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Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum review

Why waste dialogues when a few visuals can convey them? Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum sets the tone early in the movie when they show a tribe getting displaced because of mining activities in the region Why waste dialogues on an actor, when his eyes can do the trick for you? LB Sriram, often an underrated actor has but a few dialogues in the movie. He is always digging and storing away soil for future use. He says, “Thindi lekapoina parvaledhu, mattini adigithe peduthundhi. Matti-e lekapothe? “ (We can always depend on the soil for food (agriculture), but what if there isn’t soil available?” Dialogues in the movie are the lifeline. It helps that the diction of Rana is top notch in the movie. Early in the movie, when the credits are rolling, a couple sitting on the porch say, “Nyayam, annayam lo Annyayam chelltuthundhi, endhukante annyayam lo oka aksharam hechhu ga” (When it comes to justice and injustice, it’s injustice that always prevails because it has more alphabets)
The problem with genres in Telugu cinema is that there exists a template for every genre. The same is true for the so-called ‘Fantasy’ or ‘Socio-fantasy’ genre too. The premise for these movies is established in the beginning and the audience are all waiting for the good to prevail over the evil. Dhamarukam, a movie that has faced problems from the time the makers announced a release date. After postponements and public humour, the movie’s prints did turn up at the theatres today. The ticket counter people themselves were perplexed at the multiple postponements. In fact, yesterday when I asked them as to why the internet booking wasn’t opened for the movie, they replied saying they weren’t sure if the prints would come. Once you get to see the movie, you would be surprised that the amount purported to have spent on the movie was actually spent. The CG work on the movie is nothing to write home about. What makes you sit through the movie is dashing Nagarjuna. The directo

Superman or Bradman of 2012

Who averages 1022 in Test cricket this year, every time he crosses 100? Who is the player having a conversion rate of close to 80% in scoring centuries? Who is it that has broken the record of Bradman and Ponting today by scoring an unprecedented 4 th double ton in the calendar year? The answer to all of the above is Michael Clarke, the captain of the Australian Test team. From the time he has been made the captain, he has been contributing with the bat. The century in the final test in Sri Lanka, where Australia conceded a 163 run lead remains fresh in the mind. His batting in that innings was of such top quality that not a single run came off the edge (outside/inside) of the bat. Then came the century at Cape Town. People remember it as much for the stroke play as for the examination of his technique against shorter ball by Steyn. Today too, in the initial phase of his innings, he was subjected to the same treatment by the same bowler. Steyn came back with the same q

Cameraman Ganga tho Rambabu review

When asked his opinion on Monty Panesar, the legendary leg spinner, Shane Warne said “Monty hasn’t played 33 Tests, he has played the same Test 33 times.” Hilarious, it surely was, but it also tells us that the lack of variety can never go unnoticed. Puri Jagannadh is also treading the same path as Monty Panesar now. His movies have become monotonous. No two ways about it. Protagonist leading a normal life, rises in staure, opposes authority and finally, gets his way. This has been the standard flow in the majority of his movies. A more recent addition is the way they talk to/about women. In spite of all these blemishes, there are moments of brilliance in the movie, depending on your perspective that is. The scene where Pawan Kalyan confronts Prakash Raj on his knowledge about Telugu Thalli and the scene where he explains to Tamannah that every man is a poet in his own right are pointers to a brilliant dialogue writer hidden in the reckless director that we have come to k

Devudu Chesina Manashulu review

Ravi Teja must be in a huge quandary right now. Once acclaimed as a minimum guarantee hero, he is craving for a minimum guarantee movie now. With Mirpakaya it seemed as if he had reached a level of stardom. Pity then, it has been all downhill after the hit of Mirpakaya The movie in question, Devudu Chesina Manushulu, has nothing to satiate an average viewer. Nothing at all. For a Ravi Teja fan like me, it is a different matter altogether. I can watch the crappiest of films that he has a role in and not complain. So looking for complaints from me on this movie would be futile. *This is a rant, you can progress to the next Para and wouldn’t have missed anything* In December 2008, Neninthe released and was blasted back from the screens because it criticised certain sections of media crudely. There wasn’t a single review that had good words for the movie. Today, as I couldn’t see the movie FDFS, I did check in to find a few reviews. I wasn’t surprised by what Deepa Garimella

Australia Under-19s V England Under-19s

Till lunch the match seemed evenly poised. The introduction of the captain, AJ Ball, into the attack eased the pressure on the Australian batsmen. The pull shot by Head off Ball had resounding effect. Twice, Australia tried to mount a counter-attack and both the times the batsman trying to do it was dismissed. Jamie Overton, exchanged a few words with Patterson after being swatted for a boundary and delivered the perfect riposte- an away swinger pitching just outside the off stump. That was the last wicket that England got. Australia got away on account of a tactical blunder by England. England did not bowl Jamie Overton immediately after lunch, thus allowing Bosisto to secure up one end. In the morning session, both Paris and Steketee got their first wickets with deceptive inswingers. While Paris foxed Drummond with a fuller delivery, Steketee disturbed the woodwork as Foakes left it alone thinking it would swing away. Sandhu offered no respite with his height. He bowled shor

Julayi movie review

There are directors who know the mass pulse and can set the cash registers ringing. There are directors who can make the best of wooden faces act. There are directors who feel that it’s their job to make movies and make it the way they like it, regardless of the mass sensibilities. There are directors who mould their working style to the strengths of the actor, thereby bringing the latent talents to the fore. Trivikram Srinivas belongs to the last class of the directors Allu Arjun, for most of us, is known as an actor whose strength doesn’t lie in reciting pages of dialogues. It still isn’t. Trivikram comes into the picture here, as he doesn’t expose this particular weakness by giving him short dialogues and crispy one’s at that. Trivikram’s movies have all got similar ingredients- dialogues, romantic track of the hero with a weak female protagonist and a patriarchal character. From Jalsa on, he has had one more thing added to the list- comical performances by the protagon

Eega movie review

In the making for nearly two and a half years, Eega has a lot of box office hopes riding on it. Not because of the subject, not because of the script, not because of the actors, not because of the producers, but for the fact that it is directed by SS Rajamouli. It is because of his track record that there are a lot of expectations of riding on it. With not a star in the cast, it was a huge gamble to invest 30 crores on the movie. The money invested shows, as the CG work in the movie is something that has never been seen in a Telugu movie. What keeps the audience glued to the movie? They lay in wait for the housefly, and when it does come they want to see what made Rajamouli believe in this all through. The thing that made him postpone the release a few times. The effort is there for all to see. It is said that the barometer of a good actor is his/her performance in the close-up shots. The protagonist in the movie, Eega, has only close-up shots and the credit for it

West Indies V New Zealand - First ODI

Bereft of choices, through injuries and resting players, New Zealand is actually making West Indies look like a force to reckon with. With the win in the first ODI, West Indies have now won three matches on trot. This win would be more satisfactory than the wins they registered in the two T20 games in Florida. Everything came together for them in Kingston. The bowling by the new-ball bowlers, Narine containing the batsmen, and finally the firepower in the batting coming good. Everything that the West Indies wanted to happen in the match, happened. If one has to be picky, then the fielding needs improvement. Though they held all their catches, it was the ground fielding that left a lot to be desired. Man of the match, Andre Russell, combined swing with intelligence to take three wickets in his first spell. He removed Guptill with a ball that moved away late. Guptill edged it to Sammy at second slip. It was his bowling to Flynn that made the spectators sit up. He beat him

Gangs of Wasseypur

Are you a person who likes to go back into the past, to know why the present is so? Are you a person who wants to know how Bollywood movies are inspired from the one’s made in the southern part of India? Anurag Kashyap, in an interview mentioned that the genesis for ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ lay in a few Tamil movies he saw when he was in Chennai, the reason for him crediting the ‘Madurai Triumvirate’ of Bala, Ameer, and Sasikumar. The movie set in Wasseypur, talks about the rise of a selfish capitalist, and the exploitation of workers. The movie also talks about the Qureishi-Pathan clash in the town and how the capitalist uses the situation to his advantage. The magic of the movie is in the characterisation, rather than the story line. For instance, Richa Chaddha needn’t have such a lengthy role, but portraying her as a strong and a forgiving lady adds to the character of Manoj Bajpayee The movie, undoubtedly, belongs to Manoj Bajpayee. Every single scene that he is in, is

Yendukante Premanta movie review

When I heard the songs of Yendukante Premanta, I wanted to see the movie for one song- Nee Choopule. I learned later that it was a source of huge relief to see it in the initial frames itself. Job done, I sat through the movie and couldn’t find a single thing I would remember after two days, bar the song The initial scenes set the tone for the narrative. A narrative that refuses to move, and be linear. Karunakaran has a set pattern for his narrative. A motherless heroine, good in character, focussed, and morally on a higher plane. The goalless hero, whose life takes a turn after he meets the heroine and pining with unrequited love. And before we forget, the hero has a strict father (not in darling) who is made to look comical So the story has nothing new to offer, but for a twist(!) in the tale. The twist here is, that everything is going to be good at the end and that’s announced about fifty minutes into the movie. Well, it is that sort of a movie. Every movie, especially