November 29, 2006

Apparently, vis-à-vis telugu cinema, the upcoming ‘Sainikudu’ has been credited with so many ‘first-ever’ kind of things - such as music sessions in Dubai, audio release on global village video conference platform, premiere show on an alien land & so on. On the eve of ‘Athadu-combo’s sizzling screen appearance, this time from ‘Okkadu’s armor, that too post-pokiri, it is interesting to have innumerous ‘firsts’ as the USPs. But guess what, ‘is the story too first-of-its-kind, concerned audience would be curious to know.

Additionally, as the movie is coming from the 3-decade-old esteemed Vijayanthi banner(especially after 3-disappointing flicks - Balu, SubashChandraBose, JaiChiranjeeva), that too under the direction of settings-savvy screen play master Mr.Gunasekhar, audience expectations are simply unbounded. No matter how many attractions the makers offer, no matter how much pre-release ‘hype & hungama’ is created, the ever-admiring audience would look for the basic things first – such as an interesting plot, inspired or otherwise, tantalizing treatment, engaging screenplay, racy narration with comic & romantic relief etc. In short, the wholesome paisaVasool entertainment is what they care for! If ‘Sainikudu’ could offer at least some of these, well, who knows the box-office may bombard again with cash boxes, make the concerned folks pockets cash-heavy, and move ‘Prince’ Mahesh more close to the box office ‘King’ role in the long-run too. Or else, nothing could save the fate of this film. Here is a snap shot of what an average movie buff expects vis-à-vis what the movie offers.

Songs sound good ~lekin situation & picturization kaise hoga! Though a couple of Mr. Harris Jayaraj’s tunes remind ‘Dil Se’, the album has an appropriate mixture of mass & melody, folk & fast beats. But the point z, how they are placed & picturized to echo the mood of the characters, to elevate the scenes, and to move the plot forward. Out of six, ‘Mayera’ melody, with the right blend of swaraM, rAgam and bhAvaM, stands top, describes all about love and impresses the most. The folk bit ‘Orgualluke pilla’, Byla Bylamo, and the title song come next depending a lot on the placement, the concept & choreography too. Rajamundry & Ramoji film city, Kodaikanal & Kakatiya fort, Orugallu village & wind fan sets - seemed to be some of the songs locales. Thanks to the director, abroad is avoided. Of course expensive sets & impressive visual treats would compensate the budget. Could RajuSundaram repeat the magic of ‘Pokiri’ with the ‘Athadu’ pair this time - well, it’s a million dollar one, if not Mega Bangaram!

Story point afresh ~ya phir inspired! From the ‘Indecent Proposal’ days of ‘Sogasu ChoodaTarama’ through the ‘Ghost & the Darkness’ of ‘Mrugaraju’ to the MelGibson’s ‘Ransom’ shades of ChoodaliniVundi’, though seems inspired, GunaSekhar still packages films with his very own settings & screen play. So whatz up this time! The buzz says, it is the mixture of Hindi ‘Haasil’ and English ‘Runaway bride’, any takers! While the latter dealt with a bride running away from the marriage, thereby getting hero’s attention through a special article, and ending up as a romantic life partner, excellent camaraderie between Richard Gere and Pretty Woman Julia Roberts. Wish GunaSekhar could recreate the same chemistry, if not better. FYI, ‘Haasil’ is a love story set against the campus politics and power games played in the universities of Allahabad. Its hero ‘Anirudda(Jimmy Shergill)’ is a carefree teenager interested in dramatics, gets dragged into dirty games of two gangs in the college and ultimately becomes a fugitive on the run at the end. Sounds interesting! Guess what, one of the gangs was lead by none other than ‘Irfan Khan’ in Haasil, who might’ve played a similar role in ‘Sainikudu’ too. So, Siddhartha of Sainikudu has anything to do with Anirudda of Haasil! Sorry, no free tickets for guessing, you got to watch both if u r curious about re-make/free-make/fresh-make. BTW, per the film-crew, Sainikudu, besides being a simple love story set in Warangal and Hyderabad, is all about how ‘Siddartha - an ordinary (medical!) student ’ rises to the occasion when it warrants, for instance, helps a cyclone-affected villagers single-handedly, settles a matter or two with the campus goons exposing the dirty games of hospitals too, runs like a fugitive when things get onto the wrong side, dances in between to the tunes of love and life, conveys a message to every citizen to behave like a soldier, and ultimately, hero happily settles with his lover for ever. Sounds great indeed!

Casting promises ~characterization kaise hai! - Undoubtedly, Kota, Prakash Raj, Parauchuri, Darmavarapu et al would excel given an apt footage in the story, but are their roles etched out properly - a multiple choice question out there! The buzz says, JagapathiBabu would surprise with a special appearance as hero’s brother. If true, this underdog senti may work in movie’s favor. Hold on, the ultimate surprise would be ‘Irfan Khan’, who reportedly rejected ‘Shivaji’, but accepted this one upon the scope of the role. A mind-blowing performer matching the intensity of Maheshbabu seems to be on his way to tollywood. In Hassil too, as an ambitious & fearless goon, he is so scary and makes u wonder what he’ll do next. Sure shot, Irfan Khan would hit it across, if the dubbing & lip sync were handled properly.

Dialogues compact ~ya lambaa! Wondering what happened to ‘Powerful Paruchuri brothers’ of late! Out of form or efficient assistants ditched :)! Any way, they haven’t had a memorable flick after NVNV, and the dialogue in the trailer ‘chaMpanu, chAvu ki parichayaM chestAnu’ doesn’t make much sense either. Hope it does so in the movie at least. Audience would expect less talk and more intense action from Maheshbabu(as single-liners suit the star well), in the lines of Okkadu, if not the witty ones of ‘Athadu’ or the casual ones of ‘Pokiri’. And such fitting dialogues are a long due from this writer duo.

Amazing action as expected ~romance and comedy ka kya haal hai! – Remember, the action dominated and overplayed the otherwise simple sibling senti show of ‘Arjun’, and even in ‘Okkadu’ - the comedy and romance were not paid much attention, still it worked well, thanks to the fresh plot and gripping screenplay/treatment. But the director seems to have realized that he might not be able to repeat ‘Okkadu’s magic again, and hence the reported re-shooting of some ‘Sainikudu’ scenes. Wonder if it is to balance the comedy/romance threads of an otherwise monotonous student politics-cum-pyar game!

Technicians talented ~tho talent nikhala ki nai! Digital Intermediate format through SPIIRT media’s ARRI-SCAN - again first of its kind; Services of ‘Lord of the Rings’ technician Mr.Utsi for color correction/grading; Cinematography by SivaPutrudu-Mazaa-fame Bala Subramanian, an ex-assistant of PC Sreeram; Action by Peter Haynes (Athadu, Anniyan, Pournami, Chatrapathi, Varsham etc) - currently working for Rajani’s ‘Shivaji’ too. Artwork by Anand Sai - focus on ruined Warangal fort set, that too under lights, a cyclone-affected-village set etc for his artistic soul & skills. No matter how much talent and hard work they put up, it would be identified and appreciated only if the movie hits the bull eye with an extra-ordinary taking & entertainment value, isn’t it!

Settings look lavish ~lekin scenes impressive hai ki nai! The passion of the director towards visual treat through expensive sets is never under doubt - be it Bala Ramayanam’s durbar sets, Choodalani Vundi’s Calcutta street, Amsterdam city in Annapoorna studios or railway bridge of MrugaRaju, Charminar set of Okkadu or Madhura Meenakshi temple replica of Arjun. But it is the worthiness of it that is often questioned, not only from the budget perspective but also from the story point of view. Some may say, Okkadu, would’ve been the same even without that Charminar set & artificial old-city. But the director might strongly disagree that argument, and hence no hesitation whatsoever for a Warangal fort, a temple set and a built-in village with hundreds of houses for a cyclone scene etc, just to get that real-effect on the reel, u know.

Stills sizzling ~ screenplay ka kya haal hai! Vinyls or wall posters, stills are simply scintillating - be it the song shots of hero & heroine, with Trisha’s tangible ‘Bhopal & MadhyaPradesh’ being more apparent or the intense snapshots of Maheshbabu & Irfan Khan/Prakash Raj, or Orugallu fort backdrops along with digital touch ups.

Glamorous gals ~exposing hai ki nai! Though Trisha is better known for expressive performances, vying with gals like Illeana, she seems to be ‘jara’ generous on her Madhypradesh area these days, and it’s good news for the concerned viewers. But guess what, it is the latest item girl, ‘Kamna Jetmalani’, who would sizzle the screen with her jhalaks, and win the hearts of youth (Had she been the heroine instead, 6 item songs for sure, ware wah, mass masala just missed :).

Lead pair’s on-screen chemistry ~romantic tho hai na! Trisha & ‘Athadu’, and even Illeana & her ‘Pokiri’ - have a kind of spellbound chemistry that made the youth going gaga. Their eyes lock when they just glance at each other. They crack giddy smiles like they just can't help it. They're drawn to each other like magnets. Whenever they shared the screen, there's just no denying that something magical is going to be happening between them. This chemistry was one of the major things that made those two movies work well at the box office. If that intimate chemistry is taken care of in this movie too, well, audience know how to appreciate on-screen romance.

Finally, per director, producer is very understanding, generous, and didn’t compromise on quality during pre/under/post production. Well, Mr. Director, audience too would not compromise on the quality, and expect a lot from you, who once paved the way through ‘Okkadu’ for ur favorite actor ‘Athadu’, who inturn became today’s ‘Pokiri’. Per Producer, Director worked 24/7 for about 2 ½ yrs towards this silver screen’s ‘Sainikudu’ of 2 ½ hrs! Kudos to ur filmy-passion Mr.GunaSekhar, a great effort indeed. So, audience, it is now in ur hands to let them all know if ‘Sanikudu’ beats GunaSekhar’s ‘Okkadu’ or ‘Mrugaraju’, Aswani Dutt’s ‘Indra’ or ‘Jai Chiranjeeva’, Maheshbabu’s ‘Pokiri’ or ‘Naani’. The count down has already started...

By Ramesh Babu Maanyam

P.S: FYI, Premiere show is on its way in four of USA’s prominent A-class tollywood centers – with a bonus free kit of ‘Sainikudu’s special items, a free hand-shake, and a free Q & A session with the film-crew - of course the ticket costs 40 bucks – kya kare, honorable guests ka charges cover karna hai na - boarding, if not the flight charges:)