The first movie of Ravi Teja that I was impressed by was
Avunnu Vallu iddaru Ishtapadaru. This was one of the first movies that I saw in
my graduation days at Vizag. Strolling close to Jyothi theatre, in pursuit of
Indra’s tickets, my eye chanced upon a poster of the movie ‘Idiot’. My brain
registered it as a movie that would be adulterous. The poster was such that it
created intrigue in many minds. It had the protagonist digging his head into
the bosom of the heroine.
I decided that I wouldn’t watch the movie, not that I was
decent or anything, but I didn’t have enough money to splurge. I was also of
the opinion that bar that scene, there wouldn’t be anything to look forward to
in the movie. When I returned home for vacations, my father said that Idiot had
the protagonist in a ‘different’ role. Still sceptical, I bought home a CD and
admired the acting of the protagonist. I saw a few weeks ago in a diametrically
opposite role and admired the acting potential. Little did I imagine that I was
advancing towards fandom.
Come December and there was another release of Ravi Teja-
Khadgam. I saw this in Vizag, before leaving home for vacations. There are two
frames in this movie, that will always be etched in my memory; one, where Ravi
Teja says ‘Devudu maayam ayipoyadu enti’ (How come god has vanished?) and the
other where he says ‘haun! main!’ (yes that’s me) in his own inimitable style
Along the line, I saw all his movies multiple times. Then,
in 2004, came the rip-roaring comedy Venky. A musical hit, it had Ravi
Teja in full form. He was beginning to earn the respect of many more people by
the dint of his comic timing. That a man, who appeared in 1991 in his first
starring role and winged to a hero’s role in 2002 aroused curiosity. The best
was yet to come, though
As he accrued hits and super hits in his account, people
started complaining about the sameness in his roles. The ‘underdog’ achieving
bigger things in life and getting the girl that he covets was being beaten to
death by him. When he did veer off the beaten track, he met with failures.
He has been asked in multiple interviews about the
similarity of his roles. His reply to them was simple and straight. The
financial performance of a movie is more important than the critical acclaim. I
did a few movies for critical acclaim and the world knows the fate of those
movies (Naa Autograph, Neninthe)
This stretch of flops is a little painful for people who
admire him. There is a block of around five minutes in Daruvu, which exposes the
unseen side of Ravi Teja. The subdued portrayal of a Home Minister with
negative shades burns the screen. Pity, it wasn’t developed as a full-blown
idea.
There is another hidden aspect in Ravi Teja’s performances-
dialogue modulation. Vikramarkudu, Venky, Neninthe, Kick, Mirpakay, name a
movie and it would have superb dialogue modulation by Ravi Teja. The modulation
is the main reason why he drew himself closer to the masses
There are certain set of people, who feel that his career
has been book-ended by Pawan Kalyan’s blockbusters. The way fortunes change in
the industry, he is just a hit away from redemption. Whether he gets it or not
is best left to fate. The same group of people who have been writing obituaries
for his career, in relation to Pawan Kalyan, must realise that no one would
have played the characters he played, more convincingly than him. Yes, not even
the man whose rejected films fell into his lap
Relativity is another reason why people are drawn to him. He
is like the man next door, but in a hyper-active version. Bar Daruvu, I have
never felt he overacted in other movies. The movies might have let him down,
but he has never let down a movie.
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