Movie: Jamba Lakidi Pamba
Rating: 1.5/5
Banner: Shivam Celluliods
Cast: Srinivasa Reddy, Siddhi Idnani, Posani, Hari Teja, Vennela Kishore, Tanikella, Sudha, Satyam Rajesh , Dhanraj and others
Music: Gopi Sunder
Cinematography: Satish Mutyala
Editor: Thammi Raju
Producers: Ravi, Jojo Jose, N Srinivasa Reddy
Written and direction: J.B. Murali Krishna
Release date: June 22, 2018
Films like 'Geetanjali', 'Jayammu Nishayammu Raa' and 'Anando Brahma' have created a market for comedian Srinivasa Reddy's movies. He has now come up with 'Jamba Lakidi Pamba' which has generated good buzz thanks to its concept and trailers.
Let's find out the merits and demerits...
Story:
A year after their marriage, Varun (Srinivasa Reddy) and Pallavi (Siddhi Idnani) face problems in their marital life. They seek divorce by mutual consent and approach a lawyer (Posani) who takes up their case as his 100th divorce case.
Suddenly, the lawyer dies and returns as a spirit to their home to unite them so that his spirit can be liberated. Since they are not reconciling, he swaps their gender -- husband as wife and wife as husband, but their appearance doesn't change, only behaviour does.
What happens next forms the second half.
Artistes’ Performances:
In the first half of the movie, both Srinivasa Reddy and newcomer Siddhi appear as man and woman but their roles change in the second half. Both Srinivasa Reddy and Siddhi have not done anything new that previous actors have done with similar themes. But they are still convincing.
Vennela Kishore as Posani's assistant lawyer is funny and creates some good laughs. Posani’s character lacks depth. Hari Teja's role is mediocre.
Satyam Rajesh and Dhanraju appear in final portions to provide some comedy.
Technical Excellence:
The film has decent production and technical values. While the cinematography is neat and adequate enough for the movie's subject, the music by Gopi Sunder is a let-down. The editing is also not that great. It gives us the feel of watching a lengthy movie.
Highlights:
Basic idea
Some laughs
Drawback:
Direction-less narration
Uneven screenplay
Boring moments
Analysis:
Twenty five years back, EVV, the director known as king of comedy made a genuine laugh riot called 'Jamba Lakidi Pamba', where all men in a village start behaving like women due to contaminated water. That was really funny.
EVV generated great laughs by reversing the regular customs and traditions of men -- like men putting rangoli in the morning, girls selecting men at pelli choopulu scene and men experiencing labour pain, etc. Even though it was illogical, back then it was a laugh riot.
Director J B Murali Krishna has come up with a similar idea: A couple who are going through marital issues one day wake to find that each is in the other's body. However, the new director has messed it up. He has not focused on comedy, rather concentrates on silly and outdated concept of couple who decided to get divorce finding to know each other well.
The entire first half is focussed on the quarrels between Srinivasa Reddy and Siddhi and their attempts to get divorced. At the interval bang, this gender swap happens.
Post interval, one expects hilarious sequences, but what we get to see is Srinivas Reddy appearing in women's night dresses, wearing bra, sequences like he talking like a women and Siddhi smoking cigarettes and drinking wine.
Their bodies change, but their appearances don't. So, it doesn't make any difference in their outer behaviour much. Even post interval, the director has tried to focus on the marital issues rather than comedy track.
The genuine laughs come when Srinivasa Reddy's father calls him to their village and when the former comes to know that his son has 'no matter'.
When Tanikella sees his son Srinivasa Reddy talking like women and preparing 'Dum Biryani', he scolds him and says he should have dum in his sexual power than in his culinary skills.
These sequences along with Dhanraj, Sathyam Rajesh and Vennela Kishore's comedy in the climax provide some laughs. But it is too late by then.
The director copied the basic idea from "Dating the Enemy"(1996), but he completely got confused in what direction the film should move. This confusion has led the film to become a boring affair.
Generally, Srinivasa Reddy lifts a film with his performances, but this time he too has failed in this listless role.
All in all, "Jamba Lakidi Pamba" has not only spoiled the name of EVV's movie, but also disappoints hugely in all aspects.
Bottom-line: No Dum
