Category: Movie Reviews

Post Gabbar Singh, the expectations from Pawan Kalyan are really high from Cameraman Ganga Tho Rambabu, and him teaming up with Puri Jagannath makes things even better. But sadly the film disappoints. It is not because of the lack of punch dialogues nor Power Stars charisma, but due to lack of a proper script. Businessman was a success because of its effective screenplay, but Puri Jagannath totally falters with screenplay in this film. The script does not have a basic conflict point, and that in itself is a main drawback.

The first half is very predictable but alright, but the second half is pretty much a disaster for it totally goes haywire. I like Pawan Kalyan, but honestly, he’s no Chiranjeevi. Pulling off Tagore like stunts just doesn’t work for PK. But he still manages to woo the audience with his charm and powerful punch dialogues. He looked a wee bit old in a couple of scenes though. Tamanna has very limited role, and I thought she went a little overboard to get into her tomboyish character. There’s no special mention on the comedy front.

Except for the Jaramochindi song, the music isn’t so great either, but PK dances well. Cinematography Shyam K. Naidu is alright. Most of the aerial shots are graphic based. Editing by S. R. Shekhar could have been a little better. Productions values could have been way better as well. But most importantly, if only Puri worked a little more on the script and screenplay!!

Is it worth your time and money??: It’s totally upto you. I enjoyed the first half, but the second half was a total bore. PK and Puri’s dialogues are the plus point of the film, while lack of conflict point and disastrous screenplay cause the downfall. There was no need for Rambabu to be a reporter to do what he did, and neither was there a role for Ganga. So now make your guess on how effective Cameraman Ganga Tho Rambabu is.

Acting: 8/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 6/10
Technical Aspects: 7/10

Verdict: 6.5/10

Is it worth your time and money??: Life Is Beautiful has no proper story, and seems very amateurish. Add to that mediocre screenplay. Thankfully, the film has some beautiful moments, and the new cast lived up to their roles. Sekhar Kammula really needs to get out of the Happy Days phase, and concentrate a little more on his scripts. If life were like in this movie, I wonder what reality is.

Acting: 7/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 5/10
Technical Aspects: 7/10

Verdict: 6/10

I kinda lost hope on Julayi once its release got postponed, but here I was watching it anyways. I should have listened to my gut feeling and stayed away for it was a sheer waste of time and money.

Julayi suffers from the same problem as other Telugu films, lack of a sensible script. Trivikram Srinivas (story-screenplay-direction) comes up with a flawed script, wherein he tried to fit in a number of elements into the two off hours movie, but failed to realize that the basic theme of the film was weak. Our hero, who’s supposed to be arrested for a wrong doing, suddenly becomes the cop’s best friend for he can think alike the villain. He not only starts giving them free advice, but even shoots and kills people on their behalf. In between comes a damsel whom he falls in love with, a corrupted politician, a revenge saga, etc, etc. The hero is shown to be intelligent, but there is no logic to his intelligence. As if the story wasn’t bad enough, the direction is mediocre, and screenplay horrendous. Trivikram’s dialogues are no savior, for good ones are very limited. And ya, ripping scenes from The Dark Knight and The Italian Job isn’t cool!!

Allu Arjun tries really hard to carry the movie on his shoulders, but the faulty script doesn’t do him any favors. However, he looked stylish, and his dances are very good. Ileana had a limited role and looked super hot, especially in the songs. Rajendra Prasad looked very odd with his wig and makeup, and was superficial on most occasions. An actor of his caliber can do much better. Sonu Sood had a meaty role, and he excelled. Bramhandam, MS Narayana, Bharani, Dharmavarapu, Ali, Vennala Kishore are all there, but none of them had a significant role. The dialogues are the only comic relief in the movie.

Music by Devi Sri Prasad is very good. But most songs sounded the same, probably because of similar kind of lyrics. Background score could have been more effective. Cinematography by  Chota K Naidu & Sam K Naidu is alright. Editing by Pravin Pudi is decent. Though flawed, the movie never seemed boring. Graphics were very bad and production values seemed mediocre.

Overall, a time pass flick which really doesn’t work. Nuvvu Naaku Nachav, Manmadhudu, Malliswari; all these movies had one think in common, awesome dialogues, which have been Trivikram’s forte. Instead  of sticking to them, he ventured into direction, and except for Athadu, he hasn’t been much successful. If anything, he even lost touch on his dialogues. Julayi is no different. It might be reviewed as an intelligent action entertainer by some, but for me, it was another disaster Telugu movie.

Acting: 7/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 5/10
Technical Aspects: 6/10
Is it worth your time and money??: No. Trivikram fails big time with this one, for even his famous dialogues don’t score. Julayi would have failed even if it released on its original release date in July!!

Verdict: 5.5/10