My Life My Way

After a long time I am back in the blogging world and this time for a reason. For long a time now, I have made sure I stay away from any sort of discussion which would eventually lead to a debate. And debates, in real life my friend, never lead to a possible conclusion because we are too enraged by the end of it that our judgement is clouded, sanity is lost and pride is hurt.

"Cinema is an infinite medium. It's mad, beautiful, genuine, frivolous, profound, twisted, abstract, moody, mysterious, vibrant, aggressive, contradictory, hilarious, unabashed, digressive, poetic and melodious -- a wide-screen reflection, extension or exaggeration of everything we are, could be or conceal. Play by its rules and the silver screen will dazzle you in ways only dreams can." ~Sukanya Verma. This is one of the finest quotes on Cinema that I have come across so far and I firmly believe it is true to every word.


Ever since a child, I have always been a movie buff. Nothing has given me as much joy as watching a good movie. At the risk of being called cliched, I still say movie has always been a director's medium. It is his vision and idea that is backed up by various other departments be it photography,choreography or music along with acting included would make a good cinema. It is the responsibility of the director to ensure all the people working for the movie are in sync with him and understand the nuances of the story as much as he does, for it is their combined effort is what finally translates in to the movie. Even if one of them falters, the director would certainly fail to induce the desired impact on the audience. However, for most part of the time, we fail to see what goes behind the screens to make a scene. All we see is set of actors and actresses doing their bit to recreate the world director wanted to. We laugh with them, we feel their sorrow, we experience their angst, pain. We would most certainly endure all the emotions the lead actor of the particular movie. More often than not, we find a connection at the personal level, we end up rooting for the hero of the movie that we would love to see him victorious by the end of it. We would want him to win at all costs, defying all the odds that are stacked up against him. This could also be partly because we seek the escapism from the reality that enveloped where we are totally helpless.

In trying to understand the psyche of the Tollywood movie audience,have led me to the very popular concept of 'favorite stars'.In the process of seeking escapism, we seem to have chosen an actor who represents us in the movies with whom we found an utmost connect at the personal level. We have started finding the guilty pleasure when this star does everything we couldn't do it in the real world. We enjoyed it when the so called star wooed the lead actress with his song and dance skills and unbashedly beat the goons to pulp no matter how improbable it looked. We didn't care and it didn't matter. At times these onscreen adulation has extended to offscreen that we have began to worship our stars.We have psyched ourseleves in to believing our stars to be all capable and ever glamorous. If at all, anything goes against these preset expectations, all hell would break loose. In an attempt to satisfy these expectations, the directors are left with little choice but to follow time tested templates of movie making. While trying to cross the hurdles, of the expectations from the fans, the demands of the producer to rake maximum moolah, the director have started to become less of an artiste trying to tell the story he believed in but, more in getting the template right.

Off late, it has been disappointing to be a Telugu movie fan. The industry has gotten into the collection mania and record breaking spree. Every movie that followed a template seem to have grossed huge amounts that would leave you agape. The industry seems to have been plagued by mindless movies which are 'action packed with family sentiment highly glossed with comedy with toppings of songs here and there' entertainers.Sure success formulae, I tell you. These movies seem to have questioned our intelligence and are totally focussed on bringing down our IQ levels by ten percent that probably in about a couple of years, we as audience will a  hold combined IQ so less that it would put monkeys to shame. Also, over the last few years, there seems to been another imminent threat that has become worrisome. No, I'm not talking about piracy. It is the advent of social media. This has given a power to everyone to voice out their opinions. And when it comes to cinema, everyone has got an opinion and voila, everyone has got in to put in their reviews on the movie in 140 characters. But here is a catch, you draw maximum attention only when you are at your sarcastic best. It has become a style to tear apart the movie in to bits and pieces. Every time a valiant effort is made by someone going against the routine template and present you with something different, the common sense  and sensibilites of the maker are questioned. He is blamed for not opting for the popular choice, ridiculed for not playing it to the gallery.


At this juncture, I would like to highlight one thing. Movie watching is a solitary experience. What you might feel after watching a movie is not necessarily the same as someone else. Just try and understand that all those facebook statuses and twitter updates that you read need not necessarily reflect your thoughts or your sensibilites. It is understandable that movie watching is time consuming and expensive affair. And after having invested so much of time, there could be times, we feel robbed and we have every right to express our anguish. But what we have been failing to notice is that entertainment need not always be comedy alone. It would only be foolish to expect comedy in a horror film. Maybe its time we open up to different experiences. A staple diet is good, but an occassional change of the cuisine does no harm. You might as well like it. You wouldn't know unless you try it. The same is true for a different movie.

With so much of talk against the latest Sukumar, Mahesh release One-Nenokkadine, I finally took the onus upon me to put in my perspective on the movie. Mind you it is what I feel and you might not necessarily agree with me. However, this is an attempt, let me say, hey look this is another way of looking at it, just in case you missed. This could be interesting. I call myself a fan of cinema and Nenokkadine is a good movie. It is good movie in a sense, it has stuck to its genre right through the course of film. It is a racy true blue action film. The film means business right from the word go, taking  almost no time to settle down. All through the film, director is one step ahead of the audience, not letting out his card till the last minute, a rarity these days.It is a movie that demands your undivided attention. It could be a bit difficult to grasp at the very first watch to quite a few and may require repeated watches. But at the end of the every watch, I am sure it will only leave you richer in experience and enhance your understanding capabilities. Is it wrong if a movie asks us to raise bar and step up to it to understand? Is it a sin if a movie is helping us improve our intelligence? Is it wrong if a movie is sensible and doesn't appease our guilty pleasures?

I urge people to be open while watching the movie and not let any preconcieved notions affect you and spoil your movie watching experience. It is only by encouraging such movies that we can redeem ourselves as  Telugu audience. For it is only movies that are capable of dazzling in ways you cannot imagine.

Thank You Sukumar, Mahesh Babu, 14 reels entertainment and everyone associated with the movie like Nenokkadine for we are lucky to have a movie that only lets us improve our intelligence after watching!!

Yeto Vellipoindi Manasu, for me had been the most awaited movie of the year. And I finally managed to watch it, without really having to worry about the reviews, the general talk and peoples perception about the movie. It is amazing to note, despite the fact that so many love stories have been unveiled on the celluloid one doesn't seem to get tired of it. Maybe its hard to stay off and not get fascinated with something that's so basic for the human survival ie LOVE. Having made a couple of films on love, for the third time in his career Gautam Menon has decided to embark on his favourite theme of love yet again. (Cheli and Ye Maya Chesave being the other two), and with a tagline like "This could be your love story", its hard not wait for the film.


Music is the heart and soul of any love story. Backed up by the maestro's music the album has some amazing songs. Infact more than the songs the instrumentals used to render the BGM (Backgroundmusic) has been incredible. Totally in love with it. Well who knows the job better than the man who has been doing it, for decades now. The greatness of the man lies in not letting the music into foreground even in songs, there by not hindering the flow of it. True stroke of a genius I believe.

Nani and Samantha have enacted the characters of Varun and Nithya. It might not be an exaggeration if I may say that they brought life to the characters on screen. After Ye Maya Chesave, Samantha finally gets a character with noticeable screen space and scope for acting. Now talking of the movie, it is all about slices of moments from a couple in love.A snapshot of various incidents from their scrapbook put together. I cannot tell if I really liked the movie, or maybe hated it. I'm still confused about what I think of it. Surely I did get connected to it though. Gautam tries to throw light up on the misunderstandings that happen between the couples, the change in priorities at various stages in life, about those ignorances and the more than common egos.

For most part of film I did really identify myself in few situations and thought it really would make sense to someone who's has been in love or at least thought of being in love. Whatever, but I was totally surprised when my Dad who is otherwise usually reserved when it comes to movies, was all praises for the movie. I thought it wouldn't really make sense to him and he wouldn't like the movie. But no, he went on saying he really liked the way Gautam has shaped up the characters and he told, people of this generation has gotten too busy even to sit down, talk and sort the issues.I gasped, "Boy,Gautam really knows to strike chord with people across ages." YVM is a bittersweet love story with lot of reality going in to it. There are few lines in the movie, which you can't help but accept they are true and it left me wondering when half the population is wondering what going on there, Gautam Menon seems to be having all the answers for it.

You maynot like the movie now. You might find it downright boring, crazy, stupid and not mention a plain torture. You are too worried about your time that, you may well skip the movie altogether. But years later when you watch it in TV, there will few scenes from the movie that would take you through your memory lanes. A few conversations that remind you of your own ones and yes you will tell it to yourself, It is not that bad! After all this could well be your lovestory.

PS: When it comes to characters, I liked Jessy from YMC better than Nitya from YVM. Jessy is more layered, mysterious, complex, confusing and not to forget gorgeous ;).

Andala Rakshasi, I wasn’t aware of the existence of such a movie until my brother texted me to check out the teaser. And boy, I was totally floored by it. Usually they say, one picks up the most interesting bits for a teaser. This trailer had enough elements in it to keep my curiosity up and made me eagerly wait the release of the film. Later sometime during the week I happened to check out the audio release function of the movie. It had Mr. Rajamouli speaking; he was all praises for the young lad, Hanu Raghavapudi, Debutant director of the movie. He spoke about the hard work the whole team had put in and dedication they had shown.

Speaking of the movie, all the director had to say was, “it’s a triangular love story of three characters, Sun, Moon and the Earth, being the female character. It is something we all see everyday but never acknowledge them. All I tried to do was address it.” I just thought, “Aah! What a metaphorical way to describe”. Ever since then I counted days to watch the movie on screen. I even happened to listen to the songs, I can vouch that it is one of the best albums released in this year. All the songs had high lyrical values and the music was very pleasant to ears. I instantly fell in love with them. The film later garnered further limelight as S.S.Rajamouli has turned as one of the co-producers of the movie and for the astronomical amount of money spent in publicity for a movie of this scale. Honestly, I felt it deserved all the attention it sought.

Andala Rakshasi was set in the year 1991, which signifies the age of innocence. It was the period where globalization hadn’t taken it toll on us and lives were still lot simpler. The director stated that had the story been taken place in today’s time, the story would have lost it soul, innocence being one. The film revolves around three characters – Midhuna, Surya and Gautham played by Lavanya Tripathi, Naveen and Rahul Ravindran respectively. It is these characters that drive the story forward. The director has his boundaries clearly defined for the characters. Lavanya being embodiment of earth is always has anger and love on her face and never hesitated to show them on others. It is complemented by her beautiful face and child-like innocence. Surya personifies sun. He is vibrant, energetic and cheerful. Gautham is like moon, calm and composed and does what he truly believes in. I shall not delve into the story any further, but with this premise and basic understanding of the characters in mind, the movie makes much better sense.

The director has brought in lot of subtleties which stay true to the spirit of the characters in the story. Every time when Gautham and Midhuna are together on the screen there is lot of rain and fog, reflecting the gloom shrouding their relationship. The rain signifies the outpour of emotions Gautham is undergoing. And when Surya’s character is around, you find it all sunny and vibrant, a signifying contrast to that of Gautham’s character potraying the bright side of things. The song Manasu Palike has lot of such metaphorical visuals. The movie has a scene between a blind man and his wife which very beautifully potrays that love cannot be seen but only be felt. That for me stands out as one of the brilliant scenes in the recent times.

The movie in all has stunning visuals and mostly shot by the cameraman Murali, in Munnar and plush green locales, astounding music and background score by Rathan, which very much reflects the mood of the film, and greatly written lyrics. The story by Hanu Raghavapudi has a lot of freshness and he, as a director tries to bring out the best of all the cast.

Personally I feel, what could have worked against the movie was the high expectations it has set for itself owing too much publicity for small scale movie of this sort. I heard most people complaining that the trailer has sent a different message as compared to what it had actually been.

All in all, Andala Rakshasi for me is a beautiful crafted movie which is little abstract and thematically brilliant and totally poetic. Hanu Raghavapudi makes a mighty impressive debut with a sensible and poignant love story with movie that would surely be appreciated over time.

This post first appeared on www.a2zadda.com

Its been quite sometime since I blogged last.I somehow dint feel like.Its not that I've got nothing to say,but its just that I preferred not to say.Lets not talk about it anyway.I've just finished watching Nuvve Nuvve.I've got a lab external tomorrow,placements in a couple of days, and semester exams in less than a week and still I did that.Well,maybe this isn't so uncommon if you are doing ur B.Tech from a college thats under JNTU.I know it sucks bigtime. I'm into my final year and I think I should've got used to it by now.

I'm not sure what I would really like to write about in next few minutes.As always I'm clueless,lemme give it a shot and see how it unfolds itself.I've watched the movie many times before.I've liked it all the way.But for the first time,it kept me thinking.I've started seeing things in a different way than I usually see them.To put in a nutshell for all the folks who haven't seen the movie,its a story about a gal,whos got a dad who loves her much more than he loves himself.This gal happens to fall in love wid guy,who sounds casual but whos smart at the same time.Its about how the girl got crushed between those people unable to choose whos more important to her.Its not a fresh story as a matter of fact.But the way Trivikram handled it made the difference.Having said that,the film has got a pretty realistic approach,except for the ending which got lil filmy.Its got those catchy,brilliant dialogs that you would remember for a long long time.

I always thought when an argument exists between two people,if one person is right then its quite obvious that the other person stands on the wrong side of the argument.But Trivikram proved me wrong.Even the other person could be right from his perspective.You wouldn't know that unless you are placed in that guy's shoes,and start looking at things from his point of view.This movie talks about Love all the way.Love in its varied forms.Love of a parent towards his child.Love of a guy who towards his gal.It contrasts and compares them both but ends it on a note that they both cannot be compared and are special in their own way.

There are few scenes in the latter haf of the film.Its like this in one scene you would say"Ya,this guy has a point there."In the next scene,you would feel how could I miss that,Dad is right, not the guy.By the end of it, you would find your self admist lot of confusion to decide whose side do you wish to stand on!

One dialog that caught my attention in the entire film of many jewel studded dialogs is that
Evarinaina premiste valla tappulni kuda barichagalagali,leda premichatledani oppukovali
I paraphrase it as if you Love someone you should have the capability to accept their faults,else you should be fair enough to accept the fact that you dont love them enough.I dont know if I did put it well,but its for those people who wouldn't have understood otherwise.I somehow liked it alot,though it doesnot really define or tell what exactly love is,it atleast made me understand how to be sure if you are truly loving someone!!

N ya I would like to explain to you folks why I titled this post that way,its one dialog that stands out,n could be the first one you can connect to when you think of the film.I suggest you folks to read it with your gals name der instead of Anjali ;)(I gonna do dat anyway :D)

I would be more than happy to see your views and comments about the film as well as my post.Hope to meet you der
I wish I could talk more about it, but I'm running short of time gotta study.Will be back sometime soon.Adios!!

Before I proceed any further,hats off to Krish.He did a stupendous job.He choose what he is best at.Vedam is a tale of few people and how there lives are interwoven.Its filmed with some interesting narration.This genre isn't a new one."Om shanti" a film released few months back is on similar lines but its the casting and the narration style is where Krish scored over it.To put it in short,its artfully crafted movie with commercial backdrop.

Vedam is not one of those feel good movies,where all ends well and you come out of the theatre feeling happy.Its one of those very few movies that makes you think even after you come out of it.It disturbs you and doesn't allow you to settle.Probably this is why people may not like it.Vedam is brutally honest and earnest in its attempt.It presents you the reality, which you knew all along but you never wanted to acknowledge.It portrays the different perspectives of people about one big thing "MONEY".

Speaking about the cast, as already said,Krish made sure, he got the casting damn right.Allu Arjun as Cable Raju did a fabulous job,its his best performance to date.Manoj looked convincing as a rock star.He didn't have much to play.Manoj Bajpaye was wasted.Anushka was sensual and hot at the same time,a hard balance to strike but she did it with ease.I thought music by Keeravani could've been better,of course its still good.Editing is crisp.Screenplay plays the keyrole in these kind of films, and Krish got it right.No matter how many people we talk about.Ultimately its Krish's film,its got his soul and signature all through out.

Irony of life:Though Krish made a film like this,I don't think he can justify it with his actions.He is spending thousands of rupees on the success parties of the film.According to him,its the same money thats gonna make bread and butter for many people.Its the same money that can make a difference of life and death for many people.And no matter how much we say,its a good movie,just a week after we forget all about the reality crap, and get on with our lives,forgetting everything around us.We are always like that aren't we??!!

Its has become quite common for me,with my friend Rohit around, to watch the movie on the very first day morning show.Despite the fact the I fell way short of my minimun attendance, I couldn't help myself but get dragged to the movie.

Even the fact that,its a movie being directed by Shekar Kammula and its the most hyped debut of RaNa, didn really arouse any special interest in me,which is usually the case with crazy combinations. I was in to the theater with hardly any kind of expectations,and hoped to have some good time,nothing and literally nothing more than that.Once the movie got started, it took me a couple of mins to sink in to it.The start was quite unlike any other Shekar's movies,it was a little too quick and rapid change of scenes.I felt so restless until the start of the first song.I was taken in to the movie right then and there, there was something touchy about the song which I find inexpressible in words.

Coming to the story line its very plain and single pointed "Avineeti Nirmulana".Anyway I'm not going to talk much about that. Even for a debutant RaNa did an amazing job.He was fabulous right through the film.He has got everything for the making of leader of telugu film industry in days to come.Got good diction,authoritative voice,and more importantly highly good looking.Kota Srinivas Rao just sent out a message with it another mind-blowing performance,why he still the best in the league.Every other artist chipped in with good show and did justice to the roles.

Photography was just right for the mood in most of the scenes.Mickey's music is another asset to the film.I guess I'm done with the pros of the movie.But there is something I was highly disappointed about.The climax.All in all the movie throws light on almost all the contemporary issues and problems in politics,but fails to offer a proper solution to them.I was completely let down to realise that even Shekar Kammula,whos known for his off beat movies be and unconventional direction,succumbed to pressure and left the problem just where it started!!

Final wording on the movie,go watch it.Its definitely worth your money and time.

I had this title long back in mind.But I dint really know what I really wanted to write under. I thought it would be better if I write this once I watch this movie.You can take it for granted that this was one of the reasons that kept me away from posting any further articles.But then ya I accept the fact its my laziness that keeps me away from.Yaar im trying..trying hard not to get this one rusted so here I go..
I really did lot of hardwork in watching this movie;).I made two appointments actually,just to keep my chances alive so that I can get to watch atleast with someone at the end of the day. I know thats bad but then it says it all that how badly I wanted to watch this movie. What I really did to watch the movie was not really important but then I know there are many people who are badly wanting to see the movie. I know people got crazy eva since this picture was announced.The reasons as very well known that it was the combination of Mr.Perfectionist,the ace khan, Aamir Khan and the man behind coining of the term Gandhigiri..who made all Indians think about Gandhiji and made us reemulate his path with is uncluttered,austere classic 'Lago Raho...', Raju Hirani. On top of it, it was announced that this film is loosely inspired by the most popular work of one of the youth icon Chetan Bhagat's best seller Five Point Someone.And I love reading books and I did read this one. I really loved the book.But then as its not about the book. Lemme move on.


I watched it few hours back and I'm still in its hangover. I've had certain expectations about the movie.Like this is how its gonna be.as I've read the book already and expected it to be a true copy of the book. But then I was proved to be wrong just at the very start of movie.Its very much justified, I mean the line loosely inspired from.In a nut shell its a story about 3 idiots. I guess the title says it all. But then its about 3 idiots who are not really idiots. If you know what I really know what I mean;).The movie has got everything in it. Its a perfect blend of entertainment and message.Equation is pretty simple Entertainment + Message=Movie- RajuHirwani style:).The essence of it is don't work to be successful, strive for excellence and success comes running after you.Its not just about the message but then the way its dealt. Its hilarious right from the opening scene.There are many scenes that keeps you on the edge of the seat as u can hardly stay still without laughing.


Ofcourse its got many scenes that make you think too, provokes you to question yourself what are we running ourselves to?!It questions the education system. And coming to casting you feel like its so perfect. Everyone fits into the role of their own. It appears to you as those characters are tailor-made for them and are born to do them.To speak of performances of Aamir and Boman Irani I dont think Im eligible to do that.They are at their best. I can only tell you its one of "The best" movies I've seen so far. Its simply outstanding.Dont miss the movie for anything I tell you I conclude saying Aaall izz Well :D!!

Gimme some sunshine
Gimme some rain
Gimme another chance
I wanna grow up once again

I felt that it would be unjust on my part to end this post without the mention of these lines from a song of this movie. Do watch it. I loved it an I bet you'l love it too :)