SOME GOOD FILMS, SOME MEH…

Lalita Iyer Musings

While the skies are grey and hopefully will bring much needed rain without any major catastrophes, my mood is upbeat, non-bluesy and absolutely in a filmi zone. Movies do that to me, even if they stretch your patience and shake your faith in entertainment called films.

Three different reactions to three different films in three consecutive days! Meanwhile there is FIFA and so much controversy surrounding Argentina. You have to listen to the Brits speak about them, sounding almost like there will be another Falklands War.

Ram Charan has always been watchable and after Maghadheera, I was known to be walking around mooning over him. It was probably the horse he rode, but not to digress.

'Peddi' was a yawn ending with a snort. First I would like to sue the director of the film, Buchi Babu Sana. Because he calls this film a Telugu sports action drama, because the film starts with a cricket session. He has guts. For a nation whose sports nutrition comes from cricket, he projects the game more like how-would-this-shot-be-if-I-made-a-board-game-and-called-it-cricket-in-the-jungle.

This director's other film has been the national award-winning 'Uppena'.

Peddi becomes the sole voice of his village, winning cricket games, saving lives and singing songs. Then cricket ditches him with a happy sigh and so Peddi goes on to kushti and almost wins the national award in the span of a song. Ok, ok, it is a movie where time is not of great importance, but seriously? He pushes on wanting to go to the finals, only to be sent back because he has a torn ligament. En route to the station, he sees runners with physical disability running with blades.

Peddi, being Peddi, becomes the greatest runner in the disability section and gets a statue. Wait, wait. Because he refuses a gold medal and instead sobs out his stationless village story at the award ceremony, he gets a statue, with blade and cricket bat in hand. The village also gets its own railway station.

Jhanvi Kapoor tries to be the champion election manager with a barely-there blouse, a barely-tied ghagra and, in her case, she did not need the half sari. She and Shruti Hassan perform an energetic song.

Ram Charan has great hip flexors. In all his songs, it is a surprise that he survives all the takes, the amount of wriggling and stomping he does. So do all heroes, but Cherry (Ram Charan's pet name), here does one more than the rest. His cousin Allu Arjun is the other guy, who is of course not moving the shoulder muscle or the hip flexors for his next Pushpa avatar.

In direct contrast is 'Pati Patni aur woh do'. Hilarious from the word go. There are lapses, but hey, after Dhurandar we all need a break from beards, dark-clothed guys, gore and violence. Either the director of Dhurandar is very influential or the censor board members were on the take. Because such violence has never been permissible, whatever be the truth.

Anyways I was talking of Ayushmann Khuranna as the husband with those smiling eyes and a perfect marriage and three pretty girls including Wamiqa Gabbi, Sara Ali Khan and Rakul Preeth.

The story takes place in Prayagraj and Varanasi and the twists and turns lead to chaotic confusion, which adds to the charm of the film. Everyone is driving and driving everyone crazy and then there is a villain who, of course, has a farm house and then there are leopards and wolves. Yup, you are getting the idea. But it is a very refreshing film written and directed by Mudassar Aziz. Everyone plays their role, even while looking pretty, and there are those colourful songs.

I recommend this movie for lightening up of mood. Finally I watched 'Maa Inti Bangaaram', because it came on OTT, directed by my favourite woman director Nandini Reddy. She has a flair for comic timing and it shines through this film, except for the dark bits. Literally, as in no lights, where the shadows play while Samantha's cheek glows.

Talking of glowing, Samantha looks good and happy, this being her first film after marriage to Raj Nidimoru, who wrote for the film. It also has Gulshan Devaiah as the villain, quite wasted, since this is entirely Samantha's movie.

The comic timing in the initial part and some of the dialogues are fantastic.

The rural touch is thanks to the village roads, tiled roof house and various plastic wire koodais or bags. Earlier my maid used to bring her tiffin box in one. Then I bought one for her. It came back as retro fashion and I bought one too. Wonder where that is.

Raj Nidimoru, incidentally, has quite a few decent films under his belt, including Shor in the City, Stree and many others. He has some popular web series to his name including The Family Man, Farzi, Guns & Gulaabs (I loved this one) and another one with Samantha, Citadel: Honey Bunny.

Apparently, 'Maa Inti Bangaaram' has officially made history as the highest-grossing female-led Telugu film, surpassing 'Rudhramadevi'.

While I do love a little song and dance routine, especially around the bougainville bush, and a little vigilantism by a woman, I wish we would have more honest-to-god comedy films.

Would love a laugh.....

– Lalita Iyer Senior Journalist