Manchu Vishnu's "Anukshanam" Movie Review

Cast: Vishnu Manchu , Revathi , Tejaswi Madivada , Madhu Shalini , Surya

Directed by : Ram Gopal Varma

Produced by : Vijay, Parthasaradhi

Banner :24 Frames Factory, AV Pictures

Music by : Seshu KMR

Release Date : 2014-09-13

 

Plot: 

Goutam (Vishnu Manchu) is a sincere police officer who stays with his loving-wife Satya (Tejaswi). Everything goes well for him till he confronts a trouble in form of Seetharam (Surya), a cab driver-turned-serial killer who brutally murders beautiful girls in Hyderabad for pleasure. And now, Goutam launches a manhunt for Seetharam. In the mission, he is assisted by Sailaja (Revathi) who mastered in the behavioral sciences and has a knack over the psyche of pyshos.

Performances:

Vishnu Manchu: The pitch-perfect performance by film's lead protagonist Vishnu is what stands out in the film. Vishnu deserves all the laurels, accolades for choosing a film like Anukshanam. He has set a new precedent to his peers by picking such out-of-the-box story. Not many star heroes would dare to essay a role. And Vishnu seeks teeth into it. Vishnu is in good form throughout the film. He evolved as a matured-actor with this flick. Acting-wise, this could be one of the best films in Vishnu's career.

Revathi: After a long hiatus, Revathi has made her comeback. Simply put, she couldn't have better comeback. She aptly fits the bill as a psychologist. 

Surya: Despite the fact that he's newcomer, he emoted well. Unless you're informed that he's debutante, you'd not know that through his acting skills.

Tejaswi: Tejaswi as Satya sizzled in brief role as Vishnu Manchu's wife.

Madhu Shalini: Madhu Shalini essays the role of TV journalist Aasha.

Others: It's tailor-made role (Home Minister) for Kota Sreenivasa Rao and Brahmanandam is passable in the film. Brahmi's role should have been etched well.

Direction: Directing a crime thriller is a cakewalk for Ram Gopal Varma and Anukshanam is no different either. Varma does it with ease. However, he continues his uncanny camera techniques, at places, but that didn't deter you at all. RGV is back with a bang with Anukshanam.

Editing: Anukshanam is slick, fast-paced. Editing is done with great finesse. 

Thumbs Up:

Vishnu Manchu
RGV's expertise
Screenplay

Thumbs Down:

Scenes involving Brahmanandam

Analysis:

Anukshanam instantly strikes a chord for reasons that are manifold. The movie's gritty realistic narration is something bolt out of the blue in Telugu films and this works in a big way for the film. At a time, T-town is running after illogical mass-masala commercial potboilers like Power, Rabhasa, one needs a lot of courage to come up with such a film which sans songs, comedy, over-the-top action episodes. Kudos to Vishnu and Varma for putting efforts in what they believed in. What forms is a Telugu film on the lines of a Hollywood film. Especially the film's pace is what hooks and engages audience throughout the film. Vishnu Manchu succeeds in keeping you on your toes.

Sample this, Goutam (Vishnu) receives a parcel sent by serial killer Seetharam (Surya) which has the "head" of a girl Nidhi Seetharam had killed. When Vishnu opens up the parcel in front of the Nidhi's boyfriend Navdeep, but he manages to conceal it. Vishnu's subtle action here takes the movie to new high. Sailaja (Revathi) too works in favour of the film.

Yet the movie has its share of stumbling blocks.Bramhanandam is a spoilsport for the film. Though he tries to but fails miserably. It's conspicuous that his role has been forcefully included. But it's passable. If you're a regular complainant about Telugu films, you must watch Anukshanam. And if you're not, still you should watch Anukshanam. It's not a routine Telugu film you get to watch every now and then.

Ravi Teja's "Power" Movie Review

Movie: Power
Rating: 3.25/5
Banner: Rockline Entertainments
Cast: Ravi Teja, Hansika Motwani, Regina Cassandra, Bramhanandam, Sampath, Posani Krishna Murali and Others
Music: S Thaman
Wtitten By: Kona Venkat, Mohana Krishna, K Chakravarthy
Editing: Goutham Raju
Cinematography: Jayanan Vincent
Producer: Rockline Venkatesh
Story, Screenplay, Direction: K. S. Ravindra
Release Date: September 12, 2014

It’s the season of writers turning directors. There are many who have debuted in the recent past and Power sees the debut of Bobby aka KS Ravindra who penned the highly successful Balupu among other films. The film has put immense pressure on Ravi Teja as there has been lots of speculation about his future in the industry. So, let’s see how the film has shaped up and if it will be yet another hit in Ravi Teja’s career…

Story:
The movie starts off in Kolkatta where the city’s dreaded don Ganguly (Sampath Raj) and younger brother of the state home minister Jaya Vardhan (Mukesh Rishi) is to be produced in court to be sentenced. And like in all commercial films, his cronies pay the police to let him off on the way. Enters ACP Baldev Sahay (Ravi Teja) who tries to stop them and take Ganguly to the court. This leads to a major chase sequence in hitherto untapped locations in Kolkatta and during the ensuing fight Baldev manages to stop the villains from getting hold of Ganguly. But his police jeep falls into a valley and he is reported killed in the blast and labeled a corrupt officer.

Then the scene shifts to Hyderabad where Thirupathi (Ravi Teja) is a happy-go-lucky guy whose sole dream is to become a police officer. He even dresses like a cop and settles cases in the city instead of his brother-in-law CI Animutyam (Brahmanandam). If you thought that is absurd, then you must remember it is a commercial film and nothing is impossible for the hero. One day, he meets Nirupama (Hansika) the beautiful and popular fortune changer, who promises to change the fortunes of people by giving them a miracle stone. Nirupama gives him a ring and lo and behold, life really changes forever for Thirupathi. Is Baldev alive? Will Thirupathi become a police officer? The rest of the story shows how these parallel tracks get connected and how the baddies meet their end.

Artistes’ Performances:
Ravi Teja plays the cop once again. Like in Vikramarkudu, he looks convincing as the sincere police officer and equally amiable as Thirupathi who dreams of becoming a cop. After Balupu, Power has released with lots of expectations and he does try to do his best to do justice to his characters. But age is catching up on mass maharaj and the director should have taken care not to put in too many tight shots. Otherwise, he is his usual self.

Coming to the leading ladies, Hansika looks pretty glamourous and pulls off her role with ease. She dresses well and dances well. In short, she is what the mass audience would want to see in a commercial entertainer.

Regina plays the good Samaritan Vaishnavi who runs the orphanage Aasha Foundation. Due to some misunderstanding, she walks into the life of Baldev without realizing who he is and ends up falling for him. Though her character is killed half way through the second half, Regina tries to make the most of her presence. However, due to the nature of her character, she does not get to do the usual bare all act of a commercial heroine. Instead she gets to dance around in sarees and big bindis.

As for the baddies, both Sampath Raj and Mukesh Raj put in decent performances as always. Ajay and Subbaraju as honest cops are also predictable.

Brahmanandam as Animutyam and Saptagiri as Hansika’s sidekick do manage to evoke few laughs. Kota as Baldev’s uncle is his usual best.

Technical Excellence:
Since Power falls into the typical commercial entertainer genre, all departments are well taken care of. Music is by SS Thaman and the album has a couple of mass numbers that will remain among the top 10 songs in the next few weeks.

Despite having all the commercial elements, Power falls flat due to its story. Like in many movies these days, there are two parallel tracks and when the movie ends, you are bound to leave the theatre feeling a bit disappointed. While Bobby’s debutant attempt at making a huge commercial film is laudable, he fails to hold the audiences’ attention by putting in too many twists.

Highlights:

• A couple of songs
• Lead actors

Drawbacks:

• Screenplay
• Plot

Analysis:
Story of an honest cop is a sure-shot hit at the box office, providing it has ample doses of action and entertainment. Power has enough action and romance. Still, it fails to touch the hearts of the audience. The director tries to make a classic masala dish out of Power. But the problem is that it has very little salt.

Even as the audiences try to figure out how Baldev’s track would evolve, Thirupathi is introduced. And as one tries to get into that track, the story reverts back to Kolkatta. In his attempt to come up with an interesting story, Bobby loses grip over screenplay and second half.

At a time when audiences are craving for new stories and innovative scripts, Bobby feeds them with stock characters like Baldev’s mother and ACP Goutham’s track in the flashback. While both are essential for the story, their treatment is definitely old school.

In all, Ravi Teja fans will be happy watching him play yet another mass character. But Power lacks that extra something which makes for a successful, racy commercial entertainer.

65 crores for "Aagadu" producers

The fan following of Mahesh Babu is unmatchable.His latest offing  ‘Aagadu’ is getting ready for a massive release this month 19 th and the pre business has already been completed for almost all areas and the business details are surprising and stunning

The movie is carrying high expectations as it was the second film of Sreenu Vaitla-Mahesh combo post success of Dookudu.The film is releasing 2000 theaters worldwide.The film was made up with budget of 55 crores and according to film nagar sources it has fetched 75 crores for the makers .The movie's satellite rights, Audio Rights and distribution will all inflate Aagadu's worth to over 75 crores already

Production giant Eros acquired the rights of Aagadu and they are hopeful of scoring a big hit at the Box Office. The producers are also very happy and confident that the film will do exceptionally very well.Tamannah is the female lead in the film and Srinu Vaitla is the director of the film.

It is really unpredictable as Mahesh  last film was a dud at BO.No need to say all this was happened due to Mahesh stamina and his craze among audience.

Vikram Manoharudu First Look

As anticipated, Shankar's 'Manoharudu' is ready to give the deadly shock of life. You might have realized already by grazing with a dropped jaw at that stunning graphical look of hero Vikram. Words find it tough to flow out from mouth when you see this beauty and the ugly truth of it.

First look of 'Manoharudu' is giving Goosebumps to cine lovers all over the world. Because it features all that handsome Vikram intermixed with his ugly truth. He plays two characters in the flick, one happens to be a hunk and handsome lover boy, and the other one is a crippled hunchback. Shankar made sure that these two looks are well out with first look poster itself. For now, this deadly output is simply hair rising. Feel it folks!

 CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FIRST LOOK

Chiru's Special Care For Ramcharan's Govindhudu Andarivadele

Chiranjeevi didn't make it big in politics but when it comes to films, he is always a Megastar. Currently, his son Ram Charan is shooting for 'Govindhudu Andarivadele'.

Kajal Aggarwal is the leading lady and Krishna Vamsi is the director.

Even before the completion of the film, producer announced the release date and the unit is currently shooting a song in London.

Chiranjeevi gave strict orders to the producer and director that Govindhudu Andarivadele must be released on October 1st because the film will have an advantage of a long weekend (Oct 1 to Oct 5).

Meanwhile, Chiranjeevi is supervising the editing part and he has suggested some cuts.

Vikram and Shankar's 'I' Movie Logo

The official title of Vikram-Shankar's magnum opus will be known as 'I' from now onwards instead of 'AI' which was in circulation until Today. The logo looks more or less similar to Mahesh Babu's '1 - Nenokkadine'.

Amy Jackson is playing the female lead in 'I'. Malayalam actor Suresh Gopi is playing a pivotal role. Music is by AR Rahman and Cinematography is by PC Sreeram.

'I' will have its audio launch on September 15th and Hollywood action star Arnold Schwarzenegger will be gracing the event held at Nehru Stadium on September 15th in Chennai. 'I' will be released during Diwali.

Mahesh 50 Lakhs More Than RamCharan

Hey we are not talking about their respective remunerations, were the gap could be much wider, but we are talking about the rates for their dubbed films in Hindi. Right now, Mahesh bagged highest Hindi dubbing right for "Aagadu" which fetched Rs. 4 crore, but surely Charan is closely behind his arch rival Ram Charan Tej, whose film "Govindu...' was sold for Rs. 3.5 crore, which is 50 lakhs lesser than highest price till date. 

Even though, their Telugu markets have a difference of atleast 8 to 10 crores, but when it comes to Hindi dubbing rights, Charan is closely behind T-town superstar. It seems that Hindi film "Zanjeer' although was a flop, but it gave some recognition for scion of Chiru family. May be, sooner than later, Charan could touch Mahesh figure in next few films or Mahesh will stay ahead even in dubbing market rates, which would be interesting to watch out for.