The Story of two halves in Cricket and Cinema

12 May 2008

The newly abbreviated NTR (read it as Nicely Trimmed Ravishing) look makes the movie kaNTRi worth watching just for that reason itself. Everything else can be considered as perks and bonuses and debutant director Mehar Ramesh provided a plenty of them. Mehar Ramesh certainly lives up to the expectations if not exceeded in etching out a tailor made ‘Slim Gaa vunna Slum Kurradi’ role for NTR. If my judgment is correct then this movie is going to increase the number of female fans multifold and establish a more stable overseas fan-base/market for NTR which was standstill for a very long time since his ‘Student No. 1’.

NTR looks extremely handsome and not having to utter his dialogues in a high pitched tone for the role unlike in his previous films went very well with the new look he tried in ‘kaNTRi’. His glamour quotient has been elevated to newer heights in this movie. As far as his dances and fights are concerned I doubt if there are any two opinions. He excelled in both departments. He also sang the '1-2-3 Nenoka kaNTRi' number as clearly as he utters his dialogues. There are also no two opinions about NTR’s command over the language; he is undoubtedly the best of his generation in the business to speak TELUGU sweetly and fluently. Telugu Padaalani antha spashtam gaa palakadam bahusaa NTR genes lone vunnayanadam lo ye maathram sandeham ledhu. He proves it once again after his much acclaimed previous blockbuster hit ‘Yama Donga’ right from his ‘Hero Cycle’ introductory scene to the last dialogue ‘Cheppanugaa Nenu Maa Thaathantha Manchi Vaanni Maathramu Kaadhani’.

To begin with the audience will be in for a big surprise if they believed the rumor that the movie has been inspired by Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio starrer ‘Catch me if you Can’, but you do notice some shades of the plots of Latin movie Nine Queens (2002) ,Hollywood flick Just My Luck (2006) and Bollywood film Bluff Master. If that is not enough then both the interval block and the climax scene will bring in even more surprises for the audience.

The protégé of Puri Jagnnadh comes out with an interesting concept even though not novel and made the movie thoroughly enjoyable. Of course, one can not deny the fact that it will be really difficult for anyone to weave a story with an effective screenplay around a star of NTR’s stature highlighting all his strengths and that too having Telugu Film Industry’s every possible villain (Prakash Raj, Ashish Vidyardhi, Sayaji Shinde, Murali Sarma, Subbaraju, Mukesh Rishi etc.,) and every possible comedian (Kota, Dharmavarapu, Ali, Sunil, MS Narayana, Krishna Bhagavan,Brahmanandam etc.,) in the movie and on top of that to include two heroines more to address the front benchers than anything else. So it’s only natural that you won’t see enough villainism in the movie in spite of so many villains and lack of comedy in spite of so many comedians appearing in it. The English proverb ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’ or for nativity sake the Telugu Sametha ‘Mandha Ekkuvaithe Majjiga Palacha' aptly applies here. Had the comedy of Brahmanandam/Sunil been connected to the overall plot it would have spilled more laughs. Their separate comedy track could have been easily linked to the main story plot keeping in view the number of surprise twists and turns the movie takes through its course.

Putting aside those drawbacks the film still has enough stuff to entertain the audience. NTR’s dances for the songs ‘1-2-3 Nenoka Kantri’ , ‘Vayassunami’ and ‘I Go Crazy’ receive rapturous applause not only from his fans but also from those who watch movie without really caring who the hero is. His classical dance mixed with fast beat steps really enthralls one and all. Prakash Raj and Ashish Vidyardhi too were very impressive in dancing to the tunes of ‘Raamaa Re Raama’. Mani Sharma’s background score is good and so are his song compositions though I liked the song ‘Ammohha Anipinche’ more for it’s lyrical value and melodious tune along with very pleasing steps and locations.

Before I move over to cricket, I would like to point out about an observation that I am making more often than not. Off late I have been hearing a lot about people judging the movie based on first half or second half. I strongly believe you can never have a winner if you load one half of a movie with all the drama or perform for just one half of a cricket match and ignore the other half. It is the sustained entertainment/drama by the director for the whole duration of the movie or sustained efforts by the team during the entire cricket match that results in success at the end of it. Audience and Spectators can not go home happy if the movie or the game fails to entertain them and doesn’t keep them guessing about the outcome of it as long as it lasts. If IPL is such a huge success then the main reason for it should be attributed to the nature of the format and the way teams are performing to the best of their abilities day-in and day-out. Of the 33 matches played till May 11th only four or five games were one-sided affairs. If the tournament had gone the same way like the kick-off game at Bangalore against Kolkata in which the visitors outplayed the home team in every department of the game no body would be watching them now with the same amount of interest. In that most one sided game of the tournament The KnightRiders blasted their way to a total of 222 for 3 in their allotted 20 overs and then skittled out Royal Challengers for a paltry 82 in 15 overs. Just imagine if the matches were being decided the same way subsequently in which you were entertained for half of the match and were sent into depression for the rest of it. Would the tournament sustain the interest irrespective which team you support ? I am sure the answer would be a resounding NO.

Similarly, whichever hero towards whom your allegiance is if half of the movie is good and the remainder of it fails to keep your interest levels in watching it you will be reluctant to accept that it is a good movie. Its not a question of whether the glass is half-empty or half-full that needs to be put in here instead just conclude it as the realist does - The glass is double the size of necessary requirement.

Cricket and Cinema: My passion and obsession:
.• Allu Arjun’s Top Class and Rajasthan Royals Top of the table performances
.• 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]