Rating: 1.5/5
Banner: Chekravarthy Productions
Cast: J D Chekravarthy, Brahmanandam, Brahmaji and others
Music: Chakri
Dialogues: Maraduri Raja
Editor: ‘Editor’ Venkatesh
Cinematographer: Bharani K Dharan
Screenplay, director: J D Chekravarthy
Producer: K Satyanarayana
Release date: 26/08/2011
The cult comedy of ‘Money’ series created a new trend in Tollywood. Now, J D Chekravarthy is back with the supposedly third part of the series. Was it good enough? Let us see
Story
Four friends Chakry, Abbas, Raghu, Gogi (JD, Mukul Dev, Brahmaji, Kavin Dev) are going through financial crisis and run out of jobs. They finally decide to do a kidnapping and target Maggie (Tara Alisha), daughter of rich businessman Jagadish (Nagababu). They kidnap her and get her to the house of Khan Dada (Brahmi) who is now financially bankrupt.
In this process, the kidnappers also put Khan Dada’s family as hostage. The ransom money is demanded from Jagadish. Meanwhile, love begins to blossom between Chakry and Maggie. When the money gets ready, doubts and suspicion begin to creep up in the four friends minds and what happens from there forms the rest of the story.
Performances
J D Chekravarthy gave a natural act. Interestingly, age doesn’t show on him and he looks the same like he was in the first ‘Money’ movie.
Tara Alisha is sizzling hot. Sporting a short banian and tight shorts, she oozed her oomph wherever possible. Acting wise, she needs to work on her expressions and develop ease in front of the camera.
Brahmanandam did his best to bring out laughs. However, he was not able to shoulder the film throughout due to the poor etching of his character. Few dialogues tickled the funny bones though.
Mukul Dev looks apt for the role and his stern expressions brought some seriousness. Kavin Dev who shot to fame with the ‘Sprite’ advertisement in TV looks cute.
Brahmaji is a deserving talent and is a versatile performer. Not sure why he doesn’t get meaty roles and challenging opportunities.
Rajeev Kanakala was regular, Venu Madhav was alright, Mayuri was sensuous, good to see Ghajala back, Senthil was a surprise, Subbaraju was brief, Jeeva was okay, Rama Prabha was effective, Nagababu was usual. The others didn’t have much to offer except filling the screen.
Highlights
- Flashback scenes of ‘Money’ film
- Brahmi’s dialogues in few sequences
Drawbacks
- Poor direction
- Spineless screenplay
- Silly comedy
- Zero entertainment quotient
- Nil emotional feel in any scene
- More commotion than common sense
Analysis
It’s a remake of ‘Drawaja Bandh Rakho’ added with a special character called Khan Dada.
Very often, JD Chekravarthy speaks like he is god’s gift to the world of cinema and displays his ‘intelligence’ at every given opportunity. But the fact is, he is nothing but a decent actor and it is better if he sticks to just that.
Being tagged as a protégé of Ram Gopal Varma has given him some image (and career) but in reality, all his script writing skills are simply hollow. As a film maker, he has no knowledge of understanding the audience pulse or the ability to come up with a product that can engage the viewer for two hours.
Given his skill sets, taking up comedy is another major blunder. He would have been better off by coming up with a different title rather than attaching it to the cult comedy ‘Money’ and making a mockery of the classic. By cramming a dozen efficient cast on the screen, chipping few illogical lines and immature comedy if Chekry thinks he is a film maker then he better get back to school.
The film has nothing worthwhile except the nostalgic feel of ‘Money’ and few glimpses of light moments. At the box office, the makers might gain few returns due to the title hype and Brahmi factor but otherwise, this is a sure shot dud.
Bottomline: Not worth your money at all!!
(Venkat can be reached at [email protected])
