MOVIE DUNIYA

Mar 28, 2010

Teligu Movie Maro Charitra Review

Cast: Varun Sandesh, Anita, Adarsh, Shraddha Das, Kota Srinivas Rao, Pratap Pothan, Urvasi, Thalaivasal Vijay, Janaki, Sabesh, Naresh, Venu, Venky and others.
Banner: Matinee Entertainment.
Choreography: Raju Khan.
Editing: Marthand K. Venkatesh.
Music: Mickey J. Meyer.
Presenter: Sri Venkateswara Creations.
Producer(s): Raju-Sirish-Laxman.
Director: Ravi Yadav.
Release Date: March 25, 2010

Varun Sandesh and Anita Pure, fresh, gushing..not love, the waters, the Niagara Falls. Also inviting, it's like you want to fall and die instead of Balu and Swapna. Just when you heave a sigh of relief that the lead pair have given their love a decent burial, they swim back to safety. But then the credits roll, copy paste a la Ye Maaya Chesave and there goes the salt on the wound. The love story is very Americanised, like fast food.

The moment Swapna sees Balu, her heart skips a beat and ditto for him. A guy who doesn't learn Telugu in twenty years is in sync with the coastal twang and the expression that Swapna conveys is as if she's about to unfurl Sarita's past. But the abuses that Swapna hurls is passé, outdated and she must understand that what was acceptable in Geetanjali sounds uncouth today.

For those who haven't seen the original, Balu and Swapna are lovers and their parents bad neighbours. Obviously they have been asked to split temporarily and stay out of sight for a year after which they can consider marriage. Enter Swapna's cousin Adarsh who plays spoilsport and on the D day attempts to outrage her modesty. It's a bump for the audience as well, thanks to Varun Sandesh as the Sandy/Sandhya's (Shraddha Das) story stretches and the lady eventually decides that it is better to think about her dead lover whose love is pure and bemoans her sacrifical act. No one really cares for her except Kota Srinivasa Rao and we finally move on to December 25, 2011 (if we remember right).

Nothing much happens on that day, Balu, Swapna meet and as we said they jump into the Niagara, and before they find true love in H2O, the parents learn some lessons on parenting. Coming to what fails the audience is primarily the narration, it's haphazard (the love story goes missing once the hero leaves for New York) and too quick and sometimes it slows and towards the end drags.

The heroine is fresh true but there is something awkward about her, just not the lips but also the way she cycles and emotes. The only thing striking about her is her long hair. In love stories whether they are termed classic or not the expressions between the hero and heroine and the dialogues are very important. There is much to be desired in the dialogues here, except a line or two no prose or poetry despite the changed tunes brings the lead pair together.

The cinematography is beatific but the direction is ameturish, it's evident. Varun Sandesh plays an Indian American and he's a natural, most of the time he's done with his dialogue and is waiting for the girl to react. Instead of lifting scene by scene the filmmaker should have played around with his imagination and added some more zing to the characters. The parents have done a good job and project a perfect balance but Urvasi's prattle gets unbearable beyond a point.

Varun Sandesh's screen mom exudes warmth. Naresh's accent might be imperative but in the guise of nativity it irks. FYI Adarsh who plays the villain is smart for his age, he slips into his character easily and brings with him an element of reality.

Costumes are garish and the scene in the lift is such a disappointment. Overall, the soul goes missing. Very rarely remakes score over the original and it's the universal truth, Maro Charitra could have been made contemporary by not just changing (location and cast) structure and providing other frills..but by, most importantly, retaining the feel of love.

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