Saturday, May 4, 2013

Movie Review – Greeku Veerudu (Telugu) – A stylish yet soporific misnomer!!

Europe – Europe

India – India
USA – Green screen and Annapurna Studios

Don’t get me wrong. This is how the makers of Greeku Veerudu redefine the geographic landscape of the world and effortlessly make Big Apple, a home grown fruit. Thanks to cutting-edge technology that made this possible. In the film, whenever you see some footage of USA, what you see is a shoddy compositing work by people who possess zilch experience in handling it. The naked eye of a wayfarer with a nonchalant glance can say that the film is fooling the audience. Sir, the audience has grown intelligent, so please refrain from such acts. When nothing was shot in USA, how can you claim in your pre-release publicity that the film extensively traveled through US and its exotic locales were canned to give a visually appealing experience? But, alas! Here the audience gets to experience Europe and was forced to mistake it for USA. There is also Lufthansa Airlines carrying passengers from one US state to another. Oh, that’s a long-winded homage to this ‘Green screen’ Veerudu. Before your patience wears thin let me rush through the review.
Nagarjuna Akkineni plays a role with shades of grey. These shades of grey can also be seen on his hair. What a symbolism! By adding so much of gloss to the template, the production team might have run out of hair color. When I say ‘template’ I mean the one used for making an emotional love story or family drama. Director Dasarath wanted to push himself light years ahead with his new offering but in the process gets pulled years behind and nestles under dim light. What happened to me? I started with Nagarjuna’s character and now talking about something else. That’s the devastating effect the movie had on me. Focus… Nag believes in no-strings-attached relationship and always hovers on a philosophy that Relationships are pain. This bravura act gave pinching pain to audience and to whoever it may concern.

Let the story go on. Nagarjuna befriends Nayantara, who is an activist for ‘Make a Wish foundation’, en route India. If I am not wrong, Nithya Menon in Ala Modalaindi is also an activist for the same foundation. Does that ring a bell? And when Nag finds himself in a deep soup, she rescues him and what follows is a predictable story-line  By now you might have guessed the screenplay that is from the Precambrian era and, huh, who cares for the climax. If you dare to sit through the lackadaisical narration even after the interval, you can pat your back and nominate yourself for ‘Red and White Bravery Awards.’ For the record, I already sent mine. Forgot to say, Nayanatara looked cho beautiful in Parrotish sarees. And despite sporting a crossover look of Orlando Bloom and Robert Downey Jr., Nag's age was visible on his face.

Now something serious! The film teaches you what middle-class mentality is. Hitherto I believed that is something similar to mine – saving a lot for the rainy day, trying to do multiple jobs for better earnings, and many other things which are open to middle-class imagination. But I learnt that middle-class mentality means valuing family and relationships. That opens the Pandora’s Box minus the hope. Please note that the rich and the poor don’t care for either. Don’t kill me for such an inane and extreme statement, the movie said so.

As an avid lover of Telugu cinema we can’t complain for ‘old wine in new bottle’ story-lines but the writers and directors should take proper care to present a pleasing ensemble. Who stopped them from penning an engaging screenplay and in turn giving doses of entertainment? Where is the witty dialogue, where is the comic relief – most of the comedians are grossly wasted and they failed to make an impression. The scenes with M S Narayana and Kovai Sarala were utter disaster. Why these characters come on screen without any notice and they disappear into dark, again without any notice. Kota Srinivasa Rao, Supreet, Venu Madhav, Nagineedu, Vennela Kishore did a ‘lightning-struck-from-nowhere’ cameo.
The movie’s release date coincided with 100 years of Indian cinema – the release of Dundiraj Govind Phalke’s Raja Harishchandra, and what we get to see is a painstaking film that bites the dust in the annals of the history of cinema. That’s a bad coincidence and a sorrow moment for Telugu cinema. Wait, though the movie goes down the drain, it has some high-fliers. It was great to see veteran actor K Vishwanath light up the screen with his magical presence. The supporting cast shined in some scenes inducing emotion and drama into the narration, but they lacked profundity. Every emotion is so sudden and the character transformation of the protagonist happened in a jiffy that you can’t stomach them. And from now on, I refrain from talking about S S Thaman’s music because I am not mature enough to understand the depth in his music.  


Bottom-line: The movie is a stylish yet soporific rehash of Santosham laced with characters of Mr. Perfect which was in turn reverse-engineered from Bommarillu and Orange. Simple gaa ee sodhantaa lekundaa mana baashalo cheppalante – Paata chintakaaya pachadilo kottaga maadipoyina taalimpu vesinattundi ee cinema. Watch it for stylish Nag and gorgeous Nayan. Or take my advice and give it a miss. This saves your money and also saves you from boredom. Wait wait... doctors have started prescribing this film for people suffering from insomnia. If you are one among them, please watch this film. It will be a perfect cure. Ayinaa anni cinemalu chudadam endukuraa bujji. Asale ticket rates kuda perigipoyaayi..!!

P.S. Last week I wrote a suicide note and died. Now I became a ghost writer and this review is posted by my ghost. Oh Telugu chalana chitra parisramaa, oka saari chacchina vaadini malli champadam nee valane saadhyam avutundi.

My Rating: Expectation – 7/10; Reality – 3/10

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