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Open letter to JK Bharavi

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June 9, 2008

Open letter to JK Bharavi

Bharavi gaaru,

I am disappointed with your latest effort, "Pandurangadu." I know you are not the only one who is responsible for the way this movie came out. Mr. K. Raghavendra Rao, M.M. Keeravani, the technical team and the star cast also bear responsibility.

But one thing that sets you apart is, you are considered the driving force behind all the devotional movies made in this series so far. You are the one, who convinced Mr. Rao and Nagarjuna on the commercial viability of "Annamayya," the first in this series, as you yourself have said on many occasions.

So, the responsibility of how "Pandurangadu" has come out rests more on your shoulders than any body's else.

You have taken poetic liberties with the stories of Annamayya and even Sri Ramadasu. But, the coherence of the movies was not affected by those detours. Some enhanced the story-telling and some didn't. But none had a major adverse affect on the narration.

With Pandurangadu, however this is no longer the case. Apart from drifting from the original, "Panduranga Mahatyam,' which provided an adaptable framework, the whole story looks very contrived.

While some scenes (like the one where Sneha takes a long time to win Balakrishna's hand in marriage) were prolonged beyond any reason, some scenes were incomplete, and hence adversely affected the movie.

For example, the one where Lord Krishna dons the form of the prostitute played by Tabu and takes Pandurangadu to his home. What has the Lord exactly done to transform the heart of Pandurangadu here? Just showing him the way to his home is enough to make Pandurangadu re-discover his love for his family and wife?

Tabu, an excellent actress, is wasted in the role of a prostitute. Granted, the story allowed for a dose of sensuality, but the huge number of the titillating scenes don't exactly set the hearts of devotees ablaze.

This is such a pity, because, Keeravani has once again done a good job, Balakrishna has turned in a decent performance as both Pandurangadu and Lord Krishna, and the rest of the start cast carried themselves pretty well. The vishwaroopam scene was excellent. But all these efforts cannot lift the movie, which suffers from a lack of credible story.

If I have to choose one reason more than anything else for why this movie failed to impress me, I will say it's the way Balakrishna's character, before he turned devotee, hasn't been portrayed negatively enough. Only then his repentance would have any meaning. Only then the wonderful song "Matrudevobhava" would have justified his anguish when he realized his mistake. But the tempo never builds up thus affecting even the climax which is the best part of the movie.

After the sophisticated handling of "Sri Ramadasu," especially in its second half, the next offering, "Pandurangadu" comes as a big letdown.

Hoping for a movie along the lines of "Sri Ramadasu," from your team next.

Regards
Murali Chari
feedback2murali@gmail.com

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