Allu Arjun’s Top Class and Rajasthan Royals Top of the table performances

In the era of story and scripts being made to accommodate the image of hero very rarely you get a chance to see a hero or a star to showcase his talent as a performer rather than getting caught up in the formula of three fights, six songs/dances (including an item song) and a couple of comedy and emotional scenes. In that regard we need to commend Allu Arjun for choosing the role of Krishna in the movie ‘Parugu’. It is very important that his fans embrace this movie with their both hands (or should I say both eyes) so that we will not lose the actor and performer Arjun. I sincerely hope Allu Arjun occasionally takes up this kind of roles to make sure the performer in him is not entirely wiped out by the commercial elements.

I strongly believe that we never got an opportunity to see what a great performer Chiranjeevi is after his home production 'Rudraveena' failed at Box-Office and one of his greatest performance in the movie 'Aapadbhandhavudu' (talking to himself in front of the mirror) was removed from the picture the second day itself as most of his fans could not approve their hero’s histrionics as a mentally disturbed patient keeping his image in context. I can only imagine how many such great roles he would have played had his fans patronized those movies.

I strongly feel that we have a very gutsy and courageous producer in the form of ‘Dil Raju' and a director of the caliber of Bhaskar who believe that the movie should be watched by entire family and touch some of the human emotions that are part and parcel of our lives. Both Raju & Bhaskar should be appreciated for the simple fact that in spite of casting Allu Arjun after the stupendous success of 'Desa Muduru' and doing a complete makeover of him. Arjun simply excelled in the role. Most importantly though Dil Raju dropped the ‘Dil’ from his name in the titles, he still maintained the same passionate DIL (heart) that brought him all five consecutive successes in trying to entertain the audience with a good family drama coupled with clean comedy without any traces of vulgarity, songs that are real music to ears and situational and locations that are eye pleasing. To make a movie without vulgarity and a message to carry home is a rare commodity nowadays, whoever makes sincere and honest attempt to make one should be praised for that reason alone.

As Dil Raju admitted in one of the interviews that he appeared on NTV, this movie may not be termed as a great movie as ‘Bommarillu’ did but definitely is a good movie and carries the same value system that all of Dil Raju's movies are bundled with.

If the first half of the movie was totally dominated by Allu Arjun which he carried with lot of élan, in the second half ‘Prakash Raj' has a bigger role to play and he did it as nonchalantly as ever and came out on top with a creditable performance. There are at least four scenes that stand out as a testimony to his unmatchable acting skills:

1. When he wavers on the road having a drink and tells Arjun about his feelings of losing his daughter
2. The way he converses with Ali in the 'Arya Samaj episode'.
3. In the scene when Poonam Bajwa asks him why they are following her like ‘Kukkalu’
4. In the climax scene when he cries after Sheela touches his feet to take his blessings as he could not control his emotions.

For those who thought there are not enough dances for Allu Arjun – just watch his steps for the lines

‘nijamga kallatho vinthaga manthramesindhi
adhedo maaya lo nannilaa munchi vesindhi’

in the song ‘nammavemo kaani’. They are really a treat to watch. Also there is another 30-35 seconds shot in the song ‘chal chal chalo’ for the interlude music before the second charanam. That’s really an amazing display and had the style and grace of Allu Arjun written all over it. I have no doubts in my mind that it definitely wows and mesmerizes the audience.

If I have any complaints about the movie, Sheela’s character is not etched properly. In Bommarillu though Genelia's character dominates the entire movie it is Siddharth who takes home the honors with a stellar performance in the most remembered scene of the movie. No such scenes for Sheela in Parugu. The costumes for Arjun in the song ‘parugulu theeyake pasidaana’ , Jayasudha tying Allu Arjun to a tree so that he wont escape from the home, Prakash Raj search in the lodge for his daughter etc., did not appeal to majority of audience. And my another complaint is like the second charanam of ‘Aaakasha Ganga’ song in Vaana --- there is no picturization of the best charanam that I liked in the entire album of PARUGU in the song ‘Hrudayam Orchukolendihi’

vechchani oopiriga velige sureedoo
challani choopulatho deevenalisthaado
anthati dooram vunte brathikinche varamoutaado
chentaki cheradante chiti mante avuthaado
halahalam naaku sontham
nuvvu theesuko amrutham
anakunte aa preme prema kagalada ooo

Overall, Parugu is a good movie and a sensitive subject has been very sensibly dealt with all sincerity and honesty though at times with a little bit of diplomacy too.

BTW, I listened to all the songs in Pandurangadu and they do carry Keeravani’s devotional flavor that has become a norm from his earlier chartbusters Annamayya & Sri Ramadasu. ‘Maathrudevobhava’ and ‘Jai Krishna Mukunda Murari’ songs stand out as the best of the album as did the songs of Panduranga Mahthyam - ‘ Amma Ani arachina & Jai Krishna Mukunda Murari’. However the song ‘ Kosaldesapu Bhaamini vo’ – which I guess is the song that might be the one which replaces ‘Neevani Nenani Thalachithiraa’ – reminded me other Keeravani’s tune ‘Hrudayamane Kovelalo’ from the movie Pelli Sandadi.

Moving over to Cricket and there by the hugely popular IPL which has been providing edge of the seat entertainment to the spectators at the stadium and nail-biting finishes for the TV viewers at the home all across the country, the Rajasthan Royals slowly but surely climbed up the points table and now stands at the top all by themselves and now they become the team to beat for all other teams in their quest for the championship. If their game against Chennai Superkings in which they destroyed the much fancied batting line-up with a clinical-precision to register an eight wicket victory is any indication of how closely knitted unit their team is then it would be really difficult for their opponents to dismantle them. Of Course, Sohail Tanvir did produce once in a life-time performance by taking 6 for 14 of his allotted 4 overs and also took two catches to bowl out Chennai for a meager 109 in 19 overs.

To find Deccan Chargers who were tipped to be the main contender for the championship sitting at the bottom of the points table after every team playing six games is really disappointing and light at the end of the tunnel for them seems to be very far off. In fact the four teams ( Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore & Hyderabad) that boast the biggest names are now occupy the last four spots and are in danger of not even reaching the semi-final stage unless they find ways to win the matches to change their fate.

BTW, I read reports that IPL is having a huge effect on the box-office collections and many summer releases all across the country are suffering from it. I believe the main reason being the unpredictable nature of the T20 matches that are making the people to glue to their TV sets rather than venturing out to see a movie in a theatre. It’s a known fact that nowadays very rarely will you have a situation where you will not be able to predict the next scene of a movie and where a song or a fight is going to take place.

Anyway, that’s it for this week. Keep returning back to this column as we have more cricket and cinema coming our away to keep us occupied for the rest of the summer.

Cricket and Cinema: My passion and obsession:
.• Style and Substance
.• Krazzy 4 IPL
.• JALSA on Celluloid and on Cricket minefield
.• Cricket and Cinema connections

About Vijay Jeedigunta: Vijay Saradhi Jeedigunta is a great fan of Cinema and Cricket and follows them as passoinately as any other Indian in spite of living in US for last 14 years. He Lived in Hyderabad,Graduated from Osmania in Electrical Engg and worked for Allwyn and Dr. Reddy's Labs before moving to USA in 1994. Before going to US he worked on some Doordarshan Documentaries and won the best TV Reviewer award for his Eenadu column called 'Cinnithera Chidvilasam'. He also had small stints as All India Radio's Official Statistician for Reliance Cup and some ODIs and Test matches. He was also a frequent contributor to Deccan Chronicle in their weekly sports page. He lives in Bridgewater, NJ with his wife and children. Currenlty employed by IBM as Managing consultant, he spends his spare time writing for dreamcricket.com. He also participates in a weekly radio show on cricket for EBCRADIO (1170 AM) in New Jersey. To know more about him you can visit his profile on orkut at http://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?uid=15920368379975419443 and his cricket blog http://cricketestats.blogspot.com You can send all your inquiries and suggestions to [email protected]