Category: Movie Reviews

From the trailers, Sita Ramam seemed like a romantic love story from the 1960s, with a war backdrop. Does this age-old romance work in the current era?

Scripted and directed by Hanu Raghavapudi, Sita Ramam narrates the non-linear back-and-forth story of Afreen (Rashmika), a Pakistani student from 1985 who reluctantly travels to India to handover a letter written 20 years ago by Lieutenant Ram (Dulquer) to a woman named Sita (Mrunal). While trying to locate Sita, she learns about Ram, his heroics in the Indian army, his undying love for Sita, and a little about how she’s connected to them.

From the first frame, it is clearly evident that Hanu wanted to create a love story like Roja, a Mani Ratnam classic. While combining war and the army into love stories is not new, I thought Hanu tried too hard to make everything fit into the storyline. He succeeds with the love story element; an army officer receiving letters from strangers claiming to be his family when he says he’s an orphan is well conceptualized, and how this ignites Ram and Sita’s love story is beautifully handled. The twists and turns along their journey and how it’s integrated into the army operations work well until a point, but eventually starts to feel artificial and unrealistic, primarily because of the slow pace of the film. Movies like these need to have a crisp screenplay and keep you engrossed all through, and that’s where this movie falters.

Dulquer Salmaan is brilliant as Ram. His characterization makes you fall in love with him. Mrunal Thakur scores big on her Telugu debut; she looks lovely and utilizes her expressive eyes effectively. Sumanth has a meaty role and does justice. Rashmika’s act could have been better; it felt like she did the film just for the heck of it. There are numerous actors from across industries in the film but almost all of them either have a single frame or are under-utilized.

Music by Vishal Chandrasekhar is alright but nothing great. Editing by Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao is decent considering the slow screenplay; at almost 2 hours 45 minutes, the film is too long, but I doubt he could have done anything about it. Cinematography by P. S. Vinod and Shreyaas Krishna is a major asset to the film. The Kashmir valley is stunningly picturized, and so are the buildings and frames of the 1960s. Production by Vyjayanthi is commendable.

Is it worth your time and money?: Sita Ramam is a beautiful love story with its moments, but it falters because of its slow paced and shoddy screenplay. So, watch it if you have the time and patience.

Worth mention: The chemistry between the lead pair.

Acting: 8/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 6/10
Technical Aspects: 7.5/10

Verdict: 7/10

First things first, I like Nani. He usually picks sensible subjects, but of late, it seems like he too is taking the formulaic route. Post Jersey, none of his movies made an impact, apart from maybe Shyam Singha Roy (which I thought was a decent watch). Come Ante Sundaraniki, he’s back at his favourite genre, and I was eagerly waiting to see if he still has the charm to woo the audience as he did for, say Ala Modalindi or Bhale Bhale Magadivoy. 

Scripted and directed by Vivek Athreya, Ante Sundaraniki tells the story of Sundar, a confused Hindu guy from an orthodox Brahmin family, and Leela, a strong girl from a Christian family. As you’d expect, they fall in love, and Sundar conceives a plan with some significant lies to convince their families for the wedding.

It’s more or less a simple story, but Vivek has handled the subject with a lot of maturity; the film is bold and addresses many unspoken topics, such as choice of pregnancy, infertility, etc., while never trying to be preachy. Every character is very well written and makes an impact on screen. Coming from similar family background, I could relate to most of the content. I loved how Vivek (I’m guessing from his own experiences) showcased the rawness of a Telugu Brahmin household (including the cuss words). There are a couple of illogical sequences, but he has integrated them so seamlessly into the comedic narrative that you don’t tend to delve so much into them. Thanks to the non-linear narrative, the screenplay is compelling and keeps you engrossed all through. 

It’s a cakewalk for Nani, and he excels as Sundar. His expressions while conversing with his manager are priceless. Nazriya, a Malayalee actress famous amongst the Teluguites because of Bangalore Days, compliments Nani in every frame. She’s charming, relatable, and fits into the role with ease. Dubbing for herself added value. It’s a meaty role for veteran Naresh, and he does a fantastic job as the orthodox father (he reminded me a lot of the old Naresh from Jandhyala movies). Rohini is apt as the mother and does a commendable job in the final act. Nadhiya and Azhagam Perumal are alright as Leela’s parents. Prudhvi gets a good show after a long time as Sundar’s uncle. Harsha Vardhan is perfect as Sundar’s manager, and the cameos by Rahul Ramakrishna and Anupama Parameswaran are effective. The child artists who played young Sundar and Leela are excellent.

Music by Vivek Sagar is decent. I liked the fact that the songs are blended into the background score. The choreography for the first song with the child artist is worth mentioning. No qualms with the cinematography by Niketh Bommi. Editing by Ravi Teja Girijala could have been crisp, for the movie seemed a little too long. Production values by Mythri Movie Makers are good.

Is it worth your time and money?: I loved the movie, and so did my better half. Ante Sundaraniki is a neat and clean romcom. However, not all might appreciate the overarching message, for I know that we still have people in our society who don’t look beyond caste, religion, superstitions, and other social issues. If you aren’t one such soul, enjoy the movie!

Worth mention: The beautiful chemistry between Nani and Nazriya (would you believe if I said there’s absolutely no intimacy between the lead pair but still it still makes an impact?), and effective storytelling.

Acting: 8.5/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 8.5/10
Technical Aspects: 8/10

Verdict: 8.5/10

Quite a few Telugu movies were released on OTT in the recent past but none made an impact. After a lot of delays, Narappa was confirmed to release on Amazon Prime, which airs the original Asuran as well. Risky move? Let’s find out.

A remake of the 2019 Tamil film Asuran, which in itself is influenced by the real-life Kilvenmani massacre that occurred in Tamil Nadu in 1968, Narappa narrates the story of a poor farmer and his family in the 1980s, and their tussles with the local landlord resulting in Narappa’s younger son murdering the landlord. Narappa, who is looked upon as a spineless loser by his son, flees with him into the forest to protect him. Rest of the story is about Narappa’s hot-blooded past, and how he saves his son.

I watched Asuran first before starting Narappa, and I felt that I was watching the same movie again, for it is a frame-to-frame replica of the original. Except for one fight, every scene is literally a cut-copy-paste. The sets, background characters, most of the locations, down to the minute little detail. I’ve seen quite a few remakes, but this one seemed extreme.

The only difference I observed is in the climax fight, the original version has the village elders disapproving the son being hurt, which is missing in the Telugu version. That apart, same to same. Srikanth Addala, the credited director of the Telugu version, didn’t even attempt to showcase the storyline as per his point of view. I understand that Vetrimaaran wrote the screenplay for both versions, but how difficult is it to make the movie yours? Addala didn’t even do a good job replicating the emotions for the punch was missing.

Comparison apart, I honestly didn’t feel that the story that appalling in the first case. The concept of the elder son rebelling against the landlord was sure to result in him being killed; it’s like he’s asking for it. 

It is more or less a cakewalk for Venkatesh, and he apes Dhanush in every shot. What I fail to understand is why he didn’t make the character his own. Priyamani is okay, but her dubbing in the slang seemed a little off. Ammu Abhirami and Aadukalam Naren are the two actors who reprise their roles from the original and do justice. Ammu Abhirami, however, looked odd romancing Venkatesh onscreen given their age difference. Newcomer Rakhi, who played Narappa’s younger son, does a commendable job. The rest of the cast is alright. 

Mani Sharma is credited as the music director and G. V. Prakash Kumar is thanked in the title credits, but I thought it should have been otherwise for the music and background score is more or less the same as the original (but for the only different song is “Ooo Narappa”). The title score is good. Art work by Gandhi Nadikudikar in the flashback episodes could have been better. It’s regular business for cinematographer Shyam K. Naidu and editor Marthand K. Venkatesh for they just had to copy the original with no uniqueness. The Telugu version is about 15 minutes longer than the original, I wonder why?🤔

Is it worth your time and money?: If you’ve watched Asuran, then it doesn’t make sense at all. If you are a non-gulti, then watch the original and give this one a miss. If you are a telugite, then watch it at you’re leisure. It’s not a bad film, but I wish it had some originality to it. I rest my case.

Worth mention: The original?

Acting: 7/10
Story-Screenplay-Direction: 6/10
Technical Aspects: 7.5/10

Verdict: 6.5/10