Film: Subhapradam
Rating: 2/5
Cast: Allari Naresh, Manjari Phadnis, Sharath Babu, Vizag Prasad, Ashok Kumar, Gundu Sudarshan, Giribabu, Raghubabu, Rallapalli, Jayalakshmi, Dubbing Janaki, Devadas Kanakala, Amanamanchi and Others.
Banner: Sri Sri Rajarajeswari Films Pvt. Ltd.
Music: Mani Sharma.
Presenter: Cherukuri Kousalendra Rao.
Producers: Harigopala Krishna Murthy, PN Thilak.
Director: K. Viswanath.
Release Date: July 16, 2010

K Vishwanath is back after a long time. It is obvious that expectations will be on high for his films. Let us see how Subhapradam goes with the audiences.

Story:
Indu (Manjari) is a music loving girl. Her mother is a Malayali and father (Vizag Prasad) Telugu.  She has two younger paternal uncles (Ashok Kumar and Sudarshan) whose wives are from Chennai and Kolkata respectively. Thus entire India lives in her family. She is good at speaking Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali and Tamil. She happens to see Chakri (Allari Naresh), accidentally who is a good singer but not a professional one.

Chakri falls in her love and the response from other side also comes good. But Chakri has a peculiar profession that gets revealed amidst the movie. That is carrying the old and disabled on his back for climbing the hill which is the abode of a goddess.

But eventually, Indu happens to encounter a rich man (Sharath Babu) that turns her life. The major twist in the story appears there. Who is that rich man? The story goes like this. He had a grand daughter by name Sindhu who looks perfectly like Indu. Sindhu dies in an acid attack followed by ragging and hence when he sees the look-alike of his grand daughter in Indu, he follows her. What happens later becomes rest of the movie in this confused story line.

Performances:
Allari Naresh has got weak characterization. No heroism was shown from his side. But still he made people laugh with his timing and dialogue delivery. Hats off for him for that.

Manjari Fadnis is really beautiful and in a few frames she looked like Jayaprada. She performed really well with wonderful nativity. She can have bright future if she chooses right story lines and directors.

Jaya Lakshmi also danced well and it is hard to believe that she is 30 plus. She looked active and lovely.

Vamsi of Happy Days fame appears in a guest role.

Vizag Prasad, Ashok Kumar and Sudarshan trio are funny with their half bald heads.

Comedy is very weak as it’s outdated.

Cinematography is impressive, music is excellent and Choreography is also good in the first 2-3 songs.

Story, Screenplay and Direction are very weak and are not at all gripping the hearts of audiences.

Analysis:
K Vishwanath lost his grip completely. He is not going in tune with the present day audience. No one understands where the story is going. He started with a music concert atmosphere and then shifted that to goddess of a hill. Later he has gone to flash back showing college episodes, ragging etc. Nothing hits the heart but blows off the head. And above all, the typical old styled Dance Ballads test the patience of audiences.

Except one song ‘Mouname Chebutondi..’ rest of the movie is a dud with artificially concocted emotional and sentimental drama.

And the hero in the movie is Manjari but not Allari Naresh. But still he made his presence felt with his minimal non-heroic role. Another character in the movie is Vamsi Krishna of ‘Happy Days’ fame who got a small role to play. Both Naresh and Vamsi may have the satisfaction for acting in K Vishanath’s direction, but that wouldn’t add anything for their career.

To sign off, Subhapradam is an outdated narration with weak story and confused screenplay.

Bottom-line: Forget It

Film: Sneha Geetam
Rating: 3.25/5
Presented By: Lagadapati Sridhar
Banner: Larsco Entertainment
Cast: Venky, Shreya Dhawanthary, Sandeep, Suhani, Chaitanya, Riya, Vennela Kishore, Melkote, Shruthi, Krishnudu, ARC Babu, VB Rao etc
Music: Sunil Kashyap
Lyrics: SiraSri, Chinni Charan
Editing: Lokesh
Digital Editor: Anirudra
Cinematography: PG Vinda
Screenplay, Dialogue: Madhura Sridhar, Mohan Bharadwaj
Story, Direction: ‘Madhura’ Sreedhar
Producer: Lagadapati Sirisha Sridhar
Released On: Jul 16th, 2010

A youthful movie with title ‘Sneha Geetham’ has arrived today. The faces are new, the director is new and obviously it carries no big expectation. But the hype created for this film has pulled me to watch it. Let us see if the material in this film is in tune with the hype or not.

Story:
This is the story of three young boys Ravi (Venky), Krishna (Chaitanya) and Arjun (Sandeep) who complete their graduation in engineering and want to be an entrepreneur, a SW employee and a film director respectively. Their love interests happen to be Shailu (Shreya Dhanwanthary), Pooja (Riya) and Maha (Suhani) respectively. How these guys achieve their dreams crossing the barriers, form the story. Just watch it on big screen and I’m sure it makes you elated.

Performances:
Venky has got the class elegance. He delivered matured performance. He has bright future as multiplex hero in the lines of Siddhartha.

Sandeep is rugged and has mass appeal. He can do well if takes care in choosing right scripts those suit his serious body language. His voice has good base which is an advantage.

Chaitanya, the wonderful dancer among young folks has a happy going face and he can be a family entertainer down the line.

Shreya Dhanwanthary gave apt performance while Riya also did well without any complaint. Suhani should be appreciated for own dubbing. She is perfect and cute.

Lohit Kumar has got a catchy role. He portrayed the role of perverted Software Manager trying to woo a heroine. He has the material to become best villain in Tollywood.

Arun, ARC Babu and VB Rao made presence felt as fathers.

Krishnudu delivered humorous and touching performance as Pitamaha. Vennela Kishore delivered right comedy as Box Office Bhushanam (recalling Tanikella Bharani in ‘Money Money’). Shruthi scores well as mother while ARC Babu is matured and serious in performance with echoing voice. Venu Madhav’s AIDS Papa Rao track is rib-tickling. Others are ok.

Music by Sunil Kashyap scores highest mark while Sirasri and Chinni Charan have given appropriate lyrics. Cinematography by PG Vinda is honest.

The debutant director ‘Madhura’ Sreedhar has done a fabulous job as an experienced director with huge stuff. He proves to be a promising director for Tollywood.

Production values by Lagadapati Sridhar are awesome and his publicity really helped this good movie reach majorities. Kudos should laurel him for bestowing such a meaningful movie to society.

Music:

• ‘Oka Snehame’ written by SiraSri is instant winner and the tune haunts
• ‘Veyo Veyo’ of SiraSri has got peppy features in it and the choreography is impressive
• ‘Farewell Song’ penned by SiraSri is sounding novel all the way and its pictured as celebration
• ‘Sarigama Padani’ written by Chinni Charan turned out to the best melody

Highlights:
Music
Lyrics
Storyline
Dialogues
Direction
Debutant Heroes and heroines with great performances
Songs picturization

Side Lights:
VV Vinayak gave his voice over at the outset
Producer Lagadapati Sridhar appears in real-time character

Disappointments:
Costumes of heroines could have been better. They are realistic but not pleasing.
Editing is sharp and for this sort of movies it could have been focused on mood
Director’s amateurism is seen in composition of a few scenes

Analysis:
You might have watched romantic films, action films, comedy films and educating films…Have you ever heard of ‘helpful film’? Here it is..It is helpful for entire family members…See how it helps…

• Are you the father of a young boy or girl who completed studies and about to settle down in life? Watch this movie to know their true emotions? You may take a right decision that definitely helps them…
• Are you the son of a perfectionist father who speaks on practical lines but not understanding your passion? Watch this so that you can know the better way to communicate your ideas to your father. It really helps you…
• Are you in love with your class mate at present? Watch this to know when to propose and how to propose. You may end up with wedding without any hassle. It certainly helps you…
• Are you an aspiring entrepreneur but there is none to support you financially? Watch this to find a right solution to know the way to project yourself…It surely helps you…
• Are you an aspiring film director and completed your studies? Watch this to know darker and brighter sides of film industry. It perfectly helps you…

It’s a pleasant, heart touching, thought provoking, sincere and worthy movie that shouldn’t be missed by any family member. Responsibility is shown in all perspectives- from the side of father, from mother and from grown up children. Love is justified in either ways- from the boy and from the girl.

The film aptly describes the phase between ‘after the completion of degree and before getting settled in life’ with 3 pairs. On a whole, the majority of entire student community fits into these 3 sets. Debutant director should be appreciated for giving out such a matured and highly convincing product. There are no chasings, no beating around the bushes, no artificial scenes, no violence and there is just one thing in the film- that is ‘reality’. ‘Sneha Geetam’ opens a new genre all together- a sincere voyage with less cinematic liberties and more honest features. Humor is not missed and there is adequate. Emotions of all categories are well carried till the end.

First half goes with bits and phases of college life style while second half screens the real material. The last 30 minutes prove to be the highlight.

Film: Bheemili
Rating: 2.5/5
Banner: Mega Supergood Films
Cast: Nani, Saranya Mohan, Kishore, Dhanraj, Vinay, Santosh etc.
Story: Susheendran
Editing: Nandamuri Hari
Music: Selva Ganesh
Camera: Chittibabu
Presented by: R B Chowdary
Producers: N V Prasad, Paras Jain
Screenplay, direction: Tatineni Prasad
Release date: 09/07/2010

Known for its family-oriented films, Supergood, this time, has come out with “Bheemili” based on the theme of Kabaddi sport. It was a roaring success in Tamil, but it failed to repeat the same in Andhra.

No team can play with same vigour at all places at all times and emerge victorious. Some times, it may bag the cup and at others, it might collapse.

So, this Kabaddi team of Supergood Films could not put up the same show in Telugu as it did in Tamil. Of course, team members are not the same and so is the captain. So, the entire game has changed and the form has gone for a toss.

“Vennila Kabadi Kulu” which was a super hit in Tamil, miserably failed to redo the magic in Telugu as “Bheemili Kabaddi team.” One does not know whether the team has really won the hearts of fans on screen, but it definitely played a cruel game with the audience off the screen in cinema theatres. It really tested the patience of the audience for two and a half hours. Such kind of tragedies might melt the hearts of Tamil brothers, but the dose is definitely not enough to bring tears to our Telugu audience. We need a bigger shock.

For those who still want to know more about the film, here is the story in brief:

There is this Kabaddi team in Bheemili town, which never knows how to win a match, leave alone a tournament. For the team members, it is just a sport for fun. Such a team gets a rare opportunity to participate in a state-level Kabaddi tournament. The enthusiastic team gets the support of a coach.

And there is a parallel love story in the backdrop of the same Kabaddi game. This love story gets a sudden break at interval, but its climax is linked to the finals of Kabaddi tournament. Now, the question is whether the Bheemili team which does not know how to win even a match, would emerge as state-level champion? And whether the love story would have a happy ending?

Performances:
Nani, who played dynamic roles in his first two films, is seen as a silent guy with rural background in this film. For him, it is a different role and he gets full marks for his action. He changed his body language to suit the role and simply involved himself in it. And he once again proved that he is among the few present day actors who can really act.

Saranya Mohan is aptly suited for her role. However, in long shots, she poses an inconvenient look as if she is a school girl wearing a saree. She disappears at interval and reappears only in the climax. Yet, she has done justice to her role.

Kishore, who played the Kabaddi coach, totally justified the tough role given to him. It resembles that of Shahrukh Khan in Chak De… All others are more or less debutant actors. As if to give an odd-touch to the team, some funny characters are included in the team and individually, each of them performed okay. But it would have been a better performance had they been known faces.

Talking about Selva Ganesh’s music score, except the item number, all other songs are in tune with the story line. More than the songs, the background score is good and it stands as the plus point of the film. The theme music composed for romance threat haunts the audience even after they come out of the theatre. Dialogues are just normal and nothing worth mentioning about them. Especially when the coach inspires the Kabaddi team members, the dialogues completely lack the required punch, as a result of which the emotional scene lost its impact.

The camera work is good and some shots in the backdrop of village atmosphere stand out. As regards editing, it is very sharp in the second half, but there are some avoidable scenes in the first half. Though it is a low budget film, Mega Supergood Films ensured that the film does not lack quality. Perhaps, the rich experience of the producers ensured that the budget has not crossed its limits.

Analysis:
Tatineni Satya, son of TLV Prasad, has been introduced as a director with this remake. Though it is not proper to judge his abilities as director with just a remake, one must say Satya has failed to bring the soul and feel of Tamil film in the Telugu version. Had he groomed the hero’s role properly, the audience would have felt his victory and defeat in the climax scene. If the audience did not feel themselves connected with the hero, the fault lies with the director.

The major problem in re-making a film from Tamil to Telugu is the nativity. And the director failed to bring in this nativity while remaking the film in Telugu. He just imitated as it is in every factor – from star casting to set property. As a result, the audience feel as if they are watching the dubbed version of the film.

There is no compulsion to give a tragic climax to the film. There is no striking element anywhere in the film and hence the Tamil director’s idea of having a shocking climax clicked there. But in Telugu, it did not work out because the narration did not have sufficient stuff to that effect. Certain elements like hero not being aware of heroine’s name and missing of heroine in the second half till climax might have been new, but they failed to impress the audience. The climax has not been publicized, but one need not be surprised if it creates an impression that Kabaddi is a life-threatening game.

Verdict: A team that has collapsed.

Film: Yamudu
Rating: 3/5
Banner: BIG Pictures/Studio Green
Cast: Suriya, Anushka, Prakash Raj, Vivek, Manoramma, Vijayakumar, Radha Ravi, Nasser, Sumithra, Yuvarani, Nizhalgal Ravi and Others
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Cinematography: Priyan
Producer: K E Gnanavel Raja
Story, screenplay, direction: Hari
Released Date: July 2, 2010

Hot star Suriya has arrived with his 25th film in Tamil and this got dubbed in Telugu. This time, he has paired up with the awesome Anushka and he dons the gear of a cop.

Story:
Set on the backdrop of Rajolu in East Godavari district, the honest and fearless inspector Narasimha (suriya) rules the roost. However, he is liked by everyone in the village and his family (radha ravi, yuvarani, vivek, sumithra etc) is respected by everyone. The story takes a turn with the arrival of Purushottam (prakashraj), a dreaded name in the city of Vizag. Due to a land dealing that falls in the Rajolu area, he is arrested and given conditional bail that he must sign at Rajolu every 15 days. Friction begins between Purushottam and Narasimha and using his influence, the villain gets Narasimha to city. In between this, there is Kavya (anushka) who falls for Narasimha and woos him. What happens from there forms the rest of the story.

Performances:
Suriya has given a credible performance and he has amazing dance moves, daring stunts, perfect body language and physique as the upright cop, adrenaline pumping dialogue delivery and the fury in his eyes. He is equally soft in the romantic scenes. Overall, he was impressive.

Anushka looks voluptuous and hot, her oomph factor is hard to resist in the songs and she looks equally sweet in the traditional outfits. She made her presence felt with her performance and glamour.

Prakashraj is a show stealer. Only he could match the caliber of someone like Suriya and though it was a usual role, he infused good life into it.

Vivek was hilarious, Radha Ravi was elegant, Nasser was natural, Vijay Kumar was neat, Aditya Menon was apt, Yuvarani was okay, Sumitra was standard, the others did their bit as required.

Analysis:
The film is a typical mass masala treat and the commercial film lovers will find it a treat. The pace is excellent and there is no idle time.

Dialogues were sensible and there is good energy. Script was straight and though there is not much content, it is the screenplay and the performances that engage the viewers.

One can see a different Devisri Prasad in this one. The songs, background score was different.

Cinematography was top notch, editing was crisp and rapid, costumes were excellent and art department was creative.

Despite the fact that it was a dubbed movie, the maker took enough caution not to miss out on logic and certain scenes that talk common sense and mathematics, especially during the firing scenes is praiseworthy. A lot of script work has gone through in the climax which shows good commitment levels. On the flip side, the film is too loud and quite racy which keeps your pulse rate high.

Also, there was a drag in the second half due to songs, fights and unwanted scenes. Overall, this is a typical formula film means for the B and C centers. Even families can also watch it if they relish action packed high energy stuff.

Film: Jhumandi Naadam
Rating: 2.5/5
Banner: Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures
Cast: Mohan Babu, Manchu Manoj, Tapsee, Tanikella, Sudha, Ishwarya, Suman, Pragathi, Ahuti Prasad, Brahmi, MS, Ali, Raghu Babu etc
Story: Bhupathi Raja
Editing: Marthand K Venkatesh
Music: M M Keeravani
Camera: S Gopal Reddy
Screenplay, direction: K Raghavendra Rao
Producer: Manchu Lakshmi Prasanna
Release date: 01/07/2010

The elegant celebrity Manchu Lakshmi is making her foray as a producer and that too with a musical of sorts. And it is the directorial treat from the great K Raghavendra Rao after a very long time.

Story
Balu (Manoj) is an aspiring singer and he wants to become as great as S P Balasubramanyam, he comes from Bhadrachalam to fulfill an oath he had taken. Opposite his home lives the retired principal Captain Rao (Mohan Babu) who has a disliking towards the younger generation and their thoughts. As usual, they have their cat and mouse games to outwit each other. The story takes a turn with the arrival of Shravya (Tapsee), Rao’s close friend’s (Suman) daughter. She wants to make a documentary on the traditional Telugu folklore songs and seeks a music guide. Events lead her to Balu and in no time, love ignites. Meanwhile, Balu and his music group is keen on making their mark at a music contest but then Rao holds the key to their entry. He takes a promise from Balu. What is that promise? Does Balu keep up the promise? Does he fulfill his ambition of becoming a singer? What happens to his love story? All this forms the rest of the story.

Performances:
Manchu Manoj was energetic and gave his hard work and efforts. His imitation of Mohan Babu during few scenes was entertaining. He just has to add more fire to his expressions while enacting the serious scenes. Overall, a good performance.

Tapsee is luscious and has given a complete visual feast. She is not beautiful but is sexy. So, she will fit better as a glam doll. On the performance front, she is alright but having a long innings would be a challenge.

Mohan Babu is a show stealer. Though there is not much in his character, it is his screen presence, exceptional dialogue delivery and the entertaining voice modulation that scores at many places. He was impressive.

Brahmi was usual, M S was good, Ali was alright, Suman was okay, Sudha was loud, Tanikella was effective, Pragathi was composed, Aishwarya was apt, Ahuti Prasad was hardly there, Raghu Babu was not used to his potential.

Analysis:
The selection of theme looks good at the onset with a young boy picking tunes and notes of music from his surroundings but with each passing scene, the film begins to lose grip. There are few conflicting points which give a big blow to the film.

• Tapsee comes in as an NRI girl passionate about Telugu tradition but more than half the time, she is shown in skin tight shorts.
• The marriage song of Manoj’s friend was the right opportunity to show the Telugu tradition but instead, it turns out to be a navel and cleavage show of the heroine and ironically, the bride herself. That was crude.
• There is no brewing of romance in the right depth between the lead pair but then it becomes a critical point of decision for the hero before the interval.

KRR specializes in giving visual appeal and that’s what he has done here. For a change, instead of using the ‘Jaamakaayalu’ and ‘Batthai Pallu’, he brought in ‘Kobbari Chippalu’ and ‘Gummadi Kaayalu’- and a green mango on the navel instead of mosambi!!!. However, KRR has not been able to give a depth to the content so it looked like a modified version of the 80s cinema.

The film was meant to be a musical and almost all the songs engage the audience with great visual treat, tunes and rendering. Cinematography was rich. Presentation was nice but narrative was not upto the mark. Editing was okay. Costumes and art department made their presence felt. The film will appeal to the hardcore front benchers given the nasty camera angles and the double entendres. So, it would have worked if the makers focused on making it a mass masala entertainer. Overall, it is not a musical as the title suggests nor is it a family entertainer.

She made a debut  through Telugu film Boni with Sumanth which however did not run too well. However, her second Telugu film shows lot of promise as it has Telugu Super Star  Pawan Kalyan in the lead.  Kriti will be playing  the role  of one of the heroines of this film directed by Jayanth Paranje  which is a  remake of   Hindi film Kal Aaj Aur Kal.  Glam girl Ileana plays the lead role in the film, while Kriti will be doing the role played by  Gisello in the original film.  Krithi  has now replaced  Richa Gangopadhyaya who was originally considered  for this role.

Krithi says that  she had enjoyed  a lot working for her first Kannada film directed by Mahesh Babu. ” I was treated as a kid during the shooting of the film.  Chiranjeevi Sarja was always cracking jokes and we had lot of fun during the shoot.  Mahesh Babu  is so focused  that  he will enact a particular sequence and  tell us to be as expressive like him  while giving a shot’  says Krithi.