Jakkanna Movie Review - Mass comedy

Movie Name  :  Jakkanna
Rating            :  2.75 / 5
Starring         :  Sunil, Mannara Chopra, Prudhvi, Saptagiri, Kabir Singh, Nagineedu, Satya Prakash and others
Banner           : RPA Creations
Story              :  Vamsi Krishna Akella
Music             : Dinesh
Cinematography : C.Ram Prasad
Editing            :  M.R. Varma
Producer        : Sudarshan Reddy R
Screen play & Direction :  Akella Vamsi Krishna
Date of Release  :  29th July, 2016

The comedian cum hero Sunil is now ready to test his luck with another  movie "Jakkanna". The movie has hit the telugu screen yesterday on 29th July, 2016.  Sunil has a complete low after Maryada Ramanna and is having all hopes on this movie..  Mannara Chopra is playing the Hereoine role in the movie..  Director Vamsi Krishna has done good work in showing the characters.

Story  :

Jakkanna is a story of  a middle class man Ganesh who always tries to help people who helped him during his problems.   But when ever he starts to help people and repay for what they have done to him, he ends up in a mess.  Ganesh ( Sunil ) is the son of a school teacher.  He develops the nature of helping the persons who helped him even a little way.  In this process, he encounters the villain Bhairaagi (Kabir Singh ) who is a popular person in the city.  He tries to change Bhairaagi and meanwhile he falls in love with Bhairaagi's sister Sahasra ( Mannara Chopra ) and tries to win her love. 

Bairaagi makes people fear him but no one knows how he looks in real life.  He hides his identity.  Ganesh keeps irritating Bairaagi with his good deeds but these actions of Ganesh starts reflecting on Bairaagi's illegal activities and so he plans to kill Ganesh.

How does he change Bhairaagi and how does he win his love with Sahasra are all the funny incident that happened is the rest of the story of the movie Jakkanna.

Performance of the artisits :

Sunil has given his best and has portrayed himself in a different way.  Sunil has done comedy after a long gap but his comedy is not that much effective.    After shedding out weight and gaining muscles, Sunil lost the comedy touch for which he is well known.  The vast change in his physical appearance and the body language have ruined his ability to generate  comedy.  He has done fights, songs and heroism-elevated scenes like in his recent movies but there is worn-out feel in his performance. 

Mannara Chopra looks and still needs to work more.  She lacks glamour and acting skills.  
Saptagiri and Prudhvi have added some extra comedy to the movie.  Prudhvi's dialogues are hilarious.  Kabir Singh as villain is OKay.

Technical Aspects of the movie :

The songs composed by Dinesh are catchy and some of the tunes suit a mass subject.  The songs have given Sunil a good scope to shake his leg on the dance floor.  The background score is normal.  The camera work of Ram Prasad was normal and there is nothing special about it.  The production values are rich.  "Raksha" Director Vamsi Krishna tried to attempt an out and out commercial subject this time.   But his script lacked originality and logic to produce money spinner.  The editing is totally bad.  

Highlights of the movie :

The comedy of Prudhvi and Saptagiri.

Some of the drawbacks of the movie are :  Routine story,  dragging screen play, full of prasa dialogues and lengthy run time

Overall analysis :

Sunil has been telling that he did not do typical hero role in the Jakkanna movie but only comedy   He told that he returned to his regular type of comedy.  There is certainly some comedy in this movie  but it did not bring laugh to the audience.  Most of the dialogues are prasa dialogues but not jokes..  The writer has written prasa dialogues from the beginning to the end of the movie.  

Nayaki Movie Review - The Ghost that does not scare

Movie Name  :  Nayaki
Rating            :  2.5 / 5
Starring         :  Trisha, Satyam Rjesh, Ganesh Venkatraman, Sushma Raj, Jayaprakash, Poonam Kaur, Jeeva and Others.
Banner           : Giridhar Production House
Story              :  Govardhan Reddy
Music             : Kunche Raghu
Cinematography : Cheekati Jagadeesh
Editing            :  Gautham RAju
Producer        : Giridhar and Padmaj
Screen play & Direction :  Govardhan Reddy
Date of Release  :  15th July, 2016


The first look posters  of the movie "Nayaki" created a lot of positive buzz.   The first horror comedy of Trisha has also generated a curiosity among the audience.   After a long delay, the Trisha's Nayaki was released on 15th July, 2016.  Let us see how well this movie was presented. 

Story  :

The movie "Nayaki" is the horror comedy written and directed by Govardhan Reddy of 'Love You Bangaram' fame is finally released in theaters on 15th July, 2016.  The film begins with two news readers ( one in 1980 and other in the present day )  report about missing men in a deserted place in Dindigul.  Scores of males go missing over the last three decades but the mystery remains unravelled.

The men go missing under mysterious circumstances where a Ghost ( Trisha ) lures them and gets rid of them.  So the Government announces the place as a restricted area. Sanjay ( Satyam Rajesh ) decides to spend some time with his girl friend Sandhya ( Sushma raj ) during the week ends at a place away from Dindigul city.  Finally they end up reaching a haunted bungalow in Dindigul for shelter after some unexpected incidents.  Just when Sanjay tries to make love with Sandhya, the ghost attacks him and they get struck in the bungalow.  What is the intention of the ghost?  Why the ghost is targeting only men?  Will they escape from the haunted bungalow?  To find answers to these questions, please watch "Nayaki" movie..

Performance of the artists :
One of the biggest plus points of the movie is Trisha's character ( Gayathri ).   The way her role has been conceived and executed right through the first half is very good. Trisha's acting as a Ghost was flawless.  She excelled in the introductory sequence.  Trisha has done justice to her role as a ghost using her experience.  

Satyam Rajesh tickles the funny bone with his trademark comedy.   The performance of Sushma Raj was good as an innocent girl.  Paunam Kaur character is a waste. Jayaprakash has done well.  Ganesh Venkatraman hardly makes an impression in the negative role. 

Technical aspects of the movie  :

The camera work by Jagadeesh is very impressive.  He has created that mood which is required for every horror movie quite nicely through his brilliant lighting.  Raghu's music is just an average.  Editing is below par and so are the production values.  

The Director Govardhan Reddy has done quite a routine job in his narration.  The premise chosen, his narration and many scenes written throughout are highly predictable.  Only good thing in his direction is the way he has showcased Trisha in a new way. Background work by Sai Kartheek is perfect.  

Highlights  of the movie  :

Trisha's character,  Satyam Rajesh's comedy and the first half of the movie. 

The negative points are Flashback, screen play and Bhadrakali song

Ovderall analysis  of the movie  :

The horror-comedy films generally have the same format - Haunted Bungalow - Mysterious deaths - Hero's entry to chase the mystery - Flashback of the ghost etc....  Even the movie "Nayaki" is more or less similar except that the Ghost is passionate about films and it could be spotted only when some one uses the mobile camera.  The combination scenes of Trisha and Satyam Rajesh are an asset to the movie.

Trisha's introduction scene was really a highlight for the movie.   The scenes of how the lovers end up reaching the haunted house are also highlight for the movie..  Lack of any other comedians has put lot of burden on Satyam Rajesh's shoulders.  A tamil actor was roped in second half to improve the comedy.  Even the flashback is routine from the start to end and it was dragged well.  The "Bhadrakali" song in the Climax and Trisha's dance were very irritating.  We do not understand why Nara Rohit agreed to paly a cameo in Nayaki.  Even Brahmanandam's role is not effective.  Trisha's ghost role and her transformation into a film star, Satyam Rajesh's comedy are the positive points.  

The routine flash back and lack of elements that really scare the audience work against the movie. 

Kabali Movie Review - Boring movie

Movie Name  :  Kabali
Rating            :  2.5 / 5
Starring         :  Rajinikanth, Radhika Apte, Dhansika, Winston Chao, John Vijay, Nasser, Dinesh, Kalairasan, Kishore and Others
Banner           : Shanmukha Films
Story              :  Pa. Ranjith
Music             : Santosh Narayanan
Cinematography : Murali G
Editing            :  K.L. Praveen
Producer        : K.P. Chowdhary and Praveen Kumar Varma
Screen play & Direction :  Pa. Ranjith
Date of Release  :  22nd July, 2016

It is a well known fact that there is no bigger star than Rajnikanth in South India.   The release of a film being celebrated as a Festival is vary rare case.  But it happens every time Rajnikant's movie is released.  Kabali release is also being celebrated like a festival by some of the companies in Chennai declaring holiday for their offices.  From posters to teaser and making video, it is a sensation.  The expectations kept growing day by day and finally the movie was released on 22nd July, 2016.  But had the movie "Kabali"  really created that much sensation?  let us see..

The trailer of the movie has set new records in America.  Special flights were arranged for the premiere shows of the Kabali Movie.   

Story  :

Kabali ( Rajnikant ) is given 25 years of jail for a case in Malaysia.  The story of the movie begins as he comes out of the jail after 25 years.  He launches a school for his gang members so that they can come out from the mafia.  When these young gangsters asked him how he went to jail,  he tells them the full story.  He gets married to Kundanavalli ( Radhika Apte ) and then rises as a gangster in a short time.

One of the gang members ( Kishore ) is jealous of the Kabali's rise and plans to kill him and his wife who is pregnant.  So Kundanavalli gets killed in the attack and the furious Kabali kills them.  So he lands in the jail.  In the present day, in a sudden twist he meets his daughter ( Dhansika ) and he comes to know that his wife is still alive and living in India.. So Kabali flies to India to search for his wife and is riddled with lot of problems.

Kabali finds that his empire and family decimated after his release from jail.  He finds that Kaula Lampur is being ruled by Tony Lee.  So he sets out on a misson to take revenge on Tony Lee.  The rest of the story is all about Kabali taking his revenge.

Performance of artists  :

We can find a different Rajnikant in this film.  He is very terrific in an ageing role.  All his expressions, his walking style etc..  are all super.  After the interval, when he goes to find his wife, we see some of the great acting from him.  One of the drawback in this film is lack of Rajni fan moments.  The fans expect some cachy dialogues, but there are not many cachy dialogues to enjoy.  It is completely Rajnikant's movie.  Radhika Apte has given commendable performance.  Dhansika steals the show.  There are many Tamil actress whom we do not know. Dhansika is one of them who has given best performance.  

Technical aspects of the movie  :

The movie Kabali has high technical values and rich production values.  Director succeeds in showing the film in a realistic way.  Some of the scenes which exploit Rajini's   emotions and character showcase his brilliance as a writer and director.  How ever the film seems to be a little show.   The camera work is good and some action stunts are good.  Songs are not that much good, but the background score by Santosh Narayanan is perfect.   Editing work is very good but needs to be trimmed in second half.  

Highlights of the movie  :

Rajnikant,  only Rajnikanth  Rajnikanth....

How ever some of the drawbacks of the movie are :

Boring script and slow pace

Lack of entertainment and no  punch dialogues
Melodrama in the second half
Lack of novelty
Too much of violence

Confusion.

Overall analysis of the movie  :

Kabali is a huge let down.  The movie is quite different from what the trailer and teasers have shown.  You will be under wrong impression if you expect "Basha" like mafia don movie after seeing the trailers,  then you are under a wrong impression.  

Kabali is a confused drama - half of the movie seems that it is all about a family drama, and the last 30 minutes show a total different picture - the gang wars.  The emotional build is perfect in the first 20 minutes where Rajnikant comes out of the jail as an ageing guy looking for family and roots.  The trouble starts only when comes to know that he has a daughter and then he comes to know that his wife is still alive..  The story goes in different direction from here.  How he tries to find his wife is told in a most boring way.  The interval shoot out is quite interesting.

The second half begins with Rajnikant on a mission to find his wife.  When he finally finds his wife,  the director has focussed on another aspect of the movie - the fighting between two gangs.  

We do not get any relief because there is no comedy, no songs and no punch dialogues. There are no strong villains.  In the climax alone we can see the heroism of Rajnikant. Before we see only violent episodes which do not connect to the main story.    

There are too many Tamil style conversations and scenes in the movie.  When Rajnikant talks o a group of children who are studying in at his reform-school,  it is like seeing a non-dubbed tamil movie.  We do not understand the conversation that is going on there.  There are too many such scenes.

A normal person expects the elevation of heroism, stylish dialogues and some good action episodes from a Rajnikant movie.  But all these are missing in Kabali.  We can only see him wearing different coats, suits and laughing.  A lengthy episode of Rajnikant to find his wife is boring and induces sleep.

The song "Nippu ra" is not at all effective in the movie.  There are no songs except that they are played in the back ground.  There is no entertainment at all in this movie.  The director failed to handle Ranjikant in this movie. 

So it is better not to watch this Kabali movie of Rajnikant....

"Oka Manasu" Movie Review - Very slower than a snail !!

Movie Name  :  Oka Manasu
Rating            :  2 / 5
Starring         :  Naga Shourya, Niharika Konidela, Rao Ramesh, Srinivas Avasarala, Vennela Kishore, Nagineedu, Pragati, Krishna Bhagavan and others
Banner           : Madhura Entertainments
Story              :  Rama Raju
Music             : Sunil Kashyap
Cinematography : Ram Reddy
Editing            :  Dharmendra Kakarla
Producer        : Madhura Sreedhar Reddy, Abhinay, Krishna Bhatta
Screen play & Direction :  Rama Raju
Date of Release  :  24th June, 2016


One small movie which made so much buzz is "Oka Manasu" in recent times because it is the debut vehicle for actor Naga Babu's daughter Niharika Konidela.  The film got the entire craze due to Niharika although the hero is Naga Shourya.  

Rama Raju has made his directional debut with a good movie "Mallela Theeram Lo Sirimalle Chettu".  But the film went un noticed due to various reasons.  It has taken some time for his to overcome the failure and script his second movie "Oka Manasu".  This movie generated tremendous buzz after Niharika was roped to play the female lead in this film.   Let us see some details about this movie..

Story  :

Surya ( Naga Shourya ) beats up people for wrong doings.  He is the son of a local politician. His goal is to become MLA as per his father's wish.   A young doctor Sandhya ( Niharika ) falls in love with him at first sight.  She meets him again and again and they fall in love with each other.  Even though she does not want Surya to enter into politics, she was not able to stop him nor end the relationship.

Surya was put in jail for beating up a guy.  He gets bail but the case continues to be on him.  He lands into a situation where he has to leave Sandhya. Surya lands in jail due to a settlement issue.  Even after three years, the case continue to haunt him and his future will be in danger.  A situation forces Sandhya to be away from Surya.  What decision did she take and how did it affect both of them is the rest of the story !!  

Performance of artists  :

Naga Shourya role as aspiring MLA was one of the best in his career.  He gets full marks or his best performance depicting the struggle of a lover who has been facing unfavourable situations.  His performance in second half was really excellent.  

The performance of Niharika was not bad.  She has already proved herself by acting in TV show and Youtube TV shows.  She has made confident debut.  An experienced actress could have done better justice to the role.  Overall, NIharika failed to match Naga Shourya.  The film completely revolves around Naga Shourya and Niharika, so the other actors do not make any impact on the movie.  

Rao Ramesh acted as father of Naga Shourya shows his mark in some of the scenes.  He breathes life into the character of Hero's father.  Pragathi irritates.   Avasarala, Vennela Kishore and Krishna Bhagvan have weak roles.. 

Technical aspects of the movie  :

The music by Sunil Kashyap is really an asset to the movie because the movie is mostly narrated by songs.  There are totally 7 songs.  Even though the songs does not impress the audience, they are suited to the Director's taste.

The cinematography by Ram Reddy can be appreciated.   The editing work is good but the movie place is very slow.  The production values are excellent.

Highlights of the movie  :

The  climax portion  and Niharika's impressive debut.

There are some drawbacks like slow pace, repetitive dialogues, and complete focus on only two characters

Overall analysis of the movie  :

The movie reminds us of poetry.   But the present generation does not have that much time for poetry or a film narrated in a poetic manner.   The person should have lot of patience to enjoy such a slow paced movie.  So this movie may be liked by only a limited section of audience.  

The actors acted normally and the conversations were very natural.  There could have been a bit humour in the movie which would have made the movie a hit.

The director has increased the dose of dialogues.  At some times, the audience find the lengthy dialogues irritating   Audience who seek entertainment may get bored with this lengthy dialogues.  There are random sentences and silly talks..  Heroine always asks questions and Hero always smiles.  What happens at 10th minute also happens at 60th minute and so.  The story never progresses forward.

We can not understand how a doctor loves a guy who indulges in fights and with him she wont have any future.  The characters played by Krishna Bhagavan and Avarasala Srinivas do not help the story in any way.  

Overll,  the movie is very slow paced and tests the patience of the audience.  some of the scenes in the movie may be liked by some audience who have poetic mindset but it is boring for common man.

'Gentleman' Movie Review - Nani steals the show

Movie Name  :  Gentleman
Rating            :  3 / 5
Starring         :  Nani, Surabhi, Niveda Thomas, Avasarala, Vennala Kishore, Rohini, Satyam Rajesh, Sri Mukhi and others
Banner           : Sri Devi Movies
Story              :  R. David Nathan
Music             : Manish Sharma
Cinematography : P.G. Vinda
Editing            :  Marthand K Venkatesh
Producer        : Sivalenka Krishna Prasad
Screen play & Direction :  Indraganti Mohana Krishna
Date of Release  :  17th June, 2016


With two back to back hits, Nani has emerged as the most important and reliable star in Telugu Cinema industry today.   So his movies  have huge expectations now a days.,  Indraganti Mohana Krishna has introduced Nani as hero in "Astha Chemma" earlier, and now Nani has teamed up with same Director now in this film, the film Gentleman carries huge expectations.. Let us see whether this movie deliver a hat-trick for Nani..  Here is the story of the movie..

Story  :

Katherine ( NIveda ) who works as VFX artist gets impressed with street boy GAutham ( Nani ) and falls in love with him.   Katherene goes to London after a few days for some workshop.   During her flight back to home, she meets Aishwarya ( Surabhi ).  During their travel to Hyderabad, Katherine comes to know that Aishwarya is getting married a businessman Jay.  Aishwarya narrates her story how she got engaged with Jay and their trip to Kodai.


Once they land in Hyderabad, Katherene comes to know that the guy Aishwarya is going to marry and her boyfriend are the same.  Once they reach Hyderabad,  Jairam welcomes Aishwarya with a bouquet.  Katherene gets shocked by seeing Nani with Aishwarya and she gets confused.  To clear her doubt, she visits Gautham's house.  Gautham's mother tells her that Gautham is dead. Now her confusion gets many folds.  In the mean time, a TV reporter Nithya ( Srimukhi ) reveals a secret about Gautham's death.  She informs Katherene that Gautham's death is not an accident but he was murdered.  They try to find out the real culprit behind Gautham's murder.  Katherene comes to know the truth behind Gautham's disappearance.  What is this truth known to Katherene? How Gautham died?  What is the relation between Gautham and Jairam?  To know answers to all these questions,  you have to see the movie in the theater and know the rest of the story...


Performance of the artists :

Nani has given an excellent performance in the two divergent characters.  He mesmerized the audience by playing the two roles - of that class businessman and the street smart youngster.  So his performance as a Hero as well as a Villain for the first time was excellent. He proved that he can play any kind of role given to him with ease.   

Surabhi looked cute in the film.  This is the first time for Tamil / Malayalam actress Niveda Thomas.  Even though this is the first time for her, she attracted the people with her acting skills.  

Avarasala Srinivas normally plays comedy roles in all his previous films,  but this time he shocked the audience with a negative role.  HIs acting as Villain is not that much effective.   

Vennela Kishore and Satyam Rajesh tried to play some comedy, it did not work out properly. 

Srimukhi as a journalist, Rohini as Nani's mother and Tanikella Bharani in  a small role are all OK.

Technical Aspects of the movie :

Critics who write about Mani Sharma got a fitting reply with "Gentleman".  The music by Mani Sharma is the man highlight of the movie.  Mani Sharma has given life to the movie with his music as well as background score,  be it during Title Cards, Romantic & emotional sequences.  He has given a marvelous output.  The songs composed by him were excellent.

The story by R. David Nathan is something new with a unique concept.  The Director was also successful in narrating the story in a very interesting way with a nice screen play.   The Camera work by P.G.Vinda was top notch.   

The movie boasts of a good technical and production values.  But the editing was just an average and second half was very slow.


Some highlights of the movie :

Nani's performance, Interval episode, Vennela Kishore's comedy and background score

Overall Analysis :

The Director, I(.Mohana Krishna has made a thriller with Nani.  The movie begins with two love stories - one involving Nani and Surabhi  and the other Nani and Niveda Thomas.  After some time the movie enters into a thriller mode - the hero confusing the audience whether he is a hero or a villain, heroine turning into a detective, many killings in the path and a tiwist coming in the end.    

The Director has put some hilarious comedy on Vennela Kishore in second half.  As Manager Sudarshanam who does not like people type X  or XXX  on keyboards, he has given some comedy.  While this is going on, heroine Niveda goes on a mission to find out the truth about Nani.  This provides some gripping moments to the movie.   Nani's best performance is the major strength to the film.

Mani Sharma elevates many sequences with his best background score.  The movie has some good suspense in second half, comedy by Vennela Kishore and more importantly hero's performance was excellent.  On the other side, the movie is a bit slow, not so interesting twist and a predictable climax.   Any way "Gentleman" is a watchable movie for its second half and for Nani's performance....

The rating for this movie "Gentleman"  is   3  / 5.