Movie: Soggade Chinni Nayana
Rating: 3/5
Banner: Annapurna Studios
Cast: Nagarjuna, Ramya Krishna, Lavanya Tripathi, Anasuya, Hansa Nandini, Posani, Brahmanandam, Saptagiri, Sampath and others
Story: Rammohan P
Music: Anup Rubens
Cinematography: P S Vinod, Siddharth
Produced by: Akkineni Nagarjuna
Written and Directed by: Kalyan Krishna
Release Date: January 15, 2016
With “Manam” Nagarjuna’s career has got a big boost after a long time. Since “Soggade Chinni Nayana” is the immediate film that he has done after Manam, the movie has generated expectations.
The trailers have upped them. So how has this Soggadu performed?
Story:
Bangarraju (Nagarjuna) was killed in an accident. He was flamboyant guy and sort of Casanova. So that his son does not to be another Casanova, his wife Sathyabhama (Ramyakrishna) raises her son Ramu (Nagarjuna) away from all girls.
Ramu grows up to be a surgeon. He and his wife Seetha (Lavanya) live in USA but their marital life is in trouble as Seetha feels lonely as Ramu is devoted to his profession and doesn't care for her. Seetha demands divorce from him, so he brings her to his mother for reconciliation.
Satyabhama gets tensed when she learns this, at the same time, by divine intervention, her husband comes back in the form of soul to help her in solving the marital problem of their son. Except her nobody is aware of the presence of Bangarraju's soul. How the drama unfolds is the rest of the story.
Artistes’ Performances:
Some actors better as they age. Nagarjuna is one such actor, as the years are passing he is turning even more handsome. Both as Bangarraju, the rural flamboyant guy as well as younger Ramu, Nagarjuna has done justice to the roles. In the role of flamboyant Bangarraju, he is highly entertaining.
Ramya Krishna is perfect for her role. The chemistry between Nag and Ramya is awesome. Lavanya Tripathi is chirpy and beautiful in the film. Anasuya is okay. Hansa Nandini and other girls have added glamour to the film. After a long time, Brahmanandam has got meaty role and he has generated laughs too.
Nasser, Sampath, Chalapathi, Brahmji, and other actors have done justice to their role. Anushka has appeared in a cameo.
Technical Excellence:
The movie is so pleasant to the eyes and ears thanks to its colorful photography and music. P S Vinod and Siddarth have captured the rustic beauty so well to make the screen bright.
After giving super hit music to Nagarjuna in Manam, Anup Rubens has given another good album. “Nee Navve” and “Dikka Dikka Dum” are the picks. Editing by Praveen Pudi is neat.
Highlights:
- Charismatic presence and chemistry of Nag and Ramyakrishna
- Pleasant presentation
- Good music
- Decent first half
Drawbacks:
- A little slack in the second half
- Old storyline
Analysis:
At festival time, one expects to watch clean family entertainers. Nagarjuna has cleverly pitched this film at this time.
Stories with 'aatma' angle is not new to Telugu audiences but the way it is narrated in an entertaining way in a family setup is what works in the film. A simple story but the packaging is done by new director Kalyan Krishna is very appealing.
The first half is breezy and goes smoothly with simple narration. The second half turns a bit serious and also goes here and there in between but comes back on track before the penultimate sequences come in. Though the pace slackens in the second half, and the Yamalokam's graphics are patchy, the movie works because of Nagarjuna's performance and cool visuals.
Drawbacks are pretty old story, and lack of touching moments. The tracks involving Nagarjuna with Hansa Nandini, Anasuya and Anushka are downright silly.
All in all, the movie is perfect watch for Sankranthi festive time. Despite weak second half, it still entertains.
Bottom-line: Good family entertainer
(Venkat can be reached [email protected] or Twitter)
