Spoilers ahead…
In the first scene of Kishore Kumar Pardasani’s Katamarayudu, named after the character played by ‘Power Star’ Pawan Kalyan, we see four cars speeding through rugged Rayalaseema terrain. Suddenly, the shot is inverted. The sky is at the bottom of the screen, the speeding cars on top. You’re probably wondering “Why?” But hardened masala-movie watchers will simply go, “Why not!”
The people in those cars land up at Katamarayudu’s (Pawan Kalyan) house, where a camera is positioned at floor level just so it can shoot the hero’s feet as he makes his appearance. Slowly, other parts of him come into view, and he demonstrates his heroism by (1) calming a bull (by stroking its head), and (2) sending SUVs flying (by bringing his foot hard on the ground).
This is why you and I aren’t masala-movie heroes.
Read the rest of the review on Film Companion, here:
Copyright ©2017 Film Companion.
Baradwaj Rangan 
sanjana
March 30, 2017
“Why this peculiar talent should impress someone remained a mystery until I theorised that maybe she considers herself a chick, and it would get awfully lonely if there were no “bird language” speakers around.”
“When we stamp the ground, all that results is a footprint. When Pawan Kalyan does this, the action creates tremors so explosive that a series of 2000-kg cars are dispatched into the air”
Looks like Himesh Reshamiyya type movie! Telugu cinema is going down and down with films like this.
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the brangan fan
March 30, 2017
can anyone please give me BR’s mail ID?
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Anu Warrier
March 30, 2017
Laughing helplessly at the review, BR. I’ve got to watch this movie. It’s been ages since I saw masala this potent. If it is half as entertaining as your review, I’ll have got my money’s worth! 🙂
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brangan
March 30, 2017
See “contact”.
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Dhanda Soru
March 30, 2017
If we were to liken the South Indian film industry to family, then, from a Tamil PoV: Malayalam is the cool, suave cousin you strive to be. Kannada is the cousin you keep hearing nice things about, but very rarely get to see. And Telugu is the cousin who’s essentially the clown of the family. Glimpses of potential, but is almost always looking for ways to try and drill their way through rock-bottom.
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brangan
March 30, 2017
Dhanda Soru: LOL. Might be the comment of the year so far 🙂
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Anuja Chandramouli
March 30, 2017
Dhanda Soru (it feels disrespectful to address you like that) that was a superb comment 🙂
BR: You seem to prefer the Telugu versions of Kathi and Veeram, on the strength of superior production values alone. Feel that is a little unfair because you can practically count on the Tamil versions to be marginally more nuanced and far less cartoonish in their approach. My main issue with Telugu cinema is that all the sumptuous frames add up to extremely vacuous film making barring a few exceptions.
Also you should ask the cops to provide you with security since the Ajith fans are arming themselves even as this comment is being typed with every intention of going medieval on your butt.
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Rohit Sathish Nair
March 30, 2017
Anuja: Pawan Kalyan fans should be protection foolproof enough, albeit at the cost of what could be one of our biggest comment wars
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Altman
March 31, 2017
Once a Telugu friend told me, “No one can explain why Pawan Kalyan is such a huge star in our state. Even I’m his fan and I honestly don’t know why.” He wasn’t joking. He also said there are many young techies like him who can’t fathom why they consider themselves as Pawan Kalyan fans. It’s sort of an existential crisis for them.
On other news, this guy’s ‘diehard’ fans have conducted a mock funeral for RGV and spread rumours about his death. A couple of zealots even thrashed a critic for giving a 3 star rating to this movie. Strange phenomenon indeed.
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Anuja Chandramouli
March 31, 2017
Rohit Sathish Nair: True dat!! And those comment wars are kinda fun with the fur flying, unsheathed claws etc. 🙂
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Dhanda Soru
March 31, 2017
@BR and Anuja:
Mikka nandri 😀
Reg.”Also you should ask the cops to provide you with security since the Ajith fans are arming themselves even as this comment is being typed with every intention of going medieval on your butt.”
Actually, I think it’s Pawan Kalyan fans BR’s going to need protection from: http://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/annoy-pawan-kalyan-fans-at-your-own-risk-his-admirers-dont-have-bandwidth-to-deal-with-failures-3357232.html
On the upside, it’s nice to know that our neighbours can match us beat-for-beat when it comes to reckless fanaticism.
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Rohit Sathish Nair
March 31, 2017
‘And those comment wars are kinda fun with the fur flying, unsheathed claws etc.’
My first major one was exhausting, so I must say I am wary of this desccription
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Phani
March 31, 2017
From Telugu POV Tamil industry is clown of the family.
Telugu industry has given Bahubali. It has given Mayabazaar, moogamanasulu, sankatabharanam, sadaradamlo and a lot more. It has directors like K V Reddy, Adurthi Subbarao, Viswanath, Bapu, Jandhayala and so on.
There is no visionary in Tamil industry who can match to Rajamouli. And most of masala movies of Telugu industry are first class like okkadu, varsham, khaidi. These movies are remade in Tamil and Hindi as well.
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Amit Joki
March 31, 2017
BR: I noticed that the Film Companion site is not secure, that is, it does not have ‘https’ as in yours.
I have been working on a user script (techies will know), that will extract text from there and put it up here like the good old days, for those who wish to install it.
It was then I noted of FC site being not secure, which broke my script as unsecure pages aren’t allowed to load on a secured one.
Secured websites have higher chances of being listed by google and well, it’s safer and it gives a premium feel to the website. Try and see if you can recommend Anupama to get a security certificate for that domain. Its very cheap to get one given the names involved 🙂
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Subhash
March 31, 2017
I don’t understand the intention behind choosing to remake a Tamil film which itself looked like a mix of harebrained Telugu and Tamil films of the 1980s. It would have been good if they focused to make a more grounded and realistic faction drama where this heroism would be appropriate. Katamarayudu is a name the faction ridden Rayalaseema gave to lord Narasimha. Such a powerful name wasted with a mediocre product. Just thinking at the metaphorical representation of this name in a truly intense faction film would work wonders.
Anyways don’t take my comments seriously. Already the blogger and the commentators decided that Telugu cinema is Tamil cinema’s clownish cousin implying we are even worse. Giving a tribute to those intellectual Tamils humiliating us by calling as gultes and our films as clowns, I stop visiting this place. Would that bother Rangan? Not I guess. Given that this site uses moderation to comments, I don’t think so that this would ever make it to the visible comments. Good luck progressive south Indian cinema. Bye bye Telugu cinema.
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brangan
March 31, 2017
Anuja Chandramouli: My main issue with Telugu cinema is that all the sumptuous frames add up to extremely vacuous film making barring a few exceptions.
I beg to differ. The Tamil equivalent was equally vacuous, and it didn’t even have the production values. If the box if empty, Telugu cinema at least gives me some gift wrapping. Small mercies, I know. Stil…
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shaviswa
March 31, 2017
I pity you. a) You watch an Ajith film. That shows how pathetic a life you lead. b) You watch a Telugu remake of an Ajith film c) The Telugu remake has Pawan Kalyan in it.
Oh my God!! I am glad I do not have to be in your shoes. 🙂
I am sure my Telugu friends across the border would have the same thing to say in the reverse order with Vijay’s films!
IMO Vijay and Ajith have been responsible for some of the most horrible films that can ever be made.
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Aman
March 31, 2017
Spoilers ahead…
In the first scene of Kishore Kumar Pardasani’s Katamarayudu, named after the character played by ‘Power Star’ Pawan Kalyan, we see four cars speeding through rugged Rayalaseema terrain. Suddenly, the shot is inverted. The sky is at the bottom of the screen, the speeding cars on top. You’re probably wondering “Why?” But hardened masala-movie watchers will simply go, “Why not!”
The people in those cars land up at Katamarayudu’s (Pawan Kalyan) house, where a camera is positioned at floor level just so it can shoot the hero’s feet as he makes his appearance. Slowly, other parts of him come into view, and he demonstrates his heroism by (1) calming a bull (by stroking its head), and (2) sending SUVs flying (by bringing his foot hard on the ground).
This is why you and I aren’t masala-movie heroes.
I read this and thought the review was over here, and it felt complete.
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Raj
March 31, 2017
Who is worse here? The guy who created a nonsense called “Veeram” or the guy next door who took that and added richness to the nonsense!!! A pig with a lipstick is still a pig holds true here…
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Dracarys
March 31, 2017
So so review brangan. Expected more fireworks!😎
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Rahini David
March 31, 2017
Subhash: Given that this site uses moderation to comments, I don’t think so that this would ever make it to the visible comments.
You must be pretty new to this place in the first place if you thought that he’d have moderated this out.
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blurb
March 31, 2017
Agree with Amit on https.
Try googling for Film Companion. The YouTube channel precedes the Twitter handle of FC… which in turn precedes the actual site.
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Phani
March 31, 2017
Most of Telugu movies cater to national and international audience. For instance Ghazi. In other hand Tamil industry makes movies which are not even understood by neighbour states.
Commentators who are making fun of Telugu cinema, will go shamelessly for Bahubali movie on first day itself.
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naveenkrwpress
March 31, 2017
i am scared a tamil re-remake of this will come up, worse than the original(?) Tamil movie in addition to the dubbed version of the Telugu remake.
can anyone tell me how Ms Hasan still gets lead roles in Telugu ( or anywhere for that matter )?
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naveenkrwpress
March 31, 2017
There is one movie which can single handedly hold Telugu film industry above the rest for eternity. thanks to Kalatapasvi K. Vishwanath and his Sagara Sangaman. an industry that could produce this gem can be forgiven for the Katamarayudus and Samarasimha reddys that it produces. loss of Balu M, K.B. ( he would at the least inspire Kamal to do some good stuff ), Jeeva etc has left Tamil industry to the overhyped hands of Mani and Shankar. the small movies are the saviours of Tamil industry. Welcome directors of Aandavan Kattalai, Dhruvangal Padhinaaru, Maanagaram et al, please carry the baton ahead beyond your first movies. i am waiting for your third movie and hope you dont lose your mojo by the second movie or become stars before your next good one
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sanjana
March 31, 2017
Rajamouli is saving telugu filmdom from blushes. We cannot blame for these routine films churned out because even educated telugu audience patronise them. Jaise praja waise raja. For telugu people who I move with, tamil films are too noisy and too raw and highly emotional. Mani’s films are another world. He is too timid, in the jungle called tamil films. All said and done tamil films are vibrant with life. Whether one l;ikes it or not, Chennai is the dominant big brother whose voice is heard more.
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sanjana
March 31, 2017
Whether one likes it or not,
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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)
March 31, 2017
If the box if empty, Telugu cinema at least gives me some gift wrapping
But this one is shitty, and is no Pushpak either. 😀
Agree with Subhash. Remove the Santhanam and Thambi Ramaiah portions in Veeram, and it’s an outright Telugu masala flick.
About PV, you’re being a little harsh on Tamil films. I say this because, not long ago, you showed some tolerance for Muthaiah’s films – that they were ‘technically polished craps’.
Phani: Being an ardent fan of Telugu cinema, I can’t thank you enough for the comment. Btw, where do we get the DVDs of these films?
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Dhanda Soru
March 31, 2017
@Phani – Thanks a bunch for bolstering my argument. It’s quite telling that all the films you mentioned were made either in mid or late 1900s. And all the directors you mentioned are either dead or in their twilight years (couldn’t really Google the names of the last few directors you mentioned).
But let’s talk about Tollywood’s output in more recent times. Where are your Angamaly Diaries? Your Lucias? Your Visaranais? Okay, so perhaps those films are a tad too offbeat. But what about films like Bangalore Days? Or Kirik Party? Or something as simple as Aandavan Kattalai? With what degree of consistency has Tollywood produced films like these?
I don’t want to rag on the industry too much, but there’s undoubtedly a ton of potential that Tollywood can tap into. If only they’d let go of their rigid adherence to caste (before you gang up on me, here’s what I’m talking about:https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2015/09/19/wide-angle-cinema/, https://www.quora.com/Which-caste-dominates-Telugu-Film-Industry) and other asinine considerations. Not that Kollywood is some kind of caste-blind utopia, where only talent is honoured. But hey, compared to our Telugu neighbours, we’re undoubtedly better-off (if only marginally).
About Rajamouli, yes I do agree that we don’t really have a visionary like him (though Shankar could be one if he does knuckle down a bit. Whether he wants to is a different question altogether).
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sanjana
March 31, 2017
There is talent and looks in the so called dominant communities which they can use to do better films. It does not mean that other communities dont have these qualities. They are simply not interested. They go for higher education and good jobs.
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The Ghost Who Walks
March 31, 2017
Once a Telugu friend told me, “No one can explain why Pawan Kalyan is such a huge star in our state. Even I’m his fan and I honestly don’t know why.” ,
For me, Pawan Kalyan and Salman Khan belong to the same phenomenon. Neither has anything remarkable to offer, even in the overtly commercial format, yet they have scores of fans who swear by them. Is some of the fandom caste/religion based, to an extent i think it is. But still it doesn’t explain the adulation they continue to get.
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Ravi K
March 31, 2017
Anuja Chandramouli wrote : “You seem to prefer the Telugu versions of Kathi and Veeram, on the strength of superior production values alone. Feel that is a little unfair because you can practically count on the Tamil versions to be marginally more nuanced and far less cartoonish in their approach. My main issue with Telugu cinema is that all the sumptuous frames add up to extremely vacuous film making barring a few exceptions.”
In general I find the action portions of the Telugu masala films more fun than in Tamil films, since they embrace the cartoonishness and ridiculousness to a greater extent. These are inherently vacuous films, so why not send cars and men flying into space with a punch or a kick?
I haven’t seen many of the non-masala Telugu films made in the 1990s or 2000s, so I’d like some recommendations, if anyone has them.
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Pavan
March 31, 2017
Ravi K
Will give some 80s as well, if interested.
Some non masala/subdued comedies and tragedies from Chiranjeevi: Rudraveena (of course by KB), Swayam Krushi and Aapadbandhavudu (both by K Viswanath), Chantabbai (a remarkable detective comedy by Jandhyala)
(Surely not the “ammadu kummudu” dancing megastar. Have a glimpse, please.)
From Nagarjuna: Geethanjali (of course by Mani Ratnam), Shiva and Govinda Govinda (both by RGV with pure sanity), Santhosham.
They are my favourite actors. Now some random non masala rooted films
Kshana Kshanam and Gaayam (by RGV with proper sanity)
April 1 Vidudala, Anveshana, Maharshi, Avunu Valliddaru Ishtapaddaru (by Vamsy)
Gulabi, Sindhooram, Antahpuram (by Krishna Vamsi)
I guess this much is far enough. Digging further might let you find some more better films. Some of the more contemporary non masala films are:
Ashta Chamma
Eega
Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu
Anthaku Mundu Aa Tarvatha
Surya vs. Surya
Oohalu Gusagusalade
Karthikeya
Kanche
Kshanam
Pelli Choopulu
(Again, two star heroes trying to be just actors. A rare but sure sight for us).
Again, these too are only a few. And most of the films in this list are critically acclaimed and found proper commercial success. I also deliberately avoided the devotional film s though some gained national recognition a la Annamayya. Having a glimpse at them can help understand what the current Telugu cinema really is. Not at the flying SUVs (with all due respect to the mass heroes including Pawan Kalyan).
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Aman
March 31, 2017
How bad is telugu industry if Baahubali is the best they can offer, both as a film and as an arugment about the industry? It’s an improvement from average telugu masala for sure, but is that worth all the hype for all that overblown budget? Average malayalam cinema that goes unnoticed seem to have achieved better vfx and visuals than Baahubali with 1/8 th of its budget. (I am talking about malayalam Veeram, which was a disappointment in itself).
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Phani
March 31, 2017
@Dhanda Sorry – I am mentioning here good Telugu movies in recent times
2017 – Ghaji- director sankalp Reddy – first ever South Indian submarine drama movie
2016 – Kshanam – thriller movie with solid script
2016-Pellichoopulu-feel good movie – can be Bangalore days of Telugu- being remade into Telugu
Other good directors and their movies in recent times
Srikanth addala-movie seethamma vakitlo sirimalle chettu
Sekhar Kammula – godavari, Anand, leader,
Indraganti Mohan Krishna-ashta chemma
Chandrasekhar eleti-aithe, anukokunda oka roju, manamantha
Rammohan producer- soggade chinni nayana
Vikram-ishq,manam
Virinchi Varma -uyyala jampala
Krishnavamsi-ninnepelladutha, sindhuram,anthapuram
This list goes on
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The Gypsy Girl
March 31, 2017
I’m going to have to sadly agree with the comment about Telugu cinema being the clown among the cousins. He’s the most fun, no doubt, but he could do so much better! Those defending Telugu cinema are naming classics from the 80s (or hiding behind the giant that is Rajamouli), but we often draw blanks when we have to name recent movies that really stood out.
That said, I think Telugu cinema has some of the best (if not THE best) masala movies among the southern states. This is not just because it looks really nice but because they’re willing to stretch suspension of belief as far as it can go. If I’m settling in for a masala movie, go the whole hog and give me my money’s worth.
@Ravi K:Some recommendations for non-masala movies from the 1990’s/2000s: Aithe, Gamyam, Prasthanam, Kshanam, Swathi Kiranam, Kshana Kshanam, Seetharamaiah Gari Manavaralu, Anukokunda Oka Roju.
I’ve watched (and enjoyed) these around the time they released but I’m not sure how they’ve dated.
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Rohit Sathish Nair
April 1, 2017
Dhanda Soru: Don’t keep Malayalam cinema on a pedestal already. It’s not like we watch only the likes of ‘Take Off’ and ‘Angamaly Diaries’. All kinds of movies (including the aforementioned unapologetic action masala movie) exist in Kerala, only in a slightly better (or for that matter, uneasier, proportion).
Please don’t feel disheartened, Subhash and Phani. For all the good movies we made, our first and only 150 crore movie is a film your filmmakers would have made with much more conviction. ‘Sankarabharanam’ is a film we adore as much as our own films.
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Amit Joki
April 1, 2017
Whatever may be the case, you have to give it to Telugu cinema that at least they make unabashed masala movies without seeking to making a point on being messagy or trying to veil in a social issue unto them.
For eg, Yevadu was one of the very few telugu films I have watched, but right from the first frame, I was happy. It was A-rated. AND it had Ram Charan. Will it ever happen that an A rated film and Vijay/Ajith starrer ever go hand in hand?
It knew it’s target audience and didn’t shrink away from having two item songs. There was unabashed skin show. And then there were production values. Jeez each frame looked so suave.
With some brain, Telugu cinema is usually the best bet when making masala film which executes the formula so unabashedly that it’s fun watching. Other kind of films, that’s definitely in a poor state.
P.S Films on media satire don’t seem to be doing good. Found it extremely hard to sit through Kavan. The only good thing was I witnesssed Madonna Sebastian in a big screen, how cute she is 😍😍😍 😘 ! Waiting for your review though.
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MV
April 1, 2017
Clowns are fun. Movies (not every one of them, but a good number) oughta be fun at some level.
Telegu movies are meant to be watched on the silver screen with popcorn, delirious fans – the works. Most of us non-telegus catch them on the telly or youtube and find them garish (no not me – I love the spunk of Tollywood).
A Premam or Bangalore Days can be watched at home without losing even a bit of its appeal. A Mahanadhi or Virumandi would hit harder when watched in solitude. An Ammudu Lets Do Kummudu – on the other hand – needs the big screen and popcorn and confetti and delirium.
Probably this is why the Telegu Industry is faring better in terms of investment, ROI and prospects of drawing crowds to the theaters.
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Phani
April 1, 2017
Every industry do have combination of well and not so well made movies. If we are movie lovers or buffs, we should not have preconceived theories or perceptions on other language movies.
If I start giving list of well made movies in Telugu industry, list will be infinite. Same thing applicable to other language movies as well.
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The Ghost Who Walks
April 1, 2017
@Pavan
That’s a great list. Some of them wouldn’t make it to mine, but close enough.
Glad that you mentioned Chantabbai. It’s one of my favorite films, laughing in the face of the law of diminishing returns.
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Kid
April 1, 2017
Alright! Here is a perspective from a non-Tamil, non-Telugu, North Indian.
As far as I am concerned, Telugu cinema is easily one of the worst film industries anywhere in the world. If one is lucky, one would probably get to see couple of watchable Telugu films every year (I am not exaggerating even a little).
Whatever problems Tamil cinema may have, there is no competition between the two industries. Infact between the two industries, there is only one which is making films in any real and that is assuredly not Telugu. To not see the HUGE difference between the two is to deliberately miss the obvious.
No film industry has done more disservice to Masala cinema than Telugu. Because of Telugu cinema people now believe Masala cinema= fun and games + outrageousness of all kind. Sadly a good masala cinema is anything but this (even in Telugu something like Okkadu is certainly way more than this glib and empty definition).
Very honestly, the only reason I can see of watching 99% of Telugu cinema is the “cultural” ones (and there might be a historical reason as well) other than of course entertainment (but also entertainment of the most banal, most senseless kind). Otherwise, the way I look at it, the industry does great disservice to its state.
It says something about Telugu cinema when one of Mrinal Sen’s weakest film (Oka Oori Katha) is one of the best Telugu films ever made. This was Sen’s gift to Telugu cinema and the clearly the industry and its audience didn’t/doesn’t deserve that gift.
But whatever is the state of Telugu cinema, it is still much better the state of its contemporary audience. Sound harsh and provocative, right?! But have a look at the some reactions of some of the Telugu folks which border on the asinine (and I don’t get it…that “cousin” comment was clearly made in jest so why are people reacting to it as if a Tamilian is putting down the cinema of the neighbouring state).
Does Telugu cinema have talented people? Sure. But is this answer useful in any real sense? Not really, because I am sure every film industry has some talent.
I consider Baahubali to be one of the summits of modern Indian cinema. I think it is better than a number of widely praised festival films of Bollywood. I also think that it is one of the greatest Masala films ever made. Finally, I believe that it is a better revisionist Masala film (btw, notice how the minute one uses “revisionist western” in a discussion, you are taken seriously. When you use the very same terminology for a Masala film, people accuse of glass-onioning. Again I disagree that Western is inherently a stronger genre than Masala) than a number of revisitionist contemporary Wuxia efforts made in China and Hk (I think it does more for its genre than Wong Kar Wai’s films did for Wuxia). And needless to say, I find it superior to quite a few widely praised Hollywood blockbusters (in other words, I think it is a much stronger film than Logan. I thinks its reading of Masala is much stronger than Logan’s reading of a superhero film)
But Baahubali (or something like Eega or Okkadu or even Yamadonga..incidentally in the right film, I find Mahesh Babu one of the most compulsively watchable stars anywhere in the world) is a one-off effort. Most of Telugu cinema is not like this at all.
The finest Telugu director (by quite some margin) IMO is B Narsing Rao (followed by RGV- though of course his best work is in Hindi- and Viswanath. Even in the case of latter, his biggest contribution to Indian cinema might be giving Kamal some of his finest moments as an actor in Sagara Sangamam). Infact Narsing Rao is the only one whose films are important in a formal sense. For his films, I don’t have to have attach the “for Telugu cinema” qualifier. I haven’t seen enough of Balu Mahendra’s work to make any real assessment, but otherwise I can safely that Narsing Rao’s formal strength exceeds every Tamil filmmkaer of that period (barring Rathanam probably..though even here I am not sure…in the sense that I don’t know if any Rathanam film before Iruvar is necessarily stronger than Narsing Rao’s Daasi, or Rangula Kala or Matti Manushulu..what a great title btw, “Mud People”. The great A K Bir did some of his best work for his films). But yes, this guy is a true great (infact, quite a few Hindi art filmmakers could have learnt from him). But his work remains little known in his own state (I haven’t come across a single valuabale critical analysis of his work, it would be nice if someone could point me towards any such existing work done on his cinema).
My favourite Telugu films in no particular order (from the little I have seen)-
Maa Bhoomi- Goutam Ghose- One of the finest Indian poltical films (and a rare art film which was a true blue hit). Of course, it is a telling statement that a Bengali director made this. Narsing Rao wrote this one.
Rangula Kala- Narsing Rao- My favourite film from the director. A leftist reading of Pyasa in many ways, but without the propoganda associated with some films. And has some of the most beautiful images present in a Telugu film.
Matti Manushulu: The director at the peak of his craft. What could have been an exercise in mere miserabilism ends up beingmuch more than than. Has a very fine Archana performance. Also I adore the title.
Daasi- Considered as Narsing Rao’s best work. I don’t know about that, but for someone who is not familiar with most of NTR and ANR’s work, Archana’s magnificent performance here is the best I have seen by a Telugu actor in pure acting terms (though I was thinking of Somyajulu in Shankarabharanam as well).
Shankarabharanam- I respect Viswanath for integrating classical music in a popular format. An example of intelligent mainstream cinema (though I am hesitant to call it middle cinema).
Sagara Sangamam- A true blue great mainstream film. And an outstanding Kamal performance. Probably the Kamal performance which is most attuned to even the smallest notes in the script (and film).
Vanaja: A rare fine festival film made in Telugu.
Baahubali and Eega: Both take masala cinema seriously and then do something new with it.
Shiva: In terms of pure rawness and energy, no RGV film (including Rakthacharithra) comes close to it. And Nagarjuna comes up with a star performance for the ages. There are a number of other Telugu films by the director which I like, notably Kshana Kshanam and Raathri, but no Telugu work of his is even in the same ball-park. A seminal Telugu film if there ever was one.
Geethanjali: Nagarjuna in a Rathnam film, ’nuff said! Though of course of one of the director’s lesser films.
Okkadu: Mahesh Babu’s finest moment on screen. And that rare contemporary Masala film where the city/town (in which the film is set) becomes irreplaceable.
Arjun: A film I love to bits. Possibly Mahesh’s best film outside of Okkadu.
Athadu and Khaleja: Two other Mahesh films I love. The former has one nicely choreographed action scene. The latter film is quite underrated, certainly has a better narrative than most Telugu masala works.
Show: Neelakanta’s film is terribly pretentious (with actors hamming like there is no tomorrow) for the first thirty minutes or so, but if you can can attune yourself to the film’s wavelength, there is great pleasure to be had. The film makes best use of the director’s weird sensibilities. Possibly the most experimental Telugu film of this millenium.
Grahanam: Much of the film’s power seems to come from Chalam’s story (on which the film is based). But I was gripped from the first scene (there are some nice performances across the board). And a rare Telugu film which has some respect for the formal elements of cinema. Indraganti’s best work.
Ashta Chamma: A telugu film based on an Oscar Wilde story…this should have been a trainwreck, but surprisingly, it isn’t. A charming little trifle with smarts. And who can resist a film which is in so much love with the Prince!
Nandanavanam 120 Km:This is not a good film by any means, but is a curio-item which I couldn’t stop watching. Neelakantha at his weirdest and a thriller which refuses to conform to any known cinematic style. I wish the director wouldn’t have settled for such a tame ending though.
Pelli Choppulu- An excellent Telugu film, and a film worth revisting. Also better than most Tamil romcoms.
Anand and Godavari: The minute you start comparing these films to Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s works, you start insulting the master and also end up doing great disservice to the films themselves. But on their own, the two Kammula films are the best examples of contemporary Telugu cinema. Made with a certain sensibility (and having the kind of low key performances you would never quite see in the films of the state) which even modern Tamil cinema could make use of (also some nice music and having a strong female lead). That being said, I have a feeling that Kammula’s best work is behind him.
Golconda High School: One of the most understated Indian sports film I have seen. And Sumanth turns in an equally understated performance (I wish the industry made better use of his talents).
Hari Villu: A minor work from Narsing Rao in some ways (and easily the director’s most unever work). But also a children film like no other. I am in hurry to call this a good film, but there is something about it which refuses to leave me. It had many of the same problems (and strengths) as Adoor’s recent Pinneyum. Incidentally, a good complemetary film to this film would be Khargosh (and probably Umesh Kulkarni’s masterpiece “Vihir”).
Balupu: This is an odd choice. Ravi Teja is possibly the most annoying actor to have graced the screen, but for some weird reasons, I found him quite watchable here. As an example of nonsensical masala, you could do lot worse than this.
Prasthanam: An extremely engaging and very well written gangster-underworld film. Infact, one of the best Telugu films I have seen. Hope a lot more people check this one out. The director’s debut Vennela is also pretty decent.
Chantabbai: I have’t seen most of Chiranjeevi’s “acting” performances, but he is quite good here. A nicely made (and played) comic thriller with a fantastic opening credit sequence.
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Kid
April 1, 2017
Pawan K, Phani, The Gypsy Girl:Thanks for the list of films, especially useful for an “outsider” like me. Haven’t seen quite a few of the films you guys have mentioned. I do love Yeleti’s first two films, especially the second one which was quite delightful (the comic-thriller is difficult to pull of as we saw in the atrocious Hindi remake…And Jagapathy Babu is the most understated of current Telugu stars. Liked him in the recent Jr NTR film as well). I just wish he has cast a better actress than Charmee (though one could see why she was cast in that role)
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Phani
April 1, 2017
I can understand a North Indian’s perspective. Market wise Telugu industry is growing hugely. May be within few years Telugu industry can beat hindi industry as well. I pity.
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sanjana
April 1, 2017
Kid, thats fantastic comment. You seem to be great cinema lover irrespective of which language they are made in.
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Kid
April 1, 2017
Rohit: I would disagree inasmuch whatever you might think of Pulimurugan (and my overall sense of the film is not too different from yours), it is MUCH better than 99% of the Telugu films made in the last twenty or years (I only exaggerate a little). Again, the initial segments involving the child are well done (and so are some of the action sequences) and that makes it automatically superior to most of what Telugu cinema even ATTEMPTS to make. And I assure, if there would be a Telugu remake of Pulimurugan, you would find it hard to pass the 10 minute mark. No kidding!.
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Aadhy
April 1, 2017
I would take unapologetic outlandish masala anyday over pseudorealisitc nalla karuthu spewing garbage that Tamil cinema churns out in the name of commercial movies, which also means I would prefer Khaidi anyday to Katthi. And I mention Kathi here because you can see a lot of misinformed youngsters today in TN forming their political views solely based on this movie, quoting its dialogues like some kind of biblical reference. Whereas in a Khaidi, you have an Ammudu Kummudu, right before an emotional press conference, which alienates you from its world, asking you to take none of this seriously. Now if the director’s priority is cinema, it could be termed mood-killing. But when his sole priority is to exercise the masturbatory nerves of the hero’s fans, why shouldn’t he go all out with it and make it crazy fun, instead of assuming a moral high ground and trying to push his half-baked world wisdom through the movie.
I’m not saying Telugu movies don’t have this kind of populist preaching, but their general tone (atleast the ones I’ve watched) is very unabashedly escapist, whereas Tamil masala movies have a self-righteous air about them and try to give a ‘realistic’ feel. Sensible commercial movies are very welcome, but unfortunately in Tamil cinema nowadays sensible = movie with a ‘good’ message and not good making/craft. And as MV said, some of these Telugu movies are so much fun to watch in theatres. I watched Race gurram with a few friends at Casino theatre and the just the song videos, forget the movie, was worth the money. The lighting, sets and choreograpy, watching fans going berserk as the lead pair of Allu Arjun (boy, can he dance!) and Shruthi Haasan scorch the screen with infinite energy, was such an experience.
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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)
April 1, 2017
Kid: Haven’t seen any of Narsing Rao’s films, but I’m quite aware of the guy. Telugu cinema of the 70s and 80s at least had the fortune of having somebody like him. Besides, as you say, filmmakers like Sen, Benegal and Goutam Ghose took up culture/milieu-specific subjects and had the freedom to make it in Telugu itself. But this was not even remotely possible in Tamil back then. John Abraham and Bharathan drew the ire of many when they made their first films in Tamil. It took nearly twelve years (after a strong encouragement and recommendation came his way from Ilaiyaraaja) for the latter to make a comeback to Tamil!
It’s nice that you’ve mentioned A. K. Bir – along with Rao he formed one of the most formidable director-DOP pairs in Indian cinema. It would’ve been really interesting had Mani Ratnam collaborated with the likes of Ashok Kumar, Bir and Ashok Mehta.
barring Rathanam probably..though even here I am not sure…in the sense that I don’t know if any Rathanam film before Iruvar is necessarily stronger than Narsing Rao’s Daasi
‘Strong’ is a little ambiguous here. Given the choice of your films, it seems as if you have implicitly assumed that ‘strong’ films must be of the ‘arty’ nature. If that’s the case, Tamil cinema does not even have a handful of ‘strongly made’ films. As for Balu Mahendra, you might want to check out Kokila, Azhiyatha Kolangal, Veedu and Sandhyaraagam.
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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)
April 1, 2017
Let’s not forget that some of the most regressive (read misogynistic, racist, et al) Tamil films were actually remade from Telugu blockbusters. Gharana Mogudu was equally (or perhaps even more) successful in AP. In the 80s/90s, when Tamil cinema was busy with ‘taming the arrogant heroine’ template, Telugu cinema reached the next level with the ‘taming the arrogant MIL’ kinda stuff.
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Dhanda Soru
April 1, 2017
@Phani – Perhaps I was hasty in my dismissal of Telugu cinema as masala-centric garbage. I apologize.
@Rohit Sathish Nair – Of course they do. But I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that the average Malayalam film is superior to the average Tamil film in terms of craft. There exists a level of finesse, however basic, that Tamil films, generally, struggle to match up to. That’s what I meant by the “cool, suave” bit. Perhaps I may have exaggerated that a bit. But hey, what good is online anonymity if you can’t exaggerate a little? 😛
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Dhanda Soru
April 1, 2017
@Aadhy – I think we, as an audience, are largely responsible for Tamil films taking themselves way too seriously. What else, for instance, explains the kind of love that a film like “Nimirnthu Nil” got? It’s easily one of the most insufferable films I’ve ever seen. Good Jayam Ravi randomly turns into a badass. Bad Jayam Ravi randomly turns good. There was a constant sense of WTF-ery throughout the film. And yet, when the film was over, my Dad’s response was essentially “Nalla padam achae, yaen odala?”
For all its problems, you could at least understand why a film like Kathi was festooned with raves. We don’t talk about farmer suicides as much as we should, and Kathi – if only for a brief moment – made us talk about it. Personally, I would’ve preferred a more sedate, pointilistic drama – as opposed to a masturbatory star vehicle intended to further its star’s political ambitions – but in a nation that is largely apathetic towards the plight of its farmers, Kathi at least made us talk about the issue. Nimirnthu Nil, on the other hand, had nothing new to say. And the things that it did say, it didn’t say especially well.
I sometimes wonder if we burden our filmmakers too much. We expect them to educate, entertain, enlighten etc etc. Perhaps that’s the burden that entails working in a medium like cinema in TN. That said, however, if all you want to do is rant about injustice, make a YouTube video. Much cheaper. And shorter too. But if you want to express this through cinema, make cinema. Not a 3-hour PSA.
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Phani
April 1, 2017
@Dhanda Soru – Hey no need of apologies. Anyways Thank you.
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shaviswa
April 2, 2017
While Telugu movies do have high production values, cinema-wise I would rate the Southern films are follows: Malayalam > Tamil > Kannada > Telugu.
Kannada can actually do better if they stop remaking Tamil and Telugu films. They remake some of the crappiest Tamil and Telugu films and the number of such films is huge bringing the overall quality of the industry down.
Telugu movies have been like this since NTR/Nageswara Rao/Krishna days. Horrible masala flicks.
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kaizokukeshav
April 5, 2017
Telugu movies are 100% mainstream centric. Even SS Rajamouli had to make 7 extra spicy masala movies before burning out and experimenting with Eega. His Chatrapathi and Vikramarkudu portrayed glimpses of acting brilliance before hiding behind the inevitable masala genre. Masala is money, and when politics is tied to caste and cinema, everything is money. And movies like Godavari and Pellichupulu come as acidity tablets for excessive masala.
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Aadhy
April 5, 2017
@ Dhandasoru :
“I think we, as an audience, are largely responsible for Tamil films taking themselves way too seriously. “
I partly agree with you on us being responsible for the assumed self-importance of Tamil films. But Tamil audience is quite complex and diverse. You have fanboys, so-called family audience, entertainment seekers and cinephiles. Every individual person differs in his/her viewing qualities. I would say a filmmaker’s priority shouldn’t be to satisfy all of them, but rather to stay honest to the film he wants to make, the story he wants to convey. And in this regard, Kathi was a dishonest film for me, just like Theri. The tone changes in the film were all over the place. It starts like a proper star vehicle but the tone suddenly switches to docudrama as the director throws in some farmer suicides. After sufficient emotional manipulation you have scheming corporate bosses, heads of MNCs who say things like ”Assam lendu 500 pera erakuvom” in meetings. You then have a dude shouting “ We are poor but not uneducated” while stealing chlorinated water from a swimming pool. Apparently ”Cell Phone aadambaram” but “let’s first take a selfie pulla” . The movie reeks of hypocrisy in all levels, only because it took, and wanted us to take, its messages too seriously. It gave birth to a whole new generation of SJWs in social media, who call themselves champions of farmer’s causes, hijacking the problem into an ethnic pride issue, basing their whole hypothesis of farmer’s problems on a preposterous…Vijay movie.
But I don’t have this problem with movies like Ghilli, Pokkiri or even Thupaki, as they are fun star vehicles and don’t claim to be offering solutions to social causes. And with regards to depicting social issues in films, I was really moved by the delicately dealt Neerparavai , a strong drama with a backdrop of fishermen’s issues which creates an impact without resorting to preaching. Oh yeah don’t even get me started on Nimirndhu Nil. I have actually not liked even one of Samudhrakani’s directorial ventures. He is a really good actor though.
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praneshp
April 5, 2017
@Aadhy: Fellow Neerparavai fan here, hi!
I liked ‘Appa’ quite a bit, and my dad said he could relate to several things (pressure to admit in a reputed school, whatever the fuck that is, entrance exams, etc). The film was like a bunch of powerpoint slides though (Rangan’s words, my opinion). Each set of scenes is like Samudhrakani jerking off. It starts off with something, he gets excited in the middle, and then advice after advice in the end.
I think for people like AR Murugadoss, the priority is to make money whilst looking like a social reformer. Kaththi had superb scenes like the one you quote that play right into the SJWs on social media (vs giving birth to them). They just got nice things to tweet about now, saving farmers and women while hanging out outside Ethiraj/Stella Maris at 3pm. You forgot “500 muttai iruntha ungalukku saapda va kuduppom, naanga shampoo panna thaan use pannuvom”.
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brangan
April 6, 2017
Another Neerparavai fan here. Did not write about it, but mentioned in in this post:
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viswanadh
April 8, 2017
It’s a long rant. Please bear with me. I’m telugu staying for chennai for quite some time and it’s a known fact that Tamilians don’t respect Telugu movies. It’s mostly because Tamil industry strives for realistic, darker, loud movies where as Telugu industry is escapist to the core, has preference for dance, comedy (situational or slapstick does not matter, it just has to work!).
For someone like me who doesn’t particularly like hero glorification shown in Telugu movies, Tamil movies aren’t the solution. If I need realism, I watch English movies which are true to the genre and offer entertainment. Tamil movies are sometimes very depressing (movies about real life struggles in a clothing showroom (should belong to a documentary), horror movie with hero’s face half fully covered with disgusting hair). Many of Shankar’s films transcends these barriers and they are entertaining, innovative and have social message as an underlying theme. All said and done, all kinds of movies get dubbed and remade in Telugu from other southern languages and that’s more in number compared to what gets dubbed or remade to Tamil from a Telugu movie. So, Telugu movie audience know what they are talking about. Majority of us want entertainment, whether it’s comedy or masala – it should not have
Loud characters – People die, and the relatives cry and often loudly. This is real and we all know, no need to see people crying thumping their chests on big screen. It just depresses the audience. There are plenty of news happening daily and they anyway depress us and on top of it we don’t need more of that stuff. 🙂
People in AP/Telangana respect even movies dubbed from Tamil, as long as they are good. Tamil people want their movies straight and don’t like dubbed stuff as they love their language more than the movie itself.
I know whatever I wrote may trigger some people here, but this is just my opinion on why I don’t consider Tamil movies better for me than Telugu movies. Maybe, according to some movie standards they are. Both movie industries are different, very different. It’s your choice to respect or mock the Telugu industry.
There are many feel good movies in Telugu which many of you might be unaware (of course, they might still not satisfy you) – Kanche, Yevade subrahmanyam. Pelli Choopulu, Kshanam, Gentleman, Manamantha, Surya vs Surya, Malli malli idhi rani roju, These are not mainstream and just from last couple of years (2015,16).
I hope at least people stop being self righteous and stop living in their bubble. We accept our movies as the way they are, with all their ridiculousness and over the top stuff. They cater to the majority audience, once we stop accepting these movies (we are already doing if you don’t know), the producers stop making them.
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Ravi K
April 10, 2017
Viswanadh, Tamil filmmakers know how to get dark and depressing, but without the artistry and craft to make those depressing stories particularly engaging to watch. They’re usually just “misery porn.” Artless exercises in watching characters in dire situations. That is why I loved “Visaranai,” which was a dark, serious film that was well-crafted.
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