1000 Abaddalu Movie Review – Misses the mark

Release date : 15 August 2013

Movie Rating : 2.75/5

Director : Teja

Producer : P Suneeta, N Seeta Ramayya

Music Director : Ramana Gogula

Starring : Sai Ram Shankar, Ester Noronha

Director Teja has given some blockbuster hits in the past, but off late his films have not clicked at the box office. He is now back with his upcoming film ’1000 Abaddalu’. Starring Sai Ram Shankar and Ester in lead roles, the movie also has Naga Babu in an out and out comedy role. 1000 Abaddalu has released today in Andhra Pradesh

Story:-

Satya(Sai Ram Shankar) is the owner of an advertising company. He happens to fall in love with Satya (Esther), who shares his name. But he comes to know that she is already engaged. Following his heart, he plans to woo her with the help of his friends. He cooks up a lot of lies and finally ends up marrying her.

Just when everything seems to be going fine, the wife realises that she has been duped with a lot of lies. The couple go through major problems and get separated.

Will Satya cook some more lies to bring his wife back ?Or will he win her heart with his true love. That forms the story.

Plus Points:-

Naga Babu is the biggest asset of the film. He plays the role of Tower Star, a lover boy who is madly in love with Esther. Though he does not have a major role, he manages to entertain whenever he appears on the screen. His comedy timing is awesome and Teja has exploited it to the best.

Sai Ram Shankar has done a decent job. Comedy is good in places, especially in the second half. Some scenes, where Sai Ram Shankar woos the heroine with lies, have been executed nicely.

Minus Points:-

Except for some comedy bits, the rest of the film is quite stale and routine. The climax blockseems very slow, with unnecessary scenes. Some of the scenes can be edited out, to reduce the run time.

Logic is missing, especially in the second half. Two songs in the second half are badly placed and spoil the flow of the film. The family drama scenes do not appear natural.

The heroine’s characterization is not up to the mark. Esther needs to work on her acting skills. She could not carry the role convincingly.

Technical Aspects:

Teja always manages to extract decent music from his music directors. Even in 1000 Abaddalu, the music is quite OK. Two songs in the first half are good. Camera work is nice, especially in all the song sequences.

Dialogues written for Naga Babu are hilarious. Teja’s direction is mediocre in this film.

Verdict:-

Though Teja always says that he wants to make ‘different’ films, he ends up making routine flicks. 1000 Abaddalu can be watched only for Naga Babu. Otherwise, there is nothing much for the viewer in this film.

Movie Rating – 2.75/5

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Dalam Movie Review : A Naxalite’s Tale

Release date : 15 August 2013

Movie Rating : 3/5

Director : Jeevan Reddy

Producer : M Sumanth Kumar Reddy

Music Director : James Vasanthan

Starring : Naveen Chandra, Piaa Bajpai

Andhala Rakshasi fame Naveen Chandra, Kishore and Pia Bajpayee have teamed up for this Naxalite drama named ‘Dhalam’. The film has been directed by RGV’s protege Jeevan Reddy and Sumanth Kumar Reddy is the producer. The movie has released today, in Andhra Pradesh. Let us check out the film now.

Story :

Sathru (Kishore) and Abhi (Naveen Chandra) are naxalites belonging to the Nagababu Dhalam. After a while, they become disillusioned with the whole concept and realise that they are fighting a futile battle. They decide to surrender to the police and they are given a light prison sentence of one month.

In prison, a top police officer recognises their strengths and recruits them for special operations that regular police personnel are legally prohibited from carrying out. In this way, Sathru and Abhi wield weapons once again.

A politician named JK (Nasser) also uses them for certain personal operations and this brings them into trouble. They also face the heat from encounter specialist Ladda (Abhimanyu Singh). Will Ladda wipe out Sathru and Abhi? Or will they strike against Ladda first? And how does a woman named Sruthi (Pia Bajpayee) fit into their gang? That forms the story of ‘Dhalam’.

Plus Points :

Naveen Chandra has delivered a good performance in this movie. His character demands seriousness and Naveen has fit into the role well. Kishore has given a neat performance. Pia Bajpayee has a small but crucial role in the film and she has shown her mettle as an actress.

Abhimanyu Singh and Harshavardhan are perfect for the roles of encounter specialist and jailer respectively. Nasser, Nagababu and Ajay are ok. Comedian Dhanraj entertains as AK 47 in the first half. Krishnudu also joins him in the fun as Bhadram.

The film has good entertainment quotient in the first half, especially for about 20 minutes before the interval. The interval bang is good. Dialogues are a big asset for the film and they have good emotional depth.

Minus Points :

When compared to the first half, the pace of the film drops considerably in the second half. After about 20 minutes post interval, we can start predicting the climax and that takes the fun out of the viewing experience.

The climax of the film is slightly unconventional and may not be appreciated by Telugu viewers. The film’s treatment is geared towards A center viewers and people in B and C centers may not appreciate it. Sai Kumar’s character gets good elevation in the first half,but fizzles out in the second half.

The film’s item song is not very good. In fact, none of the songs really help the film in any way.

Technical Aspects :

Cinematography of the film is good. James Vasantha’s background score is a big asset for the film. Production values are good for a film of this budget. Dialogues are a big asset, like we said earlier.

Director Jeevan Reddy makes a good first impression as a director. He should have been more careful with the second half, but he has treated the first half well.

Verdict :

Dhalam has a very good first half. The film loses pace in the second half and becomes very predictable. If you like serious films with good dialogues, you can safely give this movie a chance. The film’s appeal might be limited to A centers only, so we will have to see how it fares at the Box Office.

Movie Rating – 3/5

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Adda Movie Review : OK watch

Release date : 15 August 2013

Movie Rating : 3/5

Director : G.Karthik Reddy

Producer : Chintalapudi Srinivas, Akkineni Nagasuseela

Music Director : Anoop Rubens

Starring : Sushanth, Shanvi

Sushanth is testing his fortunes at the Box Office with the film ‘Adda’. The movie has been directed by G.Karthik Reddy and Shanvi is the heroine. Chintalapudi Srinivas and Akkineni Nagasuseela produced this film. The movie is crucial for Sushanth, as he has not had a big success in his career so far. Let us see if he has a chance with this movie.

Story :

Abhi (Sushanth) is a person who specializes in providing services for lovers as well as their parents. He has a special ability when it comes to creating rifts between lovers and his services are used by parents who are worried about the love lives of their kids. But when he wants to, he also helps lovers and gets them married. He charges a handsome fee for all this.

Priya (Shanvi) seeks the services of Abhi in order to disrupt her sister’s love life. She is worried about her father Patel (Nagineedu) and that is why she takes this step. Abhi helps Shanvi, but in the process, discovers that he has feelings for Priya.

But Priya is unable to reciprocate, as she feels Abhi is a guy without feelings and morals. She is also supposed to marry her bava (Dev Gill).

What happens in the end? Will Abhi succeed in winning Priya’s heart? That forms the story

Plus Points :

Sushant has improved a lot as an actor. He has good grace as a dancer. His costumes are quite stylish in the film. Shanvi looks very glamorous in the movie and she is a big asset for the film. Her costumes and skin show in songs will work in B and C centers.

Raghubabu entertains briefly. Jayaprakash Reddy makes a cameo appearance,but he manages to make people laugh with his typical slang and dialogue delivery. Dhanraj, Venu and Thagubothu Ramesh are ok.

There are some entertaining moments in the film,especially in the first 30 minutes or so after the interval. Some nice one liners will also work with youngsters and college students.

Some songs, like the one in the pub, have been shot well. A few songs have been shot in exotic foreign locales and they look quite grand on screen.

Shwetha Bharadwaj sizzles in her item number.

Minus Points :

The pre-climax episode and the climax sequences are irritating. They seem to go on and on forever. Because there is no depth in the plot, some of the scenes appear quite stale and cliched.

The director should have taken better care about the screenplay. The graph of the film keeps dipping at many places. The characterization of the hero should have been more comprehensive. The romantic track lacks chemistry.

Some good artists like Kota Srinivasa Rao, Tanikella Bharani and Nagineedu have been given very insignificant roles.

Technical Aspects :

Cinematographer Arun Kumar deserves special mention for his work. Visuals are rich and quite grand for a film of this budget. Anoop Rubens has come up with very good background music and his work is a big asset for the film. Editing is not up to the mark, especially in the second half.

Director Karthik Reddy has done a very ok job with this film. Better screenplay would have significantly helped the movie.

Verdict :

Compared to some of Sushant’s past films, ‘Adda’ is definitely a big improvement. The film has some nice moments but it is let down by a bad climax and slow pace towards the end. Overall, Adda ends up as an ok watch.

Movie Rating – 3/5

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Jagadguru Adishankara Movie Review : Devotional film for families

Release date : 15 August 2013

Movie Rating : 3/5

Director : J K Bharavi

Producer : Jayasri Devi

Music Director : Nag Srivatsav

Starring : Kaushik, Nagarjuna, Srihari, Kamalinee Mukherjee

J.K.Bharavi is known for providing scripts to devotional hits like ‘Annamayya’, ‘Sree Ramadasu’ etc. has come up with yet another devotional film. This time, he has come up with the film ‘Jagadguru Adisankara’. Bharavi has directed this film and Nara Jaya Sridevi is the producer. The film has released today, as an Independence Day offering, so let us check it out.

Story :

The story will be familiar to those who have studied the life of Adishankaracharya. From a young age, Adishankaracharya wants to become a saint. He is helped in these efforts by Agni Devudu (Tanikella Bharani), Rudraksha Rushi (Mohan Babu) and others.

Once Adishankara reaches a certain age, he wants to set out to Kasi. He crosses the path of Kapala Marthanda Raju (Suman), who is bent upon seizing the Sarvaghna Peetam.

While on the way to Kasi, he meets Chandaludu (Nagarjuna), who makes him think about many issues. Adishankara realises that he has to learn about many things before he can achieve the objective of world peace.

What does Adhishankara do next? How will he stop the Peetham from falling into the wrong hands? That is the story of the movie.

Plus Points :

Attempting to make a film like this in the present circumstances is a very brave and laudable decision. Kaushik has done a great job as Adhishankara in the film. Nagarjuna shines in the film for a few moments as Chadaludu and those sequences have come out very well.

Dr. Mohan Babu has delivered a great performance in a brief role. Sri Hari is also very good. Indian Idol winner Sri Rama Chandra has got a good role in the film and he has utilized the opportunity. Nagababu,Roja, Meena and other senior actors have done well in cameo roles.

The film has some meaningful dialogues and good religious discourses that will appeal to elders and those who are religiously inclined.

Minus Points :

Visual effects and CGI work is very poor and spoils the viewing experience completely. These sequences also spoil the flow of the film.

Films like ‘Sree Ramadasu’ and ‘Annamayya’ had a very clever mix of devotional elements and entertainment and that is what made them click at the Box Office. This is not the case with this movie. Students and mass crowds will find it very tough to connect with this film.

Better care should have been taken regarding costumes and art work.

Technical Aspects :

Cinematography is very mediocre. Editing is not up to the mark. Many scenes could have been trimmed. Nag Srivathsav’s music is ok, but Keeravani’s touch is sorely missing.

J.K.Bharavi has succeeded in the story and dialogues department. But he could not handle the responsibility of direction very effectively.

Verdict :

‘Jagadguru Adishankara’ is a film that will appeal to elderly people and folks who are devotionally inclined. The Box Office prospects might not be very bright. You may watch the film if you like serious devotional offerings.

Movie Rating – 3/5

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Romance Movie Review

		Release date : 02 August 2013
		Movie Rating : 2.5/5
		Director : Darling Swamy
		Producer : SKN, G.Srinivas Rao
		Music Director : Sai Karthik
		Starring : Prince, Dimple Chopda, Manasa

The film ‘Romance’ has released today across the state. Directed by Darling Swamy and produced by Good Cinema Group, the movie has been endorsed by Maruthi. The A rated flick has come in with good expectations,so let us see if the film has what it takes.

Story :

Krishna (Prince) is an engineering student. He is always on the lookout for the perfect girlfriend, preferably a virgin. He does not believe in pre-marital sex etc and he expects the same from his prospective girlfriends.

Lalitha aka Lola (Manasa) is the first woman to come into his life. She comes across as an aggressive young woman. Lola likes Krishna’s frankness and the two of them start dating each other. However, Krishna discovers that Lola is way too aggressive for him and breaks up with her.

At this point of time, Anuradha (Dimple) makes an entry into the story. She comes across as a nice and traditional girl and Krishna instantly falls in love. Anu also responds and just as their love story is about to take off, Lola comes back into his life to create problems. She creates rifts between Krishna and Anu.

Krishna must now prove his innocence. What happens next? That is the story of this film.

Plus Points :

The best moment in the film is that of Mukesh’s cigarette and gutka warning clipping, which comes in when the hero tries to smoke for the first time. Apart from that, Sai manages to induce some humour as Bluetooth Bobby.

Prince is ok, but he needs to work on his expressions. Dimple looks good. Manasa is strictly average. The film may appeal to some people who love extremely vulgar dialogues.

The interval twist, where a secret about Lalitha is revealed, is nice.

Minus Points :

The film suffers from poor pace. ‘Ee Rojullo’ and ‘Bus Stop’ worked primarily because of the good pace and high entertainment quotient. Sadly, both are missing in this film.

The plot of this film is very stale and the narration is poor. The films has many cliched and outdated sequences. As in many ‘adult’ comedies that have been coming out recently, the sole aim of the film is to create a scene for Boys vs Girls superiority debate.

The mimicry scene where the actor tries to imitate Chandra Babu Naidu, V. Hanumantha Rao and KCR did not work well. In a similar way, the scenes where the girls danced to old songs like ‘Raguluthondhi Mogalipodha’ etc. failed to click.

The scene in the ladies hostel where the hero turns emotional is very superficial. Climax sequence could have been better.

Technical Aspects:

Cinematography is just average. Editing is not very smooth but this could be due to the huge number of censor cuts that were recommended by the board.Dialogues by Darling Swamy are not very effective. One gets the feeling that he just tried to blindly imitate Maruthi.

Swamy also fails to make a positive impression as a director. He needs to work on his narration techniques. Music and background score are just very average.

Verdict :

‘Romance’ comes across as an attempt to blindly replicate the success of A rated entertainers like ‘Bus Stop’ and ‘Ee Rojullo’. But this movie does not come close to those two films in terms of entertainment quotient or pace. ‘Romance’ may earn some money in B and C centers due to the double meaning dialogues and vulgarity, but it ends up being a big disappointment.

123telugu.com Rating – 2.5/5

Reviewed by Mahesh S Koneru

CLICK HERE FOR TELUGU REVIEW

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Movie Review : Tadakha – Mass Entertainer

Movie Rating :3.25/5

Director : Kishore Kumar Pardasani

Producer : Bellamkonda Ganesh

Music Director : S.Thaman

Starring : Naga Chaitanya, Sunil, Tamannaah, Andrea Jeremiah

Yuvasamrat Akkineni Naga Chaitanya and Sunil have teamed up for the mass entertainer ‘Tadakha’. The movie has been directed by Dolly and Bellamkonda Suresh is the producer. Thaman has composed the music. Tamanna and Andrea Jeremiah have essayed the lead roles opposite Chaitanya and Sunil. The movie has released today across the world, so let us see how it is.

Story :

Sivarama Krishna (Sunil) and Karthik (Naga Chaitanya) are brothers. Sivarama Krishna is a timid and sensitive guy while Karthik is a street smart guy who is tough and brave. Their father (Naga Babu) is a police officer and he expires while on the job. The Police Departmentoffers this job to Sivarama Krishna and Karthik forces him to accept it.

As soon as a nervous Sivarama Krishna joins the force, he is forced to take on the evil Bagga (Ashutosh Rana). Bagga is a notorious criminal and smuggler who terrorises the city. With the help of Karthik, Sivarama Krishna deals a blow to Bagga’s operations. This infuriates the bad boy and he vows to take revenge on the brothers.

While this is on, Sivarama Krishna happens to get married to Nandu(Andrea Jeremiah). Pallavi (Tamanna) is her sister and she falls in love with Karthik. A romance blossoms between the two.

Bagga manages to deal a blow to the brothers and Sivarama Krishna is now forced to shed his timidity to transform himself into a tough cop. How does he do that? How does Karthik help his brother? Will they succeed in defeating Bagga? That forms the story

Plus Points :

Naga Chaitanya looks very stylish in the film. His new hairstyle suits him quite well. He has improved as an actor with this movie. Chaitanya has managed to do a good job in the fight sequences. Tamanna looks ultra hot in the ‘Maaraa Maaraa’ song and she shares greatchemistry with Chaitanya. The romantic scenes involving these two have come out quite well.

Sunil is a major asset for the film. In the first half, he entertains with his comedy. After the transformation, he excels in the role of a police officer and he steals the show towards the end. Andrea Jeremiah looks ok but she does not have anything to do in this film.

Ashutosh Rana delivers a very convincing performance as the evil Bagga. Brahmanandam and Vennela Kishore entertain to a certain extent. Director Dolly has done a good job in terms of balancing both Chaitanya and Sunil. Heroism has been elevated well for both Chaitanya and Sunil. Raghu Babu, Rama Prabha and Jayaprakash Reddy are ok.

The film’s first half is very entertaining. There is good pace, solid emotional depth and some really well shot sequences. Comedy quotient has been maintained well throughout the film. The emotional bond between the brothers has been established well and that lays a solid foundation for the film’s climax.

Minus Points :

The pace of the film dips a bit in the second half. Poor placement of songs and mediocre music hamper the flow to a certain extent. Entertainment levels are not as high as in the first half.

There is virtually no romance between Sunil and Andrea and it would have been good to see some nice moments between the two. The transformation of Sunil from a timid guy into a tough cop is a little too cinematic.

There are too many fights in the film. One or two can easily be chopped off. There is a scene where Naga Chaitanya runs and overtakes a speeding train. This scene is a little too much, even for mass masala entertainers.

For those who have seen the original film ‘Vettai’, this movie will not be as engaging or entertaining.

Technical Aspects :

Cinematography of the film is decent. Editing is neat. Dialogues have been written well and they work effectively. Thaman’s background score is effective in some areas but it is a bit too loud in other places.

Dolly has done a neat job as a director. He has balanced Sunil and Chaitanya well.

Verdict :

‘Tadakha’ is a mass entertainer. The movie’s first half has good entertainment levels and moves along well. Chaitanya, Sunil and Tamanna have delivered good performances. A below par second half and some mediocre music bring down the overall experience. Overall, ‘Tadakha’ makes for a decent summer watch.

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Movie Review : Sukumarudu – Sukumaramaina Torture

Movie Rating : 1.5/5

Director : G. Ashok

Producer : K. Venugopal

Music Director :Anoop Rubens

Starring : Aadi, Nisha Aggarwal, Ghattamaneni Krishna

Dialogue King Sai Kumar’s son ‘Aadi’ is all set to hit the screens with ‘Sukumarudu’. The movie is releasing today across the world and it has Nisha Aggarwal as the female lead opposite Aadi. Superstar Krishna and veteran actress Sharada will be seen in crucial roles in this movie. G.Ashok has directed this film and Venugopal is the producer. Let us see how this movie is.

Story :

The story of this film is similar to the recently released ‘Greeku Veerudu’. A selfish NRI who does not care about his relatives back in India, suddenly decides to come and seek their blessings once property comes into the equation.

Sukumar (Aadi) is a selfish and extremely money minded young fellow who is very successful in life. He however needs some urgent cash to kickstart his dream project. At precisely this point, he comes to know that an inheritance worth 150Crores is waiting for him in his village.

He decides to travel to the village and meet his grandmother Vandanamma (Sharada), a slightly cranky old lady who is revered by the villagers. Sukumar tries to emotionally blackmail her for the property.

But his plans keep getting thwarted by history, his uncle Rao Ramesh and others. A romantic track with Sankari (Nisha Aggarwal) also comes in during this time.

Will Sukumar succeed in his plans or will his evil schemes be detected by the villagers? That forms the story.

Plus Points:

Superstar Krishna garu has a neat and dignified presence, even if it is only for a few minutes. Veteran actress Sharada has done a nice job.

Rao Ramesh has tried his best to make things interesting. Aadi is ok in the dances and fights department, but he needs to really improve fast in portraying emotions.

Minus Points :

Screenplay of this movie is terrible. There is no logical flow in the proceedings and the whole film has a very jerky feel to it. The director has attempted to tackle various themes in the film– father and son sentiment, grandmother and grandson sentiment, a clever NRI coming back to reform his village etc. The problem is, none of the themes have been tackled properly.

There are gaping loopholes in the plot and many sequences have absolutely no logic. There is excessive melodrama and needless over action in emotional scenes.

The film is way too long. At a few minutes less than 3 hours, the length becomes unbearable when there is basically no story to narrate.

The comedy tracks fail to work as the writing is cliched and very poor. Despite the presence of so many talented comedy actors, the loud sequences end up irritating viewers.

The romantic track between Aadi and Nisha Aggarwal is very superficial and incomplete. Their screen chemistry is not very good.

The placement of songs is very poor and they act as major speed breakers.

Technical Aspects:

Cinematography of the film is quite mediocre. Editing is atrocious and as I said before, the filmhas a very jerky feel to it. Dialogues are very average.

Ashok Kumar’s direction is quite poor and leaves a lot to be desired. Production values are mediocre.

Anoop Rubens has provided ok music but the background score is too loud, like the rest ofthe film.

Verdict:

Sukumarudu is a film that is painfully long and poorly made. You can safely avoid the film, unless you want to experience Sukumaramaina torture

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