Amrutham – Chandamamalo Movie Review – 2/5
Rating : 2/5
Movie : Amrutham – Chandamamalo
Cast: Avasarala Srinivas , Harish , Dhanya and others
Directed by : Gunnam Gangaraju
Produced by : Gunnam Gangaraju
Banner :Just YellowMedia
Music by : Sri
Release Date : 2014-05-17
Your Rating : [ratings]
Amrutham – Chandamamalo Movie Review
Critically acclaimed director Gunnam Gangaraju who was the creative mind behind popular sitcom Amrutham made a feature film ‘Amrutham-Chandamamalo’ based on the characters of sitcom. This was promoted as the first space comedy ever on Telugu Screen. Let’s see how impressive it is..
What is it about?
Amrutha Rao (Avasarala) and Anjaneyulu (Harish) plans to expand their business to moon after they become highly successful as hoteliers in India. They get tricked by a rocket company agent and lose all their money and dragged on to the roads. Did they get back all their lost money? What happened to their dream of establishing business on Moon?
Performances:
Avasarala Srinivas: He didn’t bring any significant changes to the stock character of Amrutha Rao. His casual acting and free flowing dialog delivery are nice. Avasarala should stick to supporting roles to make the best use of his talent.
Harish: Harish is alright as Anjaneyulu. He couldn’t outclass Gundu Hanumantha Rao who has excelled in this character in Amrutham.
Others: Dhanya Balakrishnan goes overboard in comedy scenes. She suited well to the character though. Sivannarayana is good as the greedy house owner. Rao Ramesh is neat. Vasu is okay. The young pair has come up with pretty average performance.
Technicalities:
Direction: Gunnam Gangaraju’s previous films as director didn’t do well at the box office. But he got a very good name for dealing with different concepts. Little Soldiers and Amma Cheppindi are class apart. Amrutham is the brainchild of Gangaraju and he has made it very successful on TV. Transforming it on to silver screen is a huge task and Gangaraju failed big time with ACL. Fun episodes looked forced and seemed like he was trying too hard to make them work. One who admires Gangaraju wouldn’t appreciate this film at all.
Others: Gangaraju had an experienced team on board, but sadly none of them could deliver. Cinematography was bland and made the product design look cheap all the way. Music didn’t impress at all. The parody songs couldn’t pack the punch. Dialogues written by Gangaraju were good in parts.
Thumbs Up:
Hard to find the plus points
Thumbs Down:
Second half is a big letdown
Direction and screenplay were awful
Film making of Television standards
Analysis:
Amrutham fans and Gunnam Gangaraju admirers might have expected this film to be a laughing riot. But the film failed on every level and ends up as a huge disappointment. Chandamamalo Amrutham had some good moments here and there, but they are just not enough to make audiences sit through the film.
First half is alright with subtle humor barring the episodes of ‘silent wedding’ and the other scenes that involve factionists. The film goes downhill post interval and it wouldn’t pick up after that. It just goes down and down leaving audiences in plain disgust. Scenes shot in ‘space’ were awful at the best. One would wonder what happened to the creative brain of Gangaraju to write such a bland comedy.
Other thing that lets down big time is the production design of the film. It looks like a film that was made for TV. It is advisable to watch Amrutham old episodes on Youtube for free rather paying money for this pathetic comedy. This wouldn’t take too long to make an appearance on TV and who knows it may click there too. After all Amrutham is a brand on TV no?
Verdict:
Poisonous Comedy!
Dillunnodu Movie Review – 1/5
Movie Rating : 1/5
Cast: Sairam Shankar, Jasmin Bhasin, Priyadarsini, Sapthagiri.
Screenplay, Direction: Jaya Ravindra
Music: Sekhar Chandra
Camera: Dasaradhi Sivendra
Editing: MR Varma
Date: 17-05-2014
Your Rating : [ratings]
Dillunnodu Movie Review
Movie Story :
Cab company owner Sai (Sairam Shankar) adores a software employee Chaithra (Jasmin Bhasin) and the girl rejects him. Few months later he falls flat for a bank manager Simran (Priyadarsini). Chaithra who couldn’t forget Sai proposes him on the same day when Simran accepts his love. Surprisingly, Sai admits both. Sai decides to marry both the girls and in the process he takes them to Bangkok.
Sai introduces one to the other girl as best friends. They spend good time at Bangkok and finally Sai reveals his version of love for both the girls. How, both react to his proposal. How their parents retort? Whom Sai finally settles with?
Movie Advantages :
1. Few comedy scenes
Movie Drawbacks :
1. Logic less story
2. Pathetic screenplay
3. Heroines performance
4. Awful cinematography
5. Weak editing
6. Noisy music
7. Jaya Ravindra direction
8. Comedians wasted
Analysis :
Dillunnodu has superb padding with top comedians such as Sapthagiri, Dharmavarapu Subramanyam, MS Narayana, Satyam Rajesh, Brahmanandam etc on board. All of them were wasted totally though Sapthagiri was good at places. With logic less story, pathetic screenplay and immature direction Jaya Ravindra made it as an awful movie.
New age love story doesn’t mean one can love and marry any number girls. In this movie, our hero proposes to marry two girls. Hope, we are yet to reach this trend. What kind of a message this director is giving to the youth in society?
Sairam Shankar performed up to his characterization and dances are good. Heroines Jasmin Bhasin and Priyadarsini didn’t even care to match lip sync with dialogues. Neither they looked glamorous nor did they perform well. Other artists are okay.
Songs are noisy and background score is middling. Cinematography is poor and editing is feeble. Songs placement is wrong and production values are mediocre. Overall, Dillunnodu is not a worth watch movie in theaters.
Movie Punchline (Movie Talk): Burra Lenodu
April Fool Movie Review – 2/5
Rating : 2/5
Star Cast : Jagapati Babu, Bhumika Chawla
Producer : GL Srinivas
Director : Krishnaswamy Shrikanth
Music : Bunty
Released on: 10-05-2014
Your Rating: [ratings]
April Fool Movie Review
Story :
Prakash (Jagapathi Babu), a sincere lawyer and one of the top reporter Swapna (Bhoomika) go against local goon Anna (Gulshan Grover) for a land grabbing issue. Accidentally even there is a rivalry between Kakki (Ranadhir) and Anna (Gulshan) due to diamonds issue. Taking this an opportunity Anna always irritates Kakki with his power. Being frustrated with his life Kakki blames God for everything happening in his life and sleeps off. When he wakes up the next morning, Kaki soon realizes the tedium of the same day over and over again, he gradually learns to treat people decently. He also falls for Satya (Shrusti). With each defeat means a little more information and gets him a little closer to understand selfishness in him. How will Prakash and Swapna fight against Anna? Will Kakki support the moment and help the Colony people forms the rest of the tale.
Star Performance:
The actors look disinterested, especially Jagapathy Babu who always delivered spirited performances, even in some of his worst films. He overacts in this one and limited to a small role. Bhumika Chawla has a small role and leaves a mark. Ranadhir is wasted, he doesn’t fit the bill. Shrusti irritates with her performance. Gulshan Grover tries hard, but carries just one expression throughout the film. Thagubothu Ramesh, Dhanraj, Seenu failed in proving the fun, the rest of the characters ham endlessly.
Technical Team :
There aren’t any. After a point you don’t even care, we expected a satirical comedy, but April Fool has inspirations from Groundhog Day. In an attempt to try something unconventional director Krishna Swamy Srikanth Iyengar seems to be totally inspired by Groundhog Day (1993). April Fool is devoid of any sense or logic. Like; Gulshan Grover never tries to check the diamonds in the car rather goes against Ranadhir every time – There is no particular point why Shruti falls in love straight away (After a kiss while chasing a goon who stole her 50 Lakhs Rupees) similarly there are many logics missing in the film.
Narration of the film is snail paced; one could easily predict the ending before interval. The dialogues are appropriate but pretty generic and this film doesn’t bind to the stereotypical norms of passion, which is a drawback. Music Director Bunty failed in providing situational and soothing songs to support the film’s narration. Even he failed to elevate the film with his Background Score. Cinematography by Tanikella Rajendraprasad is second rate. Movie is around 155 minutes and Editor should have easily cut short the film by 30-40 Minutes. Even transition of the scenes is not perfectly done. Production Values of Sudha Entertainments are mediocre.
Analysis :
Always felt April Fool could either spring a huge surprise or fall flat unfortunately, It’s the later. From the start to finish, absolutely nothing works for the film. You fail to understand what the director was thinking?.The first Half of the film provide us with interesting points here and there but fails to capitalize in the second half. April Fool turns out to be a film which possibly carried good potential of being an engaging watch. However with unnecessary scenes taking over the proceedings and becoming repetitive after a while, the end result isn’t really enthralling.
If you are not bothered by bad screenplay and acting, love Bhumika Chawla and have money to spend this weekend then go watch April Fool. But if your money is dear to you, stay at home and watch IPL instead.
What Is Good :
- Bhumika Chawla
What Is Bad :
- Screenplay
- Dragged Narration
- Forced Comedy
- Unnecessary scenes
- Editing and Performances.
Bottom Line: Don’t Fool Yourself, April is over !!
Pyar Mein Padipoyane Movie Review – 2/5
Rating : 2/5
Cast: Aadi , Shanvi , Vennela Kishore , Saptagiri and others
Directed by : Ravi Chavali
Produced by : K.K. Radha Mohan
Music by : Anup Rubens
Release Date : 2014-05-10
Your Ratings : [ratings]
Pyar Mein Padipoyane Movie Review
Aadi, Shanvi who were earlier seen in Lovely have paired again for yet another romantic entertainer Pyar Mein Padipoyane. Ravi Chavali directed this film.
What is it about?
Chandra (Aadi) is a music composer who wants to make his own album. He falls in love with chorus singer Yuktha (Shanvi) in first sight and takes her as the lead singer in his band. After some time Yuktha too falls in love with Chandra. But he couldn’t be normal with her as he knows he has done big mistake in his childhood that left a Yuktha in distress. He tries his best to hide the fact that he is the one who had hurt her.
Performances:
Aadi: Aadi played the role of a casual youth that doesn’t demand great acting skills. He kept it simple and did a decent job. He is not very impressive in comedy scenes. Needs to work on his expressions in emotional scenes. He has done a good job with dances.
Shanvi: Shanvi looked pretty and that’s it. She is a very bad actress and didn’t improve a bit even after doing couple of films.
Others: All the hero’s friends have lengthy roles, but none of them made an impact. Saptagiri steals thunder in his cameo appearance. Thagubothu Ramesh is okay and Vennela Kishore tried his best to make his character work. The actor who played the character of Shanvi’s silent lover was horrible.
Technicalities:
Direction: Ravi Chavali has done some mediocre films post Samanyudu. This may be slightly better than those films, but it will hardly entertain. Poor script and bad direction are the main drawbacks of this film. Ravi Chavali’s idea of romance is old fashioned and will not appeal to current generation.
Music: Being a film with a musical drop PMP demands a good soundtrack. Anup’s music is a huge disappointment. None of the songs make a lasting impression. Bakcground score is alright.
Others: Editing is not up to the mark. The film drags unnecessarily in some parts. Cinematography is fine. Production values are nice for a low budget film.
Thumbs Up:
- Nothing worth mentioning
Thumbs Down:
- Screenplay
- Heroine’s performance
- Direction
Analysis:
Pyar Mein Padipoyane is basically a romantic entertainer that is targeted at young audience. It starts on a dull note and gets boring right from the first scene. Romance between the lead pair is uninteresting. All the scenes are stale and seem outdated. Dialogues are pretty bad to make things worse.
There is an attempt to make us laugh, but those scenes hardly tickles due to bad writing. Shanvi bluntly reject Aadi when he says I love you to her and fall in love with the same person without any reason. There comes a twist in the tale which is childish on any level.
Sadly second half of the film is completely based on that twist and the film gets unbearable and yawn inducing at a moment. Anybody with minimum knowledge of Telugu films can predict what happens towards the end and the director didn’t try to make it any interesting. Pyar Mein Padipoyane goes from bad to worse making it a painful watch.
Only people who have stuck in eighties can relish this romance that never allows the viewers to connect with the lead characters emotions. Lovely was a far better film than this one and if you want to watch this pair on screen better rent a DVD of Lovely than sitting through this romantic torture.
Verdict: Painful Pyar!
Anaamika Movie Review – 3/5
Rating: 3/5
Cast: Nayanatara, Vaibhav, Naresh
Directed by : Shekher Kammula
Banner : ViaCom 18
Music by : M.M.Keeravani
Release Date: 1st May 2014
Your Rating: [ratings]
Anaamika Movie Review
Story:
A bomb blast in Hyderabad’s People Plaza kill hundreds of people which forces a change in state home minister. Over a course of time everyone forgets the incident and moves on. And in a separate event, Anamika (Nayantara) comes down to Hyderabad from America in search of her husband, Ajay (Harsha Vardhan Rane). SI Saradhi (Vaibhav) starts digging in to the case only to find the case leading to some unpredictable twists and mysterious deaths. All of sudden a twist take place which leads to a stunning turn in the story and a crucial evidence. What is it? and How it helped to solve the case forms the rest of the story.
Star Performance:
– Nayantara was at her usual best in the film, it is tailor made role for her. She did her best especially in Climax Scene.
– Vaibhav got a good role after a long time and he performed well.
– Pasupathi did well as a Sicncere Police officer.
– Naresh was okay as bad politician.
– Thagubothu Ramesh has got no scope to make you laugh. You can consider him as a Character Artist.
Technical Team:
– MM Keeravani’s background music is one of the major asset and has given life to the movie.
– Sekhar Kammula took the basic subject of Kahaani. He tried to narrate the story with his own context and twists and he was successful in adapting Kahaani as per Telugu nativity.
– Yandamuri Veerendranath Screenplay is good.
– Vijay C. Kumar Cinematography is good.
– Editing should have been crispier.
What is Good?
- Thrilling Scond Half
- Screenplay
- Climax
- Keeravani Background Music
- Nayanatara
What is Bad?
- Slow Narration in First half
- No Comedy Scenes for Regular Audience
Analysis:
Anamika is not a Scene to Scene remake of Kahaani. Sekhar Kammula’s gripping narration and Keeravani’s music are main strength’s. Though first half tests your patience, second half of Anaamika makes it worth a watch. Don’t miss this suspense thriller which is on par with its original. On the whole this movie may do good business in A Centers, we have to wait and see how this movie will perform in B, C Centers.
Verdict: Watch Anamika for its refreshing appeal. If you have watched Kahaani, invariable comparisons will result in disappointment with the adaptation.
Kotha Janta Movie Review – 2/5
Rating : 2/5
Cast : Allu Sirish,Regina Cassandra
Directed By : Maruthi
Music By : JB
Produced By : Bunny Vasu
Your Ratings : [ratings]
Kotha Janta Review
Story:
Sirish (Allu Sirish) and Suvarna (Regina) are two selfish individuals who work for a TV Channel. Though Sirish is surrounded by friends,he is a guy who is self centered and has aspirations to make big money. Though miser enough, Suvarna cares about the people around her. Ramesh (Rao Ramesh), the TV Channel head identifies the talents of these two and makes them into one team to work on making the channel more popular.
In the interim, Sirish gets another lucrative offer from a business man (Posani Krishna Murali) who plans to start another TV Channel but on the condition that he should come along as a team with Suvarna. When Suvarna doesn’t agree to come along with him, Sirish fakes his love towards Suvarna. What problems does Sirish get into because of his fake love and hoes does it affect their careers forms the remaining story.
Star performance:
Allu Sirish – There is absolutely no improvement in terms of expressions compared to his first film. Some important scenes lose its impact thanks to his lack of expressions. Once again the voice comes to the rescue and that is the most positive that can be said about him right now.
Regina Cassandra – She fitted perfectly for the role and her expressions were flawless. She excelled as a cheerful and lively TV anchor in the first half and did equally well in a role filled with emotions in second half. She is a genuine talent and can perform even better in more challenging roles.
Saptagiri – This guy is growing as a comedian with each film. He looks natural and completely at ease in his role in this film. He was used well to generate humor in the first half but was wasted in the second half.
Posani Krishna Murali – Aanother typical role for him, he partly entertains.
Rohini – She did a short character of Hero’s mother, her presence forms the main catalyst towards the end of the movie
Technical Team:
Director Maruthi – This time he tries a subject with clean fun and contains high drama quotient. This change has clearly shown an effect in his pacing which is weak here compared to his previous films. The film is hilarious during the comedy sequences but gets extremely tacky and slow during the emotional scenes or sequences related to the core story of the film.
Music Director JB – Music is one of the plus points of the film.”Osi Prema Rakshasi” was shot beautifully in the movie along with “Charminar Galli”. ”Gundello” is one of the best songs in the movie. It was great to see JB using the snippets of “Arere” as the background music in the second half. No Doubt he’ll join in top telugu music composer list very soon.
Cinematography – Cinematography by Richard Prasad is the highlight of the movie. The entire look, color and locations of the film are bright and lively, making the movie look pleasing to eyes.
Editing – Editing by Ashok Kuruba is good and
Dialogues – Dialogues were well written with no double meanings.
Production Values are good
What is Good?
- Saptagiri Comedy
- Regina Performance
- Cinematography
- Few Songs
What is Bad?
- Screenplay
- Allu Sirish Performance in emotional scenes
- Slow Narration in some Scenes
Analysis:
On the whole the movie is not bad and at the same time it is also not bad. But it is a simple time pass kind of film for some good comedy here and there. Watch it if you have nothing to do in your weekend!
Pratinidhi Movie Review – 3.25/5
Rating: 3.25/5
Cast: Nara Rohit , Sri Vishnu , Kota Sreenivasa Rao , Shubra Aiyyappa
Directed by : Prashanth Mandava
Produced by : J Samba Siva Rao
Banner :Sudha cinemas
Music by : Sai Karthik
Release Date : 2014-04-25
Your Rating: [ratings]
Pratinidhi Movie Review
Story:
Srinu ( Nara Rohith) is a man with a mission. Fed up with political corruption and other issues, he decides to kidnap the CM (Kota Srinivasarao) to make a statement. To achieve this, he uses Sreekar (Sree Vishnu),who is the son of a minister (Giribabu).
Srinu cleverly comes up with a plan and finally manages to kidnap the CM. The entire country is shocked and Commissioner Posani Krishna Murali handles the communication. Srinu makes some strange demands in order to free the CM.
He wants the Government to cancel 500 and 1000 rupee notes and print fresh currency devoid of current template. He also wants small change from transactions to be transferred to CM relief fund, for benefit of society.
People and media make Srinu a hero but the police uncover some secrets. Is the person really Srinu or is he a Ghost? What is Sreekar’s role in the kidnap?
Star Performance:
Casting of the film is fine with each of the actor giving their hearts out to refine their characters.
Nara Rohit is good in his role, but looked little fat in this film. His voice is improved a lot and he dominated in all departments. He should work a bit on his mannerisms.
Shubra Aiyappa is not a heroine material and she is limited in her role.
Kota Srinivasa Rao is apt for the role. He provided some punch lines in the second half.
Jaya Prakash Home Minister provided a lil fun with his dialect in the first half.
Vishnuvardhan (Prema Ishq Kaadal fame) is like a second hero in the film and done well despite of a dumb characterization.
Posani Krishna Murali has wonderful quality of getting his scenes work despite of his directors ability to extract the comedy angle.
Rest of the characters supported the lead cast in a decent way.
Techinical Team:
The story has similarities to Tagore in the first half but the story has different complexion in the second half.
Director Prashanth Mandava dealt the first half with concept and dragging love episodes. In the second half Prashanth Mandava maintained a decent grip over concept and threaded through scenes that are unnecessarily inserted to showcase the black money and fake currency issues. Direction of the film is average. You will find this film interesting not only for its decent concepts, but also for the dialogues.
Dialogues by Anand Ravi deserve a special appreciation for his quotes and lines on the society. “Swardaparululanu paripalinchali ante valakanna parama swardaparude kavali” is the best of the few lines.
Music by Sai Karthik is middling. Background music is apt and lifted few scenes with his music.
Editing in the film is sharp though the love scenes sounded a little lagging.
Production values of the film are poor. A poor quality of filming is visible in every scene.
What Is Good:
- Interesting Story.
- Nara Rohit Performance
- Dialogues
- Run Time
What Is Not Good:
- Editing cuts average
- Needless flashback
- Screenplay was little bit poor
Analysis:
In a political season after disastrous Pratighatna, Prabhanjanam, Tollywood is back to finer political movie with Pratinidhi. A movie talks about issues with facade of sense, Dialogue writer Anand Ravi and his actor Nara Rohit complement each other with some decent performances in their departments, creating a less common experience of a movie that really lives up to the hype surrounding.
On the whole, Prathinidhi is a good attempt by debut Director with nice concept.
Chandamama Kathalu Movie Review – 2/5
Rating: 2/5
Starring: Lakshmi Manchu, Chaitanya Krishna, Naresh, Aamani and others
Direction: Praveen Sattaru
Music: Mickey J. Meyer
Cinematography: Suresh Ragutu
Production: Chanakya Booneti
Your Rating: [ratings]
Chandamama Kathalu Movie Review
Story :
Chandamama Kathalu is about eight intertwined stories:
Saaradhi (Kishore) is a lone parent of school going girl. He is seen as a father who worries about his daughter’s health
Lisa Smith (Lakshmi Manchu) is seen as a frustrated model walking towards the twilight of her career. She is seen struggling to come up with the latest terms of her life due to career slowdown.
Aamani (Saritha) is a lady who just becomes a widow, then comes Naresh (Mohan) in to her live. They share a relationship 30 years ago and in the present, they slowly move towards a new beginning.
Krishnudu (Venkateswara Rao) is a obese whose ambition is to get married before his hair start greying.
Chaitanya Krishna (Raghu) is seen as a college going calm guy who eyes a politician’s daughter. There is an other side in him which is exactly the opposite.
Abhijeet (Ashraf) runs a kirana store runs in to Richa Panai (Haseena) who gives him a ‘kiss-at-first-sight’ experience.
Krishneswar Rao is an aspirational beggar who strives for a house costing 12 Lakhs and he has a savings of about 10 Lakhs!!!!!
Naga Shaurya (Raghu) has a tragic story as he had to marry a girl accidentally due to the girl’s grand mother.
Performances:
Director Praveen Sattaru in one of the promotional interviews talks about using Algebra to give equal screen space to all the characters in the film. But it is not convincing on the screen. Kishore is natural. Lakshmi Manchu looked more like her real life character and Naresh resembled more like Lakshmi Manchu when he tries to speak English. Aamani is elegant in her come back. Krishnudu plays a routine ;fatso being booed by every one’ character. Rest of the characters are pretty ordinary.
Technical Performances:
We have not seen many anthologies in Telugu. Off course they are not easy to handle. Praveen Sattaru had attempted one such film but could not convincingly pull it off. The characters of the film and the eight different stories do not have proper coherence for the audience to connect. In short his intent is honest but execution is flawed.
Cinematography of Suresh is neat. Mickey J. Meyer’s songs are not effective but the rerecording is good. Editing for an anthology is very difficult and it is obvious in the work of Dharmendra Kakarla. Production Values are decent.
Final Verdict:
Chandamama Kathalu is a quite a boring film. The first half of the film is dreadfully slow paced and the second half gets pass marks. If you got to watch the film this weekend, find your own reasons as I can not!
