Rating: 2/5

Back when I was growing up in Dubai, we spent the long summer days of the vacations watching movies on video. When we ran out of movies to watch we would pick up video collections of Jeetender’s songs so we could have a laugh. “Bees Saal Baad” the realization has dawned on me that it wasn’t just the actor, the movies were silly too. I agree that the 80s didn’t give us too many great movies, but if they wanted to remake a movie, did it have to be this one? The movie is replete with the standard scenes from the Bollywood movies of the 80s. There is the grand entrance of the hero with a fight sequence. There is a spoilt brat, modern, girl who the hero transforms. The transformation is depicted by the fact that she exchanges her Wonder Woman costumes for salwars. That said, I never imagined Tammanna would look so awesome in the Wonder Woman costume. There is a the fight scene with the tiger. There is a scene where the mother pleads to the Gods for a miracle to save her son, which arrives in the form of the tiger. The Plot Ravi, an orphan, returns to his village to restore his family pride. There he runs into the villains of the piece – Sher Singh and Narayan Das, played hilariously and brilliantly by Manjrekar and Rawal. Apart from them he runs into Sher’s Singh’s spoilt daughter, played by Tammanna. How he avenges the insults on his family while also transforming Tammanna makes up the rest of the story. Actually, not quite, because Ravi is not really Ravi. Verdict There isn’t much to redeem this movie, except the nostalgia value and the acting from Manjrekar and Rawal, who capture the Shakthi Kapoor-Kadar Khan era perfectly. And before you ask – No Devgan doesn’t have a scene in a white pant with matching white shoes.

Rating: 3.5/5

Back in the day when the protagonist were to play a wealthy character he always had to dress in clothes that don’t agree with our temperatures (mostly a silk robe on top of something already uncomfortable) and as the years progressed the young, urban and wealthy protagonist sleeping in the midst of richness ranging from fashion magazines to movie DVDs just lying around came into fashion. And you have to improvise to make your mark right? This one starts with Karthik (Nitin) sleepily answering his smart phone from an ash tray, never saw that before eh! Plot Harshavardhan (who is also the film’s writer) takes up the voice over chore as he explains Karthik’s strongly one-dimensional character. Karthik always choses what he likes and fights for it if he has to. Sravani’s (Nithya Menon) uni-dimension is her fantasy of someone who would love her for just the way she is, by not even meeting her if that kind of a thing can happen. It did, it did happen, in this movie, it did. Karthik staying true to his overexploited character sketch falls for the prettiest girl (Shruti played by Isha Talwar) at a friend’s wedding. However, a small miscommunication with the phone numbers mixes things up. Karthik is now chatting for hours with Sravani thinking that she is Shruti and all the while playing love guru to a friend wants to propose to Shruti. In spite of the morbidly one-dimensional characters, the screenplay did manage enough tangles and packed enough laughs to keep one invested through the first half. Even the second half seemed to cruise along until it was time for the film to cause an unlikely change in the protagonist and the abundance of rationalization that goes with it. Verdict Not enjoyable all the way. Still was a lot more than I expected.

Release date: 23 Nov 2012

123telugu.com Rating : 3/5

Director : Srinivas Reddy

Producer :Dr.Venkat

Music Director : Devi Sri Prasad

Starring : Nagarjuna, Anushka, Prakash Raj

‘King’ Akkineni Nagarjuna’s socio fantasy entertainer ‘Dhamarukam’ has finally released today after some delays and the expectations on this project are huge since it happens to be the costliest production in Nagarjuna’s career. The movie has been produced by R.R.Movie Makers banner and Srinivasa Reddy is the director. Let us see how Dhamarukam is

Story :

The central plot of Dhamarukam has some similarities to ‘Govinda Govinda’ and ‘Bhairava Dweepam’. An evil guy wants to offer a woman, born in a certain Nakshatram, in sacrifice to attain dominion over the world. Going into the details, ‘Dhamarukam’ starts off with the mighty war between the Devas and the Asuras. All the Asuras are vanquished in the battle except for one, Andhakasura (Ravi Shankar). To avenge his race, Andhakasura goes into hiding to wait for the right opportunity to strike.

The opportunity presents itself in the form of Maheshwari (Anushka), who is a born during a rare astronomical phenomenon known as panchagraha kootami. Andhakasura realises that offering Maheshwari in sacrifice during a complete solar eclipse has the potential to give him control over heaven and earth.

The only person who can thwart his plans is Mallikharjuna (Nagarjuna) and Andhakasura tries his best to finish him off. Malli however, has the formidable power of Lord Shiva (Prakash Raj) on his side.

The rest of the story is about the battle between good and evil and whether Malli succeeds in saving Maheswari from the evil Andhakasura.

Plus Points :

Nagarjuna has delivered a nice performance in the movie. He looks dashing and handsome as always and Nag has attempted a mass dialogue delivery style, that is slightly similar to the one he used in ‘Hello Brother’. Anushka looks good opposite him and they share good screen chemistry.

Ravi Shankar is highly effective as the evil Andhakasura and his performance is a major asset to the movie. The animated depiction of the war between the Devas and Asuras is nice.

Some sequences have been shot well – especially the villain’s introduction scene, the interval bang involving thousands of aghoras and some scenes in the climax block.

Brahmanandam, Raghu Babu and Krishna Bhagawan bring a few laughs.

‘Reppala Pai’, ‘Sakku Bai’ and ‘Nesthama Nesthama’ songs have been shot well. Charmi sizzled in the item song ‘Sakku Bai’

Minus Points :

A few CGI shots are good but the overall quality of visual effects is not upto the mark. The biggest problem with the film is that the story never really achieves any emotional peaks. The villain’s characterization does not make you hate him to the core and when you can’t achieve that, viewers won’t root for the hero’s victory. In fact, none of the characters will draw you into the movie.

There is no linear flow in the proceedings and director Srinivasa Reddy is to be blamed for this. He loses grip over screenplay and narration at a number of places and only a strong performance from Nagarjuna and Ravi Shankar saves the film to a certain extent.

Prakash Raj’s performance is good but his look and attire as Sambayya is not divine enough. His look is modeled after that of Paramahamsa Yogananda, but the desired effect is not there. There are a lot of holes in the plot and the director just could not succeed in delivering a convincing explanation for some sequences.

Technical Aspects :

Production values of the film are not very rich. Chota K Naidu’s cinematography is just average. Editing is jerky and should have been a lot better. Dialogues are just about ok. Devi Sri’s music and background score work well for the movie.

Srinivasa Reddy’s direction leaves a lot to be desired. One gets the feeling that he just couldn’t handle the scale of the movie.

Verdict :

Despite the huge budget, Dhamarukam’s visual effects are not really up to the mark. There are a few good scenes and Nagarjuna looks handsome as always, but the less than satisfactory direction and narration spoil the experience somewhat. Overall, Dhamarukam ends up being a decent entertainer that could have easily been so much better.

Movie : Naa Ishtam
Rating: 2/5
Cast : Daggubati Rana, Genelia, Shawar Ali, Subba Raju, Brahmanandam, Ali, Harshavardhan, Chitram Srinu, Nazar, Pavitra and others
Directed by : Prakash Toleti
Produced by : Paruchuri Kiriti
Banner : United Movies Banner
Music : Chakri
Release Date : 2012-03-23

After having two warm up sessions as an actor, Rana Daggubati gained in confidence to shoulder a commercial entertainer that demands him to do the essential things to turn into a star. Naa Ishtam is Rana's first ever commercial movie and that is the only thing to state about this film. Other than that it is a badly made boring romantic film with silly logics and stupid screenplay. Know the full details in the review..

What is it about?

This film is about a selfish person named Ganesh, played by Rana. He falls in love with Krishna Veni (Genelia) after so much drama, which has to be seen on the screen. He is aware of the fact that she is in love with another person. But he fall in love with her and for this sole reason he stands between the lovers as an obstacle. His only mission is to stop the lovers from meeting so that he gets a chance to win her love. How does he operate this mission sums up the story.

Performances:                                                                                                                                 

Rana Daggubati tried his level best to fit into the shoes of a jovial and energetic character which has some negatively positive ideologies. Despite his sincere efforts Rana failed to convince us with his performance. He is wooden faced and hardly emotes. Even the basic expressions like happiness and sorrow look artificial on him. Thanks to his giant frame, he looks good and effortless in action episodes. He tried his hand at dances, but less said is better about his moves. Rana needs to learn the basics of acting if he wants to make a career as an actor.

Genelia is fine as the female lead. Thankfully she hasn't gone overboard this time. Harsha is just okay as Genelia's lover. He too doesn't know to act. Rest of the star cast is given unnecessary build up, but turn into mere puppets. Brahmanandam fails to provide laughs and so does Ali. Baddie Shawar Ali is a complete waste. Raviteja's brother Bharath does a cameo which works to some extent.

On the Technical Front:

Naa Ishtam doesn't boast of great technical values. Editing and Cinematography are just about okay. There is nothing worth mentioning about these departments. Music by Chakri is passable. O Sathiya song stands out. But the song is placed too late in the film that audience finds tough to stick to their seats at this point. Background score is not bad. The film is not lavishly made. Despite being shot in Malaysia, it didn't look rich enough.

Director Prakash handled the scenes in Mandapeta very well. But there is sort of hurriedness in the scenes canned in Malaysia. His script is half baked and the screenplay is pretty bad. Being a protege of Sukumar, he should have come up with brilliant scenes. But it looks like he doesn't possess those special skills of his guru.

Analysis:

Naa Ishtam starts on an ordinary note and stays the same throughout the first hour. There are few watchable sequences in between. The scenes involving Bharath are good. A spicy item song also is placed at this point which works well to keep the interest flowing. Even the interval twist works a bit.

Taking the story forward from that point turned out to be the biggest problem for the director. He couldn't narrate the story in a convincing way and the hero character's motives are not told properly. Director is left in a state of confusion about how to deal with the characters. He failed to show the right and wrong sides of his principal characters.

Besides that confusion, the director seems very weak in the comedy department and further dampened the prospects of the film. He didn't even develop the characters well for the audience to connect with them. Naa Ishtam might have worked if the director worked on the screenplay and characterizations.

Too much escapism in the second hour by placing so many action scenes and a nonsensical villain shows that the director lost the grip on the narrative. Only few moments holds the interest in the first hour and rest of the film is a big yawn. We don't recommend this film to our viewers. Rest is 'your wish'.

Verdict: Nothing 'likeable'!

Movie : Nuvva Nena
Rating: 2.25/5
Cast : Allari Naresh, Sharwanand, Shriya, Brahmanandam, Ali, Kovai Sarala, Vimala Raman, Raja and others
Directed by : Narayana
Produced by : Vamsi Krishna Sriniv
Banner : S.V.K. Banner
Music : Bheems
Release Date : 2012-03-16

Allari Naresh is one of the very few heroes that are consistent at the box office. More than fifty percent of Naresh's movies do well and that is not a mean feat for a hero who does more films than anybody from the current crop. His latest movie is Nuvva Nena in which he teamed up with his buddy Sharwanand, who earlier was his partner in the film Gamyam. However this film is not message oriented film like Gamyam. In fact it is complete contrast to it in every way. Here is the review...

Story:

Avinash (Allari Naresh) is a petty thief who falls head over heels for a beautiful psychiatrist Doctor Nandini (Shriya). Anand (Sharwanand) is a patient of hers, who also fall in love with her. Avinash and Anand start to fight for Nandini and who wins her love finally is what this film is about.

Performances:                                                                                                                                 

Allari Naresh has done complicated and complex characters in the past and such a single dimensional role should be a cake walk for him. He simply sleep walked through the film at ease. Despite being successful and far bigger star than Sharwanand in terms of box office, Naresh accepted to play the second fiddle in this film. Naresh has to be lauded for accepting this role as he realized that it gives him scope to do some comedy.

Naresh could have demanded for an extra song and fight if he wanted, but didn't bother about Sharwanand's extra song and fight scene. Sharwanand too has put up a confident show. He is completely natural in his role. Shriya is as hot as ever and is in perfect shape to make her role believable. She is sizzling hot in the song sequences.

Bramhanandam is fine in a routine character. His dances for Hrudayam Ekkadunnadi and Kilimanjaro received huge applause. Kovai Sarala is loud. Ali is just okay. Raja who was recently seen in Mr. Nookayya has done a guest role in this movie. Rest of the star cast is okay in their respective roles.

On the Technical Front:

We can't expect great technical values from a low budget comedy film. Technically the film is fine up to its standards. Barring cinematography and editing the film is below average in the other departments. Music is pretty bad. None of the songs are worth enough to hear at least once. Bheems is the music composer and he failed big time. Mani Sharma provided the background score and it is plain ordinary. Writing is cliched. Dialogues are too weak to lift the spirits of this comedy film. Director Narayana's output raises doubts over his directorial skills. He failed to impress with his poor handling of the scenes.

Analysis:

Nuvva Nena is a remake of Bollywood romantic comedy Deewana Mastana, which was released fifteen years ago. So practically the director has chosen a fifteen year old story to entertain the 2012 audience. When the story is that old, at least the treatment should be contemporary and match the tastes of current audience. But the director failed to make the comedy work in spite of having superb comedy actors like Naresh, Brahmanandam and Ali on his hand.

There are few spoofs in the first half that tickles the funny bone, but the second half is a complete let down. Unimaginative direction, poor conceiving of scenes and bad dialogues made this comedy an avoidable fare. Nuvva Nena falls short of expectations due to boring comedy and horrible music. Only saving grace are the lead actors and of course Brahmanandam.

Allari Naresh is surely a bankable hero, but the director has to provide at least an average fare for him to take it to the success mark. Sadly, Narayana didn't have enough in him to deliver at least an average comedy. So Allari Naresh and co couldn't do much to save this ship from sinking. Watch it at your own risk.

In one word: Nuvva Nena fails!

Movie : Mr Nookayya
Rating: 3/5
Cast : Manchu Manoj, Kriti Karbanda, Sana Khan and others
Directed by : Ani Kanneganti
Produced by : D S Rao
Banner : Sri Sailendra Cinemas
Music : Yuvan Shankar Raja
Release Date : 2012-03-08

        Manoj Manchu has been pretty confident about this film right from the outset. Ever since he took up this project he has been involved in various aspects of the filmmaking. He choreographed the fights and has conceptualized a song and also has given creative inputs to the director. He believed in the script and has given his hundred percent on the sets and off them. Mr. Nookayya was made on a tight budget and Manoj has promised a quality product despite the budget restrictions. Did the film live up to the promise he made? Is Mr. Nookayya a show reel for the capabilities of Manoj as an actor as well as technician? Let's find out the answer...

Story:

Nookayya (Manoj) is a cell phone thief who wants to settle down in life by doing wrong things.  Anuradha (Kriti) husband was kidnapped by a local goon Shazahan (Murali Sharma). He asks for 2 crore rupees to leave Anu's husband. Meanwhile Nookayya steals the money from Anu, who has stolen that money from her bank. Manoj gets a lifetime shock from his lover and friend and repents. He stands in support to Anuradha and what happens next is to be seen on screen.

Performances:                                                                                                                                 

Manoj Manchu has outperformed himself in this movie. He is at his energetic best as Nookayya. He emotes well in emotional scenes and is at his best in entertaining scenes. Kriti Kharbanda has done well as a lady in agony. She looks beautiful in the first song. Sana Khan is hot but doesn't perform at all. Vennela Kishore is alright. Brahmanandam tickles in the one scene that he is present. Murali Sharma looks evil and perfect in his role. Ahuti Prasad provides few laughs. Samrat is neat. Rest all did fine.

Technicalities:

Mr. Nookayya is technically slick. The film's photography is a very good. Rajasekhar came up with innovative camera angles and the film looked very stylish. Editing is good. This made the film to get the slick look. Dialogues are fine. Few are really hilarious. Yuvan's music is good. A couple of songs are good on ears.

Director Ani Kanneganti is the one who directed Kalyanram's Asadhyudu. He has worked on his weaknesses this time. He has written a script that has commercial value. Had he concentrated more on the humor, it would have been a good entertainer. He could tone up his narrative skills to be a better director.

Analysis:

            Mr. Nookayya is a mass film at heart and is shot in a stylish and slick manner. The detailing is pretty good. Manoj's action choreography stands the highlight of the film. First half is okay and the story picks pace at the interval.

Second half is tightly packed with enough chase sequences and action part. There were few funny scenes in between which would make the film engaging and entertaining as well. Last thirty minutes work due to the wonderful twists given by the director.

Watch Nookayya if you are an action lover. Director didn't concentrate much on the comedy department and the first half is not that good. Barring these minuses you could watch this film for Manoj's energetic performance and the last thirty minutes.

In one word:  Mr. Nookayya is stylish entertainer!

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Movie : Ekaveera
Rating: 2/5
Cast : Aadhi Pinisetty, Pasupathy, Dhansika, Archana Kavi, T S Kala, Singam Puli, Thirumurugan, Karikaalan, Vijayachander, Shweta Menon, Bharath, Anjali, Shruti Prakash
Directed by : Vasantha Balan
Produced by : T Siva
Banner : Amma Creations
Music : Karthik
Release Date : 2012-03-02

Story:

An unusual tale, the story is set on the backdrop of 18th century and here lives Sambayya (Pasupathy) a leader of thieves and a noted person in his village. However, his group comes into scanner as the queen's jewellery is stolen. Sambayya vows to find the real thief and he manages to trace a man. He is Chinna (Aadhi). Chinna is caught by Sambayya but his skills of stealing impress the latter. So, Chinna becomes a member of Sambayya's group. However, there is something missing about Chinna as his past is not known to anyone. Sambayya probes this and what happens from there forms the rest of the story.

Artist performances:

Aadhi Pinisetty has come up with a riveting performance and his looks are perfect. Pasupathy has given a commendable act. Dhansika looks naturally seductive and does her bit as required. Archana Kavi was brief. Singampuli was standard. Karikalan was raw. T S Kala was alright. Vijayachander was average. Thirumurugan was apt. The cameos by Bharath, Anjali, Shweta Menon proved appealing. The others contributed in their own way and added value.

Plus points:

    Aadhi and Pasupathy performances
    First half 

Minus points:

    Slow Pace
    Not contemporary subject
    Raw and realistic
    No commercial values
    Climax

Analysis:

The film is the dubbed version of the Tamil movie 'Aravaan' and it has grabbed few eyeballs who look out for different cinema. First half of the film did live up to the expectations that the film raised with the publicity material. However, second half of the film goes at a snail pace and even the audience that prefer to watch different genres of movies will find it tough to sit through. Once again, a Tamil cinema ends up on a sad note. Its high time for the Tamil filmmakers to come out of this shell. No wonder it would garner good reviews from the Kollywood critics. However, audience reception for this movie is highly doubtful. There are many places where the momentum could have been built. Director Vasantha Balan did impress at times, but the story and screenplay let him down. Overall, this is a film that won't suit the taste of Telugu audience. So the film's fortunes at Tollywood box office don't look good.  

Verdict: Typical Tamil offbeat film that tests the patience of Telugu audience.