TELUGU MOVIE PANCHAKSHARI REVIEW
Film: Panchakshari
Rating: 2/5
Banner: Sri Sai Ratna Creations
Cast: Anushka, Pradeep Rawat, Samrat, Brahmanandam, Ali, Nasser, Raghubabu, Ravi, Sudharani, M S, Jeeva, Chandramohan, Subbaraya Sharma, Telangana Sakuntala and others
Music: Chinna
Dialogues: Thota Prasad
Cinematography: Vasu
Editing: Marthand K Venkatesh
Story: Madhu Vipparthi
Screenplay, direction: Samudra
Producer: Bommadevara Ramachandra Rao
Release date: 11/06/2010
The hot star Anushka who has swept the audience off their feet with ‘Arundhati’ has now arrived with another strong role.
The movie starts with 1985 backdrop where a girl is born at temple on a stormy night for a couple (Chandramohan and Rajitha). The temple priest who witnesses this, names the girl as Panchakshari. He also says that the girl gets goddess in her once in a year and for rest of 364 days she will be like normal girl.
Panchakshari (Anushka) is regarded as godwoman in the village and the pious devotees regularly do poojas in the temple and they also carry on a grand bonalu festival once in every year and sees goddess coming inside Panchakshari. They ask her some questions and clear their doubts and woes.
There is a cruel villain (Pradeep Rawat) in Janagam wants to pilfer the treasure underneath the temple, as reported by a secret Archeologist. Panchakshari and the devoted people in village become hurdles for him. So he wants to eliminate Panchakshari. Did he get succeeded in that?
On the other hand Honey (Anushka) is a fashion designer in city and has big dreams. She has a loving family and they want her to get married.
Sequence of events lead Honey to the Village and she makes few shocking discoveries. Who is Honey? What does Honey do to get out the problems? All this forms the rest of the story.
Performances:
Anushka has done her bit well and she has fitted herself aptly in the form of a city girl and also as a dedicated devotee. However, her character was not etched with intensity which led to hiccups.
Pradeep Rawat as usual flexed his muscles and used the dubbed baritone voice to look heavy. As such, his character could not deliver that evil shade though his screen presence was good.
Samrat was alright, the ‘Magadheera’ track of Brahmi failed to impress, Ali was alright, Nasser was natural, the artist doing Pradeep Rawat’s wife fitted the role well, Chandramohan was usual, Subbaraya Sharma was standard, Telangana Sakuntala, Raghu Babu, Sudha Rani were routine. Others were there to fill the screen.
Analysis:
The film runs on an age old track and we have seen that from the times of K R Vijaya so the content part was very weak.
The narrative was poor and the poor writing skills were seen. Few important scenes lacked conviction and what was meant to be an emotional scene ended up becoming a comedy scene for the audience. There are many inconsistencies in the script and not one track fails to take off for a continuous time to engage the audience. It is like bits and pieces put together. One can clearly see traces of ‘Ammoru’ ‘Arundhati’ etc but there is no comparison between them and this same old story.
Samudra has got a very silly way of having comedy and the same silliness is seen even in some crucial scenes. He sure has to update himself with the taste of the audience and the ability to involve them in the film.
Anushka’s introduction song must have been canned in the backdrop of some mall instead of temple. Wearing western outfits and shaking her ‘back’ in front of camera is disgusting and proves to be a wrong blend.
Anushka failed to show ‘roudram’ in her eyes in climax shot. She kept the tongue out like a patient before a doctor but not as Mahakali.
Screenplay is not intact and failed to pull audiences interest
Chandramohan revealing his connection with Nazar sounded like a comedy. People are laughing at this amateur scene in theater.
‘Magadheera’ comedy of Brahmanandam is not presented well.
Ali’s comedy started with great expectations but ended up weak.
Aghora’s character couldn’t pump in fear factor but boosted up sense of humor among audiences those were seen cracking jokes looking at that character
The villain factor is poor and the protagonist Panchakshari’s character is not presented with elevation. The initial scene says that Panchakshari is going to be powerful divine girl. But that’s not shown in required tempo afterwards.
Songs are good, cinematography is excellent and the art direction is also impressive. On a whole, this movie is ruled out for A centers and it’s a doubt if B, C center audience patronage this as their taste is also changing from decade to decade. This movie recalls the goddess movies of 80s and early 90s.
Bottom Line: Panchakshari- Punch Less
source:greatandhra.com
Jun 19, 2010
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TELUGU MOVIE PANCHAKSHARI REVIEW |
Jun 18, 2010
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Raavan: Movie Review |
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vikram
Direction/Screenplay: Mani Ratnam
Music: AR Rahman
Dialogues: Vijay Krishna Acharya
Cinematography: Santosh Sivan, V Manikandan
Genre: Drama
Release Date: June 18’2010 worldwide
Rating:
Personas are often deceiving. A man who comes across as evil and menacing can be godly in reality, if watched closely and vice versa. Deception rules and dominates the world. Although, once the truth unravels, bad starts seeming good as in the case of Beera (Abhishek Bachchan).
Beera hides in the dense forests of north India from where he orchestrates his criminal activities against the police, a la Veerappan. He ruthlessly kills the policemen and loots their weaponry. Going by Beera’s sharp hunting skills and knowledge of the jungle, even the police is now scared of the dangerous outlaw except for SP Dev (Vikram).
Right after being posted to Lal Maati, Dev finds his wife Ragini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) caught in Beera’s clutches as he kidnaps her and takes her to the jungle where he resides. Turns out Beera has been meaning to settle a personal score with the police for a long time. Dev takes the help of a funny forest guard (Govinda) in order to get back his wife. Ragini on the other hand oblivious to Beera’s power, does every thing possible to escape her nightmare.
Mani Ratnam’s modern adaptation of Hindu mythological epic Ramayana with a twist, is a film made with good intention, beautiful music and mind blowing cinematography but unfortunately lacking everything else!
To start with, the story of the film as if on a long pause, just doesn’t move ahead for a good one hour after the film begins.
The scenes seem repetitive with Ash screaming from the bottom of her lungs even when she speaks (in a voice that seems inspired by Vidya Balan’s from Bhool Bhullaiyya, after she is possessed that is) and Abhishek doing some weird jig jig jig...not a dance, but the words he says as he shakes his hands around his head vigorously when either angry or amused.
The two keep staring, screaming at each other when not climbing a rocky mountain or jumping off a cliff as they play hide n seek in the forest for almost an hour. Their chemistry and the dialogues fall short of portraying the angst or the attraction they hold for each other thus making their interaction simply a waste of time.
A brooding Vikram keeps flashing his forehead frown lines and quizzical eyebrows as he hunts for Beera in the forest using minimal dialogues but maximum action & style (His fans will like it).
The only actors who provide good comic relief with their words and bindaas act amidst this insipid chase are Govinda and Ravi Kishen... both wasted to a large extent.
The dialogues are highly uninspiring for a film that intends to tackle a subject of this stature. (Ash asks Vikram: Yeh Beera Robin Hood hai ya Raavan)
Raavan is no Mani Ratnam signature film at all. It in fact looks like Mani attempting a Ram Gopal Verma (in terms of camera angles and direction) or even a Vishal Bhardawaj (feel, setting and twist of the film) while being inspired by Ghai’s Khalnayak (story).
The filmmaker seems inspired by so many things at a time that he forgets to retain his own USP. There is no punch in the script which doesn’t rise above clichés, no tenderness in the love between Dev and Ragini and no depth to Ragini or Dev’s character as they come across as silent spectators to Beera’s eccentric antics. The ten facets of Beera’s personality too doesn’t stand out.
The film moves you only when Abhishek and Priyamani come to picture. Both actors act superbly and infuse soul into this otherwise lifeless drama. Abhishek walks away with the main role and does a good job as he gets into the skin of his character very well. Wish his character would have been written better.
Ash holds one disgruntled expression on her face throughout and so does Vikram.
The film can be watched for its brilliant cinematography by Santosh Sivan and V Manikandan. Jungles, waterfalls, rains...have never looked so beautiful in a Hindi film before nor has a de-glam Ash in an extreme close up.
Music by AR Rahman is mesmerizing. Behne De, Ranjha Ranjha and Beera Beera are tracks that grow on you and are capable of being listed in Rahman’s all-time hits.
Outfits by Sabyasachi go perfectly with the theme of the film.
We assume Mani Ratnam went through a writer’s block this time around which is natural for creative geniuses of his calibre. We hope he regains his brilliance that gave us Roja, Bombay, Guru and Yuva.
source:indiatimes
Beera hides in the dense forests of north India from where he orchestrates his criminal activities against the police, a la Veerappan. He ruthlessly kills the policemen and loots their weaponry. Going by Beera’s sharp hunting skills and knowledge of the jungle, even the police is now scared of the dangerous outlaw except for SP Dev (Vikram).
Right after being posted to Lal Maati, Dev finds his wife Ragini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) caught in Beera’s clutches as he kidnaps her and takes her to the jungle where he resides. Turns out Beera has been meaning to settle a personal score with the police for a long time. Dev takes the help of a funny forest guard (Govinda) in order to get back his wife. Ragini on the other hand oblivious to Beera’s power, does every thing possible to escape her nightmare.
Mani Ratnam’s modern adaptation of Hindu mythological epic Ramayana with a twist, is a film made with good intention, beautiful music and mind blowing cinematography but unfortunately lacking everything else!
To start with, the story of the film as if on a long pause, just doesn’t move ahead for a good one hour after the film begins.
The scenes seem repetitive with Ash screaming from the bottom of her lungs even when she speaks (in a voice that seems inspired by Vidya Balan’s from Bhool Bhullaiyya, after she is possessed that is) and Abhishek doing some weird jig jig jig...not a dance, but the words he says as he shakes his hands around his head vigorously when either angry or amused.
The two keep staring, screaming at each other when not climbing a rocky mountain or jumping off a cliff as they play hide n seek in the forest for almost an hour. Their chemistry and the dialogues fall short of portraying the angst or the attraction they hold for each other thus making their interaction simply a waste of time.
A brooding Vikram keeps flashing his forehead frown lines and quizzical eyebrows as he hunts for Beera in the forest using minimal dialogues but maximum action & style (His fans will like it).
The only actors who provide good comic relief with their words and bindaas act amidst this insipid chase are Govinda and Ravi Kishen... both wasted to a large extent.
The dialogues are highly uninspiring for a film that intends to tackle a subject of this stature. (Ash asks Vikram: Yeh Beera Robin Hood hai ya Raavan)
Raavan is no Mani Ratnam signature film at all. It in fact looks like Mani attempting a Ram Gopal Verma (in terms of camera angles and direction) or even a Vishal Bhardawaj (feel, setting and twist of the film) while being inspired by Ghai’s Khalnayak (story).
The filmmaker seems inspired by so many things at a time that he forgets to retain his own USP. There is no punch in the script which doesn’t rise above clichés, no tenderness in the love between Dev and Ragini and no depth to Ragini or Dev’s character as they come across as silent spectators to Beera’s eccentric antics. The ten facets of Beera’s personality too doesn’t stand out.
The film moves you only when Abhishek and Priyamani come to picture. Both actors act superbly and infuse soul into this otherwise lifeless drama. Abhishek walks away with the main role and does a good job as he gets into the skin of his character very well. Wish his character would have been written better.
Ash holds one disgruntled expression on her face throughout and so does Vikram.
The film can be watched for its brilliant cinematography by Santosh Sivan and V Manikandan. Jungles, waterfalls, rains...have never looked so beautiful in a Hindi film before nor has a de-glam Ash in an extreme close up.
Music by AR Rahman is mesmerizing. Behne De, Ranjha Ranjha and Beera Beera are tracks that grow on you and are capable of being listed in Rahman’s all-time hits.
Outfits by Sabyasachi go perfectly with the theme of the film.
We assume Mani Ratnam went through a writer’s block this time around which is natural for creative geniuses of his calibre. We hope he regains his brilliance that gave us Roja, Bombay, Guru and Yuva.
source:indiatimes
Film: Raavan (Hindi)
Rating: 2.25/5
The most talked about movie has finally hit the screens in three languages. With big names like Mani Ratnam, Vikram, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya in the list, the expectations are obviously high.
Story
Ragini (Aishwarya) is the wife of SP Dev Pratap (Vikram) and she gets kidnapped by the most dreaded Beera (Abhishek). Dev begins his hunt for Beera to rescue Ragini. For this, he takes the help of Sanjeevani Kumar(Govinda) a modern day Hanuman, playfully hopping from one spot to another as he joins Dev's mission to search for his wife. On the other hand, Ragini gives a tough time to Beera as she wants to escape. But who is the bad person? Is Dev successful in getting Ragini back? All this forms the rest of the story.
Performances
Vikram looks apt as a cop and his dubbing was also done well. However, he had a grim face throughout so not much of contribution from him in terms of body language or dialogues. His strong screen presence made up for any drawbacks.
Abhishek Bachchan tried his best to look villainous but then he has that baby face which makes it hard to convince. Moreover, not enough power and depth was given to his character which is another setback.
Aishwarya looks gorgeous as ever and she did her bit well. Most of her words were expressed through her sparkling eyes so not much to complain from her end.
Priyamani made her presence felt, Govinda was alright, Nikhil Dwivedi was okay, Ravi Kishan was good, Tejaswini Kolhapure was there to fill the screen that’s all. ‘Big’ choreographer Ganesh Acharya managed to shake his tummy to some extent in a song.
Analysis
The film has arrived with a lot of hype and it must be said that it stands nowhere near the hype. The major failure for the film is the poor content. There is no depth in the etching of the characters and the film proceeds in a mild manner. Entertainment quotient is zero and there is hardly a scene where the audience can connect and flow with the characters.
Mani Ratnam has attempted to portray a tinge of Ramayana in a Ballet mode but the poor background score and just one good song was not much of a help. The film survives only due to two things – exceptional cinematography and breathtaking locations.
It recalls MF Hussain’s ‘Gajagamini’ to some extent while projecting some scenes in poetic-ballet manner.
Editing was alright, costumes didn’t have much work and the art department was natural. If we are to take this as a new age Ramayana then questions will arise on the integrity of Lord Rama’s character. In a way, the villain is shown as the bad man with the good heart while the hero is shown as the good man with a crooked heart so conflict of interest happens.
Weak dialogues and lack of comedy is another setback and to connect to the backdrop of the story could also be difficult. Overall, the film’s only life is its technical values but the narrative or writing are very poor. Mass has nothing to gain from it and other genre audience must have patience to watch it. The openings will be good for the film for obvious reasons but then the chances of film making it to the success mark is very bleak.
Bottomline: Not interesting
source:greatandhra.com
Jun 17, 2010
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South star Trisha Krishnan is Akshay Kumar's girl now |
Mumbai: South star Trisha Krishnan, who was launched by Priyadarshan seven years back, has reunited with the director for Khatta Meetha that also has Akshay Kumar in the lead.
“I’m ever thankful to Priyadarshan for launching me as acting just happened to me, by chance. I had no intention to join movies. My family was apprehensive as they come from a conservative family. But I think me getting into modelling and winning awards really opened a lot of doors for me as I happened to meet Priyan sir who had the confidence to take me on.”
Trisha is very excited about her foray into Bollywood. “There had been offers but I waited for a film that I had confidence to take on as I would be entering a totally new industry. So, when Priyan sir told me he wanted to cast me in Khatta Meetha, I had no doubts. I know he will take the best out of me. My heart will always be with South Indian cinema as I have my roots there and it has made me become what I’m today,” she adds.
The young actor, who is also a state award winner for acting, reveals to DNA where she thinks her sex appeal lies. “I’m versatile, experimental and I think I look it and I think that’s my biggest sex appeal, either in real life or in movies. I have done mainstream as well as off-beat cinema and I think people have loved me because of this nature of mine,” she says.
A single lady that she is, Trisha also whispers into our ear the qualities of a guy that can turn her on. “It’s strange but I don’t like conventionally good looking men. I don’t like very fair guys too. Intelligence and how a man talks to me is the thing that gets me going,” she signs off.
“I’m ever thankful to Priyadarshan for launching me as acting just happened to me, by chance. I had no intention to join movies. My family was apprehensive as they come from a conservative family. But I think me getting into modelling and winning awards really opened a lot of doors for me as I happened to meet Priyan sir who had the confidence to take me on.”
Trisha is very excited about her foray into Bollywood. “There had been offers but I waited for a film that I had confidence to take on as I would be entering a totally new industry. So, when Priyan sir told me he wanted to cast me in Khatta Meetha, I had no doubts. I know he will take the best out of me. My heart will always be with South Indian cinema as I have my roots there and it has made me become what I’m today,” she adds.
The young actor, who is also a state award winner for acting, reveals to DNA where she thinks her sex appeal lies. “I’m versatile, experimental and I think I look it and I think that’s my biggest sex appeal, either in real life or in movies. I have done mainstream as well as off-beat cinema and I think people have loved me because of this nature of mine,” she says.
A single lady that she is, Trisha also whispers into our ear the qualities of a guy that can turn her on. “It’s strange but I don’t like conventionally good looking men. I don’t like very fair guys too. Intelligence and how a man talks to me is the thing that gets me going,” she signs off.
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RAAVAN Premiere Show In London Photo Gallery |
RAAVAN MOVIE PREMIERE SHOW IN LONDON PHOTO GALLERY, VIDEOS,CAST&CREW
RAAVAN MOVIE CAST & CREW
Abhishek Bachchan
Vikram
Aishwarya Rai
Prithviraj
Govinda
Priyamani
Bipasha Basu
Nikhil Dwivedi
Manisha Koirala
Ravi Kishan
Shobana
Tejaswini Kolhapuri
Raavan Crew
* Mani Ratnam - Director
* A R Rahman - Music Director
ABHISHEK BACHCHAN CHILDHOOD PHOTOS
AISHWARYA RAI BACHCHAN PROFILE
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Tv9 - Suzy's Close Encounter With NAGARJUNA - INTERVIEW |
AKKINENI NAGARJUNA PROFILE
Jun 16, 2010
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ABHISHEK BACHCHAN CHILDHOOD PHOTOS |
ABHISHEK BACHCHAN CHILDHOOD PHOTOS - REALLIFE PHOTOS
Abhishek Bachchan born on February 5, 1976 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Abhishek Bachchan is the son of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan and actress Jaya Bachchan. His elder sister is Shweta Bachchan-Nanda. His grandfather, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, was a well-known poet of Hindi literature. The original last name of his parental family is Srivastav, Bachchan being the pen name used by his grandfather. However, when his father Amitabh entered films, he did so under his own father’s pen name. Bachchan is of Punjabi Sikh heritage from his grandmother Teji’s side, while also of Bengali Kulin Brahmin descent from his mother Jaya Bhaduri’s side.
Bachchan was dyslexic as a child. He attended Jamnabai Narsee School and Bombay Scottish School in Mumbai, Modern School, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi, and Aiglon College in Switzerland. He then went to the U.S. to complete his education at Boston University, but left midway to pursue his acting career when his father’s company, did not finish his business degree as he chose to pursue an acting career which his father agree.
Bachchan was dyslexic as a child. He attended Jamnabai Narsee School and Bombay Scottish School in Mumbai, Modern School, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi, and Aiglon College in Switzerland. He then went to the U.S. to complete his education at Boston University, but left midway to pursue his acting career when his father’s company, did not finish his business degree as he chose to pursue an acting career which his father agree.
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Katrina Kaif Embarrasses Manoj by Touching His Feet |
Katrina Kaif showed her respects to veteran actor Manoj bajpayee by touching his feet in a very sweet gesture. There have been applauses pouring in for Manoj, after Rajneeti’s premiere Thursday night. However the modest Manoj is evidently embarrassed by all the lime light being thrown upon him. During the premiere when Manoj was asked to join the cast for a click, he obliged with much coyness. And as soon as he stepped out, Katrina increased his embarrassment double fold by touching his feet and saying, “Aap to superb actor hai.” Manoj could do nothing but immediately hug Katrina overwhelmed with joy. After that, in a friendly manner, Arjun and Ranbir lifted him on their shoulders and cheered for him.
“It’s very embarrassing for me. Katrina herself has performed so well in the film. I told her, ‘Please don’t embarrass me.’ After that both Ranbir and Arjun lifted me on their shoulders. It was a nice gesture from them as it showed the chemistry we all had during the making of the film.” said Manoj Bajpayee. Incidentally, a similar incident took place around a decade back with Tabu touching his feet and praising him in similar terms after “Satya”.
As far as “Raajneeti” is concerned, I don’t have words to thank the people who have sent me messages and called me since Thursday night. Prakash Jha gave me the role of a lifetime. I am looking forward to work with him in Arakshan.” Bajpayee thanked his audience and his director.
KATRINA KAIF REALLIFE PHOTOS
“It’s very embarrassing for me. Katrina herself has performed so well in the film. I told her, ‘Please don’t embarrass me.’ After that both Ranbir and Arjun lifted me on their shoulders. It was a nice gesture from them as it showed the chemistry we all had during the making of the film.” said Manoj Bajpayee. Incidentally, a similar incident took place around a decade back with Tabu touching his feet and praising him in similar terms after “Satya”.
As far as “Raajneeti” is concerned, I don’t have words to thank the people who have sent me messages and called me since Thursday night. Prakash Jha gave me the role of a lifetime. I am looking forward to work with him in Arakshan.” Bajpayee thanked his audience and his director.
KATRINA KAIF REALLIFE PHOTOS
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