Credits

Jeevi rating: 3.5/5
Punchline: Mahesh all the way
Genre: Action
Type: Straight
Banner: Vaishno Academy
Cast: Mahesh Babu, Ileana, Prakash Raj, Sayaji Shinde, Asish Vidyardhi, Nasseer, Brahmanandam, Ali, Venu Madhav, Ajay, Rajesh, Sudha, Sony Raj, Jyothirana & Mumaith Khan
Music: Mani Sharma
Lyrics: Viswa & Bhaskarabhatla
Cinematography: Shyam K Naidu
Editing: Marthand K Vanekatesh
Fights: Vijayan
Presents: Srimati Indira
Story - screenplay - direction - dialogues - producer: Puri Jagan
Release Date: 28th April, 2006
Review

tell a friend

Story

PokiriPandu (Mahesh Babu) is a ruthless mafia man who kills anybody for money. He falls in love with Sruthi (Ileana) at the very first sight. Sruthi too loves Pandu, but hesitates to confess her love to him as he is a reckless criminal. Though a goon, Pandu has certain rigid principles that leads for an enmity with Ali (Prakash Raj) - the biggest mafia don in the town. The rest of the story is all about how he settles score with Ali.

Artists Performance

PokiriMahesh: In my opinion, this was the best ever performance by Mahesh Babu. His acting skills not only render commercial entertainment to the general crowds, but also delight the serious filmgoers. Puri Jagan should be commended for doing great characterization for Mahesh. Mahesh Babu’s one-liners uttered in Uttarandhra dialect are real fun. Mahesh Babu who is undoubtedly the best good looking hero of this generation is extremely fascinating with his new hairdo.

PokiriOthers: Ileana goes a step ahead from Devadasu in histrionics department. She is also another attraction for this movie. Sayaji Shinde steals the show in certain intense moments as a sincere cop. Prakash Raj is entertaining. Nasseer is extremely good in an episode that takes place 20 minutes before the climax. The comedy track of Brahmanandam and Ali is not impressive. This track should have been trimmed towards the end. Jyothirana is good as rowdy seductress. Item song girl Mumaith Khan put on a bit of weight.

Technical Departments:

PokiriStory - screenplay - dialogues - Direction: Story of the film is simple. The basic storyline of a guy trying knock off mafia by being a part of it seems to have certain roots in Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Yojimbo’. The twist in the plot has roots in 'Donnie Brasco'. Basically, Pokiri is a screenplay based film with a wafer-thin storyline. Screenplay is commendable. Puri Jagan’s asset has always been his characterization. He gave perfect characterization to Mahesh Babu’s character. Direction is neat, but for a few glitches in the second half. Dialogues written by Puri are very good. He also attacked TV channels and newspapers through Sayaji Shinde in an excellent manner. However, the director should have handled the following aspects in a better way

Click here

Credits
Click to learn more...

Jeevi rating: 3/5
Punchline: About a girl called Pournami
Genre: Family
Type: Straight
Banner: Sumanth Arts
Cast: Prabhas, Trisha, Charmme, Sindhu Tolani, Madhu Sharma, Archana, Mukesh Rushi, Chandra Mohan, Geeta, Rahul Dev, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Subba Raju, Brahmaji, Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao, Sunil, Tanikella Bharani, Dharmavarapu Subramanyam and Narsing Yadav
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Dialogues: Paruchuri Brothers
Cinematography: Venkat Prasad
Editing: KV Krishna Reddy
Fights: Peter Hein
Direction: Prabhu Deva
Co-producer: Sumanth Aswin
Story - screenplay - producer: MS Raju
Release Date: 20th April, 2006
Review

tell a friend

Story

PournamiOnce upon a time, may be three centuries ago, there was a village that was severely hit by a famine. A danseuse from a traditional family comes forward to dance in Lord Shiva temple for rains. Since then it has become a tradition that a girl from that particular family should dance in Shiva Temple on Pournami day for every 12 years. During 1960’s it is the turn of Pournami (Trisha) to perform the sacred ritual and she goes missing a few months before the D-day.

PournamiSiva Kesava (Prabhas) arrives in that village and attracts Chandra Kala (Charmme) – sister of Pournami. The local Zamindar (Rahul Dev) lusts for Chandra Kala. Siva Kesava convinces Chandra Kala and her father that she could perform the ritual on Pournami. But, Siva Kesava’s past catches up with him. The rest of the story is all about how the dance performance ritual at the temple takes place.

Artists Performance

PournamiPrabhas: Prabhas is cool in his vintage attire in the beginning of the film. His dressing style and hair-do reminds us of 1960’s. Prabhas did well as the protagonist. There are lots of intense and emotional moments in the film for which he has done justice. It is nice to see Prabhas balancing his career with Chatrapati kind of mass roles and Pournami kind of soft roles.

PournamiOthers: Trisha did the title role of the film. The fans of Trisha are in for a bit of disappointment as Trisha appears only in the second half. She did well. Charmme got major pie in the film and she justifies her role. Sindhu Tolani did a small role. Madhu Sharma did the role of a young wife who tries to woo the hero. Archana impresses with her dance as the first girl who performed the ritual at the temple.

PournamiOther actors: Kota Srinivasa Rao did the role of one-eyed factionist and his get-up and mannerisms are pretty good. Mukesh Rushi acted as one-handed father of hero. Rahul Dev is impressive as the baddie who loves music. Chandra Mohan is appropriate in the role of heroines’ father. Narsing Yadav’s characterization of servant is different. Tanikella Bharani and Geeta are adequate.

Technical Departments:

PournamiStory - screenplay - Direction: The basic storyline of the film is about the tradition of a girl dancing in front of God for every 12 years. MS Raju gave a nice twist to it by selecting the popular format of encapsulating the important episode in the form of flashback. The flashback episode is heavily inspired by the Portuguese film Abril Despedaçado (‘Behind the Sun’ in English). You can see flashes of brilliance in Prabhu Deva’s direction in certain scenes. Screenplay of the film should have been more compact. Narration is little slow. There are lots of heavy emotional scenes in the second half.

PournamiMusic: Music by Devi Sri Prasad is good. The songs that come in second half in the combination of Trisha are excellent. There is ample touch of Prabhu Deva in choreography. Cinematography is average. Dialogues by Paruchuri brothers are adequate. Stunts by Peter Hein are OK. Lyrics by Sirivennela deserve a special appreciation. ‘Evaro Ravali’ and ‘Muvvala Navvakala’ songs have very simple and at the same time pretty effective lyrics.

PournamiAnalysis: First half of the film is bit slower. The second half is bit heavier. The entire film is based on dance and the flashback story belongs to a revenge genre. Producer MS Raju should be appreciated to make a film that has classical dance and traditions as backdrop. Climax should have been better. The thread of main villain Rahul Dev is left incomplete. On a whole, Pournami is not for the crowds who watch morning shows on the day one and the masses. Commercial success of the film will depend on how family crowds embrace it.
Click here

Credits


Jeevi rating: 3/5
Punchline: pourudu kaadu. koduku
Genre: Action/Drama
Type: Straight
Banner: SS Creations

Cast: Sumanth, Kajal Agarwal, Nassar, Subbaraju, Suman, Krishna Bhagawan, MS Narayana, Ali, Brahmanandam

Music: Mani Sharma
Cinematography: Sudhakar Yekkanti
Dialogues: Marudhuri Raja
Action: Selva
Artwork: Ravinder
story - screenplay - direction: Raj Aditya
Presented by: Annapurna studios
Producer: D Supriya
Release date: 13 January 2008

Review

Story

Pourudu Bhai (Nassar) is a notrious mafia don in Hyderabad. Pandu (Suman) is his right hand. Ajay (Sumanth) is Pandu's son. Ajay is a studious guy who wants to become an IAS officer. He clears the civils examination too. Hussain (Subbaraju) is a cop whose mission is to eliminate the mafia gangs in Hyderabad. Though son and father, sharing great relationship Ajay and Pandu fall out due to difference of opinions. The rest of the story is all about how the system forces Ajay to tread the wrong path to do the right thing.

Artists Performance

Pourudu Sumanth is good in the role of Ajay. He is excelled a lot in stunt sequences. Kajal Agarwal is adequate. Subbaraju has a meaty role in this film for which he has done justice. Nassar and Suman are competent for their roles. Kota is alright. Brahmanandam and Ali have some comedy episodes.

Technical Departments:

PouruduStory - screenplay - direction: The basic plot of the film has roots in Godfather where righteous son steps in the shoes of mafia man. Direction of the film is adequate. The screenplay should have been better. The director concentrated more on father-son relationship. The director should have had the hero getting into mafia outfit by interval time. By keeping it in the last 25 minutes, he diluted the content for entire first half and the half of the second half. Director conceived action sequences well.

PouruduOther departments: Mani Sharma's songs are alright. The rerecording is very good for action episodes. Dialogues lack punch in them. Cinematography is good. Setwork by Ravinder is good. The highlights of the film are action sequences before interval and in the climax. Editing is alright.

PouruduAnalysis: First half of the film is flat. The second half explores father-son relationship and action sequences. The last 25 minutes (where hero takes the revenge) part is interesting. The plus points in the film are fight sequences. On the flipside, the first half should have been made in a more interesting way. The comedy episodes were not properly handled. Though there are dialogues justifying the title Pourudu, it is a pure personal revenge story of a Koduku. On a whole, a better climax and good fight sequences make Pourudu an average flick.

Click here

prema katha - telugu cinema
Prema Katha
Cast: Sumanth, Anthra Mali and Radhika
Music: Sandeep Chowta
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Producer: Nag

Click here

Story
Nageswara Rao (Venu Madhav) has an obese maradalu to whom his granny wants to marry off. She gives 100 days time to select another girl failing to which he would be forced to marry his obese maradalu. Nageswara Rao falls in love with Sridevi (Priya Mohan). But he learns that he has cancer. In order to make sure that Sridevi hates him, he pretends to have fallen in love with a Mumbai based model Jaya Sudha (Ruthika). Jaya Sudha’s brother Hari (Srihari) turns out to be a big mafia don in Mumbai. Since Jaya Sudha loves Nageswara Rao, Hari threatens him to love her. Then Nageswara Rao realizes that he did not have cancer. The rest of the story is all about how he comes out of the mess and weds his love.

Actors: Venu Madhav is good in the parts where he imitated Rajnikant, ANR, Bala Krishna and Pawan Kalyan. But he could not get it well in scenes where it needs seriousness. One wonders why he thinks that people want to see him in duets where he serious dances like a professional hero. Priya Mohan is not up to the mark. Ruthika is adequate. Srihari is the good in the role of don. But his characterization is not up to the mark. Nagababu has a small role. Ali is pretty impressive. Sunil is alright as hero’s competitor.

Story – screenplay – direction: This film is heavily inspired by Satish Kaushik directed Bollywood film ‘Shadi Se Pehle’ (2006). Incidentally, this film has strange coincidence to Premabhishekam as well. The direction of the film is ok in parts, but disappointing in the second half. The execution and screenplay should have been better. The director is ok at doing comedy scenes. But his work is not up to the mark in shooting other aspects like love, sentiment, action etc.

Other departments: Music by Chakri is mediocre. Cinematography by Srinivas Reddy is ok. Editing should have been better. Dialogues are partly good.

Analysis: First half of the film is average. Second half is badly handled. The director could not handle the comedy generated by mafia man Srihari well. The plus points of the film are superb mimicry/imitation of Rajnikant, ANR, Bala Krishna and Pawan Kalyan by Venu Madhav. The negative aspects are badly handled screenplay and second half. On a whole, Premabhishekam is a bad copy of ‘Shadi Se Pehle’. However, running of this film is B and C centers is not ruled out.Click here

Premikudu, a Telugu movie

Item: Premikudu, a Telugu movie
By: krishnakomali

Casting: Prabhudeva, Nagma, girish kannad
Premikudu is a box office hit. It is a turning point to dance master Prabhudeva. He apperead as Hero in this movie. His performance is really excellent as a true lover in this story. Another big plus of this movie is its music. A.R.Rehman did an excellent job in composing new beats as per the audience taste. The story is common love story, yet the way it was presented was entirely new. Dance master cum hero prabhudeva’s dance performances in this movie are simply superb. The climax scene is interesting. I like all songs from this movie, especially the first song Urvasi, Urvasi is still popular. Nagma got a good name with this film. She got name in both kollywood and tollywood with this movie. I liked her performance as a rich beautiful girl. Comedian vadivelu’s performance is also good. Totally it is a good movie to watch with entire family.

Click here

Credits


Jeevi rating: 2.75/5
Punchline: Bed room courtship
Genre: Family
Type: Straight
Banner: Sri Creations
Cast: Srikanth, Sneha, Brahmanandam, Sunil, Venu Madhav, Ranganath, AVS, Ravi Kondala Rao, Rallapally, Dharmavarapu Subramanyam, LB Sriram, Kondavalasa Lakshmana Rao, Anant, Ram Mohan, Sunil Sharma (Mumbai), Sudarshan, Divyavani, Rajyalakshmi, Saraawatamma, Jayalalitha, Lahar, IDPL Nirmala & Lakshmi Reddy
Story - dialogues: Mullapudi Venkata Ramana
Music: Mani Sharma
Lyrics: Veturi, Mullapudi Venkata Ramana & Jonnavithula
Cinematographer: PRK Raju
Art: Narayana Reddy
Choreography: Srinivas & suchitra
Editing: KN Raju
Screenplay - Direction: Bapu
Presents: Nagababu
Producer: K Anil Kumar
Theatrical release date: 23rd February 2005
Review

tell a friend

Story

Gopalam (Srikanth) performs Tapassu and gets Radha (Sneha) as his wife. Gopalam is an assistant public prosecutor. Radha is the daughter of Judge (Rangnath). She applies for law degree after marriage and passes the exams with high honors. Radha is superior and more talented than Gopalam at work. This trait infuriates Gopalam and causes a rift between Radha and Gopalam. The rest of the story is all about how they survive the ego tiff.

Artists Performance

Srikanth: Srikanth did the role of different shades in this film. His role in first half is cute with shades of 'Budugu' in the character. There is lots of innocence and mischief in his character in 1st half. However, it turns into a character of helplessly vice in the second half. His imitation of NTR in dialogue delivery for certain dramatic scenes is good.

Sneha: Sneha is really good in this film as Radha. Her homely frolics and seduction tricks are awesome (thanks to Bapu). She wore the attire of sarees most of the times by epitomizing the essence of Telugu woman. Dubbing by Sunitha is excellent. She modulated her voice to suit the sensibility of Bapu bomma.

Others: Ranganath and Rajyalakshmi are adequate as parents of Sneha. Divyavani did an important character in this film. She has put on lots of weight and it's sad to see Bapu Bomma like Divayavani in a role like this. Venu Madhav did the role of Divyavani's husband who has illegal affair with another lady (Jyothy). MS Narayana is brilliant in a cameo and he imitated the dialect of Mada (from Muthyala Muggu) for this role. Brahmanandam and Dhrmavarapu created bit of comedy.

Technical Departments:

Story - screenplay - direction: The basic storyline of the film is about how a husband reacts when his wife progresses better than him in the same career. Screenplay of the film is very sluggish. Bapu's style of showing the romance between husband and wife is awesome. But by concentrating more in small things, Bapu missed big picture. The main conflict between husband and wife is not established in a convincing way. The characterization of Radha is consistent. But the characterization of Srikanth is inconsistent. He is cute in first half and behaves rather ambiguously in second half. There should be a conflict in any story which should be resolved by the leading man (or woman) by the end. The conflict created between the lead pair is not proper one. The conflict is not resolved towards end which made climax appear abrupt.

Music: Music by Mani Sharma is excellent and is in Bapu's style. Each and every song is unique in its own way. Sathamanam Bhavati is a great song with meaningful lyrics. 'Vaalu Jada' song is another unique song that describes new angle in romance. The Tolikodi song (penned by Mullapudi Venkata Ramana) is also good.

Dialogues: Dialogues by Mullapudi are sensible, but a bit old fashioned. The language is not contemporary. However there are meaningful yet satirical ones like 'Prema pasa - Pelli nasa'.

Other departments: Cinematography by PRK Raju is adequate. Editing by KN Raju is fair. ART by Narayana Reddy is OK. Choreography by Srinivas and Suchitra is nice. Production values by Sri Creations are good.

Analysis: The film starts with a song and by the times titles are completed two songs are over. 80% of the first half is concentrated on post-marital romance between lead pair. Second half of the film is bit boring. Climax is very abrupt. The plus points of this film are Sneha, Mani Sharma's music and Bapu's romantic scenes. Negative points are lack of justifiable conflict, pathetically-slow narration, old-fashioned filmmaking, redundancy in locations (home and court room) and abrupt climax. We do definitely expect a better film from the legendry duo of Bapu-Ramana. We have to wait and see how this film fares at box office.

Click here