Gaayam 2 : Movie Reviews Collection

Film: Gaayam-2
Banner: Kartha Creations
Cast: Jagapathi Babu, Kota, Vimala Raman, Tanikella, Kota Prasad, Harshavardhan, Ajay, Tarzan, Nagesh, Ravi Kale, Jeeva, Revathi, Siva Krishna and others
Dialogues: Gandham Nagaraju
Music: Ilayaraja
Camera: Anil Bandari
Editing: Praveen
Director: Praveen Sri
Producer: Dharma Kartha
Release date: 03/09/2010

Story
Ram (Jagapathi Babu) leads a peaceful and happy life in Bangkok with a successful coffee shop business and a loving family in the form of his beautiful wife Vidya (Vimala), doting son and a brainless brother in law (Harshavardhan). His life takes a turn with the arrival of two people from Hyderabad- a lawyer (Tanikella) and Shankar Narayana (Kota Prasad), son of politician Guru Narayana (Kota Srinivasa Rao), an aspiring CM through the crooked way. The trio suspects that Ram is none other than Durga, their age old rival who gave them sleepless nights. Shankar Narayana and his lawyer try several ways to confirm the true identity of Ram. Whether their doubts are true or not and what happens after that forms the rest of the story.

Review by GreatAndhra.com (Rating: 3/5)

Performances
Jagapathi Babu has done it before so he didn’t have to strain much, however, he still maintains that intensity in his eyes and the icy violence in his baritone voice.

Vimala Raman is a screen scorcher, though her role is domestic, she shows her wild side in one song which is enough visual feast. She is a tempting seductress blended with good acting skills.

Kota Srinivasa Rao is the show stealer. Despite so many years, his class as an actor and his typical Telangana style dialogues are excellent.

Tanikella was another impressive performer. His character has got length and he fits into it with perfect caliber and screen presence.

Kota Prasad’s performance was effective, he has carried out his role with ease and the right kind of emotions. It is sad that we have lost a fine actor…

Ajay was brief, Ravi Kale was regular, Jeeva was natural, Tarzan was funny, Harshavardhan was average, Nagesh was a new face who is to be watched out for, he has shown potential, the others were there to fill the screen and contributed in their own way.

Analysis
Any film coming from the house of Ram Gopal Varma comes with certain expectations and usually, the results are extreme- a super hit or massive flop. But this time, the director has managed to bring it a saving grace and he was sharp in carrying the film without much hiccups. The dialogues were good, the background score was neat, songs could have been better as they had a retro effect, cinematography was appealing, editing was crisp, costumes and art department made their presence felt. Here are a few highlights of the film

The first half of the film is a straight lift from the Hollywood movie ‘A History Of Violence’. It is a literal scene to scene lift.

The makers had bravely shown the exact political situation in the state and one can relate Kota’s character to KCR in many ways. Incidentally, there is a lot of truth in the portrayal. The connection between the original and sequel was convincing which is a challenging part.

Scenes from the original ‘Gaayam’ drew whistles and claps from the audience, it was nice to see the raw clippings

On the flip side, since the plot was already known, there was not much variety tried and this brings down the interest. Also, those who have seen the Hollywood movie may not find the first half too appealing since the English flick was awesome. There was an inconsistency in few emotional scenes and the graph fluctuates. Overall, the film runs well due to its racy narration, good continuation and some fine performances. At the box office, this would be an above average grosser but if the makers can push it with aggressive publicity, the film will surely strike the success mark.

Bottom-line: It’s just ok

BharatStudent.com (Rating: 3/5)


Presentation
The director has come up with a continuation to the original and his presentation, narration were decent. The dialogues were good, the script was alright and the screenplay was consistent. Background score was good and songs were average. Cinematography was nice. Editing was crisp. Costumes were apt and the art department was appealing. Jagapathi Babu carries out his role with élan and he was effective. Vimala Raman looks seductive to the core. The real show stealer was Kota, he was excellent. Kota Prasad was good. Ajay was brief. Tanikella was another star performer. Nagesh Salve is another man to watch out for, he resembles Ajay Devgn in few angles. Ravi Kale was regular, the others did their bit as required.

Conclusion
The film happens to be a sequel to the original movie 'Gaayam' which came many years ago. While the first half was a lift from a Hollywood film, the second half was perfect in connection and it syncs well with the audience. Though there were hiccups in the emotional graph and few critical scenes, overall the pace and the narration makes it watchable. At the box office, this should be an above average entertainer and if word of mouth goes correctly then it will be a hit.
Bharatstudent verdict: Worth watching once...

123Telugu.com (Rating: 3.25/5)


What is Good: The first half is high on fire. Characters are introduced and established with little effort. Kota Srinivasa Rao and Thanikella Bharani look like they are competing with each other in acting department. Kota Srinivasa Rao’s son Prasad, who passed away recently, acts as Kota’s son. His characterization is inspired from Sonny Corleone in ‘God Father’.

There is one particular scene, when Jagapathi Babu closes his eyes as Ram and opens them like Durga. Even though only for a second, that is one of the best performance in Telugu films, in recent times.

It is good to see Revathi in few scenes. Infact for those who haven’t watched ‘Gayam’, the film is cut short and shown to the audiences. Though the difference between Ram Gopal Varma and the rookie director is evident, the first half rocks!

Seniors’ acting, shot making, cinematography and background music keep you engrossed. However it is in the second half that the film starts to loose its fizz.

What is bad: Conveniences start playing havoc with the screenplay, after Durga returns to Hyderabad. He has an almost loyal gang even before he returns after many years! As we see the crowd scenes, political speeches, media frenzy, the story becomes polluted. The music sounds as if something huge is happening, but the visuals show very little. Infact all dons are planners and they only drive their plans. They never execute it. By showing Durga killing ordinary goons, writers opt for ‘showing’ heroism, than getting his power connected to the audiences (like in ‘Gayam’).

Vimala Raman looks singled out in the midst of all these actors, not knowing when to underplay or be loud. Her dubbing artist too disappoints! Harshavardhan’s character is just unnecessary. The flashback scene got one of the film’s low points.

However it is the climax that is extremely low in content and too convenient for anyone to guess. It is reminiscent of ‘Rann’; but it had someone like Amitabh Bachchan to drive it. But here it seems like Durga does nothing at all! However, we might give the director a benefit of doubt because Kota Prasad passed away in the middle of the film. This might have changed the way the director had planned what he wanted earlier.

Technical Departments: : Director Pravin Sri shows all the skills he must have learnt from his boss. For most part of the film it seems he got his head right on his shoulders! To control actors like Kota and Bharani requires special skills and he never allows any other actor, except Prasad, to go overboard.


Dialogues are exceptional in some situations, and on the whole good. Lyrics are all meaningful and Illayaraja keeps his score in check. Cinematographer must have had fun shooting close ups of some terrific actors, building the emotions out of nothing and also having lots of crowd scenes. Together the cinematographer, editor and art director do a very balanced job.
Final Point: ‘Gayam 2’ is no ‘Gayam’, where one scene after another keeps getting better and better. But it is a worthy sequel. Yes it has problems, but most are forgivable because of the content the film deals with. Go watch it for the way it brings some modern cinematic language to Telugu.

sources:
http://greatandhra.com/ganews/viewnews.php?id=23352&cat=1&scat=12
http://www.bharatstudent.com/cafebharat/view_news-Telugu-News_and_Gossips-2,68495.php
http://www.123telugu.com/reviews/G/Gaayam_2/Gaayam2_review.html

RGV's Katha Screenplay Darsakathvam Appalaraju Launched - Photos, Videos and News

As it was reported earlier, the evergreen stunning beauty Sridevi and romantic hero Nagarjuna had launched Ram Gopal Varma’s forthcoming latest film ‘Katha Screenplay Darsakatvam Appalaraju’ that has comedian turned hero Sunil in the lead.

The film was formally launched today afternoon at Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad. The movie launch event was attended by actress Sridevi, Akkineni Nagarjuna, Sumanth, Rana, and many other Telugu film fraternities.

Sources say that after a long gap of 12 years, RGV is going to wield the megaphone straight for a Telugu film. There is also a buzz that for the first time in this movie, a song will be canned on Sunil using 27 cameras. The regular shooting of the film will commence from September 1st. The movie is produced by Kiran Kumar Koneru under Shreya Productions banner, which earlier produced filma such as ‘Siddham’ and ‘Homam’.

RGV termed it an emotional moment and recalled how he got interested in movies only because of Sridevi. Not forgetting Nagarjuna for giving him the break in the industry, he conveyed his gratitude to both of them for attending the launch of his Telugu film.

One song, a satire on the bigwigs in the highly competitive industry and about the myriad number of hopefuls wanting to get a break as a filmmaker, drew attention as it was played, even as Ramgopal Varma hoped that Telugu film directors took it sportingly, as constructive criticism.

He said the movie held intensely personal moments of his journey to success. It would showcase the travails of those who believed that they were the best and pooh-poohed the successful directors.

While music for the film is scored by Koti, Y. Sudhakar Reddy will work behind the camera. Nagarjuna recalled how he was initially nervous opposite Sridevi in ‘Aakhari Poratam' and how she made him feel at ease. He also said he was game to do a film with RGV again. Sridevi heaped praise on him calling him the greater co-star she worked with, in her career.



Opening Video:

Rajasekhar's Maa Annayya Bangaram Movie Review by Greatandhra

Film: Maa Annayya Bangaram

Rating: 2/5

Banner: Visakha Talkies

Cast: Rajasekhar, Kamalini Mukherjee, Jayaprakash Reddy, Rohit, Aditya Om, Yashwanth, Raj Kalyan, Ping Pong, Master Bharath, Sayaji Shinde, Jhansi, Uttej, Brahmanandam and others

Music: S A Rajkumar

Story: Bhupathi Raja

Editing: Gautham Raju

Camera: D Prasad Babu

Screenplay, Direction: Jonnalagadda Srinivas

Producer: Natti kumar

Release date: 31/07/2010

Angry man Rajasekhar who has been working hard for a hit is now arriving with yet another family entertainer and this time, he has the sensuous Kamalini Mukherjee by his side.


Story

Sivaji (Rajasekhar) is a mechanic who works hard and comes up in life. He lives only for his brothers (Rohit, Aditya Om, Yashwanth, Raj Kalyan, Ping Pong, Master Bharath) and wants to see them successful as he challenges his uncle (Sayaji).

In this process, he also refuses to get married. Even the brothers are equally attached to Sivaji. However, persuasion from brothers and uncle Parameswara Rao (Jayaprakash Reddy) makes Sivaji agree for marriage.

The story takes a turn with the arrival of Manjula (Kamalini), both Sivaji and Manjula like each other the first time they meet. However, the problem is Manju’s elder sister (Jhansi) has a tough time with her married life living in a joint family so she is adamant that Manjula should go to a nuclear family. Parameswara Rao lies that Sivaji has only one brother and the marriage takes place. However, the truth gets revealed soon and this brings problems. What happens after that forms the rest of the story.


Performances

Rajasekhar was stiff as a stick and except for his usual plastic smiles and strained eyes, there was nothing extra or different that one could notice.

Kamalini looks starved and she has lost all that voluptuous charm and cute sex appeal. It is better she gets back to her original shape instead of dieting, her hairstyling was poor. Performance wise, she was up to the mark.

Jayaprakash Reddy was the saving grace for the film. His comedy timing and exceptional dialogue delivery manages to get few smiles and he shows good energy levels.

Jhansi gives an impressive act, though her role was brief, she is good with her expressions and body language. She has a natural oomph which is hard to resist.

The support cast (Rohit, Aditya Om, Yashwanth, Master Bharath, Raj Kalyan) had a subdued presence and they contributed in their own way. Brahmi came and went, Sayaji was not used to the fullest, the others didn’t have much to offer.


Analysis

The idea of speaking about the importance of joint families and the human relations is a noble thought but then it has to be conceived in the right manner to connect with the audience. While the storyline was good and was written decently, it is the narration and presentation that flipped. Movies like ‘Hum Aapke Hain Kaun’ ‘Aadavari Maatalaku Ardhaalu Verule’ and few others have built that bond strongly so the audience is used to that intensity and depth which was missing in this movie. The affections between brothers are the key but there was an overdose of sentiment which sometimes defied logic and normalcy. In a way, instead of showing the good side of a joint family, the film ends up scaring the wits out of the audience looking at the attachments.

Drawbacks:

Here is a glimpse of few limitations

* All brothers want Rajasekhar by their side when they sleep, so he spends sometime with his wife on first night and comes back to his brothers to sleep along with them…
* Almost all of them are 20 plus but they wait for the brother to get them biryani
* All brothers wish to sleep along with their brother with their legs resting on him
* While at one end, Rajasekhar wants them to become IAS, IPS, Doctor, he ends up sobbing like a child and so does the brothers when the situation of their going away for few days comes.
* Kamalini gives birth to the baby but refuses to see the child’s face or feed with milk till the brothers return..!!

While the overdose is on the extreme side, the film has few sad points which might appeal to the joint family audience and will bring tears to the B, C center ladies. At the box office, given the huge number of theaters, the business of the movie may fall on wrong side.

Bottom Line: Strict ‘no’ for modern audiences