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     Shikari Side Hero Username: Shikari Post Number: 5323 Registered: 03-2010 Posted From: 183.82.164.69 Rating: N/A |
Over the years, Telugu cinema has been served by many great directors. But, there is only one that has used the silver screen as a canvas to paint indelible pictures. If anybody has doubts, the movie Sreeraama Raajyam should clear it up. We can take many (may be I should say any) of the frames in this film, blow them up and print them as beautiful posters. But a film is not a collection of individual frames, however brilliant they may be. It is about how those frames line up together and link up with each other to tell a story both visually and otherwise. And, the splendorous lyrical visuals of Sreeraama Raajyam flow smoothly together and tell a very familiar story with great tempo and grace! Yes, folks, Bapu and Ramana have done it again! Once again, they present a story from Ramayana, a story that we are already familiar with, a story that was already made into a blockbuster movie that has imprinted itself on Telugu psyche, with unparallelled aplomb! Ramana gaaru, to no surprise, has come up with a great script once again. The loving, playful, intense bond between Rama and Sita is presented with such romanticism in a span of three short scenes, setting up the stage for the brilliantly written next sequence in which Rama learns about the conversations on the street and feels compelled to act on them. Bapu’s selection of shots match the brilliance of the script. The result is the deep sorrow that the audience is left with for the star-crossed couple. And that is just one of the many well written scenes in this film. Though the story is very familiar, the film moves with a fast pace and it was hard to believe that it lasted all of three hours. Bapu extracted great performances from his artists. Nayanatara is the surprise in this film! She has risen to the challenge of portraying the complex role of Sita and exceeded my expectations by a mile. Bapu, a master at making even ordinary starlets look unusually beautiful on screen, has done his magic again with his Sita. She carries herself with a rare dignity in the face of extreme adversity. In a role that has such temptation for hysterics, her restrained histrionics are remarkable. If this is indeed her last film as has been rumored, she could not have chosen a better way to bid farewell. Balakrishna – who has the unusual challenge of rising above the shadow cast by his venerated father’s celebrated portrayal of the same role – is quite impressive despite lacking the physical presence of NTR. The Rama of this movie is a tormented individual torn between duty and love and Balakrishna portrays that anguish well. He emoted well and delivered his lines at a well modulated pace and tone. Veteran Akkineni Nageswara Rao, at 86 years of age, breezes through the role of Valmiki. The kids are cute and perform credibly and competently. It is quite impressive that these actors (including the kids) did not shy away from the many tight close-ups Bapu employed in very emotional scenes. It has been a long time since I have seen such skillful use of close-ups in Telugu movies. And, it is not just the actors. The art direction, photography and the computer graphics combine with the director’s imagination to create uniquely spectacular visuals, aided by competent editing. The producer seems to have pulled no stops in letting the artist’s vision come to fruition; for that I am extremely thankful to him. The graphics, for the most part, blend seamlessly without being intrusive or obvious. Ilayaraja’s compositions have already become quite popular and the background score is impressive. I should make a special mention of Sunita, the voice of Sita in this film. She portrays the multiple emotions well and her diction is impeccable. She elevates Nayanatara’s performance. On the other hand, veteran Balayya in the role of Vasishta faltered with his diction and his voice seemed to have lost its timber. There were many times in this movie that I was reminded of Bapu’s famous Leela Janardanam series of paintings. The genius of Bapu-Ramana continues to glow bright. It is too bad that Ramana gaaru is not with us now to see the translation of his script on the silver screen. The film reminds us once again of the tragic loss that we suffered in his passing away. Bapu gaaru proved once again that given the right resources he can make memorable magic. I am hoping that we get more opportunities to be bedazzled by Bapu’s brilliance. At this stage, I do not know if the film is a commercial success though I believe it will be. But, what matters is that we have a film that should be cherished and treasured. - V Chowdary Jampala  http://i.imgur.com/84qe1.gif http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXfXghRxy9M |
