Saaho - Movie Review

Sujeeth scored a good hit with crime comedy "Run Raja Run" in 2014. After a gap of 5 years he is coming back with high budget action entertainer Saaho. After the Bahubali series, this is the next movie Prabhas, who has now Nation wide fans.

Story :-

Jackie shroff is king of dons in Waji city and he comes to India for an important task of securing money of all the dons. Someone attacks him during his visit. Chunkey Pandey wants to get on the throne of Jackie, just when Arun Vijay (Jackie shroff's son) comes to occupy the throne. Chunkey Pandey hires a thief to get the black box which has access to the money of dons.

Meanwi, Prabhas is an undercover cop who is assigned the task to find out a thief of multiple massive robberies. Shraddha Kapoor is part of the team assigned to him. Both fall in love with time.

Who attacked Jackie? Was Prabhas able to catch the thief? Does the thief help Chunkey Pandey go to the throne forms the story.

Performance :-

Too many actors are there in the movie, for unnecessary roles. Prabhas was good in parts. His hairstyle is a big let down in many scenes. Also his body language and looks were not complementing the character. Shraddha kapoor was okay. Their love story looks forced and doesn't have emotional connect. Neil nitin mukesh and Arun Vijay shine in their roles.

Technicians :-

Background score is good in parts. Songs are okay but doesn't feel like telugu songs. Cinematography is neat. Screenplay and twists are fine but run time is pretty long. Lot of money wasted on unnecessary stuff like art work in songs, Graphics, action episode's, etc., Direction is a big let down for movie. 1st half is somewhat fine, but 2nd half is a mess. Dialogues and dialogue delivery is were not upto the mark. Too many artistes belonging to Bollywood or other languages couldn't connect well with us. Huge cast was used which was not required at all.

Positives :-

Twists

Negatives :-

Unnecessary stuff for style

Summary :-

No hero scored a decent hit after giving a blockbuster with Rajamouli. Majority directors failed in 2nd attempt (Dwiteeya vighnam) after scoring hit with 1st. No telugumovie became hit in which Jackie shroff acted (Panjaa, Shakti). Saaho needed to break all these sentiments and become a hit. However, Saaho failed to break them due to poor direction, planning and wasted lot of money. Content is always king and Rajamouli knows how to have right content. Not every high budget movie can be Bahubali.

Rating - 2/5, Only style no substance

Game Over - Movie Review

Taapsee Pannu has been selecting out of the box, innovative scripts and yet scoring box office hits consistently.  Her latest outing is with a thriller.  Let's see how it fared.

Story - Swapna (Taapsee)  has been living with fear of darkness since an year after an unforgettable incident in her life.  Since then she doesn't live with her patet,  doesn't attend office,  lives with a caretaker and attends therapy sessions. She wants to end her life due to constant fears but wouldn't succeed.  When she finally makes up mind to live and forget everything, she is denied that chance and it's a game of survival now. What made her change in attitude, How will she fight back,  forms the crux of Story.

Performances - Taapsee is the soul of the film she portrays the role and it's emotions with ease. Her acting looks neat, real and believable.  Not much of casting is there.  Vinodhini as caretaker is good. 

Technicians - This is a technically sound movie with all departments excelling in their respective jobs.  Firstly editor,  movie is crisp with 1 hr 45 mins runtime and is apt.  Next is cinematogt, lighting and ambience is great.  Background music in 2nd half stands out and needs special mention. It elevates the scene to another level.  Story & Screenplay are fantastic.  Novel thought with an emotional backdrop gels with an engaging screenplay.  Hats off to the writers.  Director has done a splendid job in executing this screenplay.  He didn't rush up things,  established characters,  their fears,  concerns,  slowly revealed the layers one after another giving justification to every act.  2nd half is altogether another level.  People would become crazy with goosebumps moments.

Positives -

2nd half
Taapsee acting
Background score

Negatives -

Slight lag in 1st half,  but can be ignored

Analysis -

Game Over is one hell of a thriller ride one should experience.  May look impractical but for sure enjoyable.  Must watch.

Rating - 3.5/5 (Play safe and Play cleverly)

Maharshi - Movie Review

Maharshi

Maharshi is Super Star Mahesh Babu's 25th Film (SSMB25). A prestigious milestone movie has been handed over to Vamsi Paidipalli who is coming after 3 years of Oopiri. Being a first collaboration, everyone is interested how Vamsi would present Mahesh Babu. To fulfil the promise of doing movies, Mahesh has asked 3 producers to join for the movie - Dil Raju, Ashwini Dutt and PVP.

Story :-

Movie starts with Rishi becoming CEO of a major firm in US. A guy from a middle-class family from Hyderabad becoming a billionaire is one hell of a transformation. Movie is about the journey of Rishi, his attitude, friends, family, inspiration, love and most importantly sacrifices he didn't knew and people he misunderstood.

Performances :-

Mahesh Babu's look in flash back episodes is refreshing. He is witty and charming in college episodes. But his look in current time is repetitive of what we have seen in Srimanthudu, Bharat Ane Nenu. Not sure everyone felt it or it's only my assumption, but Mahesh Babu's body language looked very rigid and stone-faced except in flash-back as against his soothing and casual self. Acting wise he is good. Scene when he reads the letter of Prakash Raj is terrific. Allari Naresh was an apt choice and he stands out. Pooja Hegde is ok for the limited role she had. There is huge supporting cast in the movie who shine in their limited roles, starting from Jagapathi Babu, Sai Kumar, Rao Ramesh, Vennela Kishore, Rajeev Kanakala, Jayasudha, Kamal Kamaraju. In a small role with less dialogues, Prakash Raj is wasted. Glad to see 2 legends in a cameo - Kaikala Satyanarayana Garu and Kora Srinivasa Rao Garu after a long time.

Technicians :-

Devi Sri Prasad music is disappointing. Only Choti Choti Baatein & Ide Kada songs sound good and while remaining fail to register. Background score is also not up to the mark. Costumes and casting support the narration aptly. Dialogues are well written. Editing should have been more effective to make the movie crispier instead of 3 hr run time. Action episode are neatly designed and executed. Vamsi as a director did not go for much of commercial elements and has struck to the main plot which is appreciable, but he could not deliver it effectively. 2nd half seems dragged with slow and boring episodes which should have been avoided.

Positives :-

Flash back episode
Allari Naresh
Dialogues

Negatives :-

2nd Half

Analysis :-

Maharshi is such a movie where you can't say its BAD but at the same time you can't accept its GOOD. There is nothing exciting nor it is completely irritating. It just swings as a pendulum with good and bad episodes making it an average watch. With the hype of SSMB25, Maharshi couldn't live upto the expectations.
Also it's time for Mahesh to try a mass or comic role, classy decent repetitive get ups continuously are causing monotony.

Rating - 2.75 / 5 (Average Maharshi, Could be tried if nothing else to do)

Jersey - Movie Review

Jersey :-

Starting from Yevade Subramanyam to MCA, Nani had 8 consecutive hits. However his last 2 outings with Krishnarjuna Yuddham and Devadasu weren't successfull. This time Nani has paired up with new director Gowtham ("Malli Raava" fame) for sports based movie "Jersey".

Story :-

As evident from the trailer, once a successful cricketer had to leave his cricketing career due to unavoidable circumstances and starts his family life. As a failed individual and husband, he loses his respect from everyone, in order to not loose his respect in front of his son, he wants to take up cricket again. How far does he succeeded in the 2nd innings and why did he leave cricket firstly forms the story.

Performances :-

Nani gave one of his best performances of his career. He played it subtle yet emotional which is not easy to portray. Shraddha Srinath brings freshness to screen being a debut, though she is familiar to whoever watched Vikram-Vedha (Madhavan-Vijay Sethupati blockbuster). Thought Sharddha didn't portray the emotional struggle well, may be Nivetha Thomas would have been a better option. Kid who played Nani's son was cute and natural. Satyaraj as a backbone for the lead character is sincere.

Technicians :-

Director Gowtham sticked to the basic plot without diluting it with commercial elements. He conveyed emotional and conflicting points effectively. Did not waste time and money for songs, sets etc., which is a good thing. Dialogues were crisp. Cinematography is good with realistic and shuttle colours, costumes are special mention as they were very real and natural. Cast was limited but effective. Background score and songs of Anirudh were soothing.

Positives :-

Nani's performance
Father-Son bonding
Husband-Wife conflict
Screenplay
Dialogues

Negatives :-

Slow pace
One man show in cricket matches

Analysis :-

Journey of an aspiring cricketer's life, highs and lows, love and pain, hope and rise has been captured well in Jersey. Climax of the movie reveals an hidden secret which is an interesting crucial point of the story. All performances are neat and apt. Thought cricket matches in second half should have been more engaging and team game rather than one man show of Nani, to be more believable and realistic.

Rating :- 3/5 (Watch it for Nani and Story)

హ్యాపీ న్యూ ఇయర్

హ్యాపీ  న్యూ ఇయర్ 

ఫ్రెండ్స్ తో కలిసి న్యూ ఇయర్ పార్టీ చేస్కోడానికి అడిగిన 5000 రూపాయలు ఇవ్వలేదని శ్రీను అలిగి మధ్యాహ్నం నుంచి భోజనం చెయ్యలేదు. తన జీతం తో మధ్య తరగతి కుటుంబ ఖర్చులని పిల్లల చదువులని అతి కష్టం మీద లాక్కొస్తున్న రామారావు అటు కొడుక్కి నచ్చ చెప్పలేక, ఇటు డబ్బులు ఇవ్వలేక సతమతమవుతున్నాడు. ఏమని నచ్చచెప్పగలడు, ప్రతి పండగకి శ్రీను ఎదో ఒకటి అడగడం, ఎదో ఒక కారణం తో సర్దిచెప్పడం ఆనవాయితీ అయిపోయింది. 15 ఏళ్ళ టీనేజి కుర్రాడిని శ్రీను ని తప్పు పట్టడానికి లేదు. ఆ వయసు అలాంటిది. తన ఫ్రెండ్స్ లా తాను ఉండాలని, వాళ్ళు చేసే ప్రతి పని లో తాను భాగస్వామి కావాలి అనుకోవడం సహజం. కొడుకుది కోరిక, తండ్రిది నిస్సహాయత. ఈ మధ్య తరగతి యుద్ధం, ప్రతి ఇంట్లోను ఉండేదే . ప్రతినాయక పాత్ర లో తండ్రి, కథానాయక పాత్ర లో ఒక ఇంట్లో కొడుకు, ఇంకోచోట భార్య, ఇంకోచోట కూతురు, లేదా తల్లితండ్రులు, ఇలా మారుతూ ఉంటారు. 

రాత్రి 8 అవుతుంది, శ్రీను గది లోంచి బయటకి రాలేదు, భోజనం చెయ్యలేదు. విడతలు విడతలు గా రామారావు, అతని భార్య, శ్రీను అక్క ఎంత బతిమాలినా శ్రీను అలక తీరలేదు. ఇంతక ముందు కూడా ఇలా అలిగిన, కొంత సేపటికి అలక తీరి మాట వినేవాడు, కానీ ఈసారి పట్టుదల గా ఉన్నాడు. ఇంక చేసేది లేక, రేపు ఆఫీస్ నుంచి డబ్బులు తెచ్చి ఇస్తాను అని రామారావు మాట ఇస్తాడు. వెంటనే ఎగిరి గెంటేసిన శ్రీను నాన్న ని గట్టిగ ఒడిసి పట్టుకుని, భోజనం పెట్టమని అమ్మ కి చెప్పాడు. కొడుకు పంతం, ఆనందం చూసి నవ్వుకున్నాడు రామారావు. 

మరునాడు ఆఫీస్ లో 5000 అడ్వాన్స్ కావాలని అర్జీ పెట్టుకుని, ఆ సొమ్ముని నెలనెలా తన జీతం లో కొంచెం కొంచెం గా కత్తిరించామని చెప్తాడు. దానికి సరే అని రామారావు బాస్ 5000 ఇప్పిస్తాడు. మధ్యాహ్నం లంచ్ బ్రేక్ లో స్కూల్ బయట ఉన్న ఫోన్ బూత్ నుంచి నాన్న కి ఫోన్ చేస్తాడు శ్రీను, ఏమైందో తెలుసుకుందామని. రామారావు ఫోన్ పట్టుకుని ఆఫీస్ నుంచి బయటకి వచ్చి మాట్లాడుతాడు. రామారావు ఫోన్ లో స్పీకర్ లో పెడితే కానీ ఎదుటివాడి మాట వినపడదు. చానళ్ల క్రితం కింద పడిపోయి పాడైపోయింది. డబ్బులు దొరికాయని, సాయంత్రం ఇస్తానని చెప్పడం తో శ్రీను కి టెన్షన్ తగ్గింది. సాయంత్రం రామారావు  ఇంటికొచ్చేసరికే గుమ్మం దగ్గరే కాసుకొని కూర్చున్నాడు శ్రీను. తన ఆత్రం అర్ధం చేసుకున్న రామారావు, కొడుక్కి డబ్బులిచ్చి జాగ్రత్త చెప్తాడు. మన స్థోమత అర్ధం చేసుకుని, దాని బట్టి ఖర్చులు పెట్టాలి అని శ్రీను కి హిత బోధ చేద్దాం అనుకున్నా, సమయం వచినప్పుడు తనే అర్ధం చేసుకుంటాడని ఊరుకుంటాడు. ఆరోజు డిసెంబర్ 31. రాత్రికి ఫ్రెండ్స్ తో పార్టీ అని రాత్రి 8 ఇంటికి తయారయి వెళ్తాడు శ్రీను. 

సరిగ్గా 11:55 ఇంటికి తిరిగి వచ్చేస్తాడు శ్రీను. అందరు పార్టీ చేసుకునే టైం కి తిరిగి ఇంటికి ఒచ్చేసాడని ఆశ్చర్యం కలిగింది రామారావు కి. ఏమైనా గొడవ అయ్యిందేమో అని శ్రీను ని అడుగుతాడు. అలాంటిది ఏమి లేదు, సరిగ్గా 12 ఇంటికి ఇంటిలో అందరి తో ఉండమని వచ్చా అని చెప్తాడు. ఇంతలో సరిగ్గా 12 అవుతుంది. తన జేబు లోంచి కొత్త మొబైల్ ఫోన్ తీసే రామారావు చేతికిచ్చి "హ్యాపీ న్యూ ఇయర్ నాన్న" అని చెప్తాడు శ్రీను. రామారావు కి ఒక్క క్షణం ఏమి అర్ధం కాలేదు. రామారావు ని ఫోన్ కొనుక్కోమంటే కొనుక్కోడు , ప్రస్తుతం నడుస్తుంది కదా, ఎందుకు వృధా ఖర్చు అని. ఆ సంగతి తెలిసే, శ్రీను పార్టీ అని నాటకం ఆడి డబ్బులు తీసుకుని నాన్నకి ఫోన్ కొన్నాడు. కొడుకు మెల్లగా బాధ్యత తెలుసుకుంటే బాగుండు అనుకున్న రామారావు కి, ఎదిగిన కొడుకు ఆలోచన చూసి ముచ్చటేసింది. 

Surgical Strike 2.0

The mood of the whole country on 26th Feb Morning is HIGHHHHHH. The Indian Air Force has executed a terrific job with finesse. Surgical Strike 2.0 is the new face of India. Brave, Gutsy, Unimaginable and Capable.

Today's surgical strike is very complex, tough and risky. During last surgical strike, the enemy was not expecting anything of that sort, so there was an element of surprise. By the time they realise and react, our men are back home safely. But this time that is not the case. They were expecting such kind of retaliation, they were prepared for counter attack, they have mobilised men and artillery for back-up and despite all of this, still our IAF has done the damage and still returned safely means, that's unthinkable and excellent.

The last attack and current one, both were conducted in the early hours of day and it proved that's best time. The famous saying of "Will not let enemy sleep" has been practically implemented by our men. Whenever there is an attack in India, they won't dare to sleep, especially after 3AM. Also, the time period of operation this time has been hardly 30 mins. It was like Virender Sehwag's innings in ODI's. The stay at crease would be very short, but the destruction done in that period is 100 times. We are so joyful today that we are ready to give Umesh Yadav another chance in the team for tomorrow's match, Such is the Josh.

We as citizens feel proud and would like to take the credit for what our Air Force did, but there are a lot of people to be thanked who are major stakeholders in this strike and whose life, position, power were at stake, had the strike caused any casualties in the Air Force of our side or civilians in the other side.

Firstly, the Air Force team who took the job knowing the risk involved in losing life during operation. 40 Jawans were killed in an attack 2 weeks back and still these brave men choose to enter enemy premises. Thanks and Hats Off to them.

Secondly, the policy makers, government, planning team. There is a lot for stake for these people, had the attack turned bitter, whole nation would have turned against them. A gutsy and brave decision to back such operation. Thanks to you.


DC

2.0 - Movie Review

The Robot combo is back with 2.0. Robo smashed all records in 2010 and set the bar high. However, neither Rajni nor Shankar were able to recreate such phenomenon again. Shankar failed with Snehitudu and "I", while Rajni scored average grossers with Kochadaiyan, Linga, Kabali, Kaala. With an enormous budget, ensemble cast and crew, unprecedented expectations, huge target to beat (Bahubali2) - 2.0 has arrived today.

Story :-

Cell phones start vanishing into air suddenly and everyone is worried. Any attempts to bring back the cell phones back to operational are also hampered and people behind the attempts get killed. Vaseekar identifies that it's a new force called "Bird Man" and is to be dealt scientifically. He suggests "Chitti-The Robot" is to be bought back to duty to control this force. What is birdman's intentions and How Chitti neutralises birdman forms the story.

Performances :-

Superstar Rajni as Vaseekar and Chitti excelled as usual. Though few antics felt repetitive from Robot, his comic timing towards climax stands out. Akshay Kumar as Birdman was an apt choice and he was phenomenal. Kudos for the make-up and getups he took for this film his efforts did not go unnoticed. Amy Jackson as Vennela had a lengthy role and she was decent. Not much scope for Adil Husain and other artistes.

Technicians :-

2.0 can be declared as the best visual effects movie from India till date. It's the Indian "Avatar". Extraordinary graphics. 3D effects were excellent starting from titles. Shankar's direction was stupendous. He picked up an interesting point, written an engaging story, imagined an visual wonder and executed with perfection. He did not waste time for any commercial elements and went straight away into the story since start. Best part of the movie is that it didn't had songs which is unimaginable for a South commercial movie with such crazy combo. Shankar's guts and planning should be appreciated. Background score was neat, not fantastic. Nowadays people got used to not expect the old AR Rahman, so no disappointment.

Positives :-

VFX, VFX, VFX
Shankar's direction
Akshay's get-ups and Rajni's antics

Negatives :-

Predictability

Summary :-

2.0 is packaged entertainer with all elements. This is not a regular movie you get to watch on Indian screen. Definitely worth a watch for its graphical extravaganza. A sure shot winner

Watch it in 3D for enhanced experience

Beating Bahubali2 depends repetitive audience.

Rating :- 2.0 @ 3D = 3.5 (Watch It)

Taxiwala - Movie Review

Latest sensation and new star in tollywood Vijay Devarakonda's latest outing is "Taxiwala" under new director Rahul Sankrityan. This movie like all other VIjay's movies had its share of issues. Unedited and entire movie of 3.5 hrs movie got leaked, movie was in shooting and post production for almost 1.5 yrs. Since Vijay's last movie "NOTA" couldn't reach the expectations of audience, pressure is on him to prove his mettle and stardom.

Story - 

Shiva comes to Hyderabad in search of job and tries his hand at multiple jobs but they doesn't seem viable. He comes to know that cab driver job has good returns and plans to buy a car. In his limited budget, he gets an old model car which he loves it at first look. He starts his job as a cab driver, gets a girl friend, gets well paid and everything seems fine. The car has a history which starts haunting Shiva. He tries to get rid of the car but couldn't due to unavoidable circumstances. What is the history of the car and how he resolves issues forms the rest of the story.

Performances - 

Vijay as taxiwala was natural. His character had to emote fear, humour, frustration, sentiment and Vijay was good at all. His costumes, hairstyle, dialogues complement the cab driver character. Heroine Priyanka Jawalkar was there for namesake and she is okay. Couple had one song "Maate Vinadhuga" and its good. Madhunandan and Vihsnu Oi (Hollywood) provides some comic relief. Malavika Nair in the flashback episode was apt. Remaining character artistes performed to their potential. Shiju has limited scope in negative role and he did a decent job.

Technicians - 

New director Rahul Sankrityan has chosen a novel concept of "Astral Projection" and linked it with a car and plotted a story around it. The premise, screenplay and writing is engaging and entertaining. Jakes Bejoy is music is average. Maate Vinadhuga song stands out and background score is decent. Remaining songs are montage and are not catchy. The colour and tone of the movie is fresh and cinematographer has done a commendable job. Production values are good and there are no unnecessary elements, characters.

Positives -

Vijay Devarakonda
Novel plot and taking
1st Half

Negatives -

Uneven pace in 2nd Half
Predictability towards climax

Analysis -

Horror-comedy is one genre which has yielded success to many film makers within limited budget. Taxiwala also falls into this category and gained brownie points in terms of box office success. Crisp editing, good & entertaining 1st half makes "Taxiwala" a joy ride despite its shortcomings here and there.

Vijay should be appreciated for trying different genres in such a short span and also getting succeeded. Rom-com in Pelli Chupulu, Geetha Govindham, Political drama in Nota, Alchol addicted aggressive doctor with a love failure in Arjun Reddy, Horror comedy with Taxiwala. His choices have been refreshing and innovative. Luck favours the brave so does the box-office.

Rating - 2.75/5 (Average Entertainer. One Time Watch) 

Andhadhun - Movie Review

Ayushman Khurrana is known for selecting versatile subjects and unique roles since debut. However, success also has been accompanying him with recent movies unlike the roller-coaster rides previously. His last 2 movies, "Bareilly Ki Barfi" and "Shubh Mangal Savdhan" have both been critically acclaimed and commercially successful. His new release "Andhadhun" has got an interesting subject of blind man in a murder premise. The trailer also was intriguing.

Story : Ayushman plas a blind pianist who teaches piano classes and looks for inspirational tunes. Radhika Apte, daughter of a restaurant owner, gets him a job to perform at their restaurant. In short time, he gets good recognition for his skill. He goes to teach piano class at home to Tabu on the request of her husband as an anniversary gift. A crime scene happens at that house and how it effects the life of the hero forms the story.

Performances : Ayushman stands out as the blind pianist with his body language, dialogues. He is known as an spontaneous actor and this film proves it again. His acting prowess improved the impact of thrilling episodes in the movie. Next standout performance in the movie is Tabu. Should say this is a comeback movie for this talented actress who gets to play a meatier role after many years and she has just nailed it. Andhadhun clicks because of these 2. Radhika was apt for the hero's love interest and played it effectively. Anil Dhawan as Tabu's husband, Manav Vij as Inspector, Zakir Hussain as doctor are other prominent characters who have done justice to their roles. There are hardly 3 or 4 supporting characters in the movie and there is no unnecessary casting. 

Technicians : It's a fantastic team work. Editing has been crisp and cut to point. Art work has been very good with great ambience created according to the mood and locations. Cinematography is subtle and suits the thriller movie concept. Songs are limited but good, background score is an asset to the film generating curiosity and lifts the tempo. Director "Sriram Raghavan" has been outstanding with the writing. The screenplay. plot, casting, executing everything were phenomenal. This is going to be remembered as one of the best thriller movies in the bollywood history. Especially, the 1st half of the movie needs to get special mention. This is one of the best 1st halves i've ever seen. There is a surprising twist or a shocking element in every 15 minutes since start. Compared to this exceptional 1st half, the 2nd half might look a bit slow down. But the overall experience is a thrilling ride and I don't remember when was the last time audience enjoyed a thriller with so much fun and interest. The way the 1st scene of the movie is interlinked to the climax is great. 

Positives :-

Ayushman & Tabu
Screnplay
Terrific 1st half
Entire Casting

Negatives :-

Not much, to some extent 2nd half may look clumsy

Analysis :-

This is a thriller one should not miss. It has the surprising element and edge of the seat moments throught out and a lot of brains and efforts would have gone through in the making. 

Rating - 4/5. Must Watch Thriller, Trust me, You would be Shocked

96 - Movie Review

Story : 1996 batch school students meet for a reunion after 22 years. Ex-Lovers Ram and Janu, the lead pair meet after 2 decades again and the way they share their memories, the time they spend on that reunion night and the confessions they make form the story.

Performances : Vijay Sethupathi as "Ram" was phenomenal. A Travel photographer by profession looks and acts tough with everyone becomes a completely different person, shy and tensed guy when he faces "Janu". Vijay excelled in the character and seems completely natural. Slowly as story unveils, he opens up his emotions and confesses his love, sacrifices, struggles. Trisha as "Janu" was equally good and gives a stellar performance. Story is narrated in such a tough way and involves us so deeply, that we urge for entrance of "Janu" which happens only after 1 hour of movie and people cheer for her entrance with joy. The teenage "Ram"and "Janu" have to be given special mention for their tremendous portrayal of characters with ease. They looked so natural that everyone is reminded of their school days. Glad to see Janagaraj on main screen after many years. Friends of Ram & Janu during school and as grown-ups have done a decent job with subtle humour.

Technicians : Music of Govind Menon is the biggest asset for the movie, be it the soothing background score or songs. Music is soul of the movie. Next comes the cinematography and art work which complement the story to a great extent. Production values are good, no unnecessary costs were done. Very simple and straight forward narration, as per the demands of the story. Prem Kumar direction is of top notch with perfect screenplay and engaging narration. One would not be rushed into the story, the director slowly injects the characters first, next their bonding, their friendship, their childhood days, teenage love, pain, dissociation, confession, tears in a sequential manner. One cannot detach from the story even after coming out of the theatre. That's a rare and huge impact in the digital world.

Positives : Everything

Negatives : Nothing (Glad it had sub-titles for better understanding of dialogues for non-tamilians like us)

Analysis : '96 has everything in right place and is the love story in purest form. No selfishness, no vengeance, no threatening, no cheating. Pure love and care for another is narrated in an very touching way.

Rating : 4/5 (Must Watch Love Story)

Aravinda Sametha - Movie Review

NTR has been on a success streak with average or Superhits consistently Temper, Nannaku Prematho, Janatha Garage, Jai Lava Kusha. Trivikram just had a jolt in the form of "Agnyaathavasi" and is looking to back to gain back his reputation. This rare combo created interest in everyone.

Story -

Veera Raghava Reddy had to take up violence due to faction feuds in their villages. However, aftermath of this violence costs lot of lives and tears and his grandmother creates an awareness in him to stop violence and he leaves hometown to bring peace. Then he meets Aravinda who is studying on "Losses of Factionism" and Raghava gets attracted to her. How he brought peace in the village with the inputs from Aravinda forms rest of the story.

Performances -

NTR as usual was terrific in his role conveying all emotions perfectly. He was good in Action sequences, Emotional scenes, heroic scenes. Pooja Hegde though present in the major part of the movie isn't a pivotal role of the movie. Title of Aravinda Sametha is nowhere justified or logical. She looks cute and her smile is awesome, but that's it. Jagapathi Babu gave a memorable performance as it has lot of physical and mental stress and he has done justice to the role. Sunil is neither a comedian nor a character artist, felt he was wasted in the role. Entire story is narrated from Sunil's version. Eesha Rebba role was unnecessary. Supriya Pathak, Naveen Chandra, Naresh, Srinivas Reddy, Devayani, Nagababu, Sithara, Eeswari Rao, Brahmaji, Rao Ramesh, Shubalekha Sudhakar were okay in their roles.

Technicians -

Music is a huge let down. Thaman hasn't done anything great. Peniviti song was good, Anaganaga song was okay. Remaining songs were disasters. Background score is also very poor as it doesn't elevate the scenes where required. Agnyaathavasi songs were far better than this and don't understand what difference Thaman created by replacing Anirudh. Cinematography and Art work is good. Action sequences are done effectively and are not overboard. Trivikram has failed both as a writer and director. Story is not at all new and narration was not engaging even. Movie looks like a rehash of Mirchi, Dammu. It is not that comedy is mandatory for a movie to be engaging. But the emotions should connect the audience and narration should be gripping for generating interest, which didn't happen. Most part of the movie is boring except for a few episodes. Relationship between lead pair is not established properly and is not convincing at all. Some dialogues are illogical and confusing also. Guruji (Trivikram) is not yet back and if this is the form he's going to continue, days are not far that he would join the school of Krishna Vamsi, Sreenu Vaitla.

Positives -

First 20 minutes
Warning scene over phone from Rao Ramesh office
NTR and Jagapathi Babu performances

Negatives -

Uneven Screenplay and dialogues
Illogical sequences
Boring narration

Analysis -

When a rare combo of NTR and Trivikram happens, audience expect a memorable ride which doesn't happen with Aravinda Sametha. Idea was good but execution fell flat and doesn't seem heading in right direction. Could have been far far better if it was Old Trivikram, hope he finds his magic wand soon. NTR also couldn't save it.

Rating - 2.5/5 (Won't recommend to watch).

All reviews are 3 and above, don't understand why. Either I'm wrong or they are convinced. But I didn't enjoy this movie, so it's my personal opinion. Similar thing happened with Aagadu also. Reviews were good and movie was horrible.