Rating: 2.25/5
Banner: Moving Images
Cast: Vikram, Sree Divya, Bhanuchander, George Vincent, Ramaraju, Annapurna, Usha Sree, Krishnamohan, Anitha, M S Narayana and others
Dialogues: Parachuri Brothers
Editing: Marthand K Venkatesh
Music: Sekhar Chandra
Cinematography: N Sudhakar Reddy
Story, screenplay, direction: Ravi Babu
Producer: K Prakash Babu
Release date: 10/12/2010
Ravi Babu is often known for his variety approach towards film making and creativity. Yet again, he has come up with a different touch but this time, it is not a thriller but a tender romance.
Story:
Vikram (Vikram) is a chicken hearted guy and he has parents (Krishnamohan, Ushasree) who often fight with each other for silly reasons.
Vikram’s father, a bank employee, gets transferred to Rajapalayam in Kerala and this is a small place which is dominated by culture and tradition, not by law. Most of the matters are decided by Kalari Payattu, the ancient martial art. Vikram’s family lives as tenants in the house of Krishnan Kutty (Bhanuchander).
The story takes a turn when Vikram chances upon Anjali (Sri Divya) and it is love at first sight. However, Divya has her own troubles in the form of her lusty bava Rajan Pillai (George) who is the champion in Kalari.
As fate would have it, both Vikram and Anjali fall in love. However, the matter gets exposed and the time comes when Kalari is the way to decide their fate. Whether the weak heart Vikram can win his love or not forms the rest of the story.
Performances:
Vikram looks alright as a nerd and weakling but then he doesn’t have those photogenic features or the right body language to become a hero. He must go through a lot of grooming if he is planning for a career.
Sri Divya looks sweet and she is more the girl next door than a glamour doll. Except for shedding tears and flashing smiles, there is not much she has to offer.
George Vincent, the new villain faired well with sharp features and performance.
It was good to see Bhanuchander back. For some reason, he has been an unsung hero but a deserving talent. He has a full length role and justifies it. His fight sequence is worth a watch. He should be given more offers in the future.
George Vincent was the best pick among the lot. He is handsome, looks muscular and has the right kind of confidence to increase his screen presence.
Annapurna was regular, Krishnamohan was okay, Ushasree is sensuously voluptuous but apt, M S Narayana was brief, the others did their bit as required.
Highlights:
Music and Lyrics
Cinematography
Art Department
Disappointments:
No Content richness
No depth in emotions
Weak comedy
Analysis:
Ravi Babu has shown one common trait in all his films. They take a strong inspiration from Hollywood flicks and he uses his brains to tweak them with a nativity flavor.
This time, he has brought in slices from films like ‘The Karate Kid’ ‘Blood Sport’ and not ignoring the Tollywood flicks, one can sense the traces of ‘Jayam’ ‘Thammudu’ as well. Overall, he came up with a cocktail of these movies and tried to stage them on Kerala backdrop with Kalari Payattu, the ancient martial art as the theme.
Thus instead of bringing novelty with story or narration, this time he has chosen to bring in novelty with Kerala backdrop.
Though he has excelled in the technical aspects, the content was very weak. Comedy was silly except one or two scenes, dialogues were normal, script was nothing and screenplay was routine.
The real highlight was the cinematography and two songs. Background score was intruding at few places. Editing was crisp. Costumes didn’t have much to do but the art department was rich. The first half was repetitive and the film gains momentum only in the second half but then there is a drag in the climax and by that time, the audience is twiddling their thumbs in boredom.
Bottomline: Jayam+ Bloodsport+ Tammudu= Manasara
(Sirasri can be reached at [email protected])
