A Quick review of recent Tollywood, Bollywood and Hollywood flicks

I watched "I Am LEGEND" on the day of release – Friday, Dec 14th. I watched it with my family and a few good friends. I simply loved the movie for its creativity, Will Smith's action and narration. My wife did not like the movie as we stepped out of the theater but she says it is nice once you are able to get over the fact it is a one character movie. My son also loved it. It is a science fiction movie with believable story like Jurassic Park. Recreating Danseurs is practically not possible but it is a story we liked to believe and fascinate about re-creating dinosaurs. I AM LEGEND story is very much in the same line.

I don't know Camera ticks or computer graphics, I can't even imagine how they were able to picturize entire New York City/Manhattan as deserted place with grass, piled-up cars, and wilderness. Will Smith acted in couple of other movies to save the world from extinction: Independence Day, Men in the Black etc. To me, this is a great movie everyone should watch. It is not a typical sci-fi movie; there are no characters other than Will Smith. There are a few characters that last 10 to 15 min of entire 1 hr 40 min movie. Will Smith was fantastic, how he kept making conversations with his dog, watching NBC's old Today shows with Matt Lauer and Katie Couric, Shrek movie, talking to manikins at video rental store, golfing, radio broadcasting etc. There are a couple of scary moments; I admit I jumped out of my seat couple of times. Although lots of movie pundits/critics rated this move as an average flick (B or B+), movie goers seem to love it. Considering exhaustion of natural resources, depleting food sources, global warming, population growth, unknown infectious diseases (Mad Cow, Bird Flu, Dengue etc.), we may have to wonder about end of the world or end of mankind on this planet within next couple of generations. Within next 50 years, world population require 1 ½ times this planet resources – something to think about it. If you watch "I AM LEGEND" movie with this context and able to appreciate sheer creativity for deserting New York City – you would simply love I AM LEGEND movie. I AM LEGEND is not an entertainer flick, it is a unique movie which makes you to think how tough it is to live alone so appreciate all the wonderful things you have: friends & family. I strongly recommend everyone to watch I AM LEGEND movie with mindset to watch primarily one character on screen.

Most of Telugu movies released in the past three to four months have been hopeless. Mediocre Happy Days is doing so well at box office because there are no decent movies to watch. Happy Days is a decent flick if Shekar Kammula had not lost grip in the second half. Considering fantastic music, talented amateur actors and out of the box story, we do have to appreciate Kammula's creativity. In my opinion, Yamadonga was the best Telugu movie that I watched in recent times. Yamadonga is a total entertainer, Rajamouli should take care when it comes to crisp editing and limiting length of movie to 2 ½ hours. Although I have tremendous admiration for Chiranjeevi, Chirutha is a bad movie. It did not come across like a typical Puri movie. Puri uses absurdness and sarcastic comedy (Sivamani, Idiot, Pokiri, Desamuduru etc.); you don't find such track in Chirutha. He made typical Chiru movie and blended whole bunch of copy cat themes (Cast away, Kaho Na Pyar Hai, Khaidi etc.) so it just came out like a boring movie, particularly in second half. Manisharma gave fantastic music for Chirutha and Ram Charan definitely shown his artistic maturity when it comes to dances, fights, dialogues, emotional expressions etc. One more thing I don't like about Chirutha, it is being dragged at movie theaters without any audience. Just to show-off number of 50 day and 100 day centers, it is still being screened – not a good business practice and not good for Telugu movie industry. I would rate Athidi as an average flick, Surendar Reddy must limit violence – movie goers do not like excessive violence and unnecessary technical values. As usual, Mahesh Babu excelled in his role, audience wanted a bit of relief with decent comedy track – they did not get it so it flopped at the box office. Amrita Rao has lot of future if she can just focus on becoming a star in Tollywood; she comes across like a cool girl. She has unique charm which makes it appealing while she is not a seductive type like Ileana. However, Athidi is a must watch film on big screen for Mahesh Babu, Music, Amrita Rao and technical values but is it simply not an entertainer. I watched Seemasastri recently. If you watched 60 second Seemasastri advertisements on T.V, you should comfortable avoid watching this flick on the big-screen. Other than those sarcastic/funny highlights shown in the advertisements, it is a tasteless movie. Making a movie is work of an art, when you watch Seemasastri you wonder if there is any artistic work involved in making such a lousy flick.

I watched couple of Bollywood flicks: Chak De! India and Om Shanti Om. Chak De! Is one of the best Hindi movies that I watched since Lagaan. I always thought Tom Hanks is the best actor when it comes to living in the character rather than acting (Forrest Gump, Cast Away, Terminal etc.). Sharukh acted really well in Veer-Zaara. Although Swades was not a success movie commercially, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I guess Indians living abroad might have appreciated Swades more than folks backhome. In my opinion, Sharukh acted his best in Chak De!. Rang De Basanti got lot of hype couple of years ago, I am not sure why. I felt like this movie gotten much hype due to "ME TOO" effect. We really don't need a white woman to teach us about patriotism. Second half of Rang De Basanti is completely a gone case, there is dime a dozen Telugu flicks came in the past with social conscience and no point of portraying killing evil is the best solution to save country/society. I would rate Chuk De! an incredible flick and Rang De Basanti as hyped flick with no substance. When it comes to Om Shanti Om: Hats-off to Farah Khan. It is all about Farah's creativity. Although I admire Sharukh's determination in building six-pack abs, I have no appeal to another man's body. Other than "Bhago" act, Sharukh's role is as expected as it can be. Deepika Padukone is simply fantastic. She has grace, amazing smile and incredible posture. Aiswarya should consider in retiring soon, it is time for Deepika to rule Bollywood. Deepika combines Aiswarya's grace, Divya Balan's charm and Bipasha's posture and more… Om Shanti Om is a retreat for movie fanatics like me; it is a portrayal off Bollywood evaluation. Farah used her brilliant Choreography to mesmerize audience. If you love Hindi movies, you must watch Om Shanti Om at least once on big-screen.

Srinivas Chittaluru
chittaluru@gmail.com

Other Open Letters

-> To Sekhar Kammula from Nikhel
-> To all new age filmmakers
-> To Happy Days from Sreeram
-> To Ram Gopal Varma from Ratnakar
-> About Happy Days music
-> To CM from Sharath
-> To Trivikram from a film lover
-> To Uday Kiran from Radhika
-> To Jagadam team from Prasanna
-> To Allu Arjun from Niru
-> To Ajay from Sravanthi
-> To Hansika Motwani from Murali
-> To Abhishek Bachchan from Vani
-> To Pawan Kalyan from a fan
-> To Sekhar Kammula from Padma
-> Regarding Telugu film exhibitors by Anand
-> To Telugu film exhibitors from promotor
-> To Sekhar Kammula from Vasantha Lakshmi
-> To Chiranjeevi fans from Vasu
-> To Sumanth from Nilanjana
-> To Telugu film industry from Padma Rohilla
-> To Dil Raju from Soujanya
-> To Telugu film industry from Rekha
-> To Siddharth from Prathna Tiwari
-> To Siddharth from Shridevi
-> To Telugu film industry from Vijay
-> To Genelia from Murali Krishna
-> Ram Anand on the ban of Da Vinci Code
-> Music director Sandeep Chowta about Karunya
-> Hema to Allu Arjun
-> Ratna to Telugu film industry
-> The emperors have no cloths... by Stalin
-> To Krishna Vamsi to Kakarla Kishan
-> To Telugu film industry from Vamsi
-> To Vineeth from Ranjeeth
-> To MM Keeravani from Mohan
-> To Dasari from Bhanu Prakash
-> To Ram Gopal Varma from Sudhindra
-> To Pawan Kalyan from a fan
-> To Nagarjuna from Sudhindra
-> To Chiranjeevi from Jhansi
-> To Chiranjeevi from Kishore
-> To Shreya Ghoshal from Meher
-> To Shankar from Ronzit S Simha
-> To Prabhudeva from Nirupama
-> On Telugu dubbing by Sridhar
-> to Chiranjeevi from Sanjay4us
-> to NTR from Jai
-> to Pawan Kalyan from Vinay
-> to Krishna Vamsi on Chakram film
-> by Ravi on Indian Cricket Team
-> to lyricist Chandrabose
-> from Sunil about filmfare awards
-> from Sabita about filmfare awards
-> from Pournami to MS Raju
-> from Deepti Raj to Devi Sri Prasad
-> from Sivaram to Telugu film industry
-> from Ravi to Ram Gopal Varma
-> from Rohit to Pawan Kalyan
-> from Saradhi to Krishna Vamsi
-> from Srikanth on Arjun piracy
-> from Raj to USA Distributors
-> from Srikanth on Remakes
-> from Ravi Kiran to Krishna
-> from Aparna to Chiranjeevi
-> from Balayya fans to political parties
-> from Abhilasha to Venky
-> from Ravi on dubbing artists
-> from Anil on Fans and stars
-> from Rain to Telugu film industry
-> from Venu and Kishore to Bala Krishna
-> from Nandamuri (IBDB) to Bala Krishna
-> from NBK fans to Bala Krishna
-> from Anil to Telugu film heroes
-> from Surendra to Allu Arjun
-> from Vineeth to Allu Arjun
-> from Ramesh on Naani film
-> from MD to YSR
-> On Telugu heroines from Anil
-> From Swetha to Anoop
-> From Raja to Chiranjeevi
-> From Supriya to Nagarjuna
-> From Vijay N to Nagarjuna
-> From Ravi S Banda to Uday Kiran
-> From Ram Narayan to NTR
-> From Kishore to Shyam Prasad Reddy
-> From Malladi KS Pathy to VV Vinayak
-> From PC to Telugu film industry
-> From Archana to Sirivennela
-> From Giri to Chiranjeevi
-> From Suresh to Bala Krishna
-> From Vijay to Shankar
-> From Thodakottu to Hari Krishna
-> From Mahesh to Vamsy
-> From Raghava to Bala Krishna
-> From Rocky to Chiranjeevi
-> From Bhanu Prakash to Nagarjuna
-> From Srikanth to Chiranjeevi
-> From Vijay to the team of KMG
-> From Megapowerstar to Pawan Kalyan
-> From Saradhi to Telugu film industry
-> From Sneha to Telugu film writers and lyricists
-> From Coolphani to Uday Kiran
-> From Prabhakar on Telugu cinema
-> From Raj to director Vikraman
-> From Hardhik about SP Balu's liveshow at NJ
-> From Yathiraja to Chiranjeevi
-> From Mouna Laya to TV Channels
-> From Kiran to Chiranjeevi
-> From Srilekha to Mahesh Babu
-> From Kanak to Nagarjuna
-> From Ashok about Nijam
-> From Srinadh to Chiranjeevi
-> From Simha to Pawan Kalyan
-> From Venkat to Venky and Chiru
-> From Prathima & Sujatha to Nijam
-> From Shaik Abdul to Bala Krishna
-> From Sudheer to Pawan Kalyan
-> From NBK fan to Balayya
-> From Bobby to Teja
-> From Bhargavi Chowdary to Venky
-> From Ram to Teja
-> From Nikhila to RP Patnaik
-> From Vinu regarding Johnny
-> From Murai regarding Johnny
-> From Sreeni regarding Johnny
-> From Krishna regarding Johnny
-> From Raj regarding Johnny
-> From Balu regarding Johnny
-> From Sreedhar regarding Johnny
-> From Nagender on PK-DC Issue
-> From Ranga on PK-DC Issue
-> From Gowtam to Johnny distributors
-> From Srikanth to Guna Sekhar
-> Responses to openletter to Chiranjeevi from DPS
-> To Chiranjeevi from DPS
-> To Pawan Kalyan from LP Harsha
-> To RP Patnaik from Raj
-> To film Industry from Naresh (Jamaica)
-> From Vijay to Krishna Vamsi
-> From Sharjah NRIs to Teja
-> From Rani to Venkatesh
-> From Harish to Devi Sri Prasad
-> From JKV Sharma to Mani Sharma
-> From Malladi to Guna Sekhar
-> From Satish to Allu Arjun
-> From Jhansi to Chiranjeevi
-> From Ravindranath to Okkadu team
-> VJ to Okkadu team
-> From Hemanth to Jr. NTR
-> From Rajesh to Guna Sekhar
-> From Srinivas to Bala Krishna
-> From Shrinivas to K Vijaya Bhaskar
-> From VJ to Krishna Vamsi
-> From Kiran to Khaled
-> From Khaled to Phani
-> From Sankar to Nagarjuna
-> Chakri Response to Anil
-> Phani response to Anil
-> From a fan to Nagarjuna
-> From Anil to Indian
-> From Gowtam to Aswini Dutt
-> To MAA from Soma
-> To Venky from Shailaja
-> To Trivikram Srinivas from Raja
-> To Krishna Vamsi from Hasan
-> To Ravi Teja from Somy Ali
-> Do we know our mother?
-> To Mahesh Babu from Soma
-> To Mahesh Babu from Superstar Fan
-> To K Raghavendra Rao from Hasan
-> To Chiru fans from Prince
-> Think a while by SMD
-> An open letter to IB DB participants by Venkat
-> An open letter to IB DB participants by Kiran
-> An open letter on plight of Telugu movie lovers in Malaysia
-> An open letter regarding Video Piracy
-> From Anupama to Pawan Kalyan
-> From Prince to Nagarjuna fans
-> From Ravi to Sirivennela
-> to editor from Ramana Reddy
-> To Chiranjeevi from Buzz
-> To Teja from Kumar Kuppam
-> From Vikram Aditya to Gemini Kiran and Ramoji Rao
-> Plight of Telugu films by Murthy
-> from a Chiru fan from Bellari to idlebrain visitors
-> to Allu Arvind from Aditya
-> To Nagarjuna from Krishna
-> To Teja from a Telugu fan
-> To Chiranjeevi from a fan
-> From Raja to Teja
-> From Anupama Prasad to Indra Unit
-> From Prakash to idlebrain.com visitors
-> From Venu to Bala Krishna
-> From Rajesh Sonti to Late Rao Gopal Rao
-> From Venkat to Usha
-> From Srinivas to EVV Satya Narayana
-> From Balaji to Pawan Kalyan
-> From Naga Kalyan to Pawan Kalyan
-> From Pavan Karthik to Ram Gopal Varma
-> From Pradeep to Teja
-> From Hrudaya to Pawan Kalyan
-> From BKR to Chiranjeevi
-> From Amit Patel to Chiranjeevi
-> From Anupama Prasad to Chiranjeevi
-> Nagarjuna meets idlebrain openletter writer Raju
-> From Ajay Kumar Reddy to Chiranjeevi
-> From Chandrika to idlebrain community
-> From Raju to Nagarjuna
-> From Bharat to Chiranjeevi
-> From Srinivas Josyula to Chiranjeevi