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
Reviewed by Venkat Arikatla ([email protected])
