Reviews

The story is good and had a potential to be a Marvel like empire. But lacks a taut screenplay. Should have taken cues from Lokesh Kannagraj who did it with his Khaidi Universe.

In parts Brahmastra is fine and music is good. But thats all where the good things end unfortunately.

Ranbir is a very good actor but somehow looks bored/disinterested here. The love story track is cringe at the best. The interval sequence is engaging but the climax is dud. And they did Mauni bad, why was she still in that Naagin mode? The visuals are fine but the 3D gives headache. Cant understand why Ayaan gave 10 years of his life for this. His earlier work is far far better. Had very high expectations on this but the end result is just an overhyped flashy product that fails to connect. Giving 2 stars only to recognize Ayan's 10 year dedication, but sad at the final product. Despite my skepticism, hope the second part (if they make it) is better.

Doing a biography based on the legend Savitri ji is no small feat. But Nag Ashwin has upped the ante with this beautiful masterpiece. Nag showed his potential in his debut "Yevade Subramaniam" and this time around, with "Mahanati" he has yet again proved that he is a master story teller. So glad that Telugu cinema is experimenting with such new ideas in the midst of mediocre / sub-par cacophony that is routinely churned out. Mahanati is a breath of fresh air and it not just tells the story of Savitri ji in such a lyrical fashion but also interweaves it with a parallel track of Vani+Anthony (Sam & Vijay D.). But the real hero of the movie is of course Keerthi Suresh and boy can she act !! And double the bonus of Dulquer Salman as Gemini Ganesan and we are glued to the screen from start to finish. No one, I repeat, no one, can replace Savitri ji but Keerthy's acting is so impeccable that I am sure Savitri ji will be extremely proud of her. A tragic tale of rags to riches to rags would have been a taxing & boring experience for the audience but thankfully the actors elevate the screenplay to make a memorable experience. The numerous cameos are great and casting Dr. Mohan Babu as SVR is kind of a casting coup. Additional brownie points for getting perfect cast - sort of a casting coup. I couldn't help draw the parallel's between Savitri ji to Meena Kumari ji to even the Divya Bharti -- such loneliness at the top and losing out to alcohol. All that glitters (in the showbiz) is truly not gold. Sad! Mahanti deserves all the praise it gets and I will be very much surprised if Keerthi doesn't win the National Award next year. Truly amazed by her talent. Hopefully she gets even better movies hereafter. Also I will eagerly look forward for Nag Ashwin's next project. If you yearn for a good movie then you must not miss this epic tale. Regional Indian cinema at its finest.

PS:- I barely understand Telugu and I watched this movie at Hyderabad without subtitles. Fine story telling, such as this, transcends all language barriers - thats the beauty of cinema.

Baahubali is everything what I love in cinema and salute to Rajmouli and the entire team for telling this story in this mind blowing way. I cannot get over it. I watched Telugu and Hindi versions, Sharad Kelkars voice for Baahubali takes "dubbing" to a whole new level. When was the last time a dubbed movie dialogue gave you goosebumps? The work done on dubbing is unparalleled and no wonder the Hindi audience has loved it and appreciated it so much. Kudos. Having said that and having watched the Telugu version too,I feel that there is something lost in translation. Especially the songs, the powerful lyrics of Dandalayya are not conveyed properly in Jay Jay Kara. In Hamsa Navva it says "Mecchindile Devasena", which means Devasena approves - just shows the strong character of Devasana which gets lost in "Bas Teri hai Devasena" and very powerful last lines in Sahore Bahubali:- " Anta Maha Baludainaa, Amma vodi pasivaade Shivudainaa, Bhavudaiyna, ammaku saati kaadantaade" That cannot control tears are just non-existent in Hindi. Even The war cry "Heysa Rudrasa, Heysarabhadra Samudrassa" in the song is toned down by translation. I am not trying to find flaws, the Hindi songs in isolation are wonderful and A-class but you will do yourself a great favor if you watch this movie in its original Telugu language glory and trust me even if you don't understand the language, you will cherish the experience. Yes the story is inspired from our epics of Ramayan, Mahabharata or even Lion King but who cares. The presentation is awesome, the story telling is awesome and it touches your hearts. There were multiple scenes where the audience ruptured into thunderous applause and that's the magic of cinema. I am amazed to see the plethora of negative reviews. To each his own but most of the bad reviews appear from jealous folks. Ignore these reviews, Baahubali doesn't merit any reviews. Baahubali 2 is an experience to cherish. Watch it on big screen, ideally a single screen with crazy crowd. Cherish it, because it will be years before something like this comes out of India. Cherish it because it is the victory of regional Indian cinema. It has broken the stale stereotypes of Bollywood and rewritten history. Salute once again to Rajamouli, Keeravani, Prabhas, Rana, Anushka, Ramya Krishna, Nasser, Sathyaraj, Tammanah and everyone else in the Baahubali team. Not just the Telugu states, but we all Indians are proud of you!

Kshanam is a thriller based on the kidnapping of a child. Who kidnapped the child? Is the child even real? These are some of the questions that Kshanam tries to resolve. With a crisp editing and a just-sufficient run-time Kshanam makes this search an edge of the seat thriller ride. The pre-interval scene is a shocker and takes you completely by surprise. There are a couple of minor loopholes in the story, but despite that the overall gripping narrative will make you ignore them. Kshanam is extremely well-made and am sure we will see remakes in other languages soon. An extremely positive start of the year to Telugu film industry that is stuck in the larger than life hero worship and slowly evolving and accepting new and non-routine stories. Kshanam breaks stereotypes and gives us a world-class movie. If you liked Kahaani then you will surely enjoy Kshanam. Films like this is the reason why I love movies. Kudos to the entire team of Kshanam, a truly fantastic job.

This movie has everything that a successful Tollywood flick needs, a larger than life hero who cannot act to save his life, a bimbo heroine whose skirts magically reduce an inch or more of length in songs, a family patriarch who is strict, a doting mother, a sister (who thankfully does not gets violated albeit she does gets drugged), 5 songs that sound stale (Trademark Thaman who like the director Srinu Vaitla rehashes the same tunes over and over again), slo-mo fight scenes with bodies flying around defying all earthly laws of physics, a brahmanandam comedy track that can barely invoke a simper (let alone a laugh) and so on. This is supposedly a "family entertainer for masses" movie that gets routinely churned out from Tollywood (and elsewhere in India too). Absolutely nothing new in the content and presentation. If you had seen Srinu Vaitla's previous films, you will have a feeling of deja vu because that's exactly this movie is, stale ! Ramcharan tries hard but he appears to be more wooden than ever. He dances well though. Rest of the people in the movie are just there as fillers. Yet another clichéd, predictable fare that makes you feel that probably watching a wet paint getting dried up is a better time-pass. The horror is that such movies rule and make the most money inspiring more clones and the eternal vicious cycle. I have no problems with mass movies if they do provide a wholesome entertainment or a fresh take. This one provides neither and is just a usual over-hyped movie. The golden moment in the film is Chiranjeevi's entry but it is too late to redeem it. But for him alone I give this movie 2 stars. If he had been the main lead, probably this would have been a different experience. IMDb says people who liked this movie also liked Aagadu, I think thats sums it up ! This one can be skipped and forgotten along with Srinu Vaitla's last venture Aagadu.

Watched this movie after a friend's recommendation. The film is about a materialistic guy (Subramanyam) who meets his old school friend and then goes on a path of self-discovery to answer the complex philosophical question "Who he really is" (hence "Yevade Subramanyam") . Despite the clichés at multiple places and also a "Gamyam" like feel, the cast, screenplay and the beautiful locations make this film an amazing experience to watch. Nani was able to effectively portray a character that starts as annoying and shallow and then transforms into someone with whom you can relate to. Nani has been picking some real good scripts and trying some worthy experiments. Kudos to him. Malvika Nair lends an able support with an author-backed role. Though she is a newcomer and this is her first film, her mature performance should surely bring her many laurels. Vijay Devarakonda shines in a small but significant role. The music is fine and the cinematography is awesome (especially the dudh-kashi sequence). This is a rocking start for debutant director Nag Ashwin who must be commended for taking a philosophical theme but did not make it boring and I will surely look forward for his work in future. Although it will be a great mistake to compare this film with other classic films (Motorcycle diaries for e.g.), it is still a mighty attempt. In the mess of larger than life "hero" - 5 songs - big family - 5 fights - 5 comedy tracks formulaic and intolerable films, such films are a breath of fresh air. One of the best films of 2015 in my list so far. Go watch it !!

There is nothing much to write about this movie. A predictable storyline with no redeeming factor whatsoever. One of Vijay's worst show so far. He looks absolutely wooden. The ever reliable DSP has churned out the worst music. A black mark for Sudeep too. But the shock for me is that Sridevi decided to be a part of this movie. The director should be commended for getting the worst out of stalwarts. The VFX at some rare places is good but mostly amateurish. I would have rated this movie higher if it was made with newcomers. But with such great names on the cast and crew list, this should get negative stars. A much hyped movie with no substance and zero entertainment value, avoid by all means.