//TULASI///
Jeevi rating: 3/5
Punchline: silent 1st half, violent 2nd half
Genre: Action
Type: Straight
Banner: Suresh Productions
Cast: Venkatesh, Nayana Tara, Sivaji, Ramya Krishna, Asish Vidyardhi, Jaya Prakash Reddy, Rahul Dev, Ravi Babu, Riaz Khan, Tanikella Bharani, Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao, Ali, Raghubabu, Jhansi & Shriya (item song)
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Cast: Venkatesh, Nayana Tara, Sivaji, Ramya Krishna, Asish Vidyardhi, Jaya Prakash Reddy, Rahul Dev, Ravi Babu, Riaz Khan, Tanikella Bharani, Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao, Ali, Raghubabu, Jhansi & Shriya (item song)
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Dialogues: Paruchuri brothers
Action: Kanal Kannan & Ram Lakshman
Story: Boyapati Seenu & Akula Siva
Screenplay - direction: Boyapati Seenu
Producer: Suresh
Release date: 12 October 2007
Review
Story Tulasi (Venkatesh) is a lovable guy who falls in love with a co-tourist Vasundhara (Nayana Tara) in Europe. They like each other and get married. Then it is revealed that Tulasi comes from a family of factionists and he has an irresistible violent streak running in his blood. They bear a child and then Vasundhara keeps Tulasi away for his violent ways. The rest of the story is all about how he reasons out with his wife to get his family back.
Artists Performance
Venkatesh: Venkatesh is pretty good as Tulasi. His comedy timing and accent in the scene in which he imitates Jhansi is hilarious. The way he bites his tongue when is he is angry shows the typical angry expression of Palnadu area. He is very good in action sequences in the second half. However, it is appalling to see such a sensible actor like Venkatesh accepting to act in a climax scene that appears so inhumane (kidnapping a dieing kid).
Others: Nayana Tara did a meaty role where she has scope to display both glamour and histrionics. The kid Atulit is pretty cute. Sivaji did the role of heroine’s brother. Shriya did an item song. Jhansi’s comedy as Kokapeta aunty is good. There are eight villains in the film, but the screen time spared for them is minimal. Asish Vidyardhi succeeded in portraying cruelty. Ramya Krishna did a doctor role. Ali’s comedy is bland. Raghu Babu did a typical comedy sidekick role.
Technical Departments:
Story - screenplay - direction: The basic story of the film is clever amalgamation of various films like DDLJ (couples falling in love during transit trip in Europe), Daddy (wife separating from husband due to his weakness (kindness to friend in daddy and violence in Tulasi)), Anthahpuram (wife does not knowing about the violent past of husband), Yuvaraju (father - son relationship) etc. The director could not establish love feelings in the story, but succeeded in creating high voltage action drama in the flashback episode shot in Seema. The director chose to show the softer side in the first half and violent angle in the second half.
Other departments: The songs of the film are good though each one of them is a rehashed version of Devi Sri Prasad’s own music. Background score in action sequences (‘we will rock you’ bgm coupled with Chatrapati and Stalin kind of hero background music) is good. Cinematography is alright. Dialogues are adequate. The are couple of scenes in this film that appear abrupt due to inadequate editing. Action sequences are well choreographed. The makers tried to blast various vehicles in flashback episode to excite masses.
Analysis: First half of the film is mediocre. Second half is better. But the climax of the film is inhumane. The plus points of the film are Venkatesh and the seema flashback episode. The negative points of the film are excessive violence in second half and inconsistency in the story narration. The commercial success of the film depends on how masses embrace this film.
Tulasi links
Review
Story Tulasi (Venkatesh) is a lovable guy who falls in love with a co-tourist Vasundhara (Nayana Tara) in Europe. They like each other and get married. Then it is revealed that Tulasi comes from a family of factionists and he has an irresistible violent streak running in his blood. They bear a child and then Vasundhara keeps Tulasi away for his violent ways. The rest of the story is all about how he reasons out with his wife to get his family back.
Artists Performance
Venkatesh: Venkatesh is pretty good as Tulasi. His comedy timing and accent in the scene in which he imitates Jhansi is hilarious. The way he bites his tongue when is he is angry shows the typical angry expression of Palnadu area. He is very good in action sequences in the second half. However, it is appalling to see such a sensible actor like Venkatesh accepting to act in a climax scene that appears so inhumane (kidnapping a dieing kid).
Others: Nayana Tara did a meaty role where she has scope to display both glamour and histrionics. The kid Atulit is pretty cute. Sivaji did the role of heroine’s brother. Shriya did an item song. Jhansi’s comedy as Kokapeta aunty is good. There are eight villains in the film, but the screen time spared for them is minimal. Asish Vidyardhi succeeded in portraying cruelty. Ramya Krishna did a doctor role. Ali’s comedy is bland. Raghu Babu did a typical comedy sidekick role.
Technical Departments:
Story - screenplay - direction: The basic story of the film is clever amalgamation of various films like DDLJ (couples falling in love during transit trip in Europe), Daddy (wife separating from husband due to his weakness (kindness to friend in daddy and violence in Tulasi)), Anthahpuram (wife does not knowing about the violent past of husband), Yuvaraju (father - son relationship) etc. The director could not establish love feelings in the story, but succeeded in creating high voltage action drama in the flashback episode shot in Seema. The director chose to show the softer side in the first half and violent angle in the second half.
Other departments: The songs of the film are good though each one of them is a rehashed version of Devi Sri Prasad’s own music. Background score in action sequences (‘we will rock you’ bgm coupled with Chatrapati and Stalin kind of hero background music) is good. Cinematography is alright. Dialogues are adequate. The are couple of scenes in this film that appear abrupt due to inadequate editing. Action sequences are well choreographed. The makers tried to blast various vehicles in flashback episode to excite masses.
Analysis: First half of the film is mediocre. Second half is better. But the climax of the film is inhumane. The plus points of the film are Venkatesh and the seema flashback episode. The negative points of the film are excessive violence in second half and inconsistency in the story narration. The commercial success of the film depends on how masses embrace this film.
Tulasi links
//CHIRUTHA//
Jeevi rating: 3/5
Punchline: mega launch
Genre: Action
Type: Straight
Banner: Vyjayanthi Movies
Cast: Ram Charan Teja, Neha Sharma, Asish Vidyardhi, Prakash Raj, Ali, Dharmavarapu, Brahmanandam, MS Narayana, Surya, Sayaji Shinde etc
Camera: Shyam K Naidu
Cast: Ram Charan Teja, Neha Sharma, Asish Vidyardhi, Prakash Raj, Ali, Dharmavarapu, Brahmanandam, MS Narayana, Surya, Sayaji Shinde etc
Camera: Shyam K Naidu
Music: Mani Sharma
Art: Chinna
Editing: Varma
Story - screenplay - dialogues - direction: Puri Jagan
Producer: C Aswini Dutt
Release date: 28 September 2007
Review
Story Charan (Ram Charan Teja) has a bad childhood as his father was murdered in front of his eyes. And he had to own somebody else’s mistake and go to jail to save his mother. When he returns back, he realizes that his mother is dead. Then he is employed as a tour guide in Bangkok. Sanjana (Neha Sharma) - the daughter of a rich man - is on vacation to Bangkok along with her friends. The rest of the story is how they fall in love and how Charan takes revenge on the people who are responsible for the murder of his father.
Artists Performance
Ram Charan Teja: Ram Charan Teja is simply superb. His debut is undoubtedly one of the best debuts in Telugu film industry. He looks so soft outside. But in the film, he appeared like a man who is cutout for the masses with a slight beard and manly demeanor. He is as good as Chiranjeevi is dances department. There is amazing fluidity and rhythm in his body. He is extremely good in doing fights. His casual action is also good. One would have suspected a little about his dialogue delivery before watching the film. And he is really good at delivering dialogues. There is a bit of bass in his voice which can be used for uttering powerful dialogues. And most importantly there is a bit of innocence and cuteness in his face which would make it an ideal choice for love stories as well. He has got everything right in his first film and with proper career planning only sky is the limit. To sum up in one line, Ram Charan Teja has all the qualities to become the future mega star!
Others: Neha Sharma did the role of a haughty girl. Since her character is an irritating one, it causes a bit of inconvenience to the viewers. The voice of dubbing artist was also rendered at high pitch which is not good. Asish Vidyardhi did a limited, but vital role in the film. Prakash Raj did the role of over-protective rich dad of the heroine. Ali’s comedy as eunuch and his slang is humorous if you ignore the vulgarity aspect in it. MS Narayana is alright.
Technical Departments:
Story - screenplay - direction: The story of the film is prepared in such a way that it exploits and exhibits various histrionic aspects from the debut hero. That is the reason why the film starts with a sentiment scene, followed by action episode and then continued with romantic escapades. Hence, the story of the film became a hotchpotch one. Puri Jagan’s mark is there is certain scenes of the film, but his typical characterization is missing. He succeeded in showing Ram Charan’s entry in an exciting style. The editing cuts and stylish taking in hero’s introduction scene are excellent. Puri Jagan succeeded in presenting the hero very well. But in the process, he did not do justice to the story and screenplay. The second half should have been better.
Other departments: Music by Mani Sharma is pretty good. All songs coupled with good picturization and cool visuals get the best out of Ram Charan Teja. The way Puri Jagan added leads for the first two songs (like Mani Ratnam) is cool. Cinematography by Shyam K Naidu is neat. Puri Jagan changed his dialogue style for this film.
Analysis: The first half of the film is alright. The second half slows down a bit. The plus points of the film are Ram Charan Teja, songs and fights. On the flip side a better heroine and a better second half would have done wonders to the film. This film proves that Ram Charan Teja possess all qualities to become the next mega star. Chiranjeevi’s pulling capacity and Puri Jagan winning box office streak makes this film a hot proposition. We have to wait and see for the box office verdict.
Review
Story Charan (Ram Charan Teja) has a bad childhood as his father was murdered in front of his eyes. And he had to own somebody else’s mistake and go to jail to save his mother. When he returns back, he realizes that his mother is dead. Then he is employed as a tour guide in Bangkok. Sanjana (Neha Sharma) - the daughter of a rich man - is on vacation to Bangkok along with her friends. The rest of the story is how they fall in love and how Charan takes revenge on the people who are responsible for the murder of his father.
Artists Performance
Ram Charan Teja: Ram Charan Teja is simply superb. His debut is undoubtedly one of the best debuts in Telugu film industry. He looks so soft outside. But in the film, he appeared like a man who is cutout for the masses with a slight beard and manly demeanor. He is as good as Chiranjeevi is dances department. There is amazing fluidity and rhythm in his body. He is extremely good in doing fights. His casual action is also good. One would have suspected a little about his dialogue delivery before watching the film. And he is really good at delivering dialogues. There is a bit of bass in his voice which can be used for uttering powerful dialogues. And most importantly there is a bit of innocence and cuteness in his face which would make it an ideal choice for love stories as well. He has got everything right in his first film and with proper career planning only sky is the limit. To sum up in one line, Ram Charan Teja has all the qualities to become the future mega star!
Others: Neha Sharma did the role of a haughty girl. Since her character is an irritating one, it causes a bit of inconvenience to the viewers. The voice of dubbing artist was also rendered at high pitch which is not good. Asish Vidyardhi did a limited, but vital role in the film. Prakash Raj did the role of over-protective rich dad of the heroine. Ali’s comedy as eunuch and his slang is humorous if you ignore the vulgarity aspect in it. MS Narayana is alright.
Technical Departments:
Story - screenplay - direction: The story of the film is prepared in such a way that it exploits and exhibits various histrionic aspects from the debut hero. That is the reason why the film starts with a sentiment scene, followed by action episode and then continued with romantic escapades. Hence, the story of the film became a hotchpotch one. Puri Jagan’s mark is there is certain scenes of the film, but his typical characterization is missing. He succeeded in showing Ram Charan’s entry in an exciting style. The editing cuts and stylish taking in hero’s introduction scene are excellent. Puri Jagan succeeded in presenting the hero very well. But in the process, he did not do justice to the story and screenplay. The second half should have been better.
Other departments: Music by Mani Sharma is pretty good. All songs coupled with good picturization and cool visuals get the best out of Ram Charan Teja. The way Puri Jagan added leads for the first two songs (like Mani Ratnam) is cool. Cinematography by Shyam K Naidu is neat. Puri Jagan changed his dialogue style for this film.
Analysis: The first half of the film is alright. The second half slows down a bit. The plus points of the film are Ram Charan Teja, songs and fights. On the flip side a better heroine and a better second half would have done wonders to the film. This film proves that Ram Charan Teja possess all qualities to become the next mega star. Chiranjeevi’s pulling capacity and Puri Jagan winning box office streak makes this film a hot proposition. We have to wait and see for the box office verdict.
//HAPPY DAYS//
Jeevi rating: 3.5/5
Punchline: a journey through college days
Genre: Youth
Type: Straight
Banner: Amigoes Creations
Cast: Sandesh, Nikhil, Vamsi Krishna, Raahul, Tamanna, Gayatri Rao, Sonia, Monali Chowdary and Kamalinee Mukherjee (in a guest role)
Camera: Vijay C Kumar
Cast: Sandesh, Nikhil, Vamsi Krishna, Raahul, Tamanna, Gayatri Rao, Sonia, Monali Chowdary and Kamalinee Mukherjee (in a guest role)
Camera: Vijay C Kumar
Music: Mickey J Meyer
Art: Kishore Chowksi
Editing: Marthand K Vankatesh
Story - screenplay - dialogues - direction: Sekhar Kammula
Producer: Sekhar Kammula
Release date: 29 September 2007
Review
Story Chandu (Sandesh), Rajesh (Nikhil), Shankar (Vamsi Krishna), Tyson (Raahul), Madhu (Tamanna), Appu (Gayatri Rao) and Sangeeta (Monali Chowdary) are a bunch of freshers in a college. They all together make a fine gang. Chandu - Madhu, Rajesh - Appu Shankar - Sangeeta soon build up their relation and become pairs. Tyson - a nerd with a heart of gold - ends up falling in love with a senior Sravanthi (Sonia). The rest of the story is how they spend their four years of their education in the campus and express love for their respective dear ones.
Artists Performance
Main male leads: This film boasts of perfect casting. You see characters, not the actors. All the new comers performed in an extremely natural way. And by the time movie ends, we end up understanding the characteristics and traits of each and every one. As per the footage and likeability of the character is concerned Varun Sandesh takes the top ranking. He is extremely lovable and his striking resemblance to hero Siddhardh is an added advantage. He understood the character very well. The next is Raahul. Lots of credit should be given to Sekhar Kammula for penning such a beautiful character and Raahul suited it to the tee. Nikhil is pretty good as the tapori. He got considerable importance towards the latter half of the second half. Vamsi Krishna is a pretty good actor, but did not get enough scope to perform. The two guys who had donned the role of seniors are good.
Main female leads: Tamanna is the main heroine of the film. She is very good and she oozed natural expressions in all her scenes. Gayatri Rao is also very natural and likable. However, it is Sonia who steals the show with her extremely natural and at times subtle expressions. Monali Chowdary is good as the bad girl. Kamalinee Mukherjee did the role of an extremely glamorous lecturer and she dubbed her own voice. She is cool.
Technical Departments:
Story - screenplay - direction: There is not much of a story in this film. It is about the love of four couples spread over four years. What makes the big difference to this simple and plain story is director's ability to create interest throughout the film with neat screenplay. He brought out tremendous emotion in the scenes of separation and reunion between the pairs.
The following scenes standout:
1. The separation scene of Tyson and Sravanthi is very fascinating.
Review
Story Chandu (Sandesh), Rajesh (Nikhil), Shankar (Vamsi Krishna), Tyson (Raahul), Madhu (Tamanna), Appu (Gayatri Rao) and Sangeeta (Monali Chowdary) are a bunch of freshers in a college. They all together make a fine gang. Chandu - Madhu, Rajesh - Appu Shankar - Sangeeta soon build up their relation and become pairs. Tyson - a nerd with a heart of gold - ends up falling in love with a senior Sravanthi (Sonia). The rest of the story is how they spend their four years of their education in the campus and express love for their respective dear ones.
Artists Performance
Main male leads: This film boasts of perfect casting. You see characters, not the actors. All the new comers performed in an extremely natural way. And by the time movie ends, we end up understanding the characteristics and traits of each and every one. As per the footage and likeability of the character is concerned Varun Sandesh takes the top ranking. He is extremely lovable and his striking resemblance to hero Siddhardh is an added advantage. He understood the character very well. The next is Raahul. Lots of credit should be given to Sekhar Kammula for penning such a beautiful character and Raahul suited it to the tee. Nikhil is pretty good as the tapori. He got considerable importance towards the latter half of the second half. Vamsi Krishna is a pretty good actor, but did not get enough scope to perform. The two guys who had donned the role of seniors are good.
Main female leads: Tamanna is the main heroine of the film. She is very good and she oozed natural expressions in all her scenes. Gayatri Rao is also very natural and likable. However, it is Sonia who steals the show with her extremely natural and at times subtle expressions. Monali Chowdary is good as the bad girl. Kamalinee Mukherjee did the role of an extremely glamorous lecturer and she dubbed her own voice. She is cool.
Technical Departments:
Story - screenplay - direction: There is not much of a story in this film. It is about the love of four couples spread over four years. What makes the big difference to this simple and plain story is director's ability to create interest throughout the film with neat screenplay. He brought out tremendous emotion in the scenes of separation and reunion between the pairs.
The following scenes standout:
1. The separation scene of Tyson and Sravanthi is very fascinating.
2. Rajesh’s reaction after he beats up his friend Shankar.
3. The way he ended the love thread between Tyson and Sravanthi. If Sravanthi accepted Tyson's love, then it would appear that the director is giving messages that it is ok to love your senior girls in the college.
The following dialogues are so meaningful and true:
1. Love and fear can never coexist.
The following dialogues are so meaningful and true:
1. Love and fear can never coexist.
2. A boy's character is judged by the kind of girls he roams with.
3. The college life may fail you to achieve great academic rewards, but it will definitely give you the ability to achieve any thing.
4. College Days are Happy Days. The days that follow college days are purposeful days.
However the following aspects of the film are unwarranted:
1. Rajesh's hair style in the beginning appears artificial. And he keeps using Telangana dialect though he is from Proddutur (Rayalaseema).
However the following aspects of the film are unwarranted:
1. Rajesh's hair style in the beginning appears artificial. And he keeps using Telangana dialect though he is from Proddutur (Rayalaseema).
2. Tyson doing some scientific tricks. The extent of the tricks should have been limited.
3. The character of Panduranga Rao was introduced well. But there is no ending to that character.
I could not resist from bringing the comparison of the ego clash between lead pair in this film to that of Kushi film. In that film Bhumika Chawla had a clash with Pawan because he peeked at her midriff. In this film the ego clash comes out because the guy wants to kiss the girl.
Other departments: Music of the film is excellent and the two songs in the first half (music + visuals) take you to the different level. Micky J Meyer is just superb. Other department that dominates the movie is great cinematography. Visuals are a feast to the eyes. Vijay C Kumar who followed single color pattern for Anand and Godavari came up with different color sceheme for this film so that the visuals match the vibrancy of college atmosphere. Editing by Marthand K Venkatesh deserves special mention. He made sure the scenes flow in the film is smooth.
Analysis: First half of the film is neat though some of us might feel that Sekhar Kammula kind of emotional scenes are not there. But in the second half of the film, he added good emotional episodes and made sure that you get connected with the film. The plus points of the film are direction, fresh cast, music, cinematography and editing. On the flip side, the pace of the film slackens at times. Sekhar Kammula who did female oriented films like Anand and Godavari came up with a film of different genre this time. The genre might be changed, but his honesty and filmmaking abilities are in tact. If he sticks to his sensibilities, Sekhar Kammula can never make a bad film. Go and watch 'Happy Days'
Other departments: Music of the film is excellent and the two songs in the first half (music + visuals) take you to the different level. Micky J Meyer is just superb. Other department that dominates the movie is great cinematography. Visuals are a feast to the eyes. Vijay C Kumar who followed single color pattern for Anand and Godavari came up with different color sceheme for this film so that the visuals match the vibrancy of college atmosphere. Editing by Marthand K Venkatesh deserves special mention. He made sure the scenes flow in the film is smooth.
Analysis: First half of the film is neat though some of us might feel that Sekhar Kammula kind of emotional scenes are not there. But in the second half of the film, he added good emotional episodes and made sure that you get connected with the film. The plus points of the film are direction, fresh cast, music, cinematography and editing. On the flip side, the pace of the film slackens at times. Sekhar Kammula who did female oriented films like Anand and Godavari came up with a film of different genre this time. The genre might be changed, but his honesty and filmmaking abilities are in tact. If he sticks to his sensibilities, Sekhar Kammula can never make a bad film. Go and watch 'Happy Days'
BY AVINASH
