In NNDD, the girl, now a tired heroine after hours and hours of running from chasing goondas, says to a violent cop, "Neeku moodindira", referring obviously to the heroism of the hero, who has all along presented a timid persona.  Coming as it does after she is beaten to a pulp, the scene would have raised the roof but for the fact that it was delivered by a bad actress.  Talking of the hero, like that Prince in Nijjam who wore a helpless look, debutante Prince wears a pathetic look throughout and seems like the alter ego of a child artist.  Sans good performances, what is left in NNDD is an overdose of already-seen elements and a dash of blah blah.

                      Teja knows well that there are only a handful of stories to tell, the problem is he doesn't know how to tell the same story with a different narration.  So, in NNDD he retells an old idea (at least a decade old, if not more) in a different setting.  In fact, the difference begins and ends with the setting.  It is basically a love story, a prop and a liquor syndicate out to nab the love birds are there just to cloak the trappings of Jayam that are so vividly on display.

                     Here the story is initially set in a factory where the hero and heroine prepare fake liquor.  The setting is a cottage industry but Teja gets into the Nuvvu Nenu mode and vainly tries to showcase it like a college campus.  He adds a heavy dose of low brow humour and a dash of masala to cook up chemistry between the two lovely captives, Shiva (Prince) and Gayathri (Nanditha), who work there like bonded labour along with many other 'college kids', owned by Bapineedu.

                 Shiva mistakes a co-worker to be a cheat and complains against him to Bapineedu, who guns him down and promotes Prince.  The truth, however, is that the murdered worker had been saving his salary for his sister's wedding.  Owing moral responsibility for his death, Prince takes upon himself to handover Rs. 5 lakhs to the deceased worker's mother.  In the process of running away after stealing Bapineedu's money, his problems are multiplied when a greedy Nanditha loots crores of rupees!  The dirty money minted by Bapineedu by tonnes is very important because a good chunk of the share goes to someone as important as the Home Minister.

                 There is a sincere police officer (Banerjee), who wants to finish Bapineedu.  The rest of the film is about who catches hold of the love birds on the run first - the cop or the crook?

Teja's stamp was on an impressive display for a good 45 minutes when the film entertained.  Rest of all it was an apologetic attempt at rehashing one or two oldish elements.  If a weak comedy track in the half-an-hour is placed on the heavy shoulders of Suman Shetty, Venu's comic timing in the second half works well.  Nanditha's repetition of the word 'dash' smacks of innuendo.

            Teja's style lies in treating the inhumanity of the villains with dispassion and the heroism of the underdog with indulgence.  Though he treats gore with a flourish in this film, the atavism of Bapineedu's mistress and Prince's later stage boldness look completely old-fashioned.  The romance is boring and even unseemly, its throwback to Chitram and Jayam is, again, outmoded.  Teja doesn't like to mix his thinking with that of others and that's why he doesn't watch TV, as he had said once.  Fair enough.  But how does he miss logic even though his head is not 'muddied' like the rest of us?  If you know who is missing, would you ask your warden to check whether that person is there in the hostel or ask him to count the heads?  There is so much unaccounted money in the almirah but Baneerjee is looking for evidence to arrest Bapineedu, thereby setting him as his competitor in hunting down the lovebirds.  Only in our films do we get to see illogical elements like this: A house where hundreds of crores are stashed away is guarded by unarmed men, all drunkards whom even the boss doesn't trust after 9'O clock.

                  There is no more any magic left in Teja's dialogues.  Yashwanth's Nag's music is not helped a bit by the poor tempo for the songs.  The cinematography was, however, adept.

Released on: 13th April, 2012

Racha Movie Review

Story:

Raj (Ram Charan) is a guy who makes money on bettings. His father (MS) falls ill and doctors say that his liver has to be transplanted. So Raj takes up a bet thrown by James (Ajmal) to make Chaitra (Tamanna) fall in his love. Chaitra is daughter of Ballari (Mukesh Rishi), a hardcore criminal and multi millionaire. Now Raj has a big challenge ahead of him. What happens next is to be seen on screen.

Analysis:

Racha has a routine plot and beaten to death narration. But having right mix of commercial elements is its biggest plus. The writers and the director got the formula right and have thrown in good twists at right intervals. The narration is also smooth and racy.

There are no dull moments in the film, which would work in its favor at the box office. Racha will be lapped up by the masses as it offers them right doses of mass entertainment. This film may not impress audience who seek variety and sensible narration. On the downside the film starts off on a weak note and only gains momentum after thirty minutes into the story.

Racha is over the top at times and that is what works here. If you are looking for some mass masala treat, Racha is the one for you. It has the potential to click at the box office.

Performances: 

Ram Charan did one man show in this film. He is at his best in the role of a slum boy with daring attitude. He imitated Chiru in few scenes and that will be liked by mega fans. His fluid dances and solid action sequences adds to the film. Charan can turn into a very big mass hero in the days to come. He is too good at portraying this type of roles.

Tamanna is a treat to watch. Her glamour is another positive point for the film. Tamanna’s skin show in songs, especially Vaana vaana song will win her more fans. Her performance is Okay too.

Ajmal is neat in an important role. Mukesh Rishi is usual. Brahmanandam provided comic relief and so did Ali in one lengthy comedy scene. Parthipan and Nazar are good in their brief yet important roles. The director made sure of using all the characters to have a free flowing screenplay and he did well.

Technicalities:

Sampath Nandi banked upon seasoned technicians for this film. Paruchuri Brothers did a fine job with the dialogues. There were few unnecessary and silly dialogues, but on a whole, dialogues are good. Music by Mani Sharma is a bonus. His background score elevates the film and keeps the audience interested. Songs are good on screen. Sameer Reddy’s cinematography is impressive. Editing by Gowtam Raju is adequate. The film is made on a grand scale.

Director Sampath Nandi exceeded everybody’s expectations by handling a routine script with complete command. He knows the pulse of mass audience. His direction in second half will impress. No nonsense approach is his biggest asset. Racha doesn’t bore at any point despite routine script.

Final Word:

Racha is for the masses. It has been a while since any mega hero did an out and out mass entertainer. Racha will be a treat for mega fans and will click with the B and C centers audiences. The success range will depend on how well they embrace it.

Racha Movie Rating: 3/5

Banner: Mega Super Good Films
Cast: Ram Charan Teja, Tamanna
Direction: Sampath Nandi
Music: Mani Sharma
Producer: RB Choudary  

3 Review – Dhanush Movie (Kolaveri fame)

To Download songs click here

Story:

This is story of Ram (Dhanush) and Janani (Shruti Haasan), who fall in love at very young age and decide to marry after their graduation. Unexpected events happen and Ram dies. Rest of the story is about the reasons for his death.

Analysis:

As every Tamil film that is releasing in Telugu these days, 3 too is a film with dark shades. This film starts on a colorful note and turns dark and gets darker as the movie progresses. It will be hard to digest the film as it is extremely depressing.

Audiences started walking out of the theaters just few minutes after the second half has started. Aishwarya tried to explore the darker side of life and audiences are not expecting such darkness from this ‘Kolaveri’ film.

Maybe you may find 3 alright if you are prepared to watch a dark film. However, the snail paced second half doesn’t allow the audience to sit through it.

Performances:  

Dhanush came up with extraordinary show yet again. He has lived the character which required him to show various shades of life. He simply excelled in his role. He can expect more awards out of this. Shruti Haasan fails as an actress. She is pathetic in sorrowful scenes. She has gone over the board many a time and it would be hard to bear her ‘performance’. She is definitely not a Kamal in acting. Rohini, Bhanu Priya and others did well.

Technicalities:

Techincally the movie is very good. Aishwarya had a very talented crew at her hands and they have done excellent job behind the screen. Anirudh’s music is pretty impressive. Kolaveri failed to reach the expectations on screen. Background score is good. Cinematography is another asset to the movie. Art department deserves a pat. Production values are nice.

Aishwarya excelled as a director in dealing with the teenage love. She should have stuck to a colorful love subject rather falling into the trap of Tamil dark movies. She failed to bring the right emotions in the latter half of the movie. Saying so, Aishwarya do have few qualities to become a good director, but she needs some fine tuning.

Final Word:

3 will appeal to offbeat movie lovers. Extreme darker tones doesn’t appeal to entertainment seeking Telugu audience.

3 Movie Rating: 2/5 

Banner: NK Theaters
Cast: Shruti Hassan, Dhanush,
Music: Anirudh Ravichander
Producer: Natti Kumar
Direction: Aishwarya R Dhanush