ULTIMATE PLACE FOR INDIAN CINEMA

STORY OF READY

Posted by G. Narendra at 5:04 AM

Ready (Denikaina)
Starring: Ram, Genelia, Brahmanandam, Kota and others
Director: Srinu Vytla
Music: Devi Sree Prasad
Release date: 19/06/2008
The much awaited Srinu Vytla film ‘Ready’ raised the expectations of the audience particular after the success of his last two films, Dhee and Dubai Seenu. Ready is a bit different from his earlier films. The film has all the usual drama, songs, fights etc. and entertains in parts. However, the film has a good message in the end.
Chandu (Ram) comes from a big joint family. But he is kept away as he helps his niece to elope from the marriage hall and marry her lover. In a bid to help another friend in his love, Ram kidnaps Pooja (Genelia) by mistake.
Pooja is the daughter of rich NRI parents but her scheming uncles – Kota Srinivasa Rao and Jayaprakash Reddy fight with one other in order to get the rich Genelia married to their sons.
They are after Chandu and Pooja. The two along with their friends are now trying to run to safety. Chandu falls in love with Pooja and she also begins to reciprocate his love.
Chandu hatches a plan and sends Pooja to his house. He also returns to his house after his parents and uncles pardon him.
Chsndu now sets out to outwit Kota Srinivasa Rao and Jyaprakasha Reddy and finally manages to get married to Pooja with the blessings of everyone. How he achieves this is the story that unfolds on the screen.
Performance:
Ram is good as a lover boy and also as an action hero. He gets to do the usual fight scenes to establish himself as a mass hero. He does his job convincingly. He reminds one of Ravi Teja in some scenes with his mannerism and dialogue delivery.
Genelia is her usual bubbly self. She however is only a shade of her role as ‘Hasini’ in Bommarillu.
Brahmanandam raises some laughs with his role as Mc Dowell Murthy.
Jayaprakash Reddy is his usual ebullient self and his trademark mannerism and dialogue delivery makes him overshadow everyone else completely.
Kota plays a subdued role. Sunil‘s comedy is average. The rest of the star cast, including Nazar, Tanikella Bharani, Chandramohan, MS Narayana etc. go abut their jobs in a routine manner.
Nagababu, Tamanna and Navdeep play guest roles and appear on screen for a few minutes.
Devi Sree Prasad’s music is okay and a couple of songs – “Read…” and “Om Namasthe Bolo” are set to some fast beats.
The hero’s friends taunt him for not being manly enough like Mahesh Babu in Pokiri as he does not do enough to come to the aid of his lady love.
For this, Ram replies ‘Mahesh Babu has the support of his father, superstar Krishna and he also owns the Padmalaya Studios. What do I have?” This dialogue evokes much laughter in the cinema hall.
The film is a family entertainer with a ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Lejaayenge ‘ type climax song.
The film is a bit too lengthy, running for 2 hours and 55 minutes.
The film is okay but not as good and entertaining as Dubai Seenu or Dhee.

DASAVATARAM STORY

Posted by G. Narendra at 7:27 PM

Starring:
Kamal Haasan, Asin, Mallika Sherawat, Jayapradha, Nagesh, Nepolean, Santhana Bharathi, P Vasu, R Sundarrajan, Erode Sounder
Direction: K S Ravikumar
Music: Himesh Reshammiya
Production: V Ravichandran
It has been a long wait for Kamal’s fans after Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu and the legend has not disappointed them. He has established emphatically that the wait is certainly a worthwhile one and has proved time and again that cinema is his lifeline. The seventy crore magnum opus challenges Hollywood films and has even set up a benchmark for their films. Special kudos to producer Oscar Ravichandran for ably supporting the actor and the director in their pursuit of rendering a world class Tamil cinema - especially in the technical department. The grandiose scenes spellbinds the viewer and the crew has worked hard to sustain this feeling through out the film. The film opens with the camera zooming on Chennai from the ocean and gently stops at Chozha era when Saivites and Vaishnavites locked horns with each other. Kamal’s performance, Ravi Varman’s cinematography, Devi Sri Prasad’s re-recording and Thanikachalan’s editing teleport the viewer to a different era which would take a long time for them to unravel, particularly the scene where the Saivite King orders the statue of Lord Ranganatha to be thrown into the sea and threatens the ardent Vaishnavite Kamal to utter Om Namashivaya just once. And when Kamal begins OM, the suspense is killing not only for the king but also the audience. Though the film begins with Chozha period, it subsequently moves to modern times, bringing with it adventure, high flying chases. etc Kamal’s hard work and perseverance is palpable in every frame and in the different getups that he has essayed. An angry Vaishnava young man from Chozha period, US President George Bush, mentally unstable old woman, a Japanese Karate master, Punjabi ghazal singer, a dalit man fighting for justice, an American terrorist out to kill people, an eight feet innocent Muslim, an astute scientist, a Telugu secret service man speaking Tamil in a weird fashion- a variety indeed!. Out of the ten Kamals, the dalit Boovaraghan stands out with his distinct style in dialogue delivery, eye movements and body language. Grandma Kamal is a reminder of Avvai Shanmugi while the secret service agent tries to tickle the funny bone in us, while in all the other Kamals, makeup alone can be talked about. Asin as an Agraharam girl is a revelation and is almost on par with Kamal in performance. Mallika Sherawat has understood why she has been hired and accordingly does her part. In the music department, the Tamil flavor is retained only in the Mukunda number while in the others, Himesh Reshammiah’s difficulty in unwrapping himself from Hindi clutches is discernible. K S Ravikumar’s directorial acumen is revealed in Ulaganayagane number where he has picturized Kamal’s make-up secrets. Dasavatharam’s main forte is technical expertise, which the technicians have utilized without the viewer being aware of it. Top of the line technical excellence is perceptible in Tsunami scenes, car chasing shots, Chozha period sequences and the scene where all the Kamals come together. On the flipside, if the focus given to technical brilliance had been given to a stronger storyline and character portrayal, the film would have earned a perfect TEN. All in all a colossal visual opulence at its peak for the first time in Indian cinema.